BEGINNING TO MONITOR LONG RANGE WEATHER FORECASTS ALONG OUR PROPOSED ROUTE IN 3 WEEKS

Oh how I love stretching out in my recliner.  It is one of my very much  most favorite places of ever to be & especially after being on my feet for a bunch of hours outside doing stuff around the house.  I think next to the invention of the wheel recliners have to come in a close second.  Of all my body parts it is my legs which consistently give me the most grief.  To come inside, sit down & tip back in my cushy recliner bringing the weight off my tired & achy legs is just about as good as it gets for me.  Sometimes when I sit down in my chair I think to myself, 'well that's it, I'm never ever getting out of this chair again.  Don't want to go anywhere, don't want to do anything, just want to lazily recline & let my mind wander off to La-La land somewhere.  Asteroid about to hit the earth.....I don't care.  House on fire......I don't care.  A big bulldozer about to doze the house down.....I don't care.  Just make the world go away & leave me alone in my recliner because when I'm in my chair I’m a very much most happy reclinerized guy:))

  

 

 

 

A little bit on the cool side for Kelly this morning but I am just loving it.  No bug swatting on our morning walk.  Clear sunny skies so I took Pheebs for a drive in the Jeep.  Sunday mornings are always just the best.  No traffic anywhere & not even any farm machines on the gravel back roads.  Just the best time to be in the rural countryside.  Our wanderings took us through the tiny towns of Hensall, Seaforth & Clinton.  I was surprised at the amount of water in the fields east of Hensall & many of the creeks & rivers we saw were overflowing their banks.  It was all from this past Friday nights storm & big deluge of rain.  We were back home again before noon.

 
We have heard some disconcerting long range weather predictions for the coming months here in our Northern latitudes.  One prediction is for an early winter with bad weather rolling in a month ahead of schedule.  If there is any hint of nasty weather along our proposed route through North-Western Ontario, southern Manitoba & Saskatchewan as well as the northern States of the Dakotas & Montana we will switch our route back to Sarnia/Port Huron through Chicago & out onto the Plains from there.  We will for sure be keeping a very close eye on all the weather patterns in the coming 3 weeks.  And it will be the weather which in the end will determine our departure date as well.  It is one of the nice advantages of traveling with no hard & fast commitments or reservations.  We are free to travel with the wind wherever whenever…………….

DRIVING THROUGH SEAFORTH ONTARIO i SAW THESE FOLKS HAVING A FINE LAWN BOWLING MORNING

  

THE FIRST DOZEN OR SO YEARS OF MY LIFE WAS SPENT LIVING CLOSE TO THE LAWN BOWLING CLUB IN TAVISTOCK ONTARIO & MY GRANDFATHER & UNCLE HARRY WERE AVID LAWN BOWLERS FOR YEARS…IT IS A GAME I AM FAMILIAR WITH

 

WASN’T UNTIL I CROPPED THESE PHOTOS TONIGHT THAT I SAW A FAMILIAR FACE AMONG THE LAWN BOWLERS…IN PHOTO ABOVE THE LADY IN THE BURGUNDY TOP JUST ABOVE CENTER IS NONE OTHER THAN OUR CORNER BACKYARD NEIGHBOR MAUREEN:))  (WELL AT LEAST I THINK IT IS)
Couple more things into the rig today.  Couple more outdoor chores taken care of.  We're slowly gearing up.  The last couple of days have reminded me of Arizona winters.  Dress warmly early in the morning until it begins to warm up moderately around 10.  Keep the warmer clothes handy because about 4 in the afternoon the temperatures drop again & the cold desert nights soon descend across the land.

ALWAYS AMAZES ME HOW ROBINS CAN BUILD THESE PERFECTLY SOLID ROUND NESTS…THIS ONE WAS IN OUR CARPORT

And of course IVAN is still having himself a great summer out there in the wilds of North-Western Alberta….if he doesn’t starve first that is.  Luckily he does have an extra bag of cat food with him at the remote location he & Hailey were helicoptered into recently.  Another helicopter came in later but didn’t bring any food.  But it did make off with his lawn mower……..well he can tell ya all about it.  Oh, & as usual he’s got some great photos there as well.

