THE 'HAPPY WANDERERS' LOST THEIR 5TH WHEEL IN A FIRE TODAY

A FEW SAILBOATS & THEIR CREATIVE NAMES AS I WALKED ALONG THE DOCK THIS WEEKEND
Here is a sad RV story that could happen to any RV'er at any time.  Today, full timers Ed & Marilyn from THE HAPPY WANDERERS lost their 5th wheel in a fire near St. Joseph MO.  They did manage to save their truck.  I imagine those folks could be using a whole lot of support right about now.

THIS CATAMARAN LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A STAR TREK MOVIE

I could have put a sign at the end of the driveway this morning saying, AL’s Car Wash. Temps were a little cooler & that energized me enough to get out the hose & bucket & set to work washing the Jeep. I’m sure the Jeep felt a little insulted to have some of the prestige's mud washed off but I was kind of in a shiny sparkly mood I guess. I was careful to leave my little patch of California’s Blair Canyon mud on the front end near the driver’s side headlight. While I had the hose out I figured I might as well have a go at the Motor Home too so managed to get the whole bottom half washed. Kelly returned home after a few hours at work & I figured, awwww shucks what the heck, & washed the Santa Fe as well.

 

I ALWAYS FEEL SOOOOOOO GUILTY WHENEVER I GO ANYWHERE NOW IN THE JEEP & HAVE TO LEAVE THAT SAD LITTLE FACE IN THE WINDOW...TAKE ME DAD, TAKE ME...
I sometimes turn on CNN for a few minutes in the morning if for no other reason than to get myself caught up on all the bad stuff that is happening in the world. You can imagine my surprise when the ‘Arizona fires’ was the second story after the lead story complete with videos & an interview with Senator John McCain on the probable source of the Monument Fire. I had a look at CNN’s 4 o’clock news & again more coverage of the devastating fires complete with a CNN reporter on the ground in Sierra Vista with a live report. Kelly was laughing saying they must have read my post last night. 
 

 
And this quote from the Sierra Vista Herald today: "Conditions are so bad in Arizona that the head of the U.S. Forest Service paid the area a visit today, declaring the Monument Fire the highest-priority fire in the country."
An ‘Anonymous’ reader left this comment on yesterday’s post…."The fire in Arizona is simply nature taking its course and there isn’t any loss of human life associated with it. The news media appears to be giving this fire the attention it merits. (referring to my Saturday post about little coverage...AL) You appear to have a special interest in this area but that doesn’t mean everyone else does or should. What exactly would more news coverage accomplish anyway?”....... Well, Mr Anonymous commenter person, there is much I could say here about your comment but I will let the commenter's who came after you say it best, if you care to go back & read their thoughts in my Saturday post. I hope you will rethink what you said & understand the seriousness of the fire situation regardless of where it is. I suggest you read this….MONUMENT FIRE.
 

MORNING SAIL BOAT CHORES BEFORE HEADING OUT ONTO LAKE HURON FOR THE DAY 
And, one last thought about Anonymous commenter's. Are they really always Anonymous or could they be people we may actually know sometimes. Just a thought.

LOOKS LIKE MOM HAS THE KIDS OUT FOR A MORNING PADDLE

The Bayfield Bunch welcomes a new blog Follower today.  Looks like MARK & CHRIS'S PHAETON PLACE has some mighty fine professional photography happening over there.  Nice looking stuff guys & welcome aboard.

I THINK THESE TWO SQUABBLERS ARE FINALLY BECOMING PALS

A few blogs ago I mentioned about maps bringing back many memories. I think the ultimate map trip down memory lane is Google Earth which you may actually have on your computer right in front of you. Using my Google Earth machine I spent nearly an hour last night cruising around my old home town of Tavistock Ontario & surrounding area without ever leaving my recliner.

