“HEY, I RECOGNIZE YOU….YOUR THE BAYFIELD BUNCH”:))

Our walk took a little longer this morning because it is Raspberry season & we have lots of wild raspberries along some sections of the forest trail. Kelly likes her raspberries. Me, I'm still looking for a peanut butter tree.

Heat & humidity were quickly building so Little Miss Most Best & I piled ourselves into the Jeep & headed for Goderich. A quick Walmart stop & then it was into the Zehr's Supermarket for some Yogurt, Cranberry Juice, Peanut Butter & Honey. Only had a few items so I was quickly into the Express Line. With Pheebs in the Jeep during this hot weather I don't waste anytime checking prices, looking for bargains, or squeezing the Charmin in the toilet paper isle. The cashier looked up & said, "hey, I recognize you, your the Bayfield Bunch." Well, nice to be recognized but it always sets off a moment of concern for me.  My mind instantly goes into a lightning fast backtracking blog mode. Have I said something somewhere in one of my opinionated past posts about Zehr's Supermarkets?  Like maybe a frustrating wait in a check-out line or somebody with 712 items piled on their cart in the 8 items or less aisle. What about cashiers wearing red vests, name tags, & orange socks?? Nope, couldn't find anything so I nervously said thanks to the lady who’s name tag identified her as Karen.  She asked me if I was anxious to head south & that put me more at ease.  No sock in the nose coming my way.  I have written a lot of personally silly things over the past 5 years so I'm always expecting one of these days something I have written is going to suddenly jump out of the bushes & bite me.

 

Reading Gypsy's ON THE ROAD AGAIN post this morning I was reminded of a little confidence issue I occasionally have a struggle with. Gypsy & I sometimes experience & blog about similar thoughts, feelings, & emotions, so it was interesting to read how she gathered up some confidence recently, grabbed the bull by the horns & re-installed a pesky window screen she had previously considered beyond her interest or capabilities. Seemingly simple things to others can give some of us confidence challenged folks a pretty darn nice sense of accomplishment at times. And, we have been known to surprise even ourselves with our dormant talents.

Case in point: I sometimes complain that I have trouble hammering a nail in board straight, which of course is true.   And yet, 8 years ago, without any diagrams, blueprints, or help of any kind, I built a wooden shed from scratch, except for the roof trusses. No big deal for most guys but for me it was akin to figuring out how to fly to the moon & back with my arms tied behind my back. I was simply overpowered by a rare burst of confidence that created a time frame for me to build a shed. It allowed me to figure out the size of the shed I wanted to build & what materials I needed to do the job. I had never attempted to build anything in my life so everything was from scratch & I learned as I went along. The floor may not be perfectly level & the corners are definitely out of square & I probably got the window in upside down but my little 8 x 10 wooden shed is still standing strong & in full use to this very day. Another burst of confidence one time allowed me to build a deck on the back of our place including a roof. Even did the roof shingling myself. And, amazingly enough that deck is also still alive & well too. Anyway, it was just a little something I remembered after reading Gypsy's post this morning.

 

My Blog Followers list seemed to be dead in the water for quite awhile & I thought maybe it wasn’t working.  Not wanting to get myself in another big flap about a technical glitch on the site I simply moved it to the bottom end of my sidebar on the right.  Am forgetting to look at it there so was surprised tonight when I happened to notice we had two new Blog Followers.  So, a big Bayfield Bunch welcome to NICOLA GORDON & DEEP CANYON.  Thanks for dropping by folks.  Wow, if this keeps up I just might have to move that list back up front & center again:))

 

And, just to re-affirm JANNA'S comment question in which she asks, "All righty Al, I've discovered the root of any problems you may have--you LIKE?? the smell of a diary farm"???? (what….me have problems, oh say it isn’t so:))  My answer to Janna’s question is a resounding 'yes':)) Have always liked the smell of an old cattle barn with it's hay mows, straw bales, old barn timbers, chickens, horses, & cattle within. To me it all blends together in a pleasant memorable aroma reminding me of things many years ago.  No, I didn’t grow up on a farm but did spend a couple short vacations on one.  Add to that an old dusty radio sitting up on a barn beam somewhere with Hank Williams Senior wailing out some mighty fine mournful tunes on many an early morn.  I think old Hank did his share back in those days in keeping cattle all across North America regular, just a mooin & a pooin. Toss in the jinkling of a few milk cans & the occasional loud holler coming out of the barn from farmer Jones that sounded a lot like,  “move over ya big son-of-ditch"!!

