A FOUR AND A HALF HOUR COFFEE BLOW-OUT TODAY BUT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO HAD A COFFEE

ONE OF ONLY 2 PHOTO I TOOK TODAY WAS OF THESE TWO BUZZARDS SITTING ON A BARN ROOF AND IT ABOUT SUMS UP OUR DAY……COLD, GRAY, AND DREADFULLY  DRAB

Met for coffee this afternoon with 1 of my 2 best friends.  Long time readers will remember me writing about our 4 and 5 hour coffee blow-outs over the years and today on our first one of 2017 we hung out in Clinton’s Tim Horton coffee shop for nearly 5 hours.  Never occurred to me until later that I was the only one who had a coffee though.  I’m talking about my good friend Jim Hagarty from Stratford Ontario of course and you can find Jim at Lifetime Sentences.  Jim has been in the Journalism field for as long as I have known him which dates back to late 1979.  Also an accomplished singer songwriter Jim for the second year in a row shared the stage recently in Stratford with Canada’s very own well known composer, songwriter, and touring folksinger Valdy.

<<< BRUCE MADE THE WOODEN STAND AND I LEVELLED UP A CEMENT PAD UNDERNEATH IT THIS MORNING….BRUCE WILL BE BACK TO CONFIGURE THE DOWNSPOUT SHORTLY

Pheebs and I slipped up to Home Hardware in Goderich this morning to pick us up a new rain barrel which will sit alongside our deck extension to catch rain water from our roof which an eaves trough prevents from splashing down onto our deck.  We prefer watering our outside summer plants with rain water as opposed to our chlorinated tap water.  The plants prefer it too.

 

GROANER’S CORNER:(( At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, "Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?"  The other replied "Yes, I am, I married the wrong man."

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There was an Irishman, a Mexican, and a blond guy who worked construction together. They were working on top of a building one day, and it was lunch time. The Irish man opens his lunch pail and he sees he has cabbage and beef, and he says, 'If I get one more beef and cabbage for lunch I'm gonna jump off of this building!'
Then the Mexican opens his lunch pail and he gets a burrito, he says, 'if I get one more burrito for lunch I'm gonna jump off this building!'
The blond man opens his lunch pail and gets a bologna sandwich. He says, 'if I get one more bologna sandwich I'm gonna jump off of this building too!'  The next day the Irish man opens his lunch pail and finds cabbage and beef so he jumps off the building to his death.  Then the Mexican opens his lunch pail and finds a burrito so he jumps off the building to his death as well.  Then the blond guy opens his lunch pail and finds a bologna sandwich, so he in turn jumps to his death.  A couple days later at their funeral the Irish man's wife said, 'If I only knew he was sick of cabbage and beef I would have packed him something else.'  Then the Mexican's wife said, ''If I only knew he didn't like burritos, I would have packed something else.''  Finally, the blond man's wife said, 'I don't know what my husband’s problem was! He packed his own lunch!''

ANOTHER DOCTOR APPOINMENT OUT OF THE WAY

A fast moving storm rolled in across Lake Huron and heavy rains were upon us by 9 a.m. but not before Pheebs and I were able to get out and catch us it’s approach from the cliff top at Bayfield’s Pioneer Park.  Despite lightning and thunder overhead I was unable to catch me a lightning bolt photo before the rains hit.

A RAIN STORM BARRELING IN ON BAYFIELD

Saw a Bayfield fishing boat not far off shore and figured it was heading in but noticed no bow wave so they weren’t in a hurry.  In fact they made a turn to port and headed out straight into the path of the storm.  Moments later they disappeared in a wall of water as Pheebs and I made a mad dash for the Jeep.

Buckets of rain were soon upon us as we made our way down to the harbor before heading home.  Half an hour later the fast moving inbound storm had passed and we were left with lighter skies and a moderately gentle rain.  Temperatures hung around the 45F mark for the day……but the heavy rains hadn’t finished with us yet.

HEADING DOWN TO BAYFIELD’S HARBOR

Ticked off another Doctor’s appointment this afternoon and the results of that were again on the good side with the Doctor telling me I do not have to have another colonoscopy for 5 years.  As it’s turning out I seem to be in much better shape than I thought I was.  Two more medical appointments coming up next week, one for Kelly and one more for me regarding my legs.  After my Doctor’s appointment this afternoon we popped into A&W for a Teen Burger special then headed home in a rain squall.  At the time of publishing this tonight we are under a weather advisory with a heavy rainfall predicted overnight.