A BLACK SQUIRREL CALCULATES HIS JUMPING DISTANCE TO THE TOP OF THE BIRD STATION BUT THINKS BETTER OF IT....TO DATE I HAVE NOT SEEN ONE SQUIRREL ON THE NEW STATION BUT I DID SEE A BIG RACCOON IN OUR BACK YARD LAST NIGHT!! 
Typing Tavistock into Google Earth flew me straight to the village. I circled around over the town at various altitudes looking for old familiar spots. I could zoom down to a street corner & remember things that happened there. Friends houses brought back many faces & good times. I flew out west of town along an old abandoned railway line to a forest where we once built a double decker tree house. The bush & trees are still there but the tree house is long gone. An old railroad trestle we used to call the Red Bridge stands alone amidst farmer’s fields where railway lines used to run. I could see our old swimming hole just north of the bridge.

THIS WAS MY MOTHER'S HOUSE IN TAVISTOCK ONTARIO WHERE I SPENT MY TEENAGE YEARS (THE ORIGINAL GOOGLE STREET VIEW IMAGE IS MUCH CLEARER THAN THIS COPY)

Back in Tavistock I was able to zoom down to street level & drive right up my old street, stop in front of my Mother’s house & with one control I could do a 390 degree swing round seeing not only up & down the street but both sides of the street. I was able to sit there on the road & see our house. Our front living room window, white columned posts on the porch supporting a large balcony. I could see my bedroom window, our side porch where I always parked my bicycle. There’s the bumpy lawn I always hated mowing. The steps where my Grandfather liked to smoke his pipe. I could see the Ivy covering the side of the house & in my mind's eye I could see all of us sitting on the front porch on warm sunny Sunday afternoons oh so many years ago.  My Mother, my step Dad, my Grandfather, my Uncle, our crippled little dog named Tiny Tim.....& me.  So, if you haven’t been back to your old home town for awhile, climb aboard your Google Earth machine, type in where you want to go & time travel yourself back home for some good old long ago home town memories. Set aside some time for doing this because your trip down memory lane may be a long one once you get there.  It always is for me.........................:))

I KINDA LIKED THE DARK GREEN HULL ON THIS SAILBOAT ACROSS THE BAYFIELD RIVER 

GROANER’S CORNER:((

My wife's from the Midwest. Very nice people there. Very wholesome. They use words like 'Cripes'. 'For Cripe's sake.' Who would that be -- Jesus Cripe's? The son of 'Gosh' of the church of 'Holy Moly'? I'm not making fun of it. You think I wanna burn in 'Heck'?

---------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.

A NICE WEEKEND FOR BAYFIELD'S 'SAIL & CANVAS'

Finally, a perfect weather weekend for Bayfield’s annual Sail & Canvas weekend They sure have had their fair share of bad weather for this event over the past few years.  I did manage to grab a few sailboat photos from atop the cliffs at Pioneer Park but didn’t stop in town for any pics. I’ll do that another time when things are a little quieter in this former little fishing village.

    
The humidity in the air caused a bit of haze out over the lake today so the horizon was not discernable. An optimal photographic day for sailboats would be temps a bit cooler with big white fluffy clouds in a blue sky. Not enough wind today to get the boats healed over cutting through the waves with wide bow waves & frothy wakes. Not many colored sails on the boats either but I did manage to grab a few photos anyway. 

For any of you creative arts & crafts people out there I thought you might be interested in seeing a fellow blogger’s site documenting her step by step procedure in creating wall mountable animal heads. May I add here that no real animals were harmed or lost their actual heads in this process:))  A lot of time, effort & materials goes into Merikay's work. She is on her 4th post now but if you click on this MERIKAY link it will take you to her first post where she begins the process & you can follow along on her blog from there. She is currently working on 6 heads that will later be shipped to a customer in London Ontario Canada.

    

If you ever wondered how cute a little Biscuit dog can be then just check out RETIRED ROD'S blog today. Jim & Dee, the TUMBLEWEED folks, made it across the border into Canada OK & are currently spending some time & checking out the sights with Sandra & Gordon from the NOT SO NIGHTLY NEWS near Ottawa. Ever been on the road to hell!! JIM, SANDIE, SCOOTER & SKITTLEZ just spent some time there…..& lost a few parts along the way.