THE GIRLS ARE JUST STAYIN COOL

I'm not much a movie fan anymore. Not that I do not like movies, it's just the kind of movies I do like seem to be very few & far between nowadays. Call me old fashioned or whatever you like but I just don't buy into what seems to be the norm for selling movie tickets anymore. With North America's seemingly fascination with violence, fiery explosions, mega monsters, guns, murders, mayhem & madness at the box office it leaves little of interest for me…… So, how pleasantly surprised I was Sunday night when Kelly put a movie in the DVD player that not only appealed to the young boy in me, but held my undivided attention right from the opening scenes to the finish, including the credits.  It was my kind of movie with lots of colorful characters, fanciful magic, intriguing mystery & suspense.  And, there was an underlying message in this movie that stirred some personal memories for me & tugged a few heart strings.  For me, it was the kind of inspirational movie that drew forth my childhood & placed it right in the movie itself.  I like when that happens.   Loved the simplicity of the French sound track as well. What a pleasure it was to finally find a movie that not only I thoroughly enjoyed, but Kelly thoroughly enjoyed as well.  Only regret we both had was that we did not see this movie in a movie theatre with big screen & big sound.  Two happy thumbs up for................ Hugo:))  

 
GROANER'S CORNER:(( My Father was completely lost in the kitchen and never ate unless someone prepared a meal for him. When Mother was ill, however, he volunteered to go to the supermarket for her. She sent him off with a carefully numbered list of seven items. Dad returned a short while later, very proud of himself, and proceeded to unpack the grocery bags. He had one bag of sugar, two dozen eggs, three hams, four boxes of detergent, five boxes of crackers, six eggplants and seven green peppers.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

- Home is where your pet is:))

- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)

- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

ANOTHER NICE MORNING FOR A BIKE RIDE…AND SMELLS:))

Another fine summer Sunday morning for a relaxing slow bike ride in the countryside. I often mention the beautiful rural scenery but have not mentioned the many smells one encounters on the open seat of a bike.  The sweet smell of roadside flowers can be picked up as well as the fresh smell of new mown hay. A freshly harvested field of wheat has a pleasant aroma as does a roadside apple orchard. The smell of a dairy barn is one of my favourites & a group of horses along a fence line by the road have their own special horse smell.  The scent of Pine trees is always pleasant as well as passing through any kind of a forest.   A gravel country road making it's way through a swampy area opens up a whole new set of olfactory delights as does a herd of cows plop plopping their way across a grassy meadow.  Pig enclosures can be a challenge & not all smells are pleasant.  One learns to take a deep breath & hold it while passing by a ripe road kill. Yep, just another great morning for a mighty fine bike ride it was:)).

Stopped by the Clinton hospital on my way home to visit a neighbor lady. It was a sad visit because it was likely a final good-bye. The lady is very ill & is not expected to make it home again.

WANDERING THROUGH OUR RURAL COUNTRYSIDE

And, it was with sadness I read Peggy McDonald’s post at RV LIVING.NET this morning. With 27 full time years under their belt it was time for one of RV’s best known couples to say their final good-byes. John McDonald passed away Saturday morning after a brief battle with cancer. I had just blogged about Peggy & John a few weeks ago…27 YEARS. My reference to Peggy & John begins about half way through the post.

  

Reading Sue's post this morning from BIGDAWG AND FREEWAY** I could feel her excitement as she & Doug headed out from Coquitlam BC with camper in tow & touched down many hours later in the State of Idaho. I have always found blogging is far more pleasurable while traveling. Changing sceneries are always a natural high for me & it is far easier to keep myself focused on the present instead of past memories & future speculations. Like they say, one foot in tomorrow & another foot in yesterday generally leaves one flat on their ass today. I find that can be disturbingly true. Very rare for me to get down in the dumps while we are on the move either heading for or leaving a place. Always that anticipation of seeing what is just up the road, around the next bend, or over the next hill. Always that apprehension mixed with a touch of fear to give one just that right magical mix of adventure.

Nothing I like better than pulling out my Atlas's after being somewhere for a couple weeks or so & deciding on a new area & location. So nice to be able to change one's surrounding scenery at a whim.

READY FOR MY SEMI-ANNUAL HAIRCUT SATURDAY MORNING:))

I may have mentioned this before but we did find we were getting into a habit the last couple years of re-visiting over & over again some of our favorite places from our first few Snow Birding years. Nice to do that except we we had lost our 'newness excitement' for each of those places. Last winter we kind of hit many of the same old spots with Wickenburg & area being the exception. However, we did hit some new places in New Mexico at the front end of our trip. Two years ago we had some exciting firsts like Joshua Tree National Park & Lone Pine California. Especially liked that whole Lone Pine area & experience. Travelled across Death Valley to the Valley Of Fire in Nevada. Wound up our trip with a first time visit to Canyon De Chelly in Arizona. For me, my favorite part of traveling is seeing new places for the first time. And, you know what, there sure are a lot of new places out there just waiting for us to drop by. Oh how I love that 'WOW' factor:))

---

And, in Monday’s post I will tell you about a great movie I saw tonight…………………..

