SHE’S GETTING TO BE QUITE THE LITTLE SWAMP HOG

JUST PLOWING THROUGH SOME WATER & MUD AT THE HULLETT MARSH THIS MORNING…PHEEB’S IS GETTING TO BE QUITE A LITTLE SWAMP HOG

Cold clear night & the weather department issued frost warnings.  Never saw any evidence of that this morning but it sure was cool out when Pheebs & I headed off for a short drive & walk in the Hullett Marsh.  Advantage of cooler air is we didn't encounter any bugs despite hiking through some very swampy areas.

COULD THIS BE A YELLOW WARBLER

A SWAMP GRACKLE
Exiting the Jeep at a gravel parking area near a trail head I immediately heard a couple Killdeer making a big fuss & knew right away we must have pulled in very close to their nest.  I watched as one of the Killdeer tried to draw us away from the area with the old 'broken wing' trick.  I knew about that trick so I took the opportunity to grab a few photos of the Killdeer striking not only a defensive posture but an aggressive posture as well.   We didn't linger & quickly moved off leaving the Mother Killdeer to return to her nest in the nearby gravel somewhere. 

THE KILLDEER BEGINS DOING IT’S ‘BROKEN WING’ ROUTINE TRYING TO DIVERT MY ATTENTION AWAY FROM IT’S NEST

 

WHEN I DIDN’T FOLLOW HER SHE COMES TROTTING BACK TO ASK ME WHY

KEEPING A WARY EYE ON ME

KEEP IN MIND I AM USING A 300mm TELEPHOTO LENS HERE SO I AM PHYSICALLY NOT AS CLOSE TO THE KILLDEER AS IT LOOKS

 

I TOOK A FEW STEPS FORWARD & MAMA KILLDEER SPRANG INTO AGGRESSIVE ATTACK MODE & I QUICKLY TURNED & WALK AWAY

TOTAL ENCOUNTER LASTED ABOUT 30 SECONDS

Pheebe seems to be getting a little braver around water & didn't hesitate splashing across some shallow channels.  Almost up to her belly in one muddy section so I had to walk her along the top of a grassy berm in an attempt to dry her fur out & flake the mud off.  Reaching the car I still had to dry off her legs & paws with an old towel.  That done, we were ready to go & Libby’s interior remained unscathed.

WALKED THE PHEEBS THROUGH THE GRASS ALONG THIS BERM BESIDE ONE OF HULLETT’S PONDS

TINY VIOLETS ALONG THE TRAIL

 

Pheebs & I were home again about 10:30 & I continued on with some of the yard work projects I had started the day before.  So nice to have this cooler sunny weather which is totally perfect for working around outside.  No sweaty stuff.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS LITTLE SHORE BIRD IS

For any RV’ers in our area this week-end keep in mind Ron from Four Seasons Performance is having his annual big RV miscellaneous parts garage sale.  Summer Clear-out - tow bars, brake buddy, hitches, receivers, hydro cords, tons of stuff – CHEAP…..Blue Ox, Demco, etc.  Be there or be square:)) And by the way, you won’t meet a friendlier or helpful guy than Ron his very self.

We had received an email Wednesday morning about our Jeep Wrangler from a fella in Sarnia Ontario.  Sounded very interested so Wednesday night he & his wife plus their Son drove up to have a look at it.  The Son already owns 2 Jeeps but it was his Dad who was wanting a Jeep for himself.  They saw right away our Jeep was in good shape so Father & Son took it for a drive & that sealed the deal.  We reached an agreement on the price & that was that.  They will be back Monday to pick it up.  Sad to see Jeepers go of course but happy to finally have the Jeep sale behind us.  Now, on to our next big decision……..

GROANER'S CORNER:(( An effusive client brought a litter of golden-retriever puppies to my veterinary clinic for inoculations and worming. She loved them so much, she couldn't keep from remarking about their cute habits.  As the look-alike pups squirmed over and under one another in their box, I realized it would be difficult to tell the treated ones from the rest. I turned on the water faucet, wet my fingers, and moistened each dog's head when I had finished.  After the fourth puppy, I noticed my hitherto talkative client had grown silent. As I sprinkled the last pup's head, the woman leaned forward and whispered, "I never realized they had to be baptized."

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A veterinarian was feeling ill and went to see his doctor. The doctor asked him all the usual questions, about symptoms, how long had they been occurring, etc., when the veterinarian interrupted him, saying, "Hey look, I'm a vet - I don't need to ask my patients these kind of questions. I can tell what's wrong just by looking. Why can't you?"  The doctor nodded, looked him up and down, wrote out a prescription, and handed it to him and said, "There you are. Of course, if that doesn't work, we'll have to have you put down."

