SEEING WITH A PHOTOGRAPHER'S EYE

WHITE SANDS....ALAMOGORDO, NEW MEXICO

If you have a keen interest in photography you may see things a little differently than other people. FISHING ON MITRY LAKE.....YUMA, ARIZONA

I first noticed that years ago in the old 35mm film days when I developed an interest in photography. It didn't happen right away but after a few years I began to notice things that I had never paid much attention to before. I think it is just something that slowly works it's way into the subconscious mind. I became aware of colors & shapes & how they interacted with the environment. Maybe it's how an old fencepost leans into it's background or how the rusted color of an old hubcap stands out against the graying fender of an aging derelict car in an overgrown junk yard. Maybe it's big billowing cloud formations on a bright sunny day. Gathering storms take on a new beauty if you have a photographic eye. Bird formations overhead take on meaningful shapes & a cactus bloom backlit by the morning sun suddenly becomes an object of wonder. Long shadows stretch across landscapes as gentle winds ripple across resting ponds. It's a world of beauty we live in & we just have to open our eyes & minds to see. An interest in photography will greatly enhance that world for you. Let it become an unending source of inspiration as you scan the vistas around you in a subconscious or deliberate search for nature's bounties. AJO MOUNTAIN RANGE....ORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT, ARIZONA

Some folks are able to take their photographic skills to a higher level than the rest of us & a fellow comes to mind that we met 2 years ago while boondocking near Why, Arizona. He is one of those dedicated photographers who is up before the sun most mornings & out there in the landscape with his equipment & photographic eye waiting for those first sleepy shades of sunlight to spill soft hues of pastel colors into the morning shadows. His name is Gordon Wolford & you can find his fine photographer's eye here.......... http://www.pbase.com/merriwolf/root Gordon also has his own website at....http://www.gordonwolford.com/home.htm & Gordon's wife Sandra chronicles their daily RV adventures here...... http://srmerrikinblog.blogspot.com/

GRAND CANYON'S NORTH RIM.....ARIZONA

Well, better go charge up my cameras because I'm off to Grand Bend to-morrow with the mobility van & while I have a 2 hour stop-over there maybe I can take my photographer's eye down to the new beach complex they are constructing & see what I can find...............................:))IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN AT ARCHES NATIONAL PARK.......MOAB, UTAH

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

GOTTA GET RID OF ALL DIS STUFF!!!!

I noticed last night when I was looking at our Feedjit Live Traffic Feed (bottom right of our blog) that someone in California had clicked on a photo I took a couple of years ago while hiking in Palm Canyon near Borrego Springs CA. Kelly & I were moving along a trail with our guide friend Butch when we heard some rocks tumble down up on a steep mountainside off to our right. Butch spotted mountain goats right away but I didn't see them at first. I zoomed in with my Nikon telephoto lens & snapped a picture of the area where Butch was pointing. When we got back to the rig later I downloaded my pictures & was able to enlarge the one above. It wasn't until then that I saw all the goats. So far I have counted 15 goats in this photo. There may be more in the picture that I haven't seen. (just had a problem with this picture enlarging big enough!!) I spent the morning in a frustrating attempt to clean up & organize one of our two garden sheds. We have accumulated soooooooo much STUFF over the years that it is just plain ridiculous. We not only have a ton of STUFF in our garden sheds but we've got STUFF in the house, under the house, in the carport storage area, up in the rafters, in a cartop carrier & just about every other place you can think of. I know we are not alone in this problem but that didn't help my attitude as I picked away at this & tried sorting that this morning. Nobody to blame but ourselves for dragging things home from thrift stores, garage sales, & discount stores over the years. Just too many bargains that couldn't be missed....ya right!! Add STUFF to that from my late Mother's house & my Uncles house when he moved into an assisted living facility. We have a brand new set of ladies downhill skis & boots that have never seen snow for example. Been hanging on to that STUFF for about 12 years now in case we take up skiing again. No, that isn't going to happen!! I've got about 40 open end wrenches of all sizes & shapes. Haven't had to use a wrench for anything in years but the brain says better keep them cause you just might need them.....I got one word for you brain......baloney!! Furnace filters for a furnace we don't even have. And light bulbs!! Got more light bulbs here than the whole city of Las Vegas has. And how about those old paint cans that have been sitting here for years freezing up & drying out every winter. A man just never knows when he might need a dab of paint you know.........baloney!! And would you believe we have STUFF that we don't even know we have. I know that when STUFF is moved......there is gonna be more STUFF behind it!! And more STUFF behind that!!!! And how did all these priceless little treasures we dragged home over the years slowly turn into STUFF. Well, the little treasures didn't change but we sure did. I think RVing has brought our heads around over the last couple of years & shown us the folly of our ways. When we are on the road traveling we get along just fine with whatever we have. With the limited space of an RV we have to tune ourselves into a different mindset. Less is better & we travel very light & lean. Many times while on the road we have remarked how silly it seems to have all that STUFF at home that we very rarely ever use. We always vow to take care of that problem as soon as we get home.....ya right!! Now, in defense of ourselves let me say this because there has been some definite progress on our part this past year. We are no longer dragging junk home. I have stopped reading the Canadian Tire Flyers searching for bargoons on things we may or may not need. Kelly isn't frequenting the scratch & dent stores anymore & she has curtailed her thrift store purchases to just about zero. I'm not in the garden centers anymore loading up on flowers, shrubs, & plants either. Basically we have that part of our new "light & lean" plan under control. We have stopped the flow of STUFF coming in. It is now up to us to implement step 2 which is getting all this existing STUFF going out. Say, anybody need a dozen screw drivers.............