GROANER'S CORNER:)) Two guys were roaring down the road on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle when the driver slowed up and pulled over. His leather jacket had a broken zipper, and he told his friend, "I can't drive anymore with the air hitting me in the chest like that." "Just put the jacket on backwards" his friend advised. They continued down the road but around the next bend, the driver lost control and wiped out. A nearby farmer came upon the accident and ran to call the police. They asked him, "Are they showing any signs of life?" "Well," the farmer explained, "the driver was until I turned his head around the right way!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

- Home is where your pet is:))

- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)

- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

NICE DAY PUTTERING IN THE GARDENS

LITTLE MENNONITE/AMISH SCHOOL HOUSE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
How nice it was to spend the day puttering in our gardens without feeling like I was in a Turkish steam bath.  The air was actually cool enough this morning to start my brain working & thinking about a little creative gardening again.  Thought myself up a couple new flower bed ideas & changes, so as long at the weather stays cool I might be able to keep that creative process going……………………
---.
Nina over at WHEELING IT has changed the shower head in their RV & after reading her review & how much she likes the new head & why, it will be something we will definitely look into as well.  Any improvement to boondocking showers always get’s my attention every time.  Nina also has some ideas brewing about posting RV tips & hints on a regular basis so anyone interested might want to slip on over there & see what she is up too.

I STOPPED & WAITED FOR MOMMA WILD TURKEY TO HUSTLE THE KIDS ACROSS THE ROAD FRIDAY
And a quick follow-up to Friday night’s post about how those Amish/Mennonite folks get the grains off the stocks.  From my cousin Norma & hubby Jim in Waterloo Ontario…… “ Next the stooks have to be gathered and then put into a threshing machine that separates the grains from the straw.  The grains are bagged and the straw is blown into a mow (hay mow”.  The words ‘threshing machine’ stirred my memory & I do remember that now.  And folks are right, straw is not straw until the grains have been removed from the stock.   Whewwwwww, glad we got all that cleared up.
---
MERIKAY in a comment on Friday night’s post brought up a good questions.  She asks, “Your place in Bayfield seems perfect to me. Why do you want to sell it? Seems like a place you can safely leave for six months a year while down in Az.”  Yes, Merikay is right about being able to safely leave our place for 6 months of the year with no worries.  Like anything, there are always pros & cons & that is one of the biggest pros for us to just stay where we are, which in the end is likely what will happen.  I won’t get into the cons but security is only one of the many pros.  If we absolutely didn’t like the place we live we would never have moved here or would have been gone long ago.  It’s true, this is a very,  very, nice place & that of course is part of our dilemma.  Probably many RV full timers were in the same position at one time & wrestled with the very same decisions about their house that we are wrestling with.  Some folks are content with same-same & other folks like ourselves prefer change-change every once & awhile.  Of course there is more to it than just that, but no point in dragging everyone through the whole pros & cons discussion.  What will be will be I guess………………..

GROANER’S CORNER:((  I don’t need to do booze & drugs anymore……… I now get the same effect just by standing up fast.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
-  The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward   
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF AMISH/MENNONITE COUNTRY

First order of business this morning was to have my stitches from last Friday's minor surgery taken out so it was off to the Medical Clinic in Goderich. Bike or Jeep, Jeep or Bike.....took the Jeep. Expected people to be ahead of me but I was the only there. Another examining room, another sunny side up lay down on a paper draped table bed. Snip, snip, snip, yank, yank, yank, & ouch, ouch, ouch. That was it & I was out the door in about 10 minutes. Now, with a bit of luck, that should be the last of my ' medical ouchies' for the summer.

Kelly had spotted a couple more rural properties so figured I would head off & see if I could find them this morning. They of course were financially beyond us but any excuse I can find to head out on a country drive I will take. Unfortunately, Real Estate has remained high here in Canada & our area is no exception. Found the first 3.5 acre property with an unfinished cottage/house no problem. Three quarters of the property was a Maple & Cedar forest on a quiet country road with no visible neighbors. Now how nice is that. A perfect place for a handyman & outdoors person. Well, I have the outdoors interest alright, but I'm no darn handyman. This property was located about 20 minutes south of Kincardine Ontario.

THIS SETTING WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST ABOUT RIGHT FOR US…… IF ONLY I WAS A SKILLED HANDYMAN

Second piece of property I found about 40 minutes later right smack dab in the middle of Amish/Mennonite country.  This house & property were located in a little country crossroads bit of a place called, St. Helens. Very scenic, very peaceful, but of course, very pricey. No matter though because how nice this morning to see all the neat as a pin farms alongside fields of harvested & stooked golden wheat. Tall waving green corn stalks marched from farm to farm over hill & dale.  So nice to see quiet country roads wandering like sinewy yellow gray ribbons through forests & fields over creeks & rivers. I stopped half a dozen times to take photos & each time the only thing I heard beside the rustling breeze in the trees were homey barnyard sounds coming from near & distant farms. I could hear chickens, the laughter & squeals of children at play, & the clink & clank of farm machinery being attended to. Horses & cows lazily grazed along wooden fence lines. Billy Goats in some fields, sheep in others. A big smiley wave from a couple young fellas going hastily by in their horse drawn buggy.  One lad clutching tightly to his straw hat told me the boys had some speed up. Yes, truly another marvellous few hours spent in one of my favorite outside homes away from home:))

