BRIGHT IS GOOD

 SHORELINE ICE AT GODERICH'S ROTARY COVE

Although no blue sky today, the thin cloud cover made for a brighter day, and at this time of year, bright is good.  Not much in the way of wind either so all and all it was an acceptable 37F winter's day.  Despite not having any prescriptions to drop off or pick up, Pheebs and I headed to Goderich and back anyway.  And, that's about it for another day........

 HARBOR TUG OCEAN A. SIMARD MANEUVERING ICE FLOWS AROUND IN THE HARBOR'S NARROW CHANNEL

 I BET THAT DOGGY IS HAPPY TO WALKING ON GREEN GRASS AGAIN INSTEAD OF ICE AND SNOW

 IT WILL BE A WHILE BEFORE SWIMMERS ARE BACK IN THE WATER HERE AT GODERICH'S SOUTH BEACH

 AND, HOW NICE TO SEE GREEN FARMER'S FIELDS AGAIN EVEN IF IT IS ONLY TEMPORARY

Another Facebook memory from this day in 2009 when we were boondocked alongside the Charleston Road between Sierra Vista and Tombstone Arizona.  We were in a small parking area along the banks of the San Pedro River.  We Didn't Find The Ghost Town But We Had To Move Today  Incidentally, it was the next day we found the Ghost Town......Today We Found The Ruins Of Charleston Arizona.   

Al's Music Box:)) Great Balls Of Fire is a 1957 popular song recorded by American rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records.  It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer.  The recording used three personnel: Lewis (piano/vocals), Sidney Stokes (bass), and a session drummer, Larry Linn instead of the usual Sun backups Jimmy Van Eaton (drums) and Roland Janes (guitar). Lewis was quoted in the book 'JLL: His Own Story' by Rick Bragg, as saying "I knew Sidney Stokes but I didn't know him that well, and I don't know what happened to them people. That's the last time I ever seen 'em. That's strange isn't it?" Great Balls of Fire was released as a 45 rpm single.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Some "Senior" personal ads seen in Florida and Arizona newspapers:

FOXY LADY: Sexy, fashion-conscious blue-haired beauty, 80's, slim,5'4" (used to be 5-6), searching for a sharp-looking, sharp-dressing companion. Matching white shoes and belt are a plus.

MINT CONDITION: Male, 1932, high mileage, good condition, some hair, many new parts including hip, knee, cornea, and valves. Isn't in running condition, but walks well.

LONG-TERM COMMITMENT: Recent widow who has fourth husband looking for someone to round out a six-unit plot. Dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath not a problem.

SERENITY NOW: I am into solitude, long walks, sunrises, the ocean, yoga, and meditation. If you are the silent type, let's get together, take our hearing aids out and enjoy quiet times.

WINNING SMILE: Active grandmother with original teeth seeking a dedicated flossier to share rare steaks, corn on the cob, and caramel candy.

BEATLES OR STONES? I still like to rock, still like to cruise in my Camaro on Saturday nights, and still like to play the air guitar. If you were a groovy chick, or are now a groovy hen, let's get together and listen to my boss collection of eight-track tapes.

MEMORIES: I can usually remember Monday through Thursday. If you can remember Friday, Saturday and Sunday, let's put our two heads together.

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- Just think, in a few million years Barney will be motor oil.

Q: Why do farmers put bells on cows?

A: Their horns don't work.

- What should you give a man who has everything? A woman to show him how to work it all!

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SUNSHINE.....NEED I SAY MORE:)))))

From my recliner first thing this morning I could see the makings of a pink sunrise through our pine trees and it wasn't long before we had long fingery shafts of sunlight playing warmly across our living room floor into the kitchen.  A mighty fine way to start the day.

 MORNING'S SUNRISE CAST SHADOWS THROUGH OUR PINE TREES

 TURNING EAST OUT OF OUR PARK WE HEAD FOR THE SUN

 THOSE SNOWMOBILE TRACKS WILL SOON BE GONE

 HOW GREAT TO SEE FIELDS RE-APPEARING THROUGH THE MELTING SNOW AND HEY, DID YA SEE THAT BIG BLUE SKY:))

 SOAKING UP SOME MORNING SUNSHINE

An hour later, Pheebs and I headed east into the sunrise keeping an eye out for temporary Springlike conditions.  And we did find them.  Earth beginning to show through farmer's fields again as the snow continues to melt.  Rivers and streams are bulking up and breaking through their ice and snow boundaries.  It was sounds and gurgles of running water I could hear and I also thought I heard the chattering of a Northern Flicker Woodpecker in a nearby forest.  Even came across a number of trees already tapped with buckets awaiting sap to begin making maple syrup.  Seems a bit early to me but there are a number of signs suggesting an early Spring.  Thought I saw a Robin in our front yard later but it may have been a male Cardinal.  It was a shadowy fleeting glimpse.

