TRILLIUMS ON THE FOREST FLOORDue to some man made erosion problems at Deerpark Lodge one of the cottages has to moved a distance of 10 feet. That process started yesterday, is continuing to-day & should be finished up to-morrow. I have been there periodically with my camera photographing the move. Document pictures are needed for the electricity dis-connect, new propane lines, sewer connect, as well as the blocking & jacking of the building, etc. etc. Three young fellows are doing the job & I have been impressed with their professionalism, patience, & attention to detail. They work well as a team scurrying underneath the building attaching lines, constructing wooden platforms, fitting hydraulic jacks into place, wedging heavy metal beams in where needed, & just generally doing a fine job. But, here's the question. Where did these young fellers learn how to do all this precision work?? One would expect to see older men or at least one older boss man type guy. But no, these are all young fellows. The guys don't look like each other so I don't think it's a family affair where maybe they were all brought up in the business or something. I suppose I could just walk up & ask, "hey, where the heck did you guys learn how to do all this stuff!!" But, I don't like to be nosey so I'll just stick with the picture taking & be my usual quiet self & remain in a fog of mystery forever as to how these guys got so gul darned smart:))
CHECKERS SHOULD BE WORKING FOR A LOGGING COMPANY
THE DOGGIES MOST FAVORITE SWIMMING HOLEClear cold night meant a heavy wet dew on the grass this morning. Our little Motormouse doesn't like to get her paws wet so steadfastly refused to come for a walk. Kelly wanted to head into work early so it was just me & two of my most bestest big furry pals, Max & Checkers for our morning walk. We have to walk along the edge of a small pond on the way to the forest & this time of year there are generally Canadian Geese on the water. Canada Geese on the water means Canada Geese poop on the shore. And Checkers just loves goose poop. I have to keep swooshing her along or she would just vacuum up every tasty little morsel she came across. They say that sort of thing isn't harmful to dogs because of their different digestive systems but it stills seems disgusting to me. But, I suppose if Checkers could talk she would tell me my daily morning habit of milk & lettuce would sound pretty disgusting to her too. 
CAN YOU FIND CHECKERS IN THIS PHOTO??
The hard wood forest floor is carpeted with Trilliums & Mayapples this time of year & the onion smell close to the ground in some areas is an onion like plant called a Leek. Leeks are edible but I've never tried one.
Buds & leaves are bursting forth on the trees while numerous song birds are busy flitting among the branches building nests & beginning their families. Walking along a narrow path atop a ridge I could hear the watery sounds of the Bayfield River below making it's way over a rocky river bed to Lake Huron. The air was fresh, the sun was bright, & all seemed right with the world.
A QUIET FOREST PATH THIS MORNING
Although Max, Checkers, & myself are all bothered with arthritis it is these kinds of mornings that bring out the pup in all of us. Checkers was scrambling up & down the bank & hauling huge sticks along the forest trail. Max was busy scurrying in amongst the Trilliums & Mayapples sniffing out whatever he could find & I was busy crawling around on all fours in the onion leeks taking photos on the forest floor. Checkers would invariably haul a huge log through the brush & deposit it right on top of the subject I was trying to photograph. But, no matter, there's always lots of things to photograph & only one Checkers to have a big scruffle with. I rolled her around in the onion patch so that I wasn't the only one going back with a strong smell on their hyde. If I could have got a hold of Max I would have rolled him through the patch to but he was having no part of it.
A CARPET OF MAYAPPLES
UMBRELLA LIKE MAYAPPLE LEAVES
THERE IS ACTUALLY A TINY APPLE UNDER THOSE UMBRELLA LEAVES
Checkers got the last laugh on me though because on the way back we stopped at their favorite swimming hole where a small creek meanders through the bush. Checkers was into the water right away with Max right behind her. I could see the onion smell drifting downstream & knew right away I was going to be the only one going home smelling a big fried onion sandwich to-day................:((
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
THIS WAY TO THE BEACH
KELLY'S YOUNGEST SON, BEN
KELLY'S OLDEST SON, JASON ON THE LEFT. MISSING ARE SABRA'S TWIN, SARAH IN VANCOUVER & KELLY'S YOUNGEST DAUGHTER, REBECCA IN SPAIN.
Kelly's daughter in Spain came across an interesting & informative RV Travel blogsite recently & sent us the link this morning. This southern Ontario couple travels the American southwest & has actually been written up in the New York Times. I'm sure some of you folks are already familiar with frugal-rv-travel 
WONDER IF IT WAS POPEYE WHO SLUNG THE ANCHOR & CHAIN OVER HIS SHOULDER & SWAM IT TO THIS PILE OF ROCKS 
Goderich: 
SALT MINE BUILDINGS ARE ON THE HORIZON
ONE OF THE HARBOR TUGS RESTING UP FOR ANOTHER BUSY SEASON
TULIPS ALONG A LANEWAY NEAR THE LITTLE SWING RIDE BOY
ANYTHING YOU NEED HELP WITH HERE DAD??
