NICE MORNING DRIVE THROUGH HORSE AND BUGGY COUNTRY AND HOW DO I PUT THIS BLOG TOGETHER EVERY DAY

A bitter cold morning with temperatures well below freezing at 20F and a wind chill factor that drove it even lower.  However we had sunny skies and sitting inside wasting a perfectly good  sun drenched day was not an option.  I knew it wouldn’t take Pheebs and I long to have us a tropical heat wave going on inside the Jeep so by 8:30 we had the Libby’s wheels rolling and headed for Tim Hortons ‘drive-thru’ in Clinton.  Figured I’d give their carrot muffins one more try.

SOME COUNTRY ROADS HAVE ALREADY BEEN GRADED WHILE OTHERS STILL HAVE A BIT OF SNOW ON THEM

Slowly rolling north on the first country road east of Clinton I decided to conduct an impromptu autopsy on the muffin to see if I could find any actuall carrot chunk or two inside it.  Aside from a few flecks of orange about the size of a pin head there was not much in the muffin in the way of carrots.  Not like before and certainly not like McDonalds carrot muffins.  Disappointing of course but that didn’t stop Pheebs and I from totally devouring the whole thing right down to the last crumb.

A FEW FINE LOOKING HORSES ALONG THE WAY

No particular destination in mind but we did make a quick stop in one of the Hullett Marsh’s parking lot areas where I let Pheebs out for a run.  She had a nice warm fur coat on and I didn’t so it was in the tropical Jeep I stayed.

ANOTHER MONTH AND THERE WILL BE COLOR IN THOSE BARREN LOOKING TREES AND THE SWAMP FLOOR BELOW WILL BE TURNING GREEN

IT MAY BE TOTALLY FREEZING OUTSIDE BUT US GUYS WAS TOASTY WARM INSIDE

LOOKING FIRST NORTH THEN SOUTH ALONG THE MAITLAND RIVER NORTH OF AUBURN

THIS IS AN OLD SHALLOW RIVER CROSSING AND I SAW AMISH BUGGY TRACKS THROUGH HERE A COUPLE SUMMERS AGO AND THAT IS ACTUALLY A LARGE ISLAND IN THE MAITLAND RIVER OVER THERE

Wandering northwards I noticed they had a skiff of snow overnight.  We didn’t get anything in the Bayfield area I know of.  At least with the freezing temperatures this morning gravel roads were not muddy but highways had been salted so we were careful to stay off them.

MAPLE SAP PAILS ALONG A FARM LANE

MENDING FENCES ON A COLD MORNING

SPRING IS THE TIME FOR SPREADING MANURE ON THE FIELDS

After working our way north for a dozen miles or so I swung Libby’s nose west and we made our way over and touched on the south end of Mennonite Country.  We were lucky enough to catch a horse and buggy as well as a team of horses pulling a wagon.  Won’t be long and some of those same horses will be busy pulling plows over hill and dale.

We were back home about 11:30 making it a nice 3 hour country road drive for us.  These little morning jaunts of ours sure help to start my days off on the right foot and keep the boredom bugs away.

I TOOK THIS LAST PHOTO IN MY SIDE VIEW MIRROR AFTER THE WAGON HAD PASSED

A Shout Box Guest asked how I put my blogs together and although I’ve written about this before things always have a habit of changing and evolving so I’ll give it another whirl from where I’m at now.  My blog consists of 3 basic parts which have to come together at the end of the day to make it all work.  There is the gathering and editing of photos, the writing, and the final matching up of photos and writing.  No two days are exactly the same it seems in the exact order I do things.  Here’s a typical day for me.  Maybe something has been on my mind since the previous night or I’ve thought of something after waking up in the morning.  If so that thought may end up being my first, third or last paragraph and if I don’t sit down right away at the computer that thought in all probability will be lost.  So you could say some days I start my post as early as maybe 8 o’clock in the morning.

AMISH-MENNONITE FARMS ALONG THE WAY THIS MORNING

I KNOW THIS PHOTO IS A BIT TIPPED TO THE LEFT BUT IF I HAD STRAIGHTENED IT ANY MORE I WOULD HAVE LOST THE TOP OF THE WINDMILL….IT’S ONE OF THE PROBLEMS OF PHOTOGRAPHING FROM A MOVING VEHICLE…..I DO NOT LIKE STOPPING IN FRONT OF PEOPLE’S HOMES TO TAKE PICTURES…..EVERY PHOTO IN TONIGHT’S POST WAS TAKEN ON THE MOVE

A WHITE HOUSE WITH A RED BARN IN THESE PARTS IS PRETTY MUCH ALWAYS A MENNONITE PLACE

SPOTTED THESE PLASTIC MAPLE SAP BAGS UP IN MENNONITE-AMISH COUNTRY AND IT’S THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER SEEN PLASTIC BAGS USED

Through the day I may add another paragraph or two and sometimes I will sit down and basically write the whole post in the form of a rough draught in one shot but it’s usually the former.  I might be outside raking leaves when an idea pops into my head so I will come inside and type it out before the idea pops back out of my head.  The bulk of today’s post for example was written in about half an hour up to the point where I started to answer this question.   Answering the question probably took me another half hour.  Once I have the rough draft typed into paragraph form I am ready to add photos.  I always write and compose first then add photos later.