With this U.S., Syria, Korea, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia mess escalating I’ve eased back into watching TV news a bit trying to keep abreast of what’s going on and as soon as I determine the world has not been plunged into the throes of World War 3 just yet I snap the news off again.  What a hell of a mess we supposedly intelligent human beings are all in at the moment……..again!!!!

HARBOR LIGHTS ON A RAINY MORNING

GROANER’S CORNER:(( And lo, in the year 2017, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in the United States, and said:
"Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me."
"Build another Ark and save two of every living thing along with a few good humans."
He gave Noah the blueprints, saying, "You have 6 months to build the ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights."
Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard, but there was no ark.
"Noah! I'm about to start the rain! Where is the ark?"
"Forgive me, Lord," begged Noah, "but things have changed."
"I needed a building permit."
"I've been arguing with the inspector about the need for a sprinkler system."
"My neighbors claim that I've violated the neighborhood zoning laws by building the ark in my yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the Development Appeal Board for a decision."
"Then the Department of Transportation demanded a bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the ark's move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it."
"Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the spotted owl."
"I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls, but no go!"
"When I started gathering the animals, an animal rights group sued me. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodations were too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space."
"Then the EPA ruled that I couldn't build the ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood."
"I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my building crew."
"Immigration and Naturalization are checking the green-card status of most of the people who want to work."
"The trades unions say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only Union workers with ark-building experience.
"To make matters worse, the IRS seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species."
"So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least 10 years for me to finish this Ark."
Suddenly, the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky.
Noah looked up in wonder and asked, "You mean you're not going to destroy the world?"
"No," said the Lord. "The government beat me to it."

A GENTLEMAN ROOSTER STRUTS HIS STUFF

SAW THIS GENTLEMAN ROOSTER TODAY STRUTTING HIS STUFF WITH A COUPLE OF HIS LADIES

I was surprised not waking up to a rainy morning but nearby rains did leave us with a heavy overcast.  Undaunted, Pheebs and I did head out anyway to see if we could find a few photos and as it turns out all we got was two chickens and a Rooster in a farmers front yard. 

VERY RARE TO SEE FREE RANGING CHICKENS NOWADAYS AND THERE WERE ONLY 3 OF THEM

THE LADIES WERE ENJOYING THEIR OUTING

Our Jeep ride wasn’t a long one but we did manage a stop at the Hullett Marsh where it was my ears and not my eyes that brightened up my day.  With no leaves on our trees yet things were looking pretty gray in the Marsh but from the drab grayness came many sweet sounds.  Although I couldn’t really see the birds I could surely hear them and their tweeting and twittering was most uplifting.  They didn’t seem to care if the sun wasn’t shining, they all sounded happy and how nice to simply stand and quietly listen to the forest’s chorus.  Never even took my cameras out of the Jeep, I just stood and listened.

 

GETTING READY TO CROW……..AND CROWING

A mixture of afternoon sun and cloud had me in and out of the house.  No big projects today just puttering about in the flower beds.  It was nice to end the day with a slightly subdued smattering of sunshine.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A man lost two buttons from his shirt and put them in his pants pocket. But the pocket had a hole, so the buttons fell into his shoe. Unfortunately, the shoe sole also had a hole, so he lost the buttons. As pockets with holes, holes without buttons, and shoe soles with holes are useless, the man ripped the buttonholes out of his shirt and the pockets from his pants and tossed them in the trash along with the soles of his shoes.  A police officer who was observing the man asked him for some identification. The man gave the officer a document that showed he was an ordained minister of the gospel. When the officer began to escort him to a mental institution, the minister protested violently, asking why he was receiving such unjust treatment.“Look, we both know it’s the best place for you now,” the officer replied. “Anyone claiming to be a preacher who doesn’t save souls or wear holy clothes has probably lost his buttons.”

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- Does the Michelin Man get dressed in evening a tire?

- “A podiatrist adds insoles to injury.”

- 'The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that it's difficult to determine whether or not they are genuine.'-- Abraham Lincoln

TOOK FULL ADVANTAGE OF OUR SUNNY DAY TO START ON OUR BACK YARD RENOVATIONS

NICE TO HAVE A PAIR OF CARDINALS BACK AGAIN

Following difficulties with the last two times hooking up our heavy utility trailer I've made a change.  Instead of parking it at an odd angle in our pea stone driveway making it hard for me to physically pull it ahead and hook up I decided to park it in our carport on the concrete floor again where it is much easier for me to maneuver it.  Still  a heavy lift but shorter and I can easily move the trailer a few inches to drop the hitch over the ball.  Much easier to move on concrete as opposed to gravely pea stone and by adding a bit of weight to the back half of the trailer I can alter the balance enough not to make the tongue lighter to lift.  That should save me some sore muscles in the future.