Been awhile since I had myself a little rant so here goes. Sure seems to me Arizona certainly does not get it’s fair share of news coverage. Along with the 3 major fires burning now a fourth fire has started. CNN made casual mention of it this morning calling it the Antelope fire but didn’t even mention in what part of Arizona it was. They then quickly switched to coverage of a smaller fire in Georgia which is closer to their home base of Atlanta of course. On tonight’s ABC news a small 35 acre brush fire in Texas made the news but no coverage of the thousands & thousands of acres burning in Arizona right now!! Had any of these Arizona fires been burning in California’s glitzy Hollywood Hills I’m sure the major news channels would be all over it.

   

Countless wildlife has already been lost in the Arizona fires with thousands & thousands of acres being consumed & reduced to ash daily. People have lost their homes, areas are being evacuated & the city of Sierra Vista is threatened. We know 2 of these fire areas well & people living in & near them. Many are Blogging, Facebooking & Twittering about how serious these fires are & many are helping by volunteering their time, vehicles & trailers to help save horses & cattle in the path of the flames. Only casual mention is made of all this by the major news channels like CNN. They are more interested in their tunnel vision reporting on Weinergate & anything else that can be sensationalized to boost their ratings.
  
Whitney from Gleason Arizona posted this on Facebook today….”Friends, the fires here just keep getting more and more out of control with NO hope of putting them out. The Chiricaua Mountain Fire started on Mother's Day and burns hotter everyday. Temps are in the 100's and 40-50 mph winds. Please Pray for the firefighters, homeowners, people already evacuated, rescue workers, animals.” We who know & love the beautiful land there & feel your pain Whitney.
   
Reader Richard R from Windsor Ontario sent me an email with some renovation ideas for the bird station. I have already removed that big mossmagator board at the front but think I will leave the roof flat so the birds can walk around & perch on it. The metal skirt on the post is a good idea but metal work is well beyond my non existent tin smith skills. And a word of thanks as well to all the other folks who have sent in ideas & comments on how to deal with those pesky Squirrels & Coons. The battle continues………………………

GROANER'S CORNER:(( 

A carpenter was giving evidence about an accident he had witnessed. The lawyer for the defendant was trying to discredit him and asked him how far away he was from the accident.

The carpenter replied, "Twenty-seven feet, six and one-half inches."

"What? How come you are so sure of that distance?" asked the lawyer.

"Well, I knew sooner or later some dam fool idiot would ask me so I measured it!" replied the carpenter.

---------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.

MY NEW BIRD STATION IS A BUST:(((((

ONE OF MY FAVORITE FILE PICS FROM A SWAMP NEARBY 

Well, my new bird station was a big bust:((  The two feeders in it were totally empty this morning with birdseed scattered all over the platform & on the ground.  One of the feeders had been moved so I suspect the work of a Raccoon & not Squirrels.  It was done in the night & that is the time of the Raccoon.  So far I have not seen a single Squirrel on the new structure.  However, I was so discouraged it was all I could do to keep myself from taking the whole bird station down & just forgetting about the whole thing.  I did remove both bird feeders today though.

BOTH THESE BIRD FEEDERS WERE EMPTY THIS MORNING WITH SEEDS SCATTERED FAR & WIDE.  SQUIRRELS ARE BAD ENOUGH BUT RACCOONS ARE FAR WORSE 

We do have a couple Squirrel proof feeders  up but I like the bird station idea because I enjoy watching the birds just hanging out on the platform.  The Mourning Doves especially like sitting there for long periods of time.  Right now the Squirrels are cleaning up all the seeds on the ground & the Grackles are scooping up what has been spilled on the bird station platform.  Kelly said to leave the station standing so guess that is what I will do for now.