THE LADS WERE CLIPPING RIGHT ALONG

 

And commenter Martha asked, ‘I have a question about the picture of the hay field. Do the Mennonites not bail hay? They look like little stacks of hay’.  Now, I’m going to take a big chance on getting this right.  You might have to help me out here ED.  When grass is cut it has a greenish color & is called hay which is what cattle feed on.  When crops like wheat, oats, & barley are cut, it is what is left over in the field after the grains have been separated that is called straw & that is used for animal bedding.  Both hay & straw can be baled or can be stacked into stooks.  Bales can be round or rectangular.  All of these golden stooks in yesterday & today’s photos come from grain crops, therefore it is straw.  I believe that to be wheat in the photo below.  Oh, & Scarecrow from the Wizard Of Oz was filled with straw as well. (I checked that one on the internet:))

EACH  SHEAVE OF WHEAT IS BOUND WITH BINDER TWINE & STACKED TO MAKE A STOOK…I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THE WHEAT IS CUT OR HOW THE GRAINS ARE SEPARATED FROM THE STOCKS USING THIS METHOD

On my way home today I couldn't help but once again make some comparisons. Just as in many of the quiet desert areas we prefer in the south-west, I feel at ease in our rural countryside here in Ontario. Kelly feels much the same way & that is why we have concentrated our ‘some day’ real estate search efforts rurally. Most folks like to live close to other folks but our preference is to be further away from all that & closer to nature. Times change, interests shift, & after 7 adventuress years spent living in the country over a decade ago, we both have a definite desire to return to that preferable way of life some day:))

  

LARGE ROUND STRAW BALES MADE BY A MACHINE & SMALLER STOOKS STACKED BY HAND

In the latest issue of ONE-MINUTE ASTRONOMER I especially liked the last line in the current topic, 'The Constellation Sagittarius.' The line is....." Just find a good reclining chair, some dark sky, and lie back and gaze at the frosty star fields of Sagittarius and imagine you’re flying along the plane of the Milky Way, unfettered by Earthy worries, going farther and faster and seeing things that few humans will ever see". It is the words, 'unfettered by Earthly worries' that leap off the page at me. Unfettered by Earthly worries……can you just imagine the peace, serenity & tranquility that must bring. And, I liked the line, 'how I have always dreamed of going farther and faster & seeing things that few humans will ever see'. If only, alas, if only it were more than a dream. If only I could bring myself to believe in the true reality of that. If only................

SNAGGED YOU A COUPLE WINDMILLS TODAY MIKE:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A busload of politicians were driving down a country road, when suddenly the bus ran off the road and crashed into an old farmer's barn. The old farmer got off his tractor and went to investigate. Soon he dug a hole and buried the politicians. A few days later, the local sheriff came out, saw the crashed bus and asked the old farmer where all the politicians had gone. The old farmer told him he had buried them.

The sheriff asked the old farmer, "Lordy, were they ALL dead?"

The old farmer said, "Well, some of them said they weren't, but you know how them crooked politicians lie."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))

- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)

- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

---

MAYBE I’LL TRY BLOWING A LITTLE WIND UP MY NOSE

MENNONITE COUNTRY
Cloudy morning & how nice to feel a humidity free 59F again. A welcome freedom from the heat. Because lower temps held the biting flies at bay we were finally able to get in a full morning's walk. My legs were sure needing that. Being trapped in the house by weather extremes certainly is not healthy. Turned out to be a cool cloudy day & aside from slipping over to Mitchell to see my Uncle Harry, we didn't do a lot. Certainly not anything I would consider interesting enough to blog about. So, tonight I sit here at my keyboard trying to drum up some enthusiasm for a post. Not for a lack of imagination or creative material, but for just a simple lack of interest. It happens occasionally.
---
Luckily, ED http://www.edwardfrey.com/  managed to get me straightened out on a bit of history today regarding my 'Columbus' remark in Wednesday night's post. I said, "Anytime I am able to find or see something I have never seen before I feel like Columbus standing on the deck of the Mayflower"... Ed Said, "Columbus on the deck of the Mayflower, I don't think so although I understand the sentiment. He would have been on the Santa Maria or more properly the La Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción.He would have also been there about 125 years before the Mayflower sailed". Thanks Ed, what would I do without ya:))
---
And, I guess that’s just about it for tonight folks.  Just can’t seem to stitch together more than two words at once.  Maybe I’ll haul the bike out in the morning & try blowing a little wind up my nose…………..D’ya think:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man comes home to his wife after golfing. The wife asks, "Honey how come you never play with Bob anymore."  The man replies, " Would you want to play with a man who cheats all the time, who lost his ball then pulls one out of his pocket saying he found it, a man who really got a 7 but marks down a 5, a man who takes 3 foot gimme's." The wife says, "No I wouldn't." The man says, "Neither would Bob."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