QUITE A CAST OF CHARACTERS ON OUR BIRD STATION….1 RED WING BLACKBIRD, 1 MOURNING DOVE, 1 CRACKLE, AND 1 BLUE JAY

FEMALE CARDINAL ON LEFT AND A HANDICAPPED MOURNING DOVE ON THE RIGHT

I REMEMBER THIS ONE LEGGED MOURNING DOVE FROM LAST YEAR AND IT LIKES TO SIT ON OUR BIRD STATION WHERE IT’S SAFE FROM PROWLING NEIGHBORHOOD CATS

Although we dropped slightly below freezing overnight it was nice to see clear skies heralding in a new mornings sunrise.  And standing on our new deck extension Monday night it was great being able to look straight up into the night sky and see a host of brilliant twinkling stars.  In warmer weather it will be good spot to set up my 'Stellar-View Nighthawk' refractor telescope.

THIS MOURNING DOVE HAS ADAPTED WELL TO ONLY HAVING ONE LEG AND I WAS GLAD TO SEE IT SURVIVED THE WINTER

Patsy from Chillin' with Patsy asked me a few days ago about our front yard bird station where I take a lot of my bird photos.  Amazingly enough while sitting here watching a couple Blue Jays after supper tonight I actually remembered Patsy asking about it so I quickly grabbed a few photos before dark.  It’s nothing fancy that’s for sure, just a pine log dug in the ground with a round piece of plywood on top with a flat rock holding it down so it doesn’t blow off.  I used to have a roof over it to keep the seeds dry in rainy weather but a pine branch smashed it up a couple winters ago and I’ve just never got around to constructing me a new roof.  Birds don’t seem to mind that I don’t got no roof on the darn place anyway.

THIS IS MY VIEW OUT OUR SUNROOM WINDOW OF OUR BIRD STATION WHILE SITTING AT THE COMPUTER

  

AS I SAID NOTHING TOO DANG FANCY AND THAT PIECE OF SQUARE PLYWOOD STICKING OUT UNDERNEATH IS FROM THE ORIGINAL BIRD STATION…..I JUST SET THAT ROUND PIECE ON IT WITH A ROCK ON TOP TO KEEP IT FROM BLOWING AWAY

WHENEVER I SEE A PHOTO OF INTEREST OUT THERE I PICK UP THE TELEPHOTO LENS CAMERA AT FAR RIGHT AND HAVE A BASH AT IT

Feeling much better about things this morning as my temporarty depression seems to have lifted sometime in the night.  In my case depression isn't necessarily caused by large negative happenings such as a death in the family, a marriage breakdown or financial woes etc as it is by a series of small things building up over time like a large body of water behind a weakened dam.  Then inevitably one day the dam breaks and I get swamped.  Thanks to everyone for your concerns.

With my bout of depression lifted and a sunny day upon us I hit the ground running this morning.  Lots of things to do and projects to get caught up on.  Didn’t know I was going to start on our back yard today but start on it I did.  First thing was trimming a bunch of lower cedar branches on a cedar tree I had planted about a dozen years ago.  After that the shovel was in the ground and we were off.  Ferns and Day Lilies dug up and relocated along with mulch added to a couple flower beds, etc.  Felt good to be outside doing something constructively creative again:))

TAKING OUT A BUNCH OF PATIO STONES FOR STARTERS

TRIMMED OFF LOWER BRANCHES ON THE CEDAR TREE TO THE LEFT

Looks like we have a couple more rainy days headed our way starting tonight so maybe Pheebs and I will have to slip out in search of some rainy day photos in the morning.  Sitting in the house doing nothing will not be an option.

A FRONT YARD BUTTERFLY LATE THIS AFTERNOON

GROANER'S CORNER:(( An engineer died and ended up in Hell. He was not pleased with the level of comfort in Hell, and began to redesign and build improvements. After awhile, they had toilets that flush, air conditioning, and escalators. Everyone grew very fond of him.
One day God called to Satan to mock him, "So, how's it going down there in Hell?"  Satan replied, "Hey, things are great. We've got air conditioning and flush toilets and escalators, and there's no telling what this engineer is going to come up with next." God was surprised, "What? You've got an engineer? That's a mistake. He should never have gotten down there in the first place. Send him back up here."  "No way," replied Satan. "I like having an engineer, and I'm keeping him."  God threatened, "Send him back up here now or I'll sue!"  Satan laughed and answered, "Yeah, right. And just where are YOU going to get a lawyer?"