 AREA CREEKS AND RIVERS ARE FLOWING AND GURGLING ALONG THEIR WAY AGAIN 

 PAILS COLLECTING SAP FROM THE MAPLE TREES

 THE MAPLE SYRUP SHACK IS BACK THERE IN THOSE TREES

Stopped at the Porters Hill Wild Bird Seed Co in Bayfield's Southend on our way home to pick up some more bird seed and I said to Steve the owner, "I'm going to either have to put the birds on a diet or I am going to have to get a job to pay for all the birdseed".  However, I have noticed these past few days and especially today there have been fewer birds at the feeders and that  I think is a direct result of the current milder temperatures.  Thursday is predicted to be 50F with lots of rain.  Adios snow:))

 AT THE BANNOCKBURN CONSERVATION AREA

 IT LOOKS LIKE ONE OF OUR LOCAL SENIOR CITIZENS MAY HAVE LOST HIS BATMAN CAP 

 NO, THIS IS NOT A RAILROAD TRACK. IT'S AN ICE-COATED BOARDWALK SO PHEEBS AND I DIDN'T GO ANY FURTHER.....TOO TREACHEROUS

Facebook threw me another memory from our RVing days and this time it took me back 13 years ago at this time while we were boondocked at the foot of the Kofa Mountains in southern Arizona.  Castle Dome Mine Museum And Western Ghost Town  

 A VERY GENUINE CANADIAN CROP CIRCLE

 I THINK THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT BY NEXT WEEK AT THIS TIME MOST IF NOT ALL OF THAT ICE AND SNOW WILL BE GONE

With my UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena) hat back on I just finished a book about Lieutenant Colonel Philip J Corso an American Army officer.  The book by author Paola Harris entitled, Conversations With Colonel Corso if credible, blows more doors off all the usual UFO cover-up and denial stuff.     

QUITE A BUNDLE OF BRANCHES

GROANER'S CORNER:((  It was the first time they had flown together, and it was obvious by their silence that they didn't get along. After 30 minutes, the Captain finally spoke.  He said, "I don't like Chinese."  The First Officer replied, "Ooooh, no like Chinese? Why that?"  The Captain said, "You bombed Pearl Harbor. That's why I don't like Chinese."  The First Officer said, "Nooooo, noooo ... Chinese not bomb Pearl Harbour. That JAPANESE, not Chinese."  And the Captain answered, "Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese ... it doesn't matter. They're all alike."  Another 30 minutes of silence. Finally the First Officer said, "No like Jew."  The Captain replied, "Why not? Why don't you like Jews?"  "Jews sink Titanic."  The Captain tried to correct him, "No, no. The Jews didn't sink the Titanic, it was an iceberg."  "Iceberg, Goldberg, Rosenberg, Spielberg ... no mattah ... all same."

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FEELING MY AGE

I woke up this morning feeling my age and the day didn't get any better from there.  I'll leave you with a few morning photos and a couple January 2009 memories from our good old RVing days.  We were boondocked in the Tombstone Hills between Sierra Vista and Tombstone, Arizona.

Today We Found The Ghost Town Ruins Of Charleston Arizona

Listening To Roy Rogers And The Sons Of The Pioneers

GROANER'S CORNER:(( I was visiting my daughter last night when I asked if I could borrow a newspaper.  "This is the 21st century," she said. "We don't waste money on newspapers. Here, use my iPad.".  I can tell you this... That fly never knew what hit him!

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Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited - until you try to sit in their church pews.

It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.

The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come close.

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WITH A FEW NEW SLANTS ON THIS AND THAT THROWN IN FOR GOOD MEASURE

Couldn't have been a finer late Autumn October morning as I headed east about 8:05 for the picturesque little town of St. Marys Ontario.  I noticed right away the number of combines and farm wagons in many fields.  Our area's annual corn harvest is well underway and farmers are busy.