Little Cora was needing a Jeep fix this morning so the two of us took a spin up to Goderich for breakfast & split a single Burrito at McDonalds.  We sure miss the big guys:((

KELLY SNAPPED THIS PIC A COUPLE EARLY MORNINGS AGO & ALTHOUGH I HAD JUST GOT UP  I THINK I AM ASLEEP AT THE COMPUTER ALREADY.  YEP, I'M IN MY JAMMIES WITH MY FAVORITE BLANKY ON MY LEGS & MY VERY MUCH MOST FAVORITIST LITTLE MOTORMOUSE ON MY LAP:)) 

Since Max & Checkers are gone we have not been doing our morning walks like we used to.  Cora doesn't seem interested in walking without her two Pals anymore & I must admit we haven't felt much like walking either.  I have not been going for a walk at nights like I used to when Max was here either.  The doggy guys were always our prime reason for walks & without them we seem to have lost our motivation, our purpose & our spirit.  Guess this is all just going to take some time.

Looks like we have ourselves a fine weather weekend coming up for Bayfield's annual Sail & Canvas Days.  There will be lots of sailboats on the lake tomorrow so I will see if I can catch myself a few photos.  There will be a lot of people in town for all the arts & crafts on main street & if I can steel my nerves against the crowds I may wade into the masses with camera in hand.  Then again I may just remain here in the beauty & quietness of our own little jungle in the Pine forest:))

SWAMP SHADOWS 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( 

An old sea captain was sitting on a bench near the wharf when a young man walked up and sat down. The young man had spiked hair and each spike was a different color.... green, red, orange, blue, and yellow.
After a while the young man noticed that the captain was staring at him.

"What's the matter old timer, never done anything wild in your life?

The old captain replied, "Got drunk once and married a parrot. I was just wondering if you were my son!"

---------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.

A NEW BIRD STATION GOES UP & SOME THOUGHTS ON AGING

TURNED OUT TO BE A DAMP MUSHROOMY KIND OF DAY 

Well, the Squirrels finally succeeded in battering down my plastic 'boot tray' defense wall on the bird station & are free once again to make their 8 foot flying leaps off the Pine tree to the bird feeder again.  My usual first frustrated response was to just give up & take the bird station down.  My second usual  thought was to think, 'no way, I'm not giving up that easy!!!!  So, it was off to my work shop with a new bird station defense plan in mind.  Besides, it was a dreary gray day with light rain showers so I needed a project to focus on.

WITH OUR WET SEASON THIS YEAR THINGS ARE REALLY GROWING 

For a guy with few carpentry skills I sure have quite a supply of scrap lumber around. It has been saved from when we had our sunroom, roof, deck & carport construction done over the past few years. I was able to gather enough pieces together today without having to measure or cut anything except one small support piece. It is always a bonus when AL doesn’t have to measure or cut anything.

BEGINNING MY BIRD STATION ASSEMBLY THIS MORNING (NOTE THE CUSTOMARY JC PENNY SHIRT:)) 
By early afternoon the project was assembled, complete with roof & a pine needle stain finish. No fingers or toes were lost in construction, no cuts or scrapes & I don't even remember having to use any bad words.  Mounted my finished bird station creation on the front yard pole, filled 2 feeders with seed & placed them inside.   I use the word 'inside' because this time I put a roof on the place.  Next step is to wait & see how the Squirrels will defeat my design.....& they will defeat my design!!  The ball will then be back in my court to figure out how to plug up the weak spots & fortify the defenses. It is truly a see-saw battle in these Squirrel wars every year.  Some days with Squirrels ya win some & most days ya lose!!

OF COURSE ALL THE WHILE I AM WORKING ON MY PROJECT I AM BEING CLOSELY WATCHED BY THE ENEMY!!