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

GUESS WE'RE JUST KIND OF AN ODD COUPLE

A LONE SEAGULL WINGS IT'S WAY ALONG THE BEACH TO-DAY

We were just heading out the driveway on our daily walk a couple weeks ago when our friend & neighbor Gayle came walking across the road with an envelope in her hand. As she approached us she said, "happy anniversary." For a few seconds neither Kelly or I knew what she meant & I figure the puzzled looks on our faces prompted Gayle to say, "it's your wedding anniversary isn't it?" Well, she was right & if it hadn't been for Gayle reminding us we would have blown right past the date again for another year. Needless to say we were both pretty red faced as we opened Gayles lovely hand made anniversary card. It is one of many she has remembered for us over the years. DEERPARK'S VOLLEYBALL COURTS AWAIT THE SUMMER'S GUESTS

I think most normal people remember birthdays, anniversaries, & special occasions but then again Kelly & I haven't been like most people. We're kind of an odd couple of sorts as far as mainstream goes. We did exchange cards & things when we first met but eventually got away from that figuring why spend money on expensive cards that only end up in a drawer or on a shelf collecting dust anyway. Besides, the Coutts-Hallmark card company was already a multi-million dollar enterprise so why give them any more money when we could use it ourselves!! Flowers never made a lot of sense to either one of us either. They were expensive one day & stone dead two days later. And besides, what a waste of a beautiful flower's life. We don't do gifts for Christmas or birthdays either. We just consider them ordinary days. Our monies are integrated & anything we buy like a TV, vehicle, toaster, garden rake, or whatever is considered a sharing gift. Well, something like that anyway. The concept works for us ok but probably not for a lot of people.

DEERPARK LODGE IS GETTING A NEW SET OF STAIRS TO THE BEACH THIS YEAR

Before we met, Kelly had led a very busy social & family life & never had a lot of time for herself. I came from a slightly less social life but was already beginning to tire of it so the timing was perfect for us to meet. Kelly had had enough of the social scene & I was feeling the same so after a couple of years going out to-gether we found ourselves an old abandoned farm house way out in the country with lots of wide open spaces & no social commitments. We just kind of happily disappeared from everything & everybody:)) I THINK THERE'S ENOUGH ROOM ON THAT LANDING FOR AN ICE CREAM SHOPPE

We worked hard on that old 2 story brick house to make it livable & ended up quietly staying there for nearly 7 years. I think it was this period of time that changed both of us forever. We knew there was no going back to city living for either one of us. Why drive to big noisy traffic congested cities to do things we weren't really interested in doing in the first place anyway. Our interests in social events just kind of faded away. Figured it made a whole lot of sense to do the things we wanted to do instead of what other people wanted us to do. As I mentioned before, both of us had spent many years doing the social thing & by the time we met we were both way overdue for a huge change in our lives. Fortunately we had the same interests, dreams, & desires. The old abandoned farm house & life in the country was only the beginning for us & it was here that the basis for our future RV dreams began to take shape. The stage was set for our many tranquil boondocking adventures ahead......................:))

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

PLEASE, NO MORE RICE!!