IT IS NOT OFTEN ONE SEES A BARN WITH ALL NEW BARN BOARDS ON IT ANYMORE

Editing my posts photos every day is usually done sometime in the afternoon depending on how many photos I have and how busy I am with other things.  I probably average about 40 photos (61 today) a day every day and every one of those photos I edit.  Out of 40 photos I will probably end up with possibly 35 usable ones with maybe 25 or 30 making it into my post.  Generally by late afternoon and before suppertime I have the photos done and ready to go.

UNUSUAL TO SEE A SUMMER HAY BALER ON A SNOWY ROAD

SOMETIMES WHEN I LOOK OVER PHEEBS EYES ARE CLOSED AS SHE SO ENJOYS HER JEEP RIDES

After supper which is probably around 5 I am ready to match up all the words with all the photos or in other words compose the final draft.  And it is here where I edit what I have written as well.   I may go over my blog 3 or 4 times looking for errors.  Sometimes I may re-write an entire paragraph but usually it’s only a few lines here and there.  Errors still escape me at times and it bothers me if I publish a post with mistakes in it.  I’m finicky with my photos as well.  I may miss mistakes there too but usually they are small enough that maybe only a fellow photography buff might notice them.

SEEING MORE AND MORE OF THESE MODERN ‘SMOKERS’ POPPING UP ON AREA FARMS

When I first started blogging years ago I did all of the above in the evenings mainly because I was much busier then with part time jobs etc.  The problem I would always run into was ending up way too tired at the end of the day to do the best job I could do and because of that I would become frustrated and irritated.   I reached a point where it was either give up the blog or make some necessary changes if I wanted to continue my enjoyable writing, traveling, and photography hobbies.  And that’s when I started stretching things out over the course of a whole day.  A little bit here a little bit there.  Write, re-write, and edit.

I ALWAYS ENJOY LOOKING AT COUNTRY FARMS AND PROPERTIES

Okay, so here’s a rough breakdown on the time involved for me to put out a daily blog every day.  These are all averages I am guessing at. Editing photos – 1 hour.  Writing the first draft of my post – 1hour.  Re-editing words and photos –1 hour.  Final composition – 1 hour.  So there it is, about 4 hours.  Add to that another hour for all the times I sit here staring blankly at my keyboard trying to think of something to write.  I have spent as much as 6 and 7 hours on a troublesome post and as little as a couple minutes on others.   Oh ya and Groaner’s Corner usually soaks up about 15 minutes each day looking for a joke or two as well:))

STILL A FEW OLD LONE SILOS STANDING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

Okay to wrap this all up…….Some may ask and wonder why would anyone want to invest so much of their time in doing a blog anyway.  Well I’ve answered that question for myself and readers many times so we’ll just leave it at that for now and know that it is an enjoyable and important hobby for me.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( I went back to my home town and decided to visit the house I grew up in.
I asked the occupants if I could come inside. They said, "No!"  My parents can be so grouchy some times!!

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Six guys were playing poker when Smith loses $500 on a single hand, clutches his chest and drops dead at the table. Showing respect for their fallen comrade, the other five complete their playing time standing up. Roberts looks around and asks, "Now, who is going to tell the wife?" They draw straws. Rippington, who is always a loser, picks the short one. They tell him to be discreet, be gentle, don't make a bad situation any worse than it is. "Gentlemen! Discreet? I'm the most discreet man you will ever meet. Discretion is my middle name, leave it to me." Rippington walks over to the Smith house, knocks on the door, the wife answers, and asks what he wants. Rippington says, "Your husband just lost $500 playing cards." She hollers, "TELL HIM TO DROP DEAD!" Rippington says, "Okay I'll go tell him”.

A BLUNDEROUS MORNING LEAVES ME SHAKING MY HEAD AT MYSELF AGAIN:((

ON LAND AROUND HERE OUR ICE AND SNOW ARE ALL BUT GONE

BUT ON WATER IT’S A WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY

Glorious Sunshine all day need I say more……..Well yes I guess I do.