WE SOLD LITTLE JEEPERS TONIGHT

We both spent the day with our noses to the grindstone.  I had our metal storage shed to clean up plus some more power washing, weed whacking, more clean up with the leaf blower, flower beds needed extra attention, etc etc.  Kelly was busy inside cleaning as well.  We were both highly motivated today & the weather cooperated with sunny skies & cool temps.  Interest has greatly increased in our Jeep Wrangler since we lowered the price so we're hopeful it will sell shortly.  From all of today's cleaning & yard work activities I'm tired tonight so I will just leave you with some photos from around our front yard today.  UPDATE::  We sold little Jeepers tonight.

 

GROANER'S CORNER:((Vincent Van Gogh had a very large family. Here's a listing of some of his lesser known relatives.

The grandfather who moved to Yugoslavia ........ U.Gogh

The brother who accidentally bleached all his clothes white - Hue Gogh

The sister who wore a mini skirt and liked to dance in bars...Go Gogh

The real obnoxious brother ......................Please Gogh

The brother who ate prunes ......................Gotta Gogh

The uncle who worked at a convenience store .....Stop N Gogh

His dizzy aunt ..................................Verti Gogh

The cousin who moved to Illinois ................Chica Gogh

His magician uncle...............................Wherediddy Gogh

The cousin who lived in Mexico ..................Amee Gogh

Another cousin who lived in Mexico ..............Grin Gogh

Nephew that drove a stage coach..................Wells Far Gogh

Uncle who was constipated....................... Cant Gogh

Aunt who was a good dancer..................... TanGogh

A FELLOW BLOGGER’S ‘LAST POST’

From my comfy recliner I have a clear view of our surrounding pine trees to the southeast & it's always nice to see sunlight tickling the tops of our pines first thing in the morning.  Our Monday night storm didn't amount to anything more than dark skies, a bit of wind in the tree tops & a smattering of light rain for about 5 minutes.  Judging from our computer weather map I'd say the storm veered inland to the east just missing us.  However it did leave us all shivering in colder mid 40 temperatures today & same for tomorrow:((

ENCOURAGING SIGNS OF SPRING
Thanks to Blogland’s lady of birds JUDY for correcting my guess about Goldfinches in my Monday night post.  The photo I included are actually Pine Siskins & I think it is the first time I have ever seen them in our yard.  They certainly have taken control of our Niger seed feeder & there are a lot of them.  I don't think I would be exaggerating if I said there are probably 40 or 50 of them out there.  It's an absolute mob scene around the feeder as they try to knock each other off to get onto a feeding perch.  And I've noticed they don't seem to come in one's or two's but do seem to come in flocks. 

IT’S BEEN A MOB SCENE OF PINE SISKINS AROUND OUR FEEDER

My project today on what eventually turned out to be a cold cloudy morning was to paint the inside of the kitchen cupboard where our micro-wave is now sitting.  Paint I bought a couple days ago was too thin so I was not a happy Camper with paint dripping here & running there & not covering worth a snoot.  Despite my impatience with this sort of thing I did manage to persevere & complete the project.  Painting is one of those things I figure a person has to be in the right kind of mood to do.  And of course my project was not without another memory failure.  Wasn't until I had completed the job that I suddenly remembered we already had some paint sitting in a closet above our water heater.  I had previously checked an outside shed where I normally keep paint before buying a new can but had found nothing.  Checked the paint above the water heater & sure enough there were two cans of white primer with one can never opened.  It's no wonder I get upset with myself!!

LIBBY AT THE HULLETT MARSH LAST WEEK

There are countless numbers of interesting blogs out here on the web & one could easily spend their days just reading & reading.   Sometimes I skim down my sidebar looking at blog titles & when one jumps out at me I'll stop & have a look.  Such was the case this morning when I saw Barney from Old Fat Man's Adventures title which read, An Important Announcement.  In his short post Barney had a link to another Blogger's post which in turn was titled, My Last Post.  I clicked on that & it turned out to be Wandrin Lloyd's Blog.  The name Wandrin Lloyd rang a bell & I finally remembered he was the fellow Mark from Box Canyon Blog had talked about awhile back.  Wandrin Lloyd spent some time hiking the majestic mountains around Ouray Colorado with Mark & Bobbie recently I think.  Although I have not met Wandrin Lloyd & have not followed his blog I am truly saddened to read what has happened & what is happening to him.  I wanted to leave a comment on his post today but I just didn’t know what to say………………………

UNDERWATER LILY PADS

GROANER'S CORNER:(( My husband, a forester, often has to consult property owners to determine boundary lines. Walking up a dirt road to question one such individual, he encountered signs that read: "No Trespassing," "Beware of Dog," and "Keep Out...This Means You!" Finally arriving at the door, he talked with the congenial, cooperative landowner. When my husband was ready to leave, the man said to him, "Come and see me again sometime. I don't get many visitors up this way."

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Little Harold was practicing the violin in the living room while his father was trying to read in the den. The family dog was lying in the den, and as the screeching sounds of little Harold's violin reached his ears, he began to howl loudly.  The father listened to the dog and the violin as long as he could. Then he jumped up, slammed his paper to the floor and yelled above the noise, "For Pete's sake, can't you play something the dog doesn't know?!"

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!"