DUSTING OFF LAST YEAR’S UNUSED COLORADO TRAVEL ROUTE FILE

TURNS OUT THIS IS ONE OF ONLY TWO PHOTOS I TOOK THIS MORNING WHICH WAS AT THE END OF A ROAD I HAD NEVER BEEN ON BEFORE JUST EAST OF GODERICH
Rain in the night brought slightly cooler morning temperatures with rumbles of thunder lingering out over the lake. Less humidity in the air & that was enough get me out of the house into the Jeep with the cameras.  Had an address in mind I was curious to find.  A 10 acre piece of river front property with a small cabin on it.  Way to pricey for us but I was just curious as to where it was.  Long story short….I never did find it.  Must have been a mistake in the road address or something.  However, I did discover another road I had never been on so that made it all worthwhile for me.  Anytime I am able to find or see something I have never seen before I feel like Columbus standing on the deck of the Mayflower looking across the watery horizon at a long spit of land.  It is that feeling I like so much about traveling.
---
Reading JEAN & SKIP'S post this morning I felt an early twinge of travel excitement. With Jean's mention of 'getting the maps out' & only 3 months to go before heading south, I too began thinking about this years upcoming travel route. Had my heart set on a southern Colorado route last year but we were unexpectedly delayed a month by a family matter making that route too late in the season. Could this be the year of our Durango/Cortez drive.  Dare I dust off last summer's Colorado route planning file. Haven't checked with the Boss on a possible departure date yet but maybe it's getting about time to pose that question. I would like to get out of here in September but of course I already know that is not going to happen. Have my fingers crossed for no later than mid October. Always figure the sooner we can get the big wheels rolling the better. And, I am soooooooo thankful we do not have to wait until after Christmas like so many of our fellow Snow Birds do. I would just be totally right off my rocker!!

THE MAITLAND RIVER MAKES IT’S WAY SLOWLY TO LAKE HURON ,THEN OVER NIAGARA FALLS ON IT’S WAY TO THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
---
When I look back over our few years of travel I do not have one mili-second of doubt that we made the right decision years ago to choose the RV travel life while we had the chance. Like many, we could have just sat back on our haunches in a quiet secure little no risk lifestyle. Could have banked our money with no financial worries & watched life pass us by. Nice cozy little house in a quiet scenic rural area of south-western Ontario Canada. Now, how nice is that. Well, mighty nice if that is where one's head is at. But, if one has the gnawing endless travel bug that I do, sitting in Cozyville day after day just doesn't cut it.

I DON’T OFTEN GO BACK & READ OLD POSTS BECAUSE MOST OF MY BEST MEMORIES ARE IN MY PHOTOS…’PHEEBS & BEANS’ JANUARY 6TH 2012
Many of us are at a physical stage in our lives where more & more areas are slowly becoming inaccessible to us.  I’m not saying it would not be impossible for us to hike down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon & back up, but looking at it realistically, it is probably improbable.  The old legs are just not what they used to be & our Snow Bird lifestyle just doesn’t allow us to be in the right areas at the right time of year.   What this means is that I know I will not likely get to see many of the places & the types of scenery I would have really liked to see.  Mind you, I consider myself very fortunate to have seen some of the great scenery in our travels that I have.    We have walked & hiked a few short mountain trails here & there over the years but we’ve never really got into any serious big mountain hiking.  Never high enough to be above the tree line where lies the true mountain meadows, flowers, & pristine azure mountain lakes.   I can’t hike up there & bring back the pictures for you, but Mark over at  BOX CANYON BLOG sure can.  Check out the crisp clean high altitude air in his picturesque mountain photos:))
---
Guess it’s kinda sad when one can’t even remember the correct names of one’s favorite two Muppet characters.  In Wednesday night’s post I made reference to a couple Muppet Show geezers who my friend Jim & I sometimes jokingly refer ourselves too.  And, I’m sure others who knew us may have thought of us this way as well:))  We not only kinda resembled these two crotchety old guys in the balcony but we do have some of their same unique personality traits.  I referred to them as Statler & Hilton.  Well, that was only half correct.  Thanks to a long time reader & a friend we actually met last winter down there near that Sierra Vista place in Arizona, I am able to correct my mistake tonight.  The two old guys are Statler & Waldorf.  Waldorf, not Hilton.  Glad to get that cleared up & I wonder how many years now I have had that wrong.  Gheeeesh. 