HERE’S A PHOTO FROM THE GRAND BEND YACHT CLUB’S WEB CAM EARLY THIS MORNING SHOWING A TOUCH OF FOG IN THE HARBOR…..NICE TO SEE THAT RIVER FREE OF ICE

ANOTHER LOOK AT A COUPLE LAKE FREIGHTERS IN THE HARBOR….THEIR EXIT TO LAKE HURON IS THAT NARROW  ICY CHANNEL TOP LEFT

THE FREIGHTERS COME AND GO THROUGH THIS CHANNEL AND THAT’S THE SALT MINE ON THE NORTH SIDE

NO PROBLEM FOR THE FREIGHTERS PLOWING THROUGH THESE FLOATING ICE CHUNKS

A SALT MINE REFLECTION

Had it in mind this morning to load up the Pheebs and head on off up into Mennonite/Amish country and see what the folks of yesteryear were up to.  Well that is until a series of blunders on my part changed our plans.

THIS CANADA GOOSE WAS DEFINITELY NOT HAPPY WITH THIS YELLOW PIPE BEING HERE!!

GEESE AMONG THE ICE FLOES

DID YOU NOTICE THE SEA GULLS??

First blunder occurred a few days ago when I picked up a package of 9 Carrot muffins at a supermarket nearby.  Second blunder occurred when I made a ‘to-go’ coffee this morning.  We weren’t far on down the road when Pheebs and I got into the muffin.  ‘Oh-Oh’, didn’t care for it at all then I had a sip of coffee and it was ‘Oh-Oh’ again.  I must have screwed something up because the coffee tasted like weak tea. Yuk!!  Really had my mind set on a muffin with coffee this morning so decided to detour through Goderich and slide around by McDonalds.  The stage was now set for 3 more upcoming blunders in a short 20 minute span.

A PAIR OF MALLARD DUCKS ALONG THE SHORELINE IN THE DOGGY WALKING AREA

A MALE MALLARD CHASES OFF A SUITOR

STILL CHASING HIM

THE CHASED MALLARD LANDS

AND THE CHASER LANDS IN HOT PURSUIT

RUFFLED FEATHERS ARE SOON SOOTHED AND THINGS RETURN TO NORMAL BLISS IN THE DUCK WORLD

I now had a full cup of crappy coffee sitting in a holder beside my seat and knowing I was going to need that space for my upcoming McDonald’s coffee I decided I had better get rid of it.  Smart thing would have been to pull over and simply dump it out.  I had already convinced myself it would not be hazardous to the environment.  Now I said the ‘smart’ thing to do didn’t I.  Well I’ve never been known for my smarts so decided to wind the window down and pour it out.  Did it occur to me to slow down??  Of course not so at about 40 mph I reached out the window and tipped my travel cup.  I know you know what happened next.  I’ll let the photo below speak for itself.  I’m too embarrassed to talk about it…..and the plot thickens!!

With a smeary coffee infested driver’s side window I had no choice now but to make another plan change and with that we headed for the car wash…..and hear comes blunder number 4.  The 5 minute car wash came off without a hitch until after I left tht is.  Because of other folks lined up to get their cars cleaned up I had myself in a big hurry to free up the bay for the next person.   So much of a hurry I forgot my 2 front seat floor mats which I had hung up spray.  I was back to the car wash in a flash and luckily my ‘dirty mats’ were still hanging there.  Geezzzz am I going to get anything right this morning I thought.  I was about to find the answer to that question was ‘no not really’.

THERE’S A DOGGY IN THIS PHOTO SOMEWHERE

LOOKING SOUTHWEST TOWARDS SARNIA/PORT HURON AND WINDSOR/DETROIT

LOOKING OUT ACROSS THE LAKE AND LOOKING INLAND BELOW

McDonalds is a short distance from the car wash so Pheebs and soon had ourselves in line.  “One small coffee with cream and a carrot muffin to go please.”  The lady in the voice box said. “that will be $1.88 Sir’.  Hauling out and dusting off one of my coveted $20 dollar bills I rolled up to the window.  With change in hand Pheebs and headed off to resume our travels that is until we rolled up to a red traffic light a short distance away and stopped.  I reached for my muffin……

Did you catch blunder number 5??  My muffin wasn’t where I normally put it and here’s the kicker……nor was my coffee!!  ‘Awwwww’ Nuts it was blunder number 6!!!!  I had blissfully driven right by the second pick-up window like a glazed tourist totally forgetting to pick up my coffee and muffin.  Two quick left turns had me back through the ‘drive-thru’ and up to the second window.  A young girl with a big grin on her face like a Cheshire cat stood there with arms outstretched holding my coffee in one hand and a paper bag with my muffin inside in the other.  I embarrassedly mumbled something about it being tough to be a Senior and pulling away I think I heard her holler something about ‘never wanting to get old’.