OUR PRICKLY PEAR GARDEN

Blogging is so much easier when a person has interesting things to blog about & it is one of the big advantages of being out on the road traveling. New sights & sounds almost daily. New excitements & challenges. Seems the mind is much more alive too. These home routines become just that......routines. Not much to write about some days. A JUNE VISITOR IN OUR PRICKLY PEAR PATCH

Oh there are some pretty good rants I could get into but everytime I do that I feel kind of guilty for a couple days so don't ever ask me about......TV Evangelists!!!! FLOWERS AROUND THE FROG POND

Kelly will be in Spencerport New York for a couple more days so me & the guys are doing fine. I get to eat all the peanut butter sandwiches & bowls of Cheerios I want. I'm not one much for cooking. Oh I can cook stuff alright but I just choose not to. Seems like a lot of uninteresting work or something. Kelly does all the cooking because she enjoys it plus we kind of eat different things. And besides, she's a great cook. She likes that leafy green stuff & rice, etc. Had to finally tell her a few weeks ago........please, no more rice for me, I can't take it anymore. I have been trying to like rice ever since she made me start eating the darn stuff a few years ago. The only rice I ever met that I liked was rice pudding. I was raised on potatoes thank you very much. And I've never understood the connection between men & barbecuing. Why is that such a man's thing anyway. It's not like those slabs of meat on the grill are armed & dangerous or something. Kelly does a fine job on the barby. I wouldn't even know how to turn it on!! Guess I'm just not a food person. If we didn't have to eat to stay alive I probably wouldn't bother with it in the first place. No matter what place we go to when we're traveling I generally get the same thing. A burg & fries.....amen. LOTS OF JUNE GREENERY

It is now June which is the nicest month of the year as far as everything looking so lush & green. When we first moved here nearly 7 years ago there was no landscaping on this property & things looked pretty drab. I set out to grow a jungle around our place & it is now all coming to fruition. So nice to finally be enclosed by Mother Nature's greenery. But, it's almost a full time job for me now just keeping my very jungle from swallowing us up every 5 months of the year. But if ya got to get swallowed up....................it's a nice way to go:)) IRIS FLOWERS

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

A FOLLOW UP TO LAST NIGHT'S BLOG

Rained all day so that put the damper on my gardening activities real quick. Even the 3 furry Amigos didn't want to go far this morning. Just ended up being one of those days for alternating between the computer & the television. Just as well though because I pulled a muscle in my right leg yesterday moving rocks around so to-day was a healing day.

Once again there was nothing to blog about to-day but I do have a follow up blog to last night's re-blog about my coffee cup. Shortly after posting that blog in September of 08 I had a visit from an old friend & co-worker. After she left, I wrote the following blog..................

Phone rang around noon this past Thursday & it was my old former Town & Country Boss, Marie, saying she was headed out our way & would I be home for a few minutes. "Sure," I said, "Come on over." Marie had been the very busy, dedicated, & very efficient dispatcher co-coordinator person at the company where I am still a part time mobility van driver. I used to be a full time driver there until we started going south for the winters & am now just part time in the spring, summer, & fall. Marie had been a great boss for the past 4 & a half years & we worked well to-gether. About 3 years ago Kelly & I gave Marie a big "Teamwork" coffee mug for Christmas & it always sat on her busy desk between daily coffee runs to the office's coffee machine. Back in the spring of this year Marie left Town & Country but we have kept in touch since then & it was nice of her to drop in. She has followed our Bayfield Bunch blog adventures over the past year & read the blog about me losing my old best coffee cup buddy a few weeks ago.

Before leaving last Thursday Marie reached into her purse & pulled out a very familiar looking coffee mug. It was the "Teamwork" mug Kelly & I had given her for Christmas years ago. She said, "and here's your newest best buddy." What a sweet thought from such a sweet person. I noticed a folded piece of paper in the mug but didn't open it until after Marie had left. I couldn't take a chance on getting all emotional you know, just in case there was something nice written on that piece of paper. We men have a bad habit of keeping up macho appearances sometimes & I'm sure no exception. Well, there was something nice written on that note & I have decided to share those thoughts...............Thanks Marie & I never even thought to give you a big hug:((

You can click the last 2 pics to enlarge them..........

