MANY UNDERSTOOD MY MONDAY NIGHT POST…….SOME DIDN’T

Went to bed Monday night with a sore hip, achy legs, & a sore foot. Woke up Tuesday morning completely pain free. Hip was fine, no aching & stiffness in my legs, & no soreness in my left foot. It was as if I had been given a lower body transplant while I slept. There sometimes seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why things are the way they are but why would I wake up free of pain all of a sudden? Another one of life's little mysteries. Or, maybe not so mysterious at all.  Maybe some of those meds readers advised me to try are taking hold:))  Due to some pain returning to my right hip Monday afternoon I had already decided I would not be doing any more yard work for awhile.  Figured after 3 straight days at home Pheebs & I were needing a change of pace & a little fresh country air. Also needed a few things at Walmart so we were out the door & down the road before 9.

 

A SMALL FROG CAN BE FOUND IN THE LEFT PHOTO WHILE THE RIGHT PHOTO SHOWS AN OVERGROWN OLD PIECE OF FARM EQUIPMENT

AND SOME DAYS WE JUST RUN OUT OF ROADS TO DRIVE ON

Readers will be happy to know we once again by-passed McD's & Tim Hortons. Grabbed ourselves a 6" sub & remembered to tell the lady, 'no cheese' this time. I have never been a cheese eater. Some Gatorade & water to wash it down & we were good to go. Knew we wouldn't be out for one of our longer 4 or 5 hour jaunts because we are into a short hot spell at the moment & already by 10 a.m. temperatures were ramping up. With higher temps come the hordes, swarms, & herds of bugs. Every stop we made we were overwhelmed by Gnats but we didn't let that stop us from a short hike in the Hullett Marsh. There are 2 old derelict iron road bridges in there & I knew we could walk to one of them in a short round trip half mile hike. Legs were feeling great so figured I had better take advantage of that & get some exercise. With my foot not giving me trouble either Pheebs & I set the Hullett Marsh in our sights as the last stop before heading home.

THE OLD BRIDGE IS ALL BUT INVISIBLE NOW IN THE ENCROACHING FOREST

 

Country roads once criss-crossed this area with several iron bridges over small rivers. When the Hullett Marsh was created years ago these roads were closed forever & soon became overgrown & absorbed into the marshlands. Had been about 20+ years since I had hiked into one of those aging bridges.  Not much wrong with my long term memory & I remembered right where it was. Aside from the miserable Gnats & Mosquitos pestering us Pheebe & I had ourselves a nice hike into the bridge. A little further in from the road than I remembered but no matter. When my body tells me it wants to go for a walk, who am I to argue with it.

We were home shortly after noon & spent the rest of our day in the coolness of the house. In other words, we had ourselves a relaxing afternoon.  Fortunately our hot spell will be out of the area by Thursday afternoon & we will once again return to refreshingly cooler bug free weather.  So nice to hear the Autumn crickets again.  Full Moon tonight so Pheebs & I just might hop into the Jeep & drive out in the country a short ways to a favorite high spot on a gravel road & just watch the Moon come up.    

THOUGHT I SAW SOMETHING DUCK UNDER THE WATER ABOUT A THIRD OF THE WAY DOWN THE RIVER

FROM THE BRIDGE I SPOTTED THIS HEAD COME UP OUT OF THE  WATER

 

I SUSPECT IT IS SOME KIND OF DIVING DUCK BUT DO NOT KNOW WHAT KIND

WASN’T LONG & IT HEADED ON DOWN THE RIVER AWAY FROM US

Noticed the majority of commenters on my Monday night's post understood what my 4 paragraph ‘aging’ topic was about & why. I did not feel I was 'focusing' on old age.  Simply expressing some thoughts on aging & how I perceive it to be affecting me personally. Aging is something we all deal with yet I have not seen many people writing about it. Obviously it's a touchy subject & one which people do not like to talk about.  Not always easy for me to convey my thoughts without coming across to some in a complaining, feeling sorry for oneself, naïve, or a 'oh poor me' vein. I expressed my thoughts as an observation of an aging transition having nothing to do with negative 'feeling sorry', 'naivety' or 'poor me' connotations. Reality is exactly what it is regardless of what kind of glossy spin some may choose to put on it. I basically always write my posts from a 'first person' perspective. If I write from a 'third person' perspective I am probably sliding into a style with thoughts & feelings from people who have written articles about this subject previously. I write from the 'first person' because that is the person I know best. Perhaps a definition of 'first & third' party points of view here.....-A first person point of view is the grammatical category of forms that designate a speaker or writer referring to himself or herself whereas a third person point of view means the author is describing the action that happened to someone else -- not the author himself. From time to time as I come across & personally encounter things regarding the normal & ever present aging factor & how I feel about it I will continue to express my random thoughts about it…………………….

