OOPS, I ACCIDENTALLY SET FIRE TO OUR WOOD PILE WITH MY NEW WEED BURNING TORCH

I’M GUESSING THIS LITTLE FELLOW IN OUR YARD TODAY MAY BE AN ORIOLE

An overcast sky worked in my favor this morning as I was able to finish up my window washing project.  I have never seen so many Goldfinches in our yard before & I think I may have seen an Oriole hanging around our frog pond this afternoon.

NOW THAT IS A LOT OF LITTLE GOLDFINCHES ON THE GROUND UNDERNEATH THE FEEDER (ODD COLOR IS FROM WINDOW TINT & SHADOW)
Controlling weeds has become a problem since pesticides were banned a few years ago so today I picked up a Garden Mag Torch at the TSC store for torching weeds.  Had me a go at some back yard weeds.  Don't know how many weeds I killed but I did manage to set fire to a small wood pile.  Hadn't noticed it smouldering but a couple hours later I heard some crackling outside & sure enough I had a nice little campfire going on in the woodpile.  I had been scorching some weeds around a couple of old pine logs & probably ignited some dry pine needles.  We do have needles on the ground here so my lesson today is that one has to be rather careful when using a weed burning torch. 

THINK THIS MIGHT BE SOME KIND OF SMALL CHERRY TREE BESIDE OUR FROG POND
Afternoon sunshine brought up the humidity levels again & I sure was thankful to have a vehicle with a/c again when Pheebs & I slipped up to Goderich for some paint, some birdseed, & the weed torch.  We had the Libbygator so cold inside on our way home it started to snow.  Snowed so heavy I had to stop & put the windshield wipers on the inside of the windshield just to keep it clear.

Spent the rest of the afternoon in very close proximity to my fan but will resume more clean-up projects first thing in the cooler morning air.  Our 6 o'clock news weather department mentioned a 'storm warning, & storm watch' bulletin for our area of south western Ontario at the moment.  A tornado watch as well south of us down around Sarnia, Port Huron, Windsor, & Detroit.  I had better post this in case we lose our power which we usually do. 

A FEW PHOTOS LEFT OVER FROM LAST WEEK’S COUNTRY ROAD DRIVES

 

YES INDEED THIS IS RURAL FARM COUNTRY HERE IN THESE PARTS

Skies are blackening as I type this & I just rolled the motorcycle back into the carport.  Mentioning the motorcycle I am having quite a time swinging my right leg up & over the seat to get on it & the same thing for getting off.  One of the reasons for selling our Jeep Wrangler is the difficulty I was having getting in & out of it but it wasn't as hard a time as I'm having with the motorcycle at the moment.  Of my two problem legs it is my right leg that is giving me the most grief & to get on the bike I have to now reach down, grab my pant leg & lift my leg over the seat.  Same for getting off.  I can get off & while balancing on my left leg have to reach over, grab my pant leg again & lift my leg over the seat.  Good thing I'm not a shorts wearing guy or I'd have to wear knee socks to grab onto.  Oh the wonders of aging eh..........................

AND WHAT WOULD SPRING BE WITHOUT A DANDELION OR TWO IN THE YARD >>>

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A couple of opposing candidates for county office happened to be sitting next to each other in the local diner.  One turned to the other and said, "You know why I'm going to win this election? Because of my 'personal touch.' For example, I always tip waitresses really well and then ask them to vote for me."  "Oh, is that so?" replied the other. "I always tip them a nickel and ask them to vote for you too."

WATCHED A BIG LAKE FREIGHTER GOING BACKWARDS TODAY

A LARGE LAKE FREIGHTER WAITS OFFSHORE NEAR GODERICH IN THIS MORNING’S EARLY DAY MIST

'WOW' couldn't believe how much & how fast our temperatures dropped Saturday night.  I was right back into a warm T-Shirt with a long sleeve flannel shirt & jacket again this morning.  Nicer for doing yard though.  No hot sweaty stuff.

 

ONE OF OUR FRONT YARD AZALEA PLANTS IS IN BLOOM…WELL I THINK IT’S AN AZALEA
Kelly was off early to Cambridge Ontario for Mother's Day so Pheebs & I were in charge of holding down the Fort.  Of course not wanting to hang around the Fort all day we hitched Libby up & off we headed for Goderich.  Figured since I had just washed the Jeep Saturday we'd stay off any dusty roads today & we did just that.
 

OH HOW WE LIKE ALL OUR FRONT YARD GOLDFINCHES

MAYBE NOT THE BEST OF FRIENDS TODAY THESE TWO
Coffee & carrot muffin at McD's & we headed on down to the Goderich harbour.  Spotted 2 large Lake Freighters a few miles offshore with their bows pointed towards the harbor mouth.  One appeared to be anchored while the other one appeared to be on a steady inbound course for the harbor mouth.  Took Pheebs for a quick walk at the dog walking area before heading over to the outer harbor area near the large Sifto Salt Mine complex.  Figured the inbound freighter was probably coming in for a load of salt.  Pheebs stayed in the Liberty while I walked all the way out to the end of the south pier to watch the first freighter come in.