  

BEANS BEANS THE MUSICAL FRUIT THE MORE YOU EAT THE MORE YOU HOOT - THE MORE YOU HOOT THE BETTER YOU FEEL SO BE LIKE AN AN OWL & EAT BEANS AT EVERY MEAL:))
And has the real identity of England's 'Jack The Ripper' finally been confirmed with DNA testing?  You can read about that here at…………..RIPPER.

AND REMEMBER THE DAYS WHEN GAS STATIONS OFFERED ‘SERVICE WITH A SMILE’… WELL THEY ARE STILL DOING THAT IN SEAFORTH ONTARIO…THIS GIRL CLEANING THE WINDSHIELD IS ACTUALLY SMILING BECAUSE PHEEBS WAS MAKING FACES AT HER THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD…THOSE FACES WORKED BECAUSE PHEEBS THEN GOT HERSELF A DOUBLE DOGGY TREAT:))
GROANER'S CORNER:(( A Simple Explanation Of Baseball:: 
This is a game played by two teams, one out the other in. The one that's in, sends players out one at a time, to see if they can get in before they get out. If they get out before they get in, they come in, but it doesn't count. If they get in before they get out it does count.
When the ones out get three outs from the ones in before they get in without being out, the team that's out comes in and the team in goes out to get those going in out before they get in without being out.
When both teams have been in and out nine times the game is over. The team with the most in without being out before coming in wins unless the ones in are equal. In which case, the last ones in go out to get the ones in out before they get in without being out.
The game will end when each team has the same number of ins out but one team has more in without being out before coming in

ENERGIZED BY COOLER TEMPERATURES & WHERE IS THE FINAL RESTING PLACE OF THAT ARMY SHELL I DRAGGED HOME 50 YEARS AGO…………….

We woke up to dead calm air this morning.  Not a leaf was stirring not even a house.  Rains subsided in the night leaving us with soggy surroundings.  Our power flickered off & on twice during Friday's supper hour storm & we came away much luckier than inhabitants further inland where power outages were wider spread & lengthy.  Downed trees & an unconfirmed tornado in the Orillia area.  That storm front chased all our humidity right out of Dodge replacing it with refreshing cooler temperatures today.  Ahhhhhhhh:))  Weather stations said Friday was the 'hottest feeling' day of the year.  When they figured in the humidity factor with the temperature it felt like 42 Celsius.  In Fahrenheit terms that would add up to 114 degrees.  Hard to believe but that's what they said.
  

IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WE ALWAYS HAVE TO BE VIGILANTE WITH SO MANY LOCAL FOLKS CROSSING OUR ROADS

In Friday night's post I was in a hurry to get the storm pics into my post & published just in case we lost our power.  In one of the photos the storm clouds were over the Bayfield Village Inn but the Inn was hard to see.  Today I took a minute to work on that photo a bit & make the Village Inn more visible.

Energized by our mornings cooler air I didn't waste any time getting started on some outside projects first thing.  Five heaping wheelbarrow loads of Pine needles to pick up after DEER PARK Rob swept them all off our roof Friday afternoon.  Dumped them in a pile & will pick up with the utility trailer later.  Dug up & moved some Hostas, Hollyhocks & several clumps of tall yellow flowers.  Cleaned out the eaves troughs & just worked my down a list of yardy things to do.  I ran out of gas about noon & coasted for the rest of the day.  Some full-timers get rid of their houses for some of the same reasons I am thankful we have a house.  I know yard work isn't for everyone but luckily for me I enjoy it & it does give me a working outlet for my restlessness & the added exercise is always beneficial.

