Monday, October 14, 2019

TAKE A LOOK AROUND YOU, WHAT DO YOU SEE

Highway 21 runs right through Bayfield and crosses the Bayfield River in doing so.  The bridge over the Bayfield River has been in place for a long time and a few years ago a decision was made to replace it.  That work has now finally begun.  A new temporary bridge first has to built while the old one is torn down and the new one constructed.  Think I heard it is a two year project and I figure that new bridge will be well in place long before Bayfield's Tim Horton coffee shop ever opens up.
BAYFIELD'S BRIDGE PROJECT IS UNDERWAY
I'M GUESSING THE TEMPORARY BRIDGE WILL GO HERE
Because it's mid October I'm increasingly having to wear warmer clothes now and that is Okay.  I would sooner put on a few extra duds as opposed to having to shed clothes because of the heat.  And I like the feeling of a warm cozy house after coming in from the outside's cool and cold temperatures.  We were in the low 40's when Pheebs and I headed out this morning.
ANOTHER FINE AUTUMN MORNING FOR A DRIVE
LOVELY CLOUDS TODAY
With each passing day our Autumn colors are becoming more prevalent.  We're still not in Autumn's glorious splendor yet but it's coming.  Maybe another week will turn the tide.
ALWAYS NICE TO BE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
REFLECTIONS IN A MUD PUDDLE
I OVER SATURATED THIS PHOTO TO PUNCH OUT THE COLORS
I recall someone asking me if I used a tri-pod on my Bee photos a few blogs back.  Wished I had the patience to use a tri-pod but I never do.  Those bee shots were done 'hand held' at a full 300mm.  I know I could greatly improve my photos if I were to use a tripod and wasn't so lazy.  I do have a good Manfrotto tri-pod but with the exception of night shots I hardly ever use it.  Like I've said before I am kind of a one shot Charlie who doesn't have enough patience to spend time perfecting a photo.  Truth be known I probably take more than half my photos right from the driver's seat of the Jeep.  And another question about what lenses I use.  All my photos are done with one lens and it is a  an AF-S Nikkor 18-300mm 3.5-6.3G-DX-VR.  In other words it is an 18mm wide angle right up through to a 300mm telephoto all in one lens.  I have that lens on my Nikon D7200 camera.  This lens and camera combination is very convenient for me for the type of photos I take and not being a perfectionist it suits me just fine.
KERR'S CAMPGROUND PROPERTY
KERR'S CAMPGROUND IS LOCATED ON THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF BANNOCK BURN LINE AND CENTENNIAL ROAD
THIS CAMPGROUND IS A NICE PLACE FOR A WALK AND THAT'S THE JEEP BOTTOM RIGHT
Up until a few months ago I had been keeping tabs of my book (Kindle) reading and listing them here in my blog sometimes with comments.  From that point to this I have read so many more great books and subsequently fallen behind in my listings.  I'll try to catch you up to where I think I might have left off last time.
- With The Old Breed by E.B. Sledge
- Amazing Airmen: Canadian Flyers in the Second World War by Ian Darling
- Squadron Leader Tommy Broom by Tom Parry Evans
- Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice by Adam Makos
- The Biggin Hill Wing 1941 by Peter Caygill
- Green Ink: Memoirs of a Fighter Pilot
- No Ordinary Men: Special Ops by Bernd Horn
- The Wrecking Crew by Kent Hartman
- A Pilot's Story by Irwin D Lebow
- Spitfire by Squadron Leader B.J. Ellan
- Things I'll Never Forget: Vietnam Marine by James M. Dixon
- Through A Pilot's Window by Lt. Col. William McKean Gilbert
- Angels Ten: Spitfire Pilot by Richard Gilman
- Scramble: Battle of Britain by Norman Gelb
- Anatomy of a Song by Marc Myers
- Baa Baa Black Sheep by Gregory Boyington
- Atlantic Nightmare by Richard Freeman
- Air War in the Pacific by  General George C Kenny
- Skies of Fire by Alfred Price
- A Penguin in the Eyrie by Hector Bolitho
- The Big Show: WW2 by Pierre Clostermann
- Journeys Into Night by Don Charlwood
- Check Six: A Thunderbolt Pilot by Jim Curran
- Flying in Defiance of the Reich by Peter Russell
- Two-Man Airforce by Philip Kaplan
- Sky Warriers by Alfred Price
- Alone I Fly by Bill Bailey
- Tail Gunner by Richard C. Rivaz
Okay I think that might catch me up.  What I like so much about these books is they are fact not fiction.  I enjoy reading about how these people started out in their younger years, grew into their teen years then made the decision to join the Armed Forces.  I find it so interesting to read how they made their way through the war years and how those years affected them in later years after the war when they came home.  Many had very successful careers.  It was a way different world than it is now and I look back at these people from that era with great respect and awe.  Not only the pilots and air crew but the soldiers, civilians, sailors and the general moxie of most people from that era.  Over and over I read of these folks and the more I read the more I understand the term, 'The Greatest Generation'.  Being born in 1944 and although I didn't understand it I was part of that generation for a short while until the 50's evolved into the 60's and things began to change.  Change is inevitable I guess but sometimes it doesn't exactly head off in the best direction.  Through these books I read I see a different character of people in those years up to the late fifties.  And then it all began to change and here we are now.  Take a look around you, what do you see.................