 

NOT SURE WHAT THIS LITTLE FELLOW WAS EITHER BUT WILL HAZARD A GUESS AT….FEMALE BLACK GROUSE

BRITBABE joins us as our latest Blog Follower today. Always nice to see folks dropping by & we welcome BB to our Bayfield Bunch site.  Stay tuned as we hope to have ourselves on the road heading for America’s south-west sometime in the next couple months  

 

A LONE TUNDRA SWAN & A COUPLE GREAT BLUE HERONS THIS MORNING

With temperatures due to reach 90+ Wednesday the day is a no brainer for me. Any outside activities will have to be wrapped up before 10 a.m. & the rest of the day I will be inside with fans & A/C going full tilt.  If I feel as good Wednesday morning as I did Tuesday morning I will try resuming my morning walks with Kelly & the fabulous Pheebs:))

 

REFLECTIONS

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Did you know that thanks to the Internet you can get hopelessly in debt without ever leaving your house. And remember, if you need a shoulder to cry on you can always pull off to the side of the road. My idea of a Super Bowl is a toilet that cleans itself. And guys, the first testicular guard, 'the cup' was used in Hockey in 1874 & the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize their brain is important too.

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

THINKING ABOUT THIS AGING THING AGAIN TODAY

SO WHAD’YA LOOKIN AT MISTER, NEVER SEEN A BUNCH OF GIRLS SKINNY DIPPING BEFORE!!

Outdoor projects are notorious for outgrowing themselves & so it was here this morning.  Now that some of our ferns have been re-located it was decided to take down a poplar tree & of course that led to……….well, you know what I mean.  Monday’s gardening was mainly a repeat of Sunday so I won’t try to stretch it into something remotely interesting.  I think it was around a year ago this time I tackled a major backyard renovation as well.  That is what set off my original hip problem which is still with me a year later.  Today as well as Sunday I had to come in about noon to give my legs a rest.  Not too sure I will ever be able to return to that state most of us folks reached at one point or another in our adventuress lives where we thought we could run faster than a speeding bullet or leap tall buildings in a single bound but who knows, it’s a crazy world out there.  

SOME MAY NOTICE MY HAIR IS SHORTER TODAY…RAN INTO A HAIRCUT ON OUR BACK PORCH SUNDAY AFTERNOON

 

HAD ENOUGH BRANCHES & TWIGS FOR 2 UTILITY TRAILER LOADS TODAY…AND YES, I USED PICASA TO PATCH UP THE HOLE IN MY HAIR AGAIN

It may have started with my kidney stone problem a couple years ago but it was sometime around then I gradually became seriously aware of my ongoing age, maybe for the first time.  Up till then I hadn’t put a whole lot of thought into aging.  No reason too, I was healthy & rarely sick.  Never seemed to get a cold anymore & aside from one Arthritis pill a day I was pill free.  The mind seemed OK & my interest levels were up.  Still enjoyed figuring things out on the computer & was basically always up for new challenges.  I was aware that I was aware but somewhere along the line I began noticing a rather subtle change. 

<<< QUEEN ANNES LACE

My short term memory loss seemed to ramp up beyond the usual forgetfulness.  It was especially noticeable right here at the computer.  Where once I loved trying to figure out this program or that download or whatever new fad was going on I was now becoming frustrated because I couldn’t get things sorted out.  By the time I would get to step 4 in an upload or download process I had already forgot steps 1, 2, & 3.  Where I once had things reasonably organized I was finding things in disarray.  Couldn’t remember how to find my photo albums, new email programs were frustrating, couldn’t even get to first base in figuring out that Google+ stuff & yet at one time I would have been on there like a Mad Hatter in no time flat.  Same thing with my Smug Mug photo account.  Fell behind because I couldn’t seem to get my albums organized over the past couple years.  Now they have rolled out a new site which I tried to figure out but…………… Same thing with my Picasa photo albums.  Once Google took over everything I quickly fell behind.  I like change but when it comes to computer stuff I don’t seem to handle it well anymore.   