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A BLAST FROM THE PAST BLOG

It's Sunday night in the sleepy pine forest. Spent the day in the gardens again & I'm sitting here at the computer trying to get the old tired brain motivated to-night. Not having much luck so I've opted to pull another blast from the past blog out of the hat. I wrote this one nearly a year ago when I accidentally caused the total destruction of my right hand pal. I call it............Ode To My Coffee Cup


It happened so quickly & my old friend was gone. In a hurry, coffee in hand, I headed out the back door to-day to see what the doggy guys were barking at. Not wanting to put my coffee pal in harm's way I reached out to set him on the deck railing whilst I headed down the steps to do battle with what was probably a chipmunk making faces at little Cora. It was the "thunk" behind me & the tell tale sounds of breaking pottery that reached my ears before my brain did. I knew instantly, my favorite coffee cup had just bit the dust. No point in even looking back as I continued out into the back yard to have words with the furry cast of noisy characters. It was good I had something to focus on for a few minutes before returning to....pick up the pieces:((My old friend & I first met in the Apache Canyon Trading Post near the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico back on December 22, 2006. The Bayfield Bunch had stopped in to have a look around after exploring the Carlsbad Caverns earlier in the day. I'm not much for hanging around in gift shops too long so after a quick amble through the place I was headed back for the door when I spotted him sitting quietly with a bunch of his brightly painted pottery friends on a shelf by the window.He had a tanned adobe look with colorful markings & a name that read, New Mexico. And I liked his black glazed interior. A handsome devil indeed. I knew right away we were made for each other as I gently lifted him up off the shelf & headed for the counter. It was the beginning of a friendship that would last nearly 2 years with many memorable moments spent to-gether, relaxing hand in hand. Sometimes beside me as we enjoyed many desert campfires, sometimes riding for endless miles up on the dash of the motorhome scouting the way ahead. There were times he helped me outside in my various projects around home, & other times rode with me to work. Occasionally he went missing for a day or two until I was able to locate him again sitting on a stump in the garden or a rock out in the yard someplace, just where I had carelessly left him. But most often as not, he was right here on my desk beside the computer as I plunked away at the dusty keys day after day.I will glue him back to-gether & then set him on a shelf near my bed where he will remain a fond memory of many, many, happy days gone by...............................I am going to miss my old traveling buddy. I am going to miss him a lot.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

NOT MUCH NEW:((

CHECKERS IS WAITING FOR HER LITTLE PAL CHIPPY CHIPMUNK TO COME OUT OF HIS HOUSE UNDER THAT ROCK & PLAY BALL

It's Saturday night & the second storm in a matter of hours is upon us as winds & rain sweep across Lake Huron from the far Michigan shores. Temperatures have plummeted so I had better get my woolies out again. MAYBE HIS MOM WON'T LET HIM COME OUT TO PLAY TO-DAY

Kelly's headed off to Spencerport New York in the morning for a few days to help her ailing Mother & Father as they deal with more medical issues & Doctor's appointments. Her Dad was in the U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima in the second world war & that marine in him is still fighting hard against the harsh adversaries of illness. WELL DAD, I'VE BEEN HERE AN HOUR NOW...........

My day to-day was much like the previous couple days. Wheelbarrowing pea stone, planting ferns & hostas, lining pathways with rocks, moving firewood logs, & a ka-zillion million other little things in between. Although my muscles are howling in protest I am so glad that I have finally got back into the swing of things again. Sure took a long time to get myself active this spring. Same thing happened last spring but my down time wasn't as long as this year. I have no idea what this means but I suspect it has something to do with this miserable aging process:((

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

TOOK THE BIG WHEELS FOR A SPIN THIS MORNING

GATHERING STORM CLOUDS IN FRONT OF DEEPPARK LODGE'S HUTCH

Decided to take the big wheels for a drive this morning. First time the rig has been on the road since our return at the end of March. Everything checked out & ran smooth as toast. I could tell she just wanted to keep on going & going & going. Remember Nancy Sinatra's song, "These Boots Are Made For Walking??" Well, these Motorhomes are made for driving.....10-4:)) THIS LONE SAILBOAT RACES FOR SAFE HARBOR IN FRONT OF THE APPROACHING STORM