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Ma & Pa were on the porch & Pa said, " You know, Ma, I'd sure like a big bowl of ice cream."  "OK, Pa", she said, as she shuffled off toward the kitchen. "Write it down," he said, "...you'll forget" "Oh, Pa, don't be silly" "Write it down" he said, "cause I want some chocolate syrup on it.", he insisted."Ice cream..with chocolate syrup" she said, as she walked into the kitchen. 10, 15, 20 minutes passed and finally Ma came out & handed Pa a big bowl of oatmeal. "See, Ma, what'd I tell you....you forgot the toast."
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Tony had just finished reading a new book entitled, 'You Can Be The Man of Your House.  'He stormed to his wife in the kitchen and announced, 'From now on, you need to know that I am the man of this house and my word is Law. You will prepare me a gourmet meal tonight, and when I'm finished eating my meal, you will serve me a sumptuous dessert.  You are going to draw me a bath so I can relax. You will wash my back and towel me dry and bring me my robe. Then, you will massage my feet and hands. Then tomorrow, guess who's going to dress me and comb my hair?' His Sicilian wife Gina replied, "The funeral director would be my first guess."
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Sunday, October 13, 2019

MAYBE IT WAS JUST MY TURN TO HAVE A DOWN DAY

Well here we are halfway through our Thanksgiving week-end.  Summer has been officially over for weeks now as we glide through Autumn bracing for the head long crash into Winter.  Definitely not looking forward to that crashing part.  Unless we can pull a rabbit out of a hat it looks like at this point we will end up stuck here for the entire winter.  I know it's inevitable sooner or later and for the past two years I've been trying to prepare myself for that eventuality.  I have not done very well.  Today was the first day I actually felt the dread of being stuck at home this winter.  Checking the internet every day there seems to be less and less used Class B and C RV's coming up for sale.  Well in our price range anyway.  Lots of new hundred thousand dollar stuff out there of course but that's not for us.  I don't know, maybe it was just my turn to have a down day...……………..
WITH TWO DAYS OF STRONG WINDS LAKE HURON IS STILL RUMBLING ASHORE
BAYFIELD'S CALM INNER HARBOR AND NOTICE THE MASTS OF STORED SAILBOATS
MORE AND MORE BOATS ARE BEING HAULED OUT OF THE WATER EVERY DAY NOW
TAKING TOO LONG TO TAKE A FEW PHOTOS PHEEBS TOOTED THE HORN AT ME
IT WAS A NICE SUNDAY MORNING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
'COME ON DAD LET'S GET GOING'
GROANER'S CORNER:(( What's the difference between a Yankee zoo and a Redneck zoo? On the cage in a Yankee zoo, it will have the name of the animal and the scientific name in Latin.  A Southern zoo will have the name of the animal and a recipe.
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 The children had all been photographed, and the teacher was trying to persuade them each to buy a copy of the group picture."Just think how nice it will be to look at it when you are all grown up and say, 'There's Jennifer, she's a lawyer,' or 'That's Michael, He's a doctor.'A small voice at the back of the room rang out, "And there's the teacher, She's dead."
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Saturday, October 12, 2019