I’m able to keep my blog going because of repetition.  As long as I keep at it most every day I have a good chance in remembering how to use Microsoft’s Live Writer.  I have my finger’s crossed Microsoft does not pull off a radical change with Live Writer any time soon or I will be toast.  Saw a blog layout I liked last week & thought to myself, ‘I like that look’.  Three years ago I would simply have just set about to change my blog’s layout & got into Blogger’s templates & made the changes.  Easy enough & I would have enjoyed putting a new fresh looking blog site together.  And if I had messed up, no problem, just re-do it again.  I’m afraid to try that now because I know I would have a hard time remembering how to put my blog back together if I were to lose it.  No, I just don’t have the sharp short term memory recall or the patience for that kind of stuff I once did.  My impatience leads to frustration & I just turn & walk away from things.  Some of this has to do with depression of course but I am also aware there are other medical factors at play here as well.  Depression is not the only culprit.             

There are people sharp as a tack at 92 & people barely hanging on to their lives at 32.  Age, genetics, circumstances, environment, living style, etc. are all factors determining one’s condition at whatever age.  Each individual has toughed out & lived there own lives in whatever way life has been dished out to them.  As I said, never thought too much about this aging process until my own body stepped up & tapped me on the end of my nose a few years ago with it’s aches & pains & daily complaints.  No, I haven’t been tapped as hard or as suddenly like many with a life threatening illness or disease but each & every one of us sooner or later reaches that point in life where the game either slowly or abruptly changes for us.  Could simply have everything to do with age or nothing whatsoever to do with age.  But somewhere in that mix the game will eventually change.  The difficult part is first being aware that is happening, then understanding it, & finally, what if anything can be done about it.  I’m past the awareness part & am currently trudging through the understanding part with an eye ahead of me to the what can be done part.  I will have more to say about this aging thing shortly.  And let’s all remember that old saying……'I complained I had no shoes until I met the man who had no feet’. 

One thing before I forget.  Bloggers, be sure to repeatedly check your Blogger spam folder.  We unfortunately are not in the habit of doing that & this morning Kelly, while checking something found comments from folks that have never been published from as far back as June.  For whatever reason Blogger tagged them as Spam & sent them to the Spam folder.  We have had this happen before & keep forgetting to check that Spam folder.  I published all the comments & noticed legitimate comments outnumbered actual Spam about 3 to one.   And if you have copies of comments sent to Hotmail be sure to double check that too because not all comments get to Hotmail.  Stumbled upon that problem way back last winter one time.  I was always in the habit of reading comments in our Hotmail account so I don’t know how long that problem existed but no doubt we missed a lot of people’s comments up to that point.

GROANER’S CORNER:((    A merchant sent an order to a distributor for a large amount of goods totalling a great deal of money.  The distributor, noting that the previous bill hadn't been paid, told the collections manager to check it. The collections manager left a voice-mail for them saying, 'We can't ship your new order until you pay for the last one.'
The next day the collections manager received a collect phone call, 'Please cancel the order. We can't wait that long.'

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

A MORNING PROJECT LEAVES ME WITH SOME FEELING GOOD SORE MUSCLES

Still not able to do morning walks with Kelly & Pheebs but I am able to tackle a few yard projects & this morning it was time to dig up & move a bunch of bush ferns I had planted about 5 years ago. The ferns near one of our garden sheds had grown & spread. It was time for a change. Took me a couple hours to dig up & relocate them all. A challenging project for tired aging muscles on a sunny Sunday morning. Not only a welcome physical challenge but a refreshingly creative mental challenge as well. I like when I wake up in the morning with a project in mind & the interest to get at it:))

 
 

  

BEFORE & AFTER

FERNS HAVE BEEN RE-LOCATED TO THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE ALONG THE ROAD

Sore muscles are feeling good tonight as the light at the end of this long summer's tunnel flickers & grows a little brighter. Need to get this sore foot healed up so I can resume not only my morning walks but my afternoon & evening walks with Pheebs as well. Spent the rest of my day staying off my foot & tonight I think I sense some progress.