Amazingly enough tonight I have have remembered a couple reader questions.  John from RV LIFE ON WHEELS asked about that piece of artillery ordnance (Thursday's post) I brought back from CAMP IPPERWASH many years ago & put in my Mothers barn for 25 years.  In the mid 80's I drove that thing out of Tavistock one day & tossed it into a local creek.  Far as I know it's been buried in the mud there for the past 25 years or so. Tom from TOM_KATHY_RETIRED left a comment about that shell we found & said,  “In the USA blue means inert/practice when used on ordnance”.   I am inclined to agree with Tom & think he is right about it being a ‘inert practice round’.  That rocket head or whatever it was was definitely blue.  Robins Egg blue if I remember correctly.   May have been some small white lettering on it as well & after thinking about it today I do have another theory on how I got that thing back to Tavistock.  I bought my first Volkswagen Beetle in the Fall of 1963 & I did take it up to 'the Cottage’ a couple times in early 64.  Jim, John & either Gary or Craig will well remember the day we were all back in the army camp driving along in that Volkswagen Bug when the darn thing suddenly stopped running.  Took us about an hour to push that Beetle back to the beach.  Can't remember how we got it started but I'm guessing we were able to push it a bit faster on the hard packed sand (cars regularly drove on Ipperwash beach in those days) & I jumped in with the ignition on, pulled it into second gear & popped the clutch.  That was & probably still is a common way of starting a standard transmission vehicle with a dead battery.  Anyway I have a feeling the day we found that blue rocket head or whatever it was I may very well have had my Volkswagen there & put it in my car.  Not likely I/we could have snuck that thing past Gary.  Memories do get a little mushy after 50 years or so.........Second question from Kristine Barr asked, What is a solar streamer? I had used that term to describe the sun's rays shining through some holes in the clouds.  Solar pertaining to sunlight streaming through the clouds if you will.

After writing the above paragraph something occurred to me I had not thought of before & the creek I tossed that blue rocket head into actually ties in with my 'ME & QUEEN ELIZABETH post I originally wrote back in 2008. The last paragraph in that post tells of the last time I saw Queen Elizabeth & the route her entourage took from Stratford to Woodstock Ontario one warm summer day. (I have included that paragraph in tonight’s post underneath Groaner’s Corner)  Now it's a good thing England's Secret Intelligence Service M16 wasn't on to me.  Here I was on that nice summer day in 1998 parked just off highway 59 sitting on my motorcycle waiting for the Queen Of England to go by.  It was just about a dozen years before that I had tossed that army shell off a bridge just southwest of Tavistock on………. highway 59.  The very highway used by the Queens entourage & security team to drive her from Stratford to Woodstock.  When the Queen of England's car passed over that bridge that day in 98 she was probably only 20 feet or so from where I had chucked that ordnance.  From the time she crossed that bridge & the speed her security convoy was traveling she would have passed me & my motorcycle location about 2 minutes later.  Hmmmmm, hope the British Tabloids don't get a hold of this because they would for sure tie this all together as some sort of Canadian bomb plot on the Queen of England.   I can just see it now....BOMBER ON MOTORCYCLE WAITS FOR QUEENS CAR TO CROSS BRIDGE BEFORE DETONATING PREVIOUSLY PLACED BOMB!! (a dozen years before)  Well, I write this all in jest of course but you do know what these tabloid magazines are like these days.  Oh, & which side of the bridge do you suppose the bomber placed the said device??..............Hmmmmm, I have it on good authority it was the East side of the bridge just about right in the middle of the creek:)) 

On CBC radio a few days ago Kelly heard an interesting interview.  That interview of a deceased lady’s husband & son led Kelly to look up & read this lady’s blog & last post dated August 14, 2014.  It’s a subject not often talked about but I think it’s a subject that should be talked about & discussed.  And especially now in this day & age.  You may find this ladies blog & final posting very interesting.  It is called GOODBYE & GOOD LUCK....DEAD AT NOON by Gillian Bennett.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Veteran Pillsbury spokesman, Pop N. Fresh, died yesterday of a severe yeast infection. He was 71. Known to friends as "Brown-n-Serve," Fresh was an avid gardener and tennis player.  Fresh was buried in one of the largest funeral ceremonies in recent years. Dozens of celebrities turned out including Mrs. Butterworth, the California Raisins, Hungry Jack, Aunt Jemima, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Skippy.  The graveside was piled high with flours as longtime friend, Aunt Jemima, delivered the eulogy, describing Fresh as a man who "never knew how much he was kneaded."  Fresh rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with many turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes -- conned by those who buttered him up.  Still, even as a crusty old man, he was a roll model for millions. He enjoyed being prodded by his many friends who invariably poked fun at him.  Fresh is survived by his second wife. They have two children and another bun in the oven.  The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