It has always amazed me how our yard outside can go from absolutely barren, gray, & desolate looking in the winter time to a lush emerald green tropical jungle look just a few months later. It is the upside of living in a land of changing seasons. The weather never really has time to get too boring & to-day was a good example of that. It was a picture perfect sunny day but about mid afternoon I thought I heard thunder out over the lake. Checked the weather map on the computer & sure enough we had a storm bearing down on us. Grabbed a camera & drove the short 2 miles over to Deerpark Lodge on the cliffs overlooking Lake Huron & snapped a few pics. Minutes later the rain was upon us & less than an hour after that we were in brilliant sunshine again. Gotta love this kind of weather. I'M DOING THE DRIVING THIS MORNING & THE BISBEE KIDS AT LOWER LEFT ARE WATCHING THE ROAD

Have you ever noticed that even though you are retired you still look forward to Fridays even though your not in the 5 day work loop anymore. TGIF:)) That is something ingrained in all of us right from kindergarten or grade one. We live our whole lives based on a 5 day school or work week with 2 days off on what we call a week-end. That is basically the rule for as long as we live. In latter years when many people retire & are no longer in the weekly grind they still look forward to Fridays & the end of the week. Makes no difference if every day is the same now, we still get that revved up feeling as the week-end approaches. TGIF....Thank Goodness It's Friday:)) MAX'S EARS ARE UP AS HE SENSES DEER AHEAD ON THE FOREST TRAIL

Funny how things work sometimes. Two days ago I was standing in our back yard thinking I should really go out to the bush & dig up some ferns to plant along the new privacy fence. To-day the phone rings & it's my friend Bruce on the other end saying his wife has just dug out a bunch of ferns in a neighbor's garden & if I don't want them she's going to take them to the dump. Have you ever seen a vapor trail behind a mini-van!! I was over there in a flash & ended up bringing home about 40 ferns. Like I said, funny how things work sometimes..........................................:)) THIS MORNING'S DEW ON A SPIDERWEB

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A VERY SOGGY DAY IN SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO

A QUICK PHOTO OF RAINY RURAL ONTARIO ON MY WAY TO LONDON THIS MORNING

I generally start my day with Goober, Floyd, Howard, Barney, Opie, Aunt Bee, & Andy at 5 a.m. Back to back episodes of the Andy Griffith Show followed by an interesting hour long program called Flightpath (about aircraft) lead into 60 minutes of laughs with Sam, Norm, Cliff, Woody, Carla, Rebecca, Frasier, & Liluth at the Cheers bar in downtown Boston. Nothing like that whistling tune of the Andy Griffith Show & the Cheers theme song to get anybody's day started off on the right foot. By 8 a.m. I'm armed with a good attitude (as long as I don't watch the morning news) & haul myself out of my recliner & take on another day of life's challenges which in turn reminds of the phrase, some days are better than other days.......sometimes!!

To advertise or not to advertise on the blog is something I've been thinking about for a long time. Personally I prefer to read blogs that are not cluttered with distracting, confusing, & uninteresting ads. I have come across some blogs that were so loaded with advertising it was hard to find the writer's actual blog. I have a short attention span for that sort of thing so just kept right on going. The advantage of advertising of course is the extra revenue for the RVing blogger. And we all can use extra income for sure. I guess if it was something I personally believed in or used I might consider it but until then I prefer the appearance of a clean non cluttered blog. Some blogs have music playing when you open them so I generally pass those blogs as well because when we are on the road with our limited bandwidth Verizon internet program every megabyte of use becomes very important & I don't want them used up by somebody else's music preferance. Besides, the music can become very annoying........very quickly!!

WAITING OUTSIDE OF UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN THE POURING RAIN

Well, I really botched that President Obama joke in Wednesday's blog. When that joke landed on my desktop it said they were moving a lump of coal to Mount Rushmore. Of course my logical mind read that & couldn't make the connection between a lump of coal & Mount Rushmore because we all know those famous Presidents were carved out of solid rock, not coal. Just figured the joke writer had chosen a poor example of rock so I went about re-writing the joke to say they were moving a large piece of granite rock. Afterall, the jokes focus was about President Obama being on Mt Rushmore......right?? Hmmmmm!! It wasn't until this morning when Kelly brought it to my attention about the connection between the coal's color & President Obama that I got the meaning of it. Now, here's the question......Would I have still included that joke in the blog if I had known the connection between the coal's color & President Obama. No, I would not have put it in the blog because it is obviously a very slanted rascist remark & I don't believe in that kind of thinking.