SPOTTED A LARGE MOTIONLESS GREAT LAKES FREIGHTER IN THE MIST

A SECOND FREIGHTER INBOUND FOR THE GODERICH HARBOR
I had always assumed these large ships came all the way into the inner harbor bow first whereupon a tugboat probably got them swung around & lined up with the north pier beside the salt mine's loading facility.  Imagine my surprise to see this large lake freighter slow then begin to turn sideways to the harbor entrance.  It was in fact swinging around to begin backing itself in through the outer harbor using it's main propeller in reverse & bow thrusters to keep it steady.  It eventually cozied itself up to the pier beside the salt mine's loading dock.  Met a knowledgeable chap on the pier who told me backing in without tug boats is a normal procedure as long as there is no wind & the waters are calm.  It is on windy days the ships come in bow first & then are swung around using tugboats in either the outer or inner harbor & manoeuvred into place.  He told me this particular ship had a new Captain at the helm & this was his first time backing into the harbor.  Said usually they are backed in much faster.  Maybe the new Captain was being very cautious because he only had a beginner's back up license:)) 

THE SHIP HAS NOW SWUNG ROUND & IS BACK UP

KINDA HARD TO IMAGINE THIS BIG THING GOING BACKWARDS

PHOTO ABOVE SHOWS THE SHIP FIRST PLACING IT’S STERN AGAINST THE DOCK THEN USING IT’S PORT BOW THRUSTER TO NESTLE THE FRONT END SNUGLY AGAINST THE PIER…PHOTO AT LEFT SHOWS SOMEONE IN THE WHEELHOUSE WHO MAY VERY WELL BE THE CAPTAIN CHECKING THE SHIPS DOCKING PROGRESS

I think the fellows name I talked to on the pier today was Don & having several Sons following the marine way of life he was very much into the know about ships, their locations, their histories, & their crews.  Don, a photo buff himself hosts SunSets an ongoing photo collage of Goderich sunsets taken by area people.  He encouraged me to send in some of my sunset pics & I just might take him up on that offer.  

GODERICH HAS DONE A FINE JOB OF MAKING THEIR SOUTH PIER WHEEL CHAIR ACCESSIBLE

ON THE RIGHT IS THE LOADING SHUTE AT THE SIFTO SALT MINE & THAT IS WHERE SHIPS TIE UP ALONGSIDE & ARE LOADED WITH TONS OF SALT
After the ship was docked & enveloped by a cold damp overcast day Pheebs & I decided to just head on back home & get a few things done around the house.  It seems the more I look around the more I am seeing things which need to be done.  In fact both Kelly & I are beginning to feel a little overwhelmed.  Guess it's better to be a tad overwhelmed than a whole bunch underwhelmed.  Well at least for me anyway.  Keeps my sometimes too analytical mind from being so dam analytical!!

TWO CANADA GEESE CALMLY FLOAT ON THE PLACID WATERS OF THE 3RD LARGEST FRESH WATER LAKE IN THE WORLD…LAKE HURON

I was kinda slumped in my recliner looking out at the cold gray day when a solar flair obviously occurred on the Sun sending a shaft of sunlight speeding to earth whereupon it beamed right down through the pine trees into our living room, bounced off the floor & struck me full in my battery compartment.  I was instantly energized & within minutes was atop a step ladder outside in the glorious sunshine cleaning long overdue house windows.  Temperatures rapidly ramped up & I was quickly into a short sleeve shirt again.  Oh how I like when things happen like that.  I rode that energy wave for 2 solid hours completing two thirds of our windows both inside & out.

 

IT SEEMS THE MORE CAMERAS I USE THE THE MORE CONFUSED I GET:((

Kelly rolled in sometime around 4 loaded down with Mother's Day flowers & cards.  Said she had a good a day but is always happy to return home to our quieter way of life here in the pine forest.  Pheebs & I are always mighty happy to have her home as well:)) 

HERE KELLY IS FLANKED BY HER 2 DAUGHTERS REBECCA & SABRA PLUS 2 DAUGHTER-IN-LAWS, BREE & KIM…ALL MOTHERS:))… NOT PRESENT WAS KELLY’S OTHER DAUGHTER SARAH IN VANCOUVER B.C. WHO BY THE WAY IS ALSO A MOTHER

 

KELLY’S 2 SONS, JASON & BEN

As I type this tonight I am again back in my T-Shirt & long sleeve flannel shirt as our temperatures have again dropped.  We certainly have been on a wild roller coaster ride with fluctuating temps these past couple days.  Looks like rain for the next couple days.  In fact it just started raining now……Nuts!!

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Two mothers are having a conversation about their children one day.
"How do you get your son up so early on school mornings?" asks the first woman.  "Oh, that's easy," replies the second. "I just throw the cat on his bed."  "Why does that wake him up?"  "He sleeps with the dog!" 