FOREST WALK, MYSTERY PANTS, AND OUR SHORTENING DAYS ARE GETTING COLDER

NICE TO BE IN A FOREST OUT OF TODAY'S ICY COLD WIND
Overnight rains left us with cloudy skies, lower temperatures and cold icy west winds this morning.  No matter, Pheebs and I were out anyway and took ourselves for a spin to Goderich.  Gas, groceries, and a swing down around the harbor and beach areas. (Skies later cleared)
LAKE HURON WATERS WERE ROUGH THIS MORNING
Instead of going straight home we popped ourselves into a forest in Goderich's southeast corner.  I knew with the protection of trees we would be out of the wind, and we were.  Hadn't been on this section of trail since last year so it was nice to re-discover things again.  Being a swampy area it's not a good place to hike in the summer with all the Mosquitos and biting Deer flies but in this superb Autumn weather there are no bugs.  Nice:))




Can't say it was a very productive afternoon.  With temps hoovering in the low forties plus a wind chill factor it was just too easy to stay inside where it was cozy and warm.  Oh Dear what am I going to do when it really gets cold like way below freezing and all that nasty stuff.  I'm best not to think about all that I guess.
THIS TRAIL DOES HAVE A NAME BUT OF COURSE I HAVE FORGOT WHAT IT IS
IS THAT THE HEAD OF A PYTHON I SEE THERE
VEGITATION MIGHT NEED A BIT OF TRIMMING HERE SOON
THICK FOLIAGE
LOOKS LIKE THE OLD BRIDGE IS ABOUT TO BE REPLACED
Rummaging around in the top of my closet today I found four pairs of neatly folded pants I forgot I had.  No idea how long they have been up there and I have no recollection of ever putting them there.  Called in our head investigator and even she did not recognise the three pairs of blue jeans and one pair of dress pants.  I tried them all on and found one pair too big, one pair too small, one pair Okay if I squeeze a bit and one pair just right.  

GROANER'S CORNER:((  The preacher was wired for sound with a lapel mike, and as he preached, he moved briskly about the platform, jerking the mike cord as he went. Then he moved to one side, getting wound up in the cord and nearly tripping before jerking it again. After several circles and jerks, a little girl in the third pew leaned toward her mother and whispered, "If he gets loose, will he hurt us?"
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The Captain called the Sergeant in. "Sarge, I just got a telegram that Private Jones' mother died yesterday. Better go tell him and send him in to see me." So the Sergeant calls for his morning formation and lines up all the troops. "Listen up, men," says the Sergeant. "Johnson, report to the mess hall for KP. Smith, report to Personnel to sign some papers. The rest of you men report to the Motor Pool for maintenance. Oh by the way, Jones, your mother died, report to the commander." Later that day the Captain called the Sergeant into his office. "Hey, Sarge, that was a pretty cold way to inform Jones his mother died. Couldn't you be a bit more tactful, next time?" "Yes, sir," answered the Sarge. A few months later, the Captain called the Sergeant in again with, "Sarge, I just got a telegram that Private McGrath's mother died. You'd better go tell him and send him in to see me. This time be more tactful." So the Sergeant calls for his morning formation. "Ok, men, fall in and listen up." "Everybody with a mother, take two steps forward." "Not so fast, McGrath!"
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