A 16 HOUR POWER OUTAGE CAUSED BY HIGH WINDS

 OUR FRONT YARD FROG POND IS LIVING UP TO IT'S NAME

I was on the phone talking to my Aunt Jean in Sarasota Florida Friday night.  It was about 9:15 p.m. when 'BANG' the phone went dead and I was instantly in complete darkness.  With a big windstorm going on outside I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was.  Kelly and I quickly located our flashlights and lit half a dozen candles.  It was anybody's guess when our power would be back on.  A few minutes?  A couple hours?  Maybe tomorrow??  No power = no heat so as the evening hours merged with the night, the house cooled down but not as bad as if it had been in the middle of winter.  I ended up in our living room recliner sleeping in my clothes with my winter jacket on in case we had a tree come down on us.  Fortunately, that never happened but in the morning I did see a house the next street over with a tree on its roof.  

 KEEPING WARM IN OUR SUNROOM THIS MORNING

Luckily, our Park's new owners, Sara and Adam had installed a generator last year to kick in during power outages and keep the Park's well water pump in operation so all the residents at least had water.  Up until that generator installation, the lack of water was always a major problem here during power outages and I remember our first year nearly 22 years ago carrying buckets of water up from our Park's pond to flush our toilet.  It was winter and I had to break ice at the pond's edge to get at the water. (I'm sure glad I don't have to do that anymore)  

 THIS SQUIRREL HAS STRETCHED OUT FOR AN AFTERNOON REST

 THIS FELLOW IS KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON ME

When we woke up this morning the power was still off so that meant no morning coffee.  With that sobering thought and fingers crossed that Bayfield's Tim Hortons coffee shop was open, I hopped into the Jeep and headed into the Village.  A lot of other people had the same idea so I was in a line-up but at least the coffee shop hadn't been affected by the power outage.  I picked up one large coffee for Kelly and one small coffee for me.  Kelly also had a Honey Cruller donut.  Kelly later said that coffee and donut was the highlight of her day.  It's not hard sometimes to please we Seniors you know:))

 PHEEBS LIKES THIS SPOT BY MY CHAIR IN THE SUNROOM

 WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE POWER TO BE RE-STORED

Closer to lunchtime, we still had no power so feeling hungry, Kelly and I decided to drive into Bayfield to get a sub at Subway.   'Awww Nuts', they were closed due to the power outage as well.  From there we headed for Bayfield's south end and the Woodland Drive-In.  'Walla' they were open.  Kelly had a hamburger and I had a foot-long hotdog.  Home again, the power still wasn't on so I headed outside to pick up fallen branches, etc.  Checked around the house and didn't see any damage.  Walked across the road and checked our neighbor Monica's house and everything was okay.  (she'll be home from Florida tomorrow) Walking past her garage I opened the door for a quick check inside.  Everything was okay, except......her garage light was on.  What??  I stood there for about 10 seconds trying to figure how the light could be on if the power was off!!  And then it dawned on me, 'hey wait a minute, maybe the power IS on'.  I quickly walked back across the road and when I saw water pouring over the rocks in our front yard frog pond I knew THE POWER WAS BACK ON FOR SURE:))))) It was shortly after 1 p.m. and we had been without power for about 16 hours.  And, here's the other good news.....our skies began clearing around 10:30 this morning and we ended up with clear blue sunny skies for the rest of the day.  Yesereeee, a double 'Yahouie Louie' for sure today:)))))

 AT THE WOODLAND DRIVE-IN KELLY HEADS BACK WITH OUR LUNCH AND HEY HOW ABOUT ALL THAT BLUE SKY EH:))

With sunny skies once again overhead I busied myself outside picking up small branches and raking up more pine needles and leaves.  I hope to load up the utility trailer tomorrow and haul all that stuff off to the Park's recycle area.  Pheebs and I even took a walk over to the Park's pond and back this afternoon.      

 THE WHOLE FRONT OF OUR SUNROOM CAN BE SEEN AS A REFLECTION IN THIS SQUIRREL'S EYE

Al's Music Box:)) Honky Tonk Blues was a hit country and western song written and performed by Hank Williams. The original 1952 recording was a major hit, and it later became a hit for Charley Pride.  "Honky Tonk Blues" is one of the most problematic songs Williams ever recorded. According to Colin Escott's 2004 Williams memoir, Hank and producer Fred Rose had attempted to record the song several times previously in August 1947.  In March 1949 this version featured a light, jazzy feel and an intricate solo from guitarist Zeb Turner.  The backing on the December 1951 session is believed to have been Don Helms (steel guitar), Jerry Rivers (fiddle), possibly Sam Pruett (electric guitar), probably Jack Shook (acoustic guitar), and Ernie Newton or Howard Watts (bass). The song was about a young farmboy who leaves his father's farm for the enticements of the city, only to become worn down and disillusioned. The version that was released did not contain all the lyrics on his original demo; the next-to-last verse in which Maw and Paw are "really gonna lay down the law" was missing, emphasizing in a way that Hank himself never made it back from the honky-tonks to Pappy's farm.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( An old drunk stumbles across a baptismal service on Sunday afternoon down by the river.  He proceeds to walk into the water and stand next to the preacher. The minister notices the old drunk and says, "Mister, are you ready to find Jesus?"  The drunk looks back and says, "Yes, preacher, I sure am."  The minister dunks the fellow under the water and pulls him right back up.  "Have you found Jesus?" the preacher asks."Nooo, I didn't!" said the drunk.  The preacher then dunks him under for quite a bit longer, brings him up, and says, "Now, brother, have you found Jesus?"  "Noooo, I have not, Reverend."  The preacher, in disgust, holds the man under for at least 30 seconds this time, brings him out of the