WASHED 2 VEHICLES TODAY & WHAT DOES A BREVILLE HAVE TO DO WITH A CHOCOLATE SHALLOW SHEET CAKE

As a teen-age boy many of my Saturday mornings were spent cleaning cars.  In my early teens it was my Step-Fathers monstrous black 1961 Ford Galaxy.  What a dinosaur that thing was to clean but I took great pride seeing my Mother & Step-Dad roll out the driveway on a Saturday night or Sunday afternoon drive with the shiniest car in town.  In my later teens it was my own car I feverishly cleaned up on Saturday mornings.  Oh I still kept the big Dinosaur clean as well but most of my pride had shifted to my little blue 1961 VW Beetle.  That Saturday morning car cleaning routine is still with me & I felt it this morning when I walked outside.  Out came Kelly's white Pontiac Sunfire & I was right at it with a bucket of sudsy water & a garden hose.  Although after sitting in storage all winter it wasn't too dirty but I figured it needed a good vacuuming, a wash, & all the windows cleaned anyway.

GETTING ANOTHER LOAD OF YARD WASTE READY FOR THE RECYCLING AREA
After finishing up the Sunfire & with humidity building I only managed to get Libby vacuumed & that was it.  By noon I was a 200 pound walking ball of sticky paste & I had no choice but to call it a day & head inside & cozy myself up to my cooling 3 bladed fan.  However just before heading inside I did manage to hook up our utility trailer & haul one load of pine needles & branches off to our recycle area.  Of course when I say I I am of course also meaning Pheebs as well

NICE TO SEE OUR RED BREASTED GROSBEAKS BACK AGAIN
 

LOTS OF SOFT COMFY ROOM ON LIBBY’S BACK SEAT FOR PHEEBS & THIS PAIR OF SWALLOWS SURE GAVE US A PIECE OF THEIR MIND RECENTLY

A few days ago a big white Fed Ex truck rolled up & stopped at our driveway.  Fellow got out & came bouncing up our driveway with a big box which he readily handed me making me almost tip over forward from the weight.  Now what the heck have we got I thought.  I placed it on our front porch & when Kelly arrived home half an hour later she was all smiles at seeing the big plain brown cardboard box.  She said it was a new 'mixer'.  Thought to myself, 'ya what for.....mixing cement!!  A second box was soon lifted from the first box & sure enough it said mixer all right.  Kelly went right to work unpacking it & when she pulled this metallic gray thing out I was reminded of Russia's Sputnik many years ago which by the way I still remember watching go over our Tavistock house one fine starry Sunday night.  Well Russia may have had Sputnik back then but Kelly now had an equally fine gizmo called a Breville & today we found out just how well Kelly's new 550 watt super turbo charged fuel injected heavy duty mixer Breville gizmo worked.

HAS SOME SORT OF ALIEN SPACE CRAFT LANDED ON OUR FRONT DECK??

 

Cookies, cookies, everywhere today plus something called a Chocolate Sheet Cake  all the result of this shiny gray space age looking Mossmagator of a Breville blender now sitting in a space recently vacated by our micro-wave.  With Mother's Day coming up Sunday Kelly is heading over to Cambridge Ontario to spend the day with 4 of her 5 children.  Cookies & the 3 sheets to the wind cake will be going with her.  It seems Grandchildren really love that kind of stuff.  Well guess what, aging cranky old husbands really love that  kind of stuff too so I'm hoping to maybe find a few errant crumbs left after Kelly leaves in the morning.

THE YUMMIEST OF EVER CHOCOLATE COOKIES & I’M GONNA SNEAK 50 OF THEM FOR MYSELF & HIDE EM UNDER MY PILLOW

  

KELLY SAYS THE SECTION OF CAKE WITH SMARTIES ON IT IS FOR THE KIDS

<<< AND HERE’S OUR PRETTY LITTLE COOKIE & CAKE BAKER RIGHT NOW
Noticed about 2 this afternoon our dreaded humidity had finally backed off a bit so I was right back outside with a bucket of sudsy water & a garden hose again tackling the dusty Liberty.  Didn't take me long to have it all sparkled up again & I took it for a short drive to blow dry it & that was that.   Somewhere along the line our humidity seemed to climb back up again & I soon had to do some climbing myself right into our shower to get all that sweaty paste off.  Next major clean-up job will be the Motorhome.  Although I did pressure wash all the salt off about 3 weeks ago it is still in major need of a good wash down.  If I can just manage a good energy day match up with a warm no humidity day I should be able to get that big job finally off my list as well.

HAPPY TO SEE OUR GOLDFINCHES ARE BACK ONCE AGAIN

 

In regards to my Friday night post.......Thanks for your help everybody:)))))))

A DEER PARK SUNSET

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A young woman decided to redecorate her bedroom. She wasn't sure how many rolls of wallpaper she would need, but she knew that her friend next door had recently done the same job and the two rooms were identical in size.  "Buffy," she said, "how many rolls of wallpaper did you buy for your bedroom?"  "Ten," said Buffy.
So the young woman bought the ten rolls of paper and did the job, but she had 2 rolls left over.  "Buffy," she said. "I bought ten rolls of wallpaper for the bedroom, but I've got 2 rolls left over!"  "Yeah!" said Buffy. "So did I."