IS IT ANY WONDER WHY I LIKE TO SPEND A FEW HOURS MOST EVERY MORNING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

A LONE EGRET IN THE HULLETT MARSH THIS MORNING

I took advantage of the mornings temporary cooler air and got a couple more things stroked off my outside 'to do' list.  By 9 the air was turning hot and sticky already and my shirt felt clammy.  Not wanting to start the day off sitting in the house I turned to my furry little 4 legged black shadow and asked her what she would like to do.  Seconds later we were into the Jeep and off out the driveway.  I wish just for once I could experience that ever so over the top delirious happiness that I see in the Pheebs all the time and especially when she knows we are going for a Jeep ride.  Just once I say.

IS IT ANY WONDER WHY I LIKE TO SPEND A FEW HOURS MOST EVERY MORNING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

Traveled our usual and steadfastly true route again as we slipped through Clinton's Tim Hortons on our slowpoke journey over to the Hullett Marsh just a short distance away.  Even with our windows down at 20mph I could feel the day’s mugginess continuing to build. 

Due to the heat I figured we'd just stop at one of our favorite areas for a quick leg stretch but was pleasantly surprised at a nice cooling southerly breeze that at least enabled us to get a short walk in.  A couple Blue Herons, a lone Egret and a full squadrons of Ducks in the morning air added nicely to Hullet’s great and ongoing mystique.  

A GREAT BLUE HERON

THE HERON TAKES TO THE AIR AND STAMPEDES A HERD OF DUCKS

SPOTTED THIS LONE EGRET

THE EGRET QUICKLY TAKES TO THE AIR

THE EGRET LANDED BRIEFLY THEN TOOK OFF AND LANDED AGAIN

I could tell Pheebs was tired from the heat so we  cut our walk short and decided to head ourselves on home.  Had to max out the A/C along the way and by the time we got home we had a full length snow drift running right between the seats from front to back.  I had quite a time shoveling all that snow out of the Jeep I did:))

PHEEBS FINDS A SHADY SPOT OUT OF THE SUN’S HEAT AND THE JEEP IS SLIGHTLY VISIBLE TO THE UPPER RIGHT

SAW A COUPLE DEER ON THE FAR SIDE BUT BY THE TIME I GOT MY CAMERA STEADIED THEY WERE GONE

AN OLD OBSERVATION STAND IN THE MARSH

NICE TO SEE WATER LEVELS UP IN THE MARSH PONDS AGAIN

NOT OFTEN I SEE HUMANOIDS IN THE MARSH…..THESE ARE A COUPLE HULLETT WORKERS

I wasn't long in getting into the house but I wasn't there long.  Looking out I could see Kelly working away outside re-arranging some flower pots in the heat.  Not wanting to think of myself as some kind of a hot weather wimp I knew I had better get myself outside and get slaving and sweating away under the hot noon day Sun.  A few more Hostas dug up an re-located plus I made a start on a stone flowerbed edging project.  In the meantime Kelly had wisely headed back inside and by 1 o'clock with my sweaty shirt glued to me I had to drag myself back inside and throw my 215 pound blob of paste into the shower.   Oh how I love those big million dollar feeling good showers:))

‘IS THIS AWFUL HOT WEATHER GOING TO END SOON DAD’

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A husband and wife were driving down a country lane on their way to visit some friends. They came to a watery muddy patch in the road and the car became bogged. After a few minutes of trying to get the car out by themselves, they saw a young farmer coming down the lane, driving some oxen before him. The farmer stopped when he saw the couple in trouble and offered to pull the car out of the mud for $50. The husband accepted and minutes later the car was free. The farmer turned to the husband and said, "You know, you're the tenth car I've helped out of the mud today." The husband looks around at the fields incredulously and asks the farmer, "When do you have time to plough your land? At night?" "No," the young farmer replied seriously, "Night is when I put more water back in the hole."

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On the first day of college, the Dean addressed the students, pointing out some of the rules:  "The female dormitory will be out-of-bounds for all male students, and the male dormitory to the female students. Anybody caught breaking this rule will be fined $20 the first time."  He continued, "Anybody caught breaking this rule the second time will be fined $60. Being caught a third time will cost you a fine of $180. Are there any questions?"  At this point, a male student in the crowd inquired: "How much for a season pass?"

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Q: Did you hear about the kidnapping at school? A: It's okay. He woke up.

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“My elderly aunt loves telling jokes while she knits. She is a real knitwit.”

IT WAS SPANKING BRAND NEW MATCHING RED PONTIAC FIEROS WE HAD BACK THEN

Many times I’ve listened to relaxation tapes and CD’s using natures natural sounds.  One of those sounds often heard is the gentle lapping of waves on a sandy shore.  No need for tapes or CD’s this morning as I stood quietly beside Lake Huron absorbing the peaceful sounds of calming waves upon the shore  Every 3 seconds there was a gentle swish as Huron’s water tumbled sand and tiny pebbles onto the beach.  Mid August’s azure blue sky bordered with a long rolling ridge of far off horizon clouds rippled colors into the vast lake waters below.  I was in the right place at the right time. It was a nice morning and a nice place to be……………….

So nice to see recent rains have brought water back into near dried out muddy swamps.  Pond levels look higher and creeks are flowing freely again.  Green  has become even greener.  With cooler night air meeting a warmer dawn shadowy mists hang lazily in trees wrapping the land in a pastel of mellow hues .  Crickets chirping in the countryside herald in mornings heavy dew.  Autumn is stirring and that gives me a feeling of calm. 