 

AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ONE LEAVES THEIR CAMERA UNATTENDED…SOMEONE ELSE PICKS IT UP & CANDIDLY USES IT:))
Note to OH, THE PLACES THEY GO!. Do you have a link for the place in Elkhart that makes those custom wall hugging RV recliners?  Thanks……………..Just noticed John & Brenda have all the details including pics of their rig which is now for sale.  Check it out HERE

  

AND HERE’S WHAT YOUR PICASA PHOTO EDITING PROGRAM CAN DO FOR YOU…IT CAN EVEN GROW HAIR:))

<<< PHEEBS POSES IN HER ‘HOWLING COYOTE STANCE’…SHE LEARNED THAT IN ARIZONA:))

SallyB inquired a short while back how Aunt Jean in Sarasota Florida was doing.  We just received an email from Jean earlier this evening.  In part she said, “Noticed in the comments section that Sally was asking about me.  Have been reading your Blogs with great interest.  Don't know what we all would do without the pictures of the Pheebs. They bring a smile to many faces across both Country's. What a special gift she is to you & Kelly.  Just tell Sally that I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that my age has caught up to me. Will have to decide if I want to sit & do nothing, or go down fighting”.

JUST A STONE THROWN INTO THE GOOSE POND THIS EVENING

Well folks, let me tell you……my Aunt Jean has never been one to ‘sit & do nothing’.  Anyone following my blog for awhile will well remember the last two winters when Jean flew out from Florida to first join us at ‘The Ranch’ in south-eastern Arizona 2 years ago & then again at our house in Congress Arizona last winter.  Lots of bouncy Jeep rides through the desert & tipsy turvy mountain road climbs.  Throw in some desert walks & a rock scramble or two & you all will remember my adventuresome & ‘no sit down’ Aunt Jean:))

 

JEAN POINTS & SAYS, “HEY LOOK AT THOSE 2 CRAZY GALS WITH A DOG WAY OVER THERE ON THAT HIGH ROCK”

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Wisdom For An Age Of Wise Guys

1. If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.

2. A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.

3. Life's briefest moment is the time between reading the sign on the

freeway and realising you just missed your exit.

4. No one ever says "It's only a game," when their team is winning.

5. You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.

6. A clear conscience is usually a sign of a poor memory.

7. After all is said and done, a hell of a lot more is said than done.

8. Always remember that one effective way to deal with things that want to eat you is to taste terrible.

9. The light at the end of the tunnel is usually a sign that says "No

Exit."

10. If you must choose between two evils, choose the one you've never tried before.

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

SUMMONING UP SOME INTEREST & ENERGY I WASHED MY MOTORCYCLE TODAY:))

‘SWAMP’  NEVER PICKED UP A CAMERA TODAY SO ALL OF TONIGHT’S PHOTOS ARE FROM MY FILES
Might have been RETIRED ROD'S post this morning that planted a seed in my brain. Couple hours later I was in the driveway hose in hand with a warm bucket of soapy water & my motorcycle parked in front of me. I think it was the first time this summer I had gathered together enough interest & energy to wash it. And it sure was in need of a wash because I was surprised to find mildew growing both the paint & the chrome. My bike sits protected from the elements in our carport therefore seeing very little sunshine. And it’s a gravel floor. Our whole property is very shady because of large pine trees so things have a tendency to get mouldy. Especially the vinyl siding on the north side of our house.  I find washing a motorcycle harder than washing a car.  So many crooks & crannies to get into & one has to get right down on the ground if you if your going to get into all the spots.  Cars just have big flat surfaces to chamois off.  Sometimes I take it to the car wash & do it with a high pressure hose which is best because the ‘final clean water rinse’ doesn’t leave any white spot residue.  I’ve been between a rock & a hard place these past few years with my bike.  I hardly ride it anymore yet I’m reluctant to give it up because I know if I do my bike riding days will be over.  Tough one.