WALDORF ON THE LEFT & STATLER ON THE RIGHT…………. aka AL & JIM
GROANER’S CORNER:((  WALDORF & STATLER DO YOU TUBE:))
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
-  The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward   
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH FROM THE KIDNEY STONE DOCTOR:))

HAVEN’T BEEN TAKING MANY PHOTOS IN THIS HEAT SO IT’S PHOTOS FROM MY FILES TONIGHT

I was in our front yard this morning trimming up some dead branches on our Sunburst Locust tree when I heard a familiar, yet unfamiliar to this area, sound. It was not a sound associated with the weather or anything on the ground. Yet it was a sound ingrained in my mind from a bygone era that was associated with fear & apprehension. And, because this sound was so familiar, I recognized it right away.  My mind immediately raced back to the early 60's. Most of us grew up in the cold war days when radio, newspapers & television news were filled with almost daily reports of our dreaded enemy at the time....the Russians. Remember the 'duck & cover' films in school or the push for people to construct bomb shelters in their back yards. Remember those tense & stressful days of the Cuban Missile crises!! We all knew the Russians were coming with their big bear high flying bombers & missiles loaded with atomic warheads.  We knew it would be World War III & the whole world was going to be destroyed. It was a belief & it was a way of life back then.  And in an instant, I was reminded of all that this morning.
---

I was growing up in the small town of Tavistock Ontario, which with the exception of television, radio, & newspapers, was pretty much sheltered from all the hot atomic bomb targets of the day like Toronto, or Detroit Michigan.  Tavistock, like Bayfield was not in line with any major commercial airports nearby so the sounds of jet aircraft in the skies were, & still are, very rare to non existent. The white contrails of commercial jets can be seen but the aircraft themselves are too high to be heard. Back in those days, & in this southern Ontario region, if a jet was heard overhead it was an instant sign of something amiss. Throw in several recurring military jets & for sure, we knew the Russian bombers were either overhead or soon to be upon us. We knew once the Canadian & American Air Forces scrambled their jets, WW III was underway.
---
The instantly recognizable sound I heard this morning was a high flying fast moving military jet. Been to enough air shows & have heard enough military jets in the southwest skies over the past 5 years to know a military aircraft when I hear one. My mind right away reverted back to the early 60's & first thought in my head was, oh oh, maybe I had better slip into the house & put on CNN to see what's up. Nawwwww, that’s silly so I kept on trimming, but minutes later I heard the sound of another jet & over the next 10 minutes 4 more high flying jets. Used the excuse of heading into the house to get a drink. Oh, & while I'm heading for the kitchen I might as well snap on CNN. Dum-de-dum-dum. Nope, no report of Russian bombers or missiles on the way. Nothing about an Alien invasion from outer space & no, North America is not under attack from Iran, North Korea, or Botswana. No terrorists setting off a nuclear device in Lost Angeles or downtown Bayfield for that matter. Nothing out of the ordinary. Whewwww, close call…….didn’t have to practice my old classroom ‘duck & cover’ routine.  But, I did find it interesting how deeply ingrained in my mind the events of the late 50's & early 60's still are.  Without a second's thought I had associated the sound of this mornings high flying military aircraft with ‘big trouble’. Some old thoughts, habits, & reactions, just never die.

Our weather forecasters had predicted possibly the hottest day of the year for us here in southern Ontario today & so it came to be. Records were broken with Toronto coming in about 102F & that's not including the humidity factor. We have a cool front bearing down on us right now so the weather could get a little exciting tonight.

---

I particularly liked Debra's post over at FIND AND OUTLET this morning. Kelly & I met Debra & Jim at the Ranch near McNeal Arizona last winter & we know the particularly difficult area they live in right on the Arizona/Mexico border. Some readers will remember Debra from her heroic efforts to save suffering animals in her neighborhood & surrounding area. Her post today is entitled, MY DESERT URCHINS & surprisingly, does not have to do with animals.

---

IVAN & HAILEY are on the loose again traveling somewhere in southern Saskatchewan. Methinks not even they are sure where they are going:))

Any mention of music generally catches my eye & I have to agree with THE GOOD LUCK DUCK on her feelings of 70's music. Seems so many people have pooh poohed that Disco era & I have never understood why. I thought the music coming out of the 70's was great. Lively, feeling good music that made even non dancing people like myself just want to get up on that lighted disco dance floor & get myself crazy:))
---

Someone asked what prescription sleeping pill I was taking. Zopiclone-5mgs. Sounds like some kind of Cyberborg space Alien creature but they sure have helped my irregular sleeping habits. Probably should have gone this route a long time ago instead of trying to deny & fight off 'the growing older factor.' Finally gave in & accepted the fact I needed help in getting my over the top cholesterol levels down as well so I'm on Crestor now too. Oh dear, & I remember the days not to long ago when I thought it was only 'old people' who had to take medications every day:((

Our coffee blow-out Monday night turned out to be one of our shorter ones with Jim & I bringing it in just over 3 hours. Unlike days of yore, we found the hard plastic seats in the new Tim Horton's coffee shop in Seaforth Ontario kind of hard on our over poundaged buns after awhile & we both kinda hobbled out of the there like the two old guys from the Muppet Show we have always likened ourselves to.....Statler & Hilton. You remember those two old white haired duffers in the balcony always harassing the shows players below. Yep, that's Jim & I:))

---

Good news from my Kidney Stone Dr. Bukala early this afternoon. Clean bill of health & no stones to worry about. I'm good to go in the Stones department. I asked him about the Cranberry Juice theory of keeping kidney stones at bay. He said no, best thing is a big glass of orange juice every morning & a big glass of water before going to bed. That's it!!