 IT WAS A BUSY DAY FOR FARMERS IN OUR AREA

I picked up my good buddy Richard at about 9:15 a.m. and we soon had ourselves embedded in the Tim Horton coffee shop drive-thru line-up.  For the second time in a row, they goofed up our simple two small coffees with cream and two carrot muffins order.  Oh well, such is life.  Minutes later we were out of town following a scenic gravel road ambling alongside the Thames River as it made its way to the southwest where I figure it would eventually empty itself into Lake Erie.  We covered our usual number of miles and our usual number of great topics with a few new slants on this and that thrown in for good measure.  Before we knew it our two-and-a-half hours were up and we were back in St Marys.  Our travels had taken us through a few little whistle-stops called Rannoch, Motherwell, Anderson, and close to Kirkton Ontario.  It was shortly after noon when we agreed on another coffee tour sometime in November.  With that, I pointed Subie's nose for home.  It is just so nice to be out and about in the countryside on this mighty fine sunny Autumn day.  I think our temperature made it to over 70F again and I drove most of the way home with my passenger side window down.

 THIS IS THE SCIENCE HILL COUNTRY CLUB (GOLF) AND YES, I HAVE ACTUALLY PLAYED GOLF HERE A FEW TIMES....PLAYED GOLF NOT THAT VERY WELL THAT IS

 IT WAS A FINE DAY FOR A COUPLE OLD GUYS US TO WANDER THEIR WAY THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE

SOME FARMERS HAVE ALL THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY AND THIS FELLA EVEN HAS HIS OWN HIGH-TECH GAS PUMP

 IT'S NOT ONLY THE ONE-FLOOR HOUSE I LIKE BUT IT'S THE COLORFUL ROOF TOO

 NOW THAT IS QUITE A RURAL TREEHOUSE

THIS BUILDING REMINDED ME OF SOMETHING TO BE FOUND IN AN OLD  WESTERN TOWN

 NOT ALL FARMERS WERE HARVESTING CORN TODAY

And I was very pleased to read this today....  Nasa's New UFO Team Will Study Sightings To Better Understand Them  I am already looking forward with great interest to Nasa's findings which will be released in mid-2023. 

 HEADING HOME TODAY I ENCOUNTERED A LOT OF FARM MACHINERY ON THE ROAD

THOSE WAGONS ARE RIGHT FULL UP WITH CORN

 THIS COMBINE IS PROBABLY IN TRANSITION FROM HARVESTING BEANS TO HARVESTING CORN NEXT

Ellen's Groove:)) Here's Ellen working on the bass track for Smoke On The Water by the Moody Blues.  And it is interesting to see how she does this by following the moving notes on a monitor while sitting on the floor beside her dog, Neo.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Halloweenies::

Q: What do you call an annoying pumpkin who does stupid stuff?
A: A jack-ass-o-lantern.

Q: What happened to the cannibal who showed up late to Halloween dinner?
A: They gave him the cold shoulder.

Q: What is the witch’s favorite crime show?A: America’s Most Haunted.

Q: Why is the woman afraid of the vampire?
A: Because he is all bite and no bark.

Q: Why do cemeteries have walls and fences?
A: Because people are always dying to get in.

Q: What happens if you combine a vampire and a snowman?
A: You get frostbite.

Q: Do zombies eat popcorn with their fingers?
A: No, they like to eat the fingers separately. 

• I’m not saying my son is ugly…But on Halloween, he went to tell the neighbors to turn down their TV and they gave him some candy.

Q: What is a vampire’s worst fear?
A: Tooth decay. 

Q: What should you give a pumpkin who can’t quit smoking?
A: A pumpkin Patch.

Q: What happened to the man who got behind on payments to his exorcist?
A: He got repossessed.

Q: What did the boy ghost ask his father?
A: Do humans really exist?

Q: Why did the headless horseman start his own business?

A: To get ahead in life.

Q: Why did the team of witches lose the softball game?

A: Their bats kept flying away.

Q: What do you call six witches in a jacuzzi?
A: A self-cleaning coven.

Q: Do you want to invest in my startup company to destroy all vampires?
A: I’m the main stakeholder.

Q: What did the parent say to the baby ghost?
A: Don’t spook until you’re spoken too.

Q: What are two freshly married spiders called?
A: Newly-webbed.

Q: What is it like to be friends with a vampire?

A: It’s a pain in the neck.

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