  
2002 HONDA SHADOW AERO 1100….RIDES LIKE A CADILLAC:))
Never moved the Jeep at all from sun up to sun down. It ended up being one of those stay at home days getting some yard maintenance caught up. Always seems to be trees & shrubs needing thinned out or trimmed. Couple things to clear up about Friday night's post. In Ontario our license tags come due on a person's birthday & tags are totally separate from auto insurance. Other Provinces may have a different way of doing things. One year tags are $82 a year per vehicle. Motorcycle Is $42. And Crestor isn't actually called Crestor anymore, it now goes by the name of Ran-Rosuvastatin  Well least ways that is what I was told by a lady at Walmart’s Pharmacy.

   
Kelly put a few hours in at DEER PARK LODGE this afternoon. She only works a few hours on Saturdays now but she still does all the reservations, web page updates, etc. All Deer Park calls are forwarded to Kelly's Deer Park phone & she also handles any guests complaints or needs plus pesky sales people. She sure fields a lot of calls some days & when we are in the South West for the winter she still handles the majority of Deer Park calls coming in.

Don't'cha just love that old Andy Griffith Show whistling theme from years ago. Now that's a little ditty that will make anyone feel better. Came in this afternoon to rest my sore foot & caught a couple episodes of Andy, Opie, Barney, Gomer, & Miss Bee. Remember the days when humor was just plain & simple. Nothing complicated, no head games or politically correct stuff. Just plain old home grown simple non serious humor with lots of easy going homespun flavor.  Not much of that left anymore……………. 
 
My Bayfield recliner chair is the most relaxingly comfortable place I know. More comfortable than anything anywhere. Sometimes I sleep all night in it. Other times I catch short daily naps & eat my after supper Yogurt in it. And it's a favorite Snuggles place for Pheebs & I. In fact Pheebs loves snoozing in the recliner too. So much so in fact that I often have to coax her out of it with lines like, "aw come on it's my turn" or "hey, want a treat":)) Many blog paragraphs are written in my recliner. It's cushy, it's comfy, & what a great feeling to take the strain & soreness off my often bothersome legs. Unlike a bed, a recliner seems to distribute one's body weight better. Sometimes I link my recliner to my depressive state but of course it's not my recliner's fault at all, it's mine. My recliner is only trying to help by making me feel better. I still remember the day we drove to a Sears Outlet store in London Ontario about 6 or 7 years ago. On the large warehouse like floor sat a sea of recliners. I spotted my burgundy recliner right away sitting about dead center of them all. Made my way through the chair maze, sat in it, reclined, & that was it. Loaded it into our Mini Van & brought it home. We've been Buddies ever since. I wonder if anyone has ever been buried stretched out in their favorite recliner.

BAYFIELD BY THE RIVER
I have never understood how it is that some mornings when I wake up I just feel better than other mornings. Or, vice versa. Have often wondered what takes place in the human brain in a sleep state. Is it something to do with the kinds of dreams we have. Or as some believe, chemical changes taking places. I have no idea but have always wondered about that. Some days I just wake up feeling down while other days things seem to start right off on an even keel. Just doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason. Came across this awhile back....{Individuals with depression may have an imbalance in neurotransmitters, chemicals that nerves make and use to communicate with other nerves} Anyway, just a few thoughts.

BAYFIELD’S PROTECTED INNER HARBOR
Kelly noticed on Facebook that John & Brenda from JOHN & BRENDA'S INCREDIBLE JOURNEY have decided to sell their 40’ diesel Motorhome.  Anyone interested might want to get in touch with them out there in Alberta.  I’ve never seen their rig but I bet it’s spotless:))

A CALM DAY ON LAKE HURON
GROANER'S CORNER:(( New Senior's Exam, you only need 4 correct out of 10 questions to pass.
1) How long did the Hundred Years' War last?
2) Which country makes Panama hats?
3) From which animal do we get cat gut?
4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?
6) The Canary Islands in the Atlantic ocean are named after what animal?
7) What was King George VI's first name?
8) What color is a purple finch?
9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?
10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?
Remember, you need only 4 correct answers to pass.
ANSWERS TO QUIZ
1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? 116 YEARS  2) Which country makes Panama hats? ECUADOR 3) From which animal do we get cat gut? SHEEP & HORSES 4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? NOVEMBER  5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? SQUIRREL FUR  6) The Canary Islands in the Atlantic ocean are named after what animal? DOGS 7) What was King George VI's first name? ALBERT 8 ) What color is a purple finch? CRIMSON 9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? NEW ZEALAND  10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane? ORANGE What do you mean you failed……………………….
-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.