A FLOCK OF INBOUND CANADA GEESE DESCENDING IN A LANDING PATTERN

I debated with myself trying to decide if maybe going home and locking myself in the woodshed for the rest of the day would be my next best option.  Well that wouldn’t be fair to Pheebs of course but by this point I didn’t feel much like heading for Amish/Mennonite country anymore anyway.  It wasn’t just ‘not feeling’ like not going I think now it was more a fear of going and setting myself up for blunder number 7 whatever that might have turned out to be.  Instead we chowed down on our muffin and headed for the south harbor and beach area.

ONE LONE GOOSE SKIMS IN JUST OVER TOP THE ICE FLOE

Parked the Jeep at the doggy walking area, strapped on my cameras and off we went for a quiet relaxing and thankfully uneventful walk.  No wind to speak of and oh now nice it was walking alongside Lake Huron’s still frozen watery shoreline.  Despite the vast amount of ice and snow on the water it didn’t feel cold at all and there was no snow and ice on the ground.  In fact I’d say about 98.735% of all the snow is gone in our area.  A few skiffs here and there in some roadside ditches and an occasional patch near a bush line maybe.  All roads were bare and dry.

NOT FAR BEHIND THE LEAD GOOSE CAME THE REST OF THE GUYS AND GALS

‘SPLASHDOWN’

SIMULTANEUS LANDINGS

Pheebs and I were home around noon and I spent the next hour and a half enjoyably raking and cleaning up our front yard.  Tonight my lower back and leg muscles are aching so bad it’s an effort to move.  But it’s a good kind of ache knowing the exercise is good for me.

Now here’s one for the books.  Believe it or not but unbeknownst to me Pheebe actually took this candid photo of me this morning and I didn’t know she had taken it until I sat down this afternoon to edit my photos.  In fact she took a total of 11 photos.  We had just parked at the dog walking area and I had walked around to pick up something on the Jeep’s passenger side floor.  My cameras always sit between the seats and the only explanation I have is that she must have rested her paw on the shutter button of my one camera.  The odd thing though is that I did not hear the camera taking the photos and I was only about 2 feet away.  And here’s the really odd thing, that particular camera and wide angle lens is not set to fire continues exposures.  She would have had to press that shutter button 11 separate times.  I guess my only logical explanation is that she has watched me take countless thousands of photos over the years and finally figured it out for herself.  Hey she’s a very smart little dog and I’m sticking to my theory:))

AND BY GOLLY THERE GOES THE LITTLE DARLIN NOW:))

I have thrown the rest of the store bought carrot muffins out, re-assessed my coffee making skills, disconnected the Jeep’s driver’s side power window and nailed the floor mats to the floor.  I’ve also signed up for McDonald’s ‘Help A Senior’ program whereupon they will come out and drive my car through the ‘drive-thru’ making sure my ‘coffee and muffin’ is securely aboard before giving me a wee pat on the head and sending me on my way.  Thought that was right nice of them to do that for me from now on.  I am so much looking forward to my life getting much easier from here on in:))  And a Guest in our Shout Box asked this question…..How long does it take you to write your post for each night?  Seeings how tonight’s post is already long I’ll try answering that question in tomorrow nights post.

I GUESS THEY CALL IT ‘DUCK SNORKLING’

Some readers may have noticed I switched the blogs title back to ‘Travel With’.  I thank folks for their comments and do agree with the consensus regarding the ‘travel’ aspect of our lives.  We may not be in the Motorhome traveling but our lives continue to travel down life’s highway as we like others navigate the many twists and turns along the way.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A mathematician, a physicist, and an engineer are all given identical rubber balls and told to find the volume. They are given any tools they want, and have all the time they need.  The mathematician uses a measuring tape to record the circumference. He then divides by two times pi to get the radius, cubes that, multiplies by pi again, and then multiplies by four-thirds and thereby calculates the volume.  The physicist gets a bucket of water, places 1.000000 gallons of water in the bucket, drops in the ball and measures the displacement to six significant figures.  The engineer writes down the serial number of the ball and looks it up online.

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Q: If there is H2O on the inside of a fire hydrant, what is on the outside?
A: K9P.

Q: What does it mean when the flag is at half mast at the post office?
A: They're hiring.

Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
A: Frostbite.

Q: What's a cat's favorite breakfast?
A: Mice Krispies.

Q: How does a lion like his steak?
A: Medium roar.

Q: What do frogs eat with their hamburgers?
A: French flies.

Q: What's the definition of mixed emotions?
A: When you see your mother-in-law backing off a cliff in your new car.

Q: How do you get a Kleenex to dance?
A: Put a boogie in it!

Q: Did you hear about the man who lost his whole left side?
A: He's all-right now!