SOME DAY I WILL BE A MIGHTY MAPLE TREE
MAGNOLIA BLOSSOMS
PRIMROSE
STILL AT IT
DOUBLE PLEASURE......LAP TOP DOG & LAP TOP COMPUTER ALL ON THE SAME LAP:))
WHATCHA DOIN ON THE COMPUTER DAD??
PERRIWINKLE
NEIGHBOR'S MAGNOLIA BLOSSOMS
BUMBLE BEE IN THE AZALIA BLOOMS
Luckily I grew out of that sparkly car phase somewhere in my early 20's. Have always kept a vehicle neat & clean inside but if the outside got dirty, it just wasn't really, really, important to me anymore. Besides I've always enjoyed getting off the beaten path & exploring back roads, laneways, bush paths, whatever. Not really conducive to a sparkly car aficionado. The occasional trip to the car wash nowadays is good enough for me.
So, with a huff & puff I started the huge task of cleaning the motorhome to-day. Geeeezzz, why do they have to make them so big. Figured I would do it in stages this time & not try to climb the mountain all in one day. Concentrated my efforts on the front of the rig because that's where the dead bugs were holding their annual dead bug convention by the looks of it. Tried some Turtle Wax Bug & Tar remover & about the only thing that removed was about an inch off each my arms. Remembered I had some Best-Black Streak Remover & that did the trick very well. I know Gypsy 
BUZZING FROM FLOWER TO FLOWER
BURGUNDY TRILLIUM IN THE WOODS THIS MORNING
First thing this morning I scrounged around gathering up wood for something I would hopefully later call a couple of shelves. Out came the tape measure & the pencil. Straight lines were drawn on wood surfaces & before long the whole park was awakened by Al playing with his power saw again. I even closed the shed's window & door to minimize the sound but it was Sunday so it was extra quiet outside. Tried whistling loud but that just made the whining saw worse. Wasn't until I belted out a few good bars of Johnny Horton's Honky Tonk Man that I overpowered the skil saw & took charge of the air waves. 
ROBINS NEST IN OUR CAR PORT
Some days ya just can't do anything wrong no matter how hard ya try. Geeeeezzz, I like when that happens. All my first measurements were right on, the saw cuts were straight, I actually got all the wood stain on the wood this time, & the squareheaded wood screws even went straight into the wood when I assembled the shelf pieces. The 2 shelves fitted snugly into the space where Kelly wanted & I was even able to get them level & hold them there while I screwed the shelves into place. No, it's not something a professional carpenter would brag about but it's functional, looks OK, puts a feather in my cap, & kept me on an even keel for the rest of the day. Maybe even got me a few extra brownie points with the boss. Geeeezzz, I like when that happens...................................:)) 
TWO SHELVES INSTALLED WITH 3 OF KELLY'S IKEA TOTE BASKETS ON THEM
Blogging can be a spontaneous thing or a well thought out piece of work with re-writes & edits. I have a habit of falling into the first category but would recommend to new bloggers the second method. The second method will probably save you some embarrassment & regrets. It will also give your blog some spit & polish. I think the best scenario is to write the initial blog & then let it sit for awhile. Put it on a back burner if you wish & let it simmer. Add ingredients such as thoughts & ideas whenever they occur to you. Ideally, let the blog percolate for the night & come back to it the following day after having slept on it. Your final re-write might look a fair bit different than your original draft the day before & chances are you will feel more comfortable before publishing it on the web. 
For impatient bloggers like myself, the first category is the one into which we generally stumble. Whatever thought process occurs in the cranium instantly finds it's way onto the keyboard, up onto the monitor, & out onto the web. Not always a good thing. Words or phrases may pop into the mind that I normally wouldn't use and whooooops, there they go for the whole world to see. This is where it's important to put your blog on the back burner, give it some time, & then come back to it. Chances are when you read it a second & third time your mind will catch the mistakes & re-write them. This will save you from waking up in the middle of the night with that nagging feeling that you have written something in your blog that really didn't need writing in the first place. Take it from an old blogger who knows about such things. But, it's from our mistakes that we learn....or so I'm told:)) 
VIEW OF OUR SIDE YARD FROM ATOP THE MOTORHOME
In my opinion............................ realistic thinking is the key:))