---

This whole kidney stone thing which began last December in Tucson Arizona has left me with a few unanswered questions though. Why did the Ultra Sound technician lady at the Tucson hospital tell me 3 times I was a 'special case?' Told me I had 'a lot going on in there,' meaning my abdomen.  Had a lot of kidney stones she said.  Was this lady new at the job or filling in for somebody's lunch hour. The words of that technician sat in the back of my mind for months & I remember writing about it in the blog back then. Anyway, Dr Bukala says everything is looking good & he’s the Urologist guy who oughta know....................& that's good enough for me:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  And you know what….I really don’t approve of political jokes much because too many of them end up getting elected.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))

- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)

- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

A FELLOW RV BLOGGER STOPS BY OUR CONGRESS ARIZONA HOUSE

MISTY MORNING IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Woke up to a cool graying mist hanging silently in our surrounding Pine forest. I like how foggy mornings cast an an ethereal mood over the landscape giving the tall Pines a ghostly sentinel look. But, the fog wasn't thick enough to hide us as we headed into the forest on our morning walk.  Within minutes, the dreaded Deer Flies had us on the run for home.

QUIET STROLL BESIDE THE POND

Had a few questions about one of my prescriptions so rather than waste my time with a silly phone call to the the Medical Center I hopped aboard the bike & headed for Goderich. Nice warm morning for a ride through the countryside. Inland was clear but I could see a heavy fog hanging over the lake to the west. Rolled down around the harbor & snapped off a couple quick pics without getting off the bike. Only a few minutes at the Medical Center & I was out of town rumbling through the picturesque countryside on the longer scenic road home.

A FREIGHTER IN THE MIST TAKES ON A LOAD OF SALT AT THE GODERICH SALT MINE

Was surprised to see a photo of our Congress Arizona house in RETIRED ROD'S post this morning. Rod had a photo of MIKE & PAT'S winter home too. They are just a few miles from our place.  Rod & Loyce, after spending long hours & days moving into their new house down in Mesa decided to take a break & go for a drive. They ended up in Congress & found our digs on Ghost Town Road.  Rod stopped to take a few photos.  We have a nice Mexican family on our North side there & Rod said the neighbor was keeping a pretty close eye on him. Thanks for the emailed photos Rod:))

NOT TOO OFTEN YOU GET TO SEE A FREIGHT TRAIN ENGINE & A GREAT LAKES FREIGHTER SIDE BY SIDE

It's quite a mixed neighborhood we have there in Congress. At the southern end of Ghost Town Road is a small ritzy & nice looking adobe walled community of new houses. Heading north up the road the properties vary from junkyard scrap heaps to nice looking landscaped homes with just about everything in between. Ghost Town Road ends at the old historic Congress Gold Mine. A neighbor of ours told me our Congress house was built with materials from that old Gold Mine. The fellow who built our house worked in the mine & we think our Cowboy Construction house was built in the 50's. Hmmmm, wonder if he stashed any sacks of gold dust in the attic. We are sooooo looking forward to getting back there this winter & working on the house & grounds. Lots to do for sure & I'm looking forward to the challenge:))

LOOKS LIKE JUNIOR DROPPED HIS JUBE JUBES IN GODERICH’S WALMART YESTERDAY

Going to publish the blog early tonight because I'm meeting a good friend for coffee at 7 in a nearby small town. Our coffee blowouts over the past 30+ years are legendary & tonight's get together will be no different. Actually, Jim quit drinking coffee many years ago & I will stretch out my small decaf for the 3 hours or so we'll be at the coffee shop.

WE ARE SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE THIS SCENIC AREA TO WALK EVERY MORNING

GROANER'S CORNER:(( An elderly couple had been experiencing declining memories, so they decided to take a power memory class where one is taught to remember things by association. A few days after the class, the old man was outside talking with his neighbor about how much the class helped him.
"What was the name of the Instructor?" asked the neighbor.
"Oh, ummmm, let's see," the old man pondered. "You know that flower, you know, the one that smells really nice but has those prickly thorns, what's that flower's name?"
"A rose?" asked the neighbor.
"Yes, that's it," replied the old man. He then turned toward his house and shouted, "Hey, Rose, what's the name of the Instructor we took the memory class from?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))

- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)

- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

STRAIGHTEN UP & FLY RIGHT MISTER!!

I don’t think there is a day goes by that at some point I don’t think to myself how lucky we are to have found the Pheebs last August. Never have I met a dog with a happier disposition. And there is no wavering, no down days, no grouchies, never heard her growl or seen her show her teeth, never heard a mean bark. Travels well in any vehicle, doesn’t dig holes in the flower beds, likes going to the Vet, always friendly with other dogs, loves people & children. Likes snuggling, smooches, & having her tummy rubbed. She is just a furry little ball of loving happy energy 24/7. Oh how I wish I was more like my dog. Especially the not digging holes in flower bed’s part.