MORNING’S MIST BEGINS TO LIFT

WE STOPPED ON A COUNTRY ROAD RUNNING THROUGH A SWAMP

NICE TO SEE WATER IN THE SWAMPS AGAIN

THIS WAS THE DRIED UP SWAMP LESS THAN A WEEK AGO

MORNINGS AIR WAS STILL COOL ENOUGH TO KEEP MOSQUITOS GROUNDED

MY OH MY WHAT BIG JAWS YOU HAVE MR. GATOR:))

Humidity built rapidly again so there was no point in trying to do anything in the front yard.  Puttered about in the shade of our carport tidying up our storage area until 11:30 when it was time to retreat inside and cool off.  Ventured out briefly about mid afternoon and it felt like the Sun was going to burn a hole in my shirt.  This miserable yukky icky sticky stuff is due to last until Sunday when they say a big change is coming.  I hope it snows!!

NOTICE THE INUKSHUKS (BOTTOM) STANDING HIGH AND DRY IN THE MAITLAND RIVER SOUTH OF BALLS BRIDGE LAST WEEK

SAME INUKSHUKS SINCE OUR RECENT RAINS HAVE BROUGHT RIVER LEVELS UP

Feeling much better today after Wednesday’s wash out on the ‘feeling good’ side of things.  I may have torpedoed myself Tuesday night when I accidentally took one of my old sleeping pills which are much stronger than the newer ones I started on a couple months ago.  I was totally Zombied all day Wednesday:((

WHEN I TOOK THIS PHOTO I DID NOT SEE THE WATER MOVEMENT AT LOWER LEFT AND WHEN I DID I GRABBED MY OTHER CAMERA WITH THE TELEPHOTO LENS FOR THE PHOTOS BELOW

THIS GUY WAS A REGULAR SPEEDBOAT….HE’S DEAD CENTER MOVING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

YES INDEED IT’S MR. MUSKRAT HIS VERY SELF

Murray from Speedy Glass came Wednesday shortly after noon and measured up the large passenger side windshield in the rig.  Said it would be a couple weeks before the new windshield would be in and they could install it.  We will take the Motorhome to Goderich and leave it for the day at that time.

SEEN THIS MORNING AT GODERICH’S GRAIN ELEVATORS WAS THE OCEAN GOING LAKE FRIEIGHTER ‘MANITOULIN’

A COUPLE CREW MEMBERS ON DECK….”TOM I WANT YOU TO DRIVE THE BOAT TODAY”

“I KNOW YOUR NEW HERE BUT I’LL TAKE A PICTURE OF THE FRONT END SO YOU KNOW WHICH WAY TO STEER IT”

“NAWWWW I DON’T THINK I WANT TO DO THAT MIKE”

“HEY THAT’S AN ORDER TOM”…….”MY IDEA OF AN ORDER MIKE IS A HAMBURGER WITH THE WORKS, FRENCH FRYS AND A COKE……SO THERE”!!

SOMETHING CAUGHT MY EYE WITH THIS STEAMSHIP LINE’S LOGO….AN INDIAN HEAD PROFILE LOOKING RIGHT BUT CAN YOU SEE WHAT IS PROFILED LOOKING LEFT??

Hope you folks are keeping an eye on my buddy Jim's blog entitled Lifetime Sentences.  He's out here three, four and five times a day every day with his varied and attentive topics covering a lot of ground.  An experienced writer with a newspaper background Jim has authored several books over the years.  Being a singer/songwriter as well he also put an album out way back in the early 80's and at a Stratford music concert opened for Canada’s Valdy a few months back.  Unlike Mr. Blabberfingers here Jim has the knack of keeping his posts not only interesting but ingeniously short and to the point many times.  

PONTIAC FIERO (photo from the Internet)

Say, did I ever tell you about the time Jim and I bought ourselves a couple brand spanking new matching red Pontiac Fieros at the same time from the same St. Mary's Ontario dealership.  Yep that actually happened back in the Spring of 1985 or 86 I think it was.  I kept my Fiero about 3 months and Jim kept his Fiero for like almost forever.  That should tell you something about our varied personalities and why we have been the best of friends for nearly 37 years:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a Harley motorcycle when he spotted a well-known heart surgeon in his shop.
The surgeon was there, waiting for the service manager to come and take a look at his bike.
The mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hey, Doc, can I ask you a question?"
The surgeon a bit surprised, walked over to the mechanic working on the motorcycle.
The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, "So Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take the valves out, fix 'em, put 'em back in, and when I finish, it works just like new. So how come I get such a small salary and you get the really big bucks, when you and I are doing basically the same work?" The surgeon paused, smiled and leaned over, and whispered to the mechanic, "Try doing it with the engine running."

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You might be a redneck if..........
Your soap on a rope doubles as an air freshener.
Your wife's hairdo attracts bees.
Your baby's first words are "Attention K-Mart shoppers."
The antenna on your truck is a danger to low flying airplanes.
Your primary source of income is the pawn shop.
You pick your teeth from a catalog.
You've ever financed a tattoo.
You refer to the time you won a free case of oil as the "day my ship came in."
Your hairdo has ever been ruined by a ceiling fan.
Your mother has been involved in a fist fight at a high school sports event.