Nice drive to London's University Hospital with the mobility van in pouring rain this morning. At one point north of the city cars were pulled off on the roadside because of poor visibility. Lots of standing water in the fields & I also noticed the newly planted corn is up about 2 inches already. That rain continued until well after I was home so didn't get much done on my backyard project. Dumped 2 wheelbarrow loads of pea stone & that was it. Looking like a great weather day to-morrow so I'll have that wheelbarrow & shovel just a smokin first thing in the morning. Well, right after Norm & Cliff leave the bar that is:)) MANAGED TO SPREAD SOME MORE PEA STONE LATE THIS AFTERNOON

And remember, as of to-day there are 210 days left untill Christmas so you had better get your list started.

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MOVIN THE STONES, DODGING THE RAIN, MOVIN THE STONES!!

LILACS IN A PINE FOREST

I knew I would have to be fast on my feet this morning when I checked the local weather on the computer. Lots of rain headed our way with short breaks between the showers. Had a lot of pea stone to move so played cat & mouse with the big rain monster. Sometimes the mouse managed to move 4 or 5 wheelbarrow loads before getting swamped on by the great waterfall in the sky. Despite a raincoat I still ended up changing to 3 dry shirts eventually. There was no rush to move the pea stones but I woke up with the bit in my teeth this morning & just wanted to get outside & get at it........rain or shine!! Between downpours I zipped into the house & dashed off a few emails until the rain quit again & then back outside shoveling furiously before the next deluge. Finished the carport & am now working on putting pea stone around the newly renovated firepit area. Managed to replant some ferns & help a friend out with his Picasa photo program for a couple hours along the way too. AND THIS IS PEA STONE

I came across Joe & Sherri's blog last night......Somewhere In Time http://speedysgreatadventure.blogspot.com/ I liked what Joe wrote about this past Monday when he expressed his thoughts & feelings about the problems of aging. The transition from younger man to older man that is being experienced by so many of us RV folks. The slow loss of independance & as Joe puts it, slipping down a rung of the ladder. NEED SOME HELP DAD?? YOUR LOOKING A LITTLE SOGGILY POOPED

Is anyone else out there as confused about garbage bag sizes as I am!!!! Ever since our local garbage collector made everyone change from green garbage bags to clear garbage bags awhile back we've had a heck of a time finding the right size to fit our garbage can. It's doubly confusing up here in Canada because of all this centimeter & liter stuff. For example what is this 66cm x 91cm or 26po x 36po stuff all about. I know what po is because that is what I am right now about all this!! And 133 liter bags. What are ya going to dump in that one, an old Volkswagon!! One lady wanted us to measure the width of our garbage can which was a nineteen & a half inches. She said a 26 inch bag would fit....it didn't!! We've got garbage bags coming out our ears & none of them fit. Whaddya do with 57,492 garbage bags ya can't use. Then we decided to get a bigger sized garbage can with a lock proof lid to keep the coons out. So what are we gonna use for bags in that one......parachutes, because we later find out the store that sold the garbage can doesn't have the bags to fit them now. "Awwww rubbish" I said to the clerk. "Isle 42 section A sir for the rubbish department" she said to me. Ya, just as I thought.....& exited the store!!OK GUYS LET'S GO GET SOME COFFEE & DOGGY BISCUITS

To-morrow morning I'm off to London's University Hospital with a lady in the mobilty van. That will give me a nice break from fencing & wheelbarrowing for a few hours & also give me a chance to see if the farmers are planting their crops right side up this year. Hey, don't laugh, last year I saw a farmer sticking car fenders in his field & it turns out he had a bumper crop:)) FINALLY GOT THE CARPORT DONE

And this traffic advisory just landed on my desktop. If your out in South Dakota at the moment & traveling on I-90 you had better listen up.......

Interstate 90 across the State of South Dakota will be closed from 0800 hrs until 1700 hours on the 28th of May 2009 while they will be attempting to haul a 60,000 ton lump of granite rock across the state so they can add President Obama to Mt Rushmore..... :))

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YA JUST GOTTA LOVE THAT HINDSIGHT STUFF!!