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A tourist climbed out of his car in downtown Washington, D.C. He said to a man standing near the curb, "Listen, I'm going to be only a couple of minutes. Would you watch my car while I run into this store?"  "What?" the man huffed. "Do you realize that I am a member of the United States Senate?"  "Well no," the tourist said, "I didn't realize that. But it's all right. I'll trust you anyway."

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During the American Revolution...what did you call a scared and frightened militiaman fleeing down the same road as a British Loyalist?
Chicken catch a Tory!

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There was this limo driver who was in business for 25 years without a single customer.  All that time and nothing to chauffeur it.

MONDAY NIGHT’S POST

TONIGHT’S PHOTOS ARE A SMATTERING OF PICS TAKEN OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS INCLUDING TODAY…..A PAIR OF MALLARD DUCKS

It was another cloudy cold gray morning as Pheebs and headed off to Goderich to pick up a few things I had intended on picking up Sunday but due to the religious holiday 3 out of 3 stores I went to were closed.  Picked up what we needed this morning then went down and sat by the beach for awhile listening to choppy Lake Huron waves roll in.  Also watched a large lake freighter slowly making it's way to the Goderich harbor.  Too cold for a walk so we didn’t stay long.

ONE INBOUND FREIGHER, ONE OUTBOUND FREIGHTER AND TWO SMALL FISHING BOATS

Shortly after arriving home the cloud cover began to break up allowing a touch of sunshine through.  That was enough to spur me into action for little awhile. 

Since hurting my left arm a couple weeks ago while hooking up our heavy utility trailer I have not been able to move a pile of raked up pine needles I had deposited in a big heap across the road.  Knowing it was going to make me feel better to get that pile of heavy wet pine needles picked up I again wrestled with our utility trailer this morning trying hard not to put any undue strain on my left arm and in doing so painfully twisted my right wrist.  But no matter, I was able to get the trailer hooked up and somehow forked two heaping loads of heavy pine needles into the trailer then out of the trailer again when I reached the dump.  Despite the resulting pain it gave me a sense of accomplishment and I felt a few shackles of my restricting depression release and drop away.

ABOUT HALF WAY THROUGH EMPTYING MY SECOND LOAD

I GUESS IT’S TRUE WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT POLICE AND DONUTS….CLINTON ONTARIO TIM HORTON’S DRIVE-THRU SATURDAY MORNING

FIRST FARM TRACTOR I’VE SEEN ON THE LAND SO FAR

OUR FRONT YARD BIRD BATH SEEMS TO HAVE A DOUBLE PURPOSE >>>>>>

A big thanks to Kelly for getting this ‘Open Live Writer’ and ‘Google Photos’ thingy sorted out again.  From the looks of it this is going to be an on-going thing between those two programs and it has to do mainly with Google photo albums.  It seems every time 1,000 photos is reached Open Live Writer will throw an error message and a newly named Google photo album has to be created by the user.  PITA but it’s the way it is I guess.

WE HAVE A NUMBER OF VERY DANGEROUS UNMARKED RAILROAD CROSSINGS IN OUR AREA AND I AM IN THE HABIT WHEN APPROACHING A CROSSING TO WIND BOTH FRONT WINDOWS DOWN TO LISTEN FOR THE TRAIN HORN AND THAT’S HOW I ENDED UP NOT BEING ON THE FRONT OF THIS WESTBOUND FREIGHT HEADED FOR GODERICH EARLIER TODAY

AN OLD GHOSTLY COUNTRY HOUSE I HADN’T SEEN BEFORE

KAYAKERS ON LAKE WAWANOSH IN THE HEART OF MENNONITE COUNTRY THIS PAST FRIDAY

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A jeweler watched as a huge truck pulled up in front of his store. The back came down and an elephant walked out. It broke one of the windows with its tusk and then, using its trunk like a vacuum cleaner sucked up all of the jewelry. The elephant then got back in the truck and it disappeared out of sight.
When the jeweler finally regained his senses he called the police. The detectives came and he told them his story. "Could you describe the elephant?" the cop asked. "An elephant is an elephant," he replied. "You've seen one you've seen them all. What do you mean 'describe' him?" "Well," said the policeman, "there are two types of elephants, African and Indian. The Indian elephant has smaller ears and is not as large as the African elephant." "I can't help you out," said the frustrated jeweler, "he had a stocking pulled over his head."

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A woman walked up to a little old man rocking in a chair on his porch.  "I couldn't help noticing how happy you look," she said. "What's your secret for a long happy life?"  "I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day," he said. "I also drink a case of whiskey a week, eat fatty foods, and never exercise."  "That's amazing," the woman said. "How old are you?'  "Twenty-six," he said.