  

THE TWO BIRD FEEDERS CAN BE TAKEN OUT & FILLED PLUS I PUT THE ROOF ON TO PROTECT THE FEEDERS FROM RAIN...HOPING THE LARGE BOARD AT FRONT WILL DETER THE SQUIRRELS THAT COME UP THE POLE....IF NOT I CAN POST A WARNING SIGN ON IT SAYING 'TRESPASSING SQUIRRELS WILL BE PROSECUTED.'  
It is always interesting to me when I read peoples thoughts or reactions to the inevitable age old problem of aging. Interesting to see how some folks seem to be in denial while others accept the fact & deal with it accordingly in a well thought out manner. I can’t speak for anyone else’s thoughts but I find myself at a point of accepted awareness now with my own aging process.

KELLY TAKES A DEER PARK LODGE RESERVATION WHILE THE MOTORMOUSE KEEPS A CLOSE EYE ON A NEARBY CHIPMUNK  
I think one of the keys to successful aging is learning to adjust, understand, & accept the fact that ‘yes’ things are changing. Knowing my body is not that of a younger man anymore is key to knowing my physical limitations. The same applies for my mind. As frustrating as it is at times & despite my stubborn denial at other times I have to also accept the fact my mind does not necessarily approach life’s challenges the way it once did, nor can it handle them the same way it once did. Easily solvable problems sometimes appear difficult & the brain has to rewire itself to work around them & approach things with a different way of thinking. Understanding some instruction manuals has become a real challenge in itself & that’s where I have run into problems with a lot of the new age techno stuff, so I have a tendency to avoid it. My days are much less frustrating that way.

A RED WINGED BLACKBIRD IS THE FIRST TO STOP BY & TRY OUT THE NEW BIRD STATION  
It is the daily conflict between that youthful energetic young man who lives within myself & the aging older fella who also resides here. The young man becomes impatient with the older man’s slower ways & is harsh in his criticism of the older man’s forgetfulness & sometimes challenged learning abilities. With the enlightenment & experience of many years, the older man understands the younger man’s impatience & can only hope that acceptance & understanding will soon be a part of the younger fellas personality too.  After all, these two guys have to live together in some kind of a friendly working relationship. 

THE MUSHROOM GENERALS GATHERING TOGETHER THE MUSHROOM TROOPS 
Strange how my mind has instant recall on any one of the countless thousands of photographs I have taken over the past 50 years but yet my brain won’t tell me where I have just set a pair of scissors down 5 minutes ago. That short term memory loss is particularly brutal if I am at the computer trying to learn a new program or working on resolving a technical problem. The brain just seems to bog down in a mass of befuddlement. Remembering to return emails & answer comment questions is proving to be a real challenge.  But, ask me about a piece of history, a period of my life many years ago, past people's names or the titles of many music pieces including songs & singers & I may very well have a recollection for you.

CUTE LITTLE GUYS THESE MEANDERING MUSHROOMS ARE 
Here’s an example of one of those things that annoys me. I can be working away in the flower garden at something & decide I need the garden rake. Probably not knowing where the garden rake is I set off to find it, but half way to wherever it was I was going I suddenly can’t remember what it was I was looking for. I then have to retrace my steps back to the flower bed & re-enact what I was doing in order to spark that very same thought process again.  I know things are not as they once were, but I am becoming aware of how important it is to roll with the changes, cut myself some slack & be open minded & aware of this thing they call aging.....10-4:))

A COMMON GRACKLE STOPS BY THE NEW DIGS FOR A BEAK FULL OF PEANUTS 

GROANER'S CORNER:((

A workman was killed at a construction site. The police began questioning a number of the other workers. Based with past brushes with the law, many of these workers were considered prime suspects. They were a motley crew:

The electrician was suspected of wiretapping once but was never charged.

The carpenter thought he was a stud. He tried to frame another man one time.

The glazier went to great panes to conceal his past. He still claims that he didn't do anything; that he was framed.

The painter had a brush with the law several years ago.

The heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor was known to pack heat. He was arrested once but duct the charges.

The mason was suspect because he gets stoned regularly.

The cabinet maker is an accomplished counter fitter.

The autopsy led the police to arrest the carpenter, who subsequently confessed. The evidence against him was irrefutable, because it was found that the workman, when he died, was hammered.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.