Remembered to take my tiny little sleeping pill Saturday night & how nice it was to feel somewhat civilized again today after a good night’s sleep. That lack of sleep stuff sure can bring a feller down in a hurry. Seemed no problem in my younger years but it seems to be a major factor in one’s daily attitude at this age. Well, for me it does anyway.
---
Cloud cover this morning with high humidity & some warm rain. Wonder how our house in Congress Arizona is doing because the annual Monsoon rains are happening in the area at the moment. There were some leaks in the roof & we had Doby & the crew patch them up last March & completely coat the whole roof in some kind of a roofing clear coat. We probably won’t know until we get there in the Fall if the leaks have been stopped. It will be Doby & his 2 Mexican helpers who we will have do our surrounding 1 acre fence/wall in the fall as well. Sure wished he had a computer so I could email him with some questions about building a 5’ high adobe wall. Or will it be a wood or wire fence.  I’m hoping that cost wise, we will find the adobe wall a cheaper way to go.  Will also need one main driveway gate & one small backyard gate. It is imperative to make the property Javelina & Rattlesnake proof, regardless of what we decide. And, I have to figure out a way to block a couple neighbor’s bright night lights too.  Lots of things to figure out, & for me, the most fun is often in the planning:))

 

 

THAT’S BOSS MAN DOBY IN WHITE TEE SHIRT & HAT…NICE FELLA

 

WE WON’T KNOW UNTIL THIS FALL IF OUR ROOF REPAIR LAST MARCH HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL 
Another working day for Kelly so little Peachy Sweets & I headed off to Goderich before the humidity had built itself up again. A quick hit & run on the grocery store. One jar of organic peanut butter, 2 jugs of Cranberry Juice, 1 Ginger Ale, two 6 packs of fat free Yogurt, a small box of unsalted crackers, & 6 bags of Topsoil.  Awwww, a Gourmet’s delight for sure & who said I don’t know nuthin about food:))  Twenty minutes later me & little Spanky Buns were home again soaking up some cool air.

---

After all my arm flapping & jumping up & down about our silly Sitemeter counter not working the past couple days, Kelly said she is going to put a lock on my keyboard.  Said, it will only be unlocked each night before writing my post if I pass a ‘happy test' first.  She said, “You had just better straighten up & fly right Mister”.  Ya know, I think she has a darn good point there. I can sure get myself stirred up over stuff sometimes!!

GODERICH’S ROTARY COVE BAY

We have a police & ambulance scanner site on our computer which I always have running in the background. Very interesting to hear what all is going on within about a 50 mile radius around here. Had a police radio/scanner years ago & I am surprised at how much busier the police are these days. Didn't take me long to figure out why...Cell phones!! Have to say I feel a little sorry for those police Officers out there. Seems like a lot of cell phone people are just out there looking for any old excuse to use their phones. Calls coming in like, "a motorcycle just went by my house & I think it was going too fast...I want to speak with an Officer!! Or, two kids are out front with their skate boards making a noise...I want to speak with an Officer!! My husband just had an argument with our Son & he is upstairs crying now...I want to speak with an Officer!!  A farmer phoned in saying his neighbor shook his fist at him because he didn’t have his tractor far enough off the road…wanted to speak to an Officer.  A car just past me & the driver made a face at me...I want to speak with an Officer!! I just baked a fresh apple pie & a fly landed on the crust...I want to speak with an Officer!! Well, you get my drift anyway. Seems to me the Police are run off their feet. Most calls seem to be traffic stops, especially on week-ends with Saturday night's being action packed. I am surprised at how many medical calls come in every day but I may be getting some of those confused with ambulance calls. Elderly people falling, respiratory problems, heart conditions, somebody found unconscious, etc. Accidental 911 dialings are not uncommon as well as false security alarms going off.

---

Last week-end I listened to the Police searching for a young missing girl in Grand Bend last seen on the beach entering the water. She was located about a half hour later further down the beach with some friends. Figured the Police wouldn't have much trouble finding her with the description they had received. Eighteen year old East Indian girl with long black hair, about 220 pounds wearing an orange bikini. Another complaint about a small airplane flying to low over somebodies farm. Police were called to a nearby park when somebody phoned in saying Joe Blow was seen driving his green Cadillac out of the Park & the caller didn't think he had a driver's license. An ambulance was later dispatched to our very own Park & that is how we knew one of our neighbors had been taken to Hospital. Yep, kinda interesting stuff alright & who knew there was so much going on all around us. And, ya gotta have a lot of respect for those Officers out there every day trying to keep an ever growing & ever complex society on some kind of a civilized even keel. Here's the link for ‘our area’.  POLICE SCANNER FOR PERTH & HURON COUNTIES.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  According to a news report, a certain private school recently was faced with a unique problem.  A number of middle school girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.
Every night, the maintenance man would remove them and the next day, the girls would put them back.
Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man.  She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the maintenance man who had to clean the mirrors every night.
To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it.
Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.
There are teachers, and then there are educators.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))

- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)

-  The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward   

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com