TAKING A 10 SECOND BREAK

Went to sleep wondering why part of my fence fell down yesterday & woke up with the same thought. I must have been doing a lot of fence sitting in the night. Slipped outside early to have a look around before any of the neighbors gathered for their morning chuckle. ONE OF THE LILAC BUSHES IN OUR BACK YARD

I knew the last 8 foot section was wobbly yesterday but just figured it would be alright until to-day when I could secure it better. I'm still not clear on why it tipped over because it wasn't windy. Could be a small sparrow tried landing on it. I suppose I should have done the deck blocks & poles differently now that I think of it but it's too late for that so I just spent the morning adding supports along the fence. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing!! I'll put a couple more braces in to-morrow & call it a day on the fence project. Spent the afternoon working on re-landscaping that section of the backyard. I like that part:)) I MUCH PREFER SHOVELS & RAKES TO HAMMERS & SAWS

A neighbor & I decided to split on a load of pea gravel. He was needing some for his backyard paths & I was needing some for our car port plus a section of the driveway where the RV sits. Minimum load without a $55 delivery charge is 10 tons so late this afternoon the big dump truck rolled in with a big honking load of pea gravel. He dumped about 6 tons in our driveway & 4 tons in our neighbors. Now I've got to get busy with my little shovel & wheelbarrow & move 6 tons of pea gravel. (sometimes called pea stone because of it's size) I figure my neighbor & I will have arms like Popeye by the end of the week. Actually it will be good exercise & I don't mind it. And besides, with my neighbor's 4 tons against my 6 tons I should be able to out- Popeye him to bits:)) IT WAS COOL ENOUGH THIS MORNING TO GET A FIRE GOING

Like I was saying just a few blogs ago...."I am at my best when I have some kind of challenge in front me." This fence project & upcoming gravel disbursement is just what the doctor ordered & despite some aches & pains I'm feeling not so quite bored this week. Just gotta figure out a way to keep the momentum going...........:)) OK, SO IT'S ANOTHER 10 SECOND BREAK!!

I'm going to add a few more pics to the web album to-night.
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COWP......CREATIVE OUTSIDE WOOD PROJECT

REFLECTIONS

Couldn't have asked for a better weather day to start my back yard privacy fence project. We're not supposed to put up fences here in the park so I had better get used to calling this a creative outside wood project. It isn't actually a fence anyway. Figured it would not only be nice for us but the neighbors as well giving everyone a quiet privacy factor. DANDELION

Hooked up the utility trailer & slipped over to the lumber store in Clinton about 10 this morning. Five deck posts, 5 cement deck blocks, 4 privacy lattice 4x8 sheets, 8 2x4's, 16 brackets, & a pound of wood screws. Yep, that oughta do er!! Probably took me the best part of an hour just to get the first 8 foot section set up. Hadn't done anything like this for quite awhile so I seemed to be making a lot of measuring mistakes, fumbling with screws, dropping things, & just kind of making a big muddle of everything. By the time I was ready to tackle the second section, I had managed to gather to-gether enough smarts to actually get in the swing of things & from then on the project went smoother. MY PROJECT BEGINS

We have a lot of greenery in our backyard & that made working very difficult because I was trying to be careful & not break down any young trees or plants. Had to get myself into some pretty awkward positions getting the deck blocks on cement patio stones, etc. Plus trying to get the brackets screwed on while sitting on the ground wedged between Sumacs, wild raspberries, poplar trees, a willow bush, & a Gingko Biloba tree that was trying it's darndest to skewer me with it's branches. But, the hardest part is always.......getting up. It seems that at this age & stage of the game once I've got my 212 pounds down on the ground it's no easy matter getting myself up into the vertical position again. I should probably have a cell phone tied around my neck in case I have to call for a front end loader to come in & hoist me back up with it's bucket. Being entangled in all the branches around me didn't make things any easier either. Good thing nobody was around with a video camera or I could have ended up on You Tube as the laugh of the month!! IT'S THAT LAST SECTION ON THE LEFT THAT HAS APPARENTLY FALLEN OVER

Well wouldn't ya know it.......Kelly just came in the computer room with the news that part of my project has fallen over. Well, that's normal. I was a little worried when I had finished up the last section to-day & it was looking tooooooo good. Not normal. I'll deal with the problem in the morning. I"m too embarrassed to go out of the house right now. Oh dear...............................:((

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