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Oh yes before I forget…………….. about me & Queen Elizabeth & our second meeting. I think it might have been in the summer of 1998. The Queen was in Stratford again & I heard she would be heading off to Woodstock, Ontario in early afternoon. Only one highway heading from Stratford to Woodstock so I knew her route.  Figured I may never see her again so I hopped on my motorcycle & headed over to a spot out in the country along highway 59 just a few miles north of Hickson Ontario. Nice open spot & no throngs of people this time. Finally, the normal traffic going by ended. No cars at all for awhile. Waited & waited & then one car went by moving very fast.  A few minutes another one followed & a minute later another car. This went on for about 5 minutes. Had I missed her?? Then I saw the convoy of cars coming fast. First one, two or three & then there she was & she was sitting by the back window on my side of the road. Light blue outfit with a matching powder blue hat. I was standing beside my motorcycle as I waved. No mistaking it this time, she looked right at me, but alas, there was no recognition in her eyes from 45 years before. Whoooooooosh, the car was by in seconds & she was gone..................... And that was my little story of, Me & Queen Elizabeth:))

I SAW ABOUT THE ANGRIEST LOOKING SKY I HAD EVER SEEN LATE TODAY

Weather channels for southern Ontario started off with a heat alert this morning.  We here in Bayfield started off with overcast skies & distant thunder out over Lake Huron & a few drops of rain.  By mid morning solar streamers were making their way through the thinning cloud cover & by 10:30 Pheebs & I were on our way to Goderich to run a few errands.  Since having to move my laptop mouse to assisted living about a year ago then into almost full time care a few months ago I decided to pull the plug on it & go get myself a new cordless mouse.  Opted for another Microsoft product so hope it's health remains well for as long as my other Microsoft mouse did.  Stopped into the Maitland Medical Center & booked myself an appointment Monday afternoon with my Nurse Practitioner.  It's time to re-new a few 6 month prescriptions before we head South.  Hope I don't have to get any needles stuck in me for anything. 

A GOOD EXAMPLE OF OUR RURAL FARMLAND THIS MORNING

 
Tim Hortons coffee just released a new blend of darker roasted coffee for it's consumers & this morning I figured I'd try one.  Pretty good & I'd say anyone finding that burnt taste of Starbucks too strong & maybe Tim Hortons a bit on the mild side they should be pleased with Horton's darker roast.  I'd say it pretty well falls in between too strong & a tad too mild.  So would I get another one??  Sure I would:))

RIPENING BEAN FIELDS

Not wanting to waste the sunny warm morning Pheebs & I once again decided to take a longer route home but ended up cutting it short due to the building heat & humidity.  Air was very muggy.  Thank heavens we had a stiff southwest breeze blowing today.  But only blowing out in the open & not in our Park with all it’s trees.  Back home we didn't waste any time retreating into the cool confines of the house & that is pretty much where we stayed for the rest of the day.  Kelly did venture into Bayfield for a stop at the library.  She came home completely wilted.  Thankfully cooler weather is on our doorstep for Saturday & the coming week.  That will enable me to get all the final outside things done around the house before we leave.  Rob from Deer Park Lodge dropped over & re-caulked our  sunroom's skylight & swept all the pine needles off our roof.  I think some of those pine needles have been up there for years.  Since I wisely stopped climbing up shaky ladders a few years back I have not been able to do that job myself.   

ROB SWEEPS OFF OUR STEEL ROOF BEFORE CAULKING OUR ?? IN THE FOREGROUND

Checked our computer's live radar map about 5 o'clock & 'Holy Smokes' I could see a strong band of severe thunderstorms starting across Lake Huron from the Michigan side.  And the thunder was already audible.  Checked again about 20 minutes later & it had not only Bayfield in it's sights but the narrow band stretched from about Flint Michigan to well north of Barrie Ontario.  Soon as supper was finished I checked again & the storm was nearly upon us & fast approaching just offshore.  Grabbed my cameras & jumped into the Jeep heading for Bayfield's Pioneer Park on the cliff top overlooking the lake.  Soon as I exited our own 5 Seasons Park I could see a dark gray sky through the trees to the west & yet in my rear view mirror the sun was shining in clear skies on the Eastern horizon.  Another couple minutes & I was out free of the forests trees & saw the most amazing sky of ever back towards the North-East.  I rapidly took some photos out the side window & windshield as I headed into Bayfield. 

I TOOK THE FOLLOWING 4 PHOTOS WHILE RACING OVER TO BAYFIELD’S PIONEER PARK

LOOKING NORTHEAST ON BAYFIELD RIVER ROAD

LOOKING OUT MY WINDSHIELD TOWARDS BAYFIELD

AGAIN LOOKING NORTHEAST & THE 2 LIGHTS ARE FROM WINDOWS AT THE BAYFIELD VILLAGE INN ON HIGHWAY 21

LOOKING EAST FROM HIGHWAY 21 AT THE NORTH END OF THE VILLAGE      

Wind had really picked up so I kept a wary eye out for branches on the ground.  Minutes later I was at Pioneer Park & the wind had the trees whipped into a frenzy.  People were scattering for their cars.  One lady remained with her camera along a wood rail fence & two more joined her.  The clouds overhead & out over the lake were in absolute turmoil as I grabbed 7 or 8 photos.  Rain was just beginning & I knew it was only minutes or seconds before the really heavy stuff hit.   In all my years I had never seen skies as angry looking as the skies I was looking at around 5:45 late this afternoon.  Bolt lightning was coming straight down out over the lake & the thunder just came rolling ashore like a barrage of cannons.  WOW I thought to myself, NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL EXCITING!!  Suddenly the rain was upon us & I made a mad dash for the Jeep only a short distance away.  I assume the 3 ladies did the same.  Drove the mile or so home under black skies, pelting rain, & wind gusts that shook the Jeep.  Just as I pulled in the driveway the rain let up for a few seconds long enough for me to make a mad dash out of the Jeep into the house.  With one flash of lightning & an instant loud crack of lightning the storm seemed to signal it's departure.  Rains eased up as the thunder claps & lightning moved inland.  Checking the live radar while uploading my storm photos I could see we were in the clear as far as thunder & lightning but the light & heavy rains did stop & start for another hour or two.  Radar showed towns & villages along with farms & farmland were now in the grip of the rumbling storm.  Could only hope there were no tornados wrapped in those storm clouds............................

THIS WAS THE FIRST PHOTO I TOOK ARRIVING AT PIONEER PARK AS A LADY SCRAMBLES OVER A FENCE

ANGRY SKIES

LOOKING OUT OVER LAKE HURON IN A WESTERLY DIRECTION

NO PHOTO ENHANCEMENTS HERE, THIS IS EXACTLY HOW THE CAMERA SAW THE STORM

 

WIND WAS REALLY WHIPPING THE TREE BRANCHES AROUND

LOOKING IN THE DIRECTION OF DETROIT MICHIGAN IF ONE WERE TO FOLLOW THAT SHORELINE SOUTHWEST ABOUT 132 MILES

TREE BRANCHES BENDING IN THE WIND

TORRENTIAL RAINS ARE FAST APPROACHING HIDDEN IN THAT SOLID CLOUD COVER JUST OFFSHORE

RECORDING THE STORM ON THEIR CAMERAS & OR CELL PHONES & MY LAST PHOTO BEFORE THE RAINS WERE SUDDENLY UPON US

THE RAIN IS WRAPPED IN THAT SMOOTH CLOUD SECTION LOWER RIGHT

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A woman, employed as a telemarketer, was making phone calls to different households.  A little boy answered and whispered, "Hello". The woman asked if his mother was there. The little boy whispered, "Yes". The woman asked if she could speak with her. The little boy whispered, "No, she's busy."  The woman asked if his father was there. The little boy whispered, "Yes". The woman asked if she could speak with him. The little boy whispered, "No, he's busy too." The woman asked if anyone else was there and the little boy whispered, "Yes, the fire department is here". The woman said, "May I speak with one of them?" The little boy whispered, "No, they're all busy."  The woman asked if anyone else was there, the little boy whispered, "Yes, the police department ". The woman said, "May I speak with one of them?" The little boy whispered, "No, they're all busy too." The woman said, "May I ask where you are & what they're all doing?" The little boy whispered, "I'm in the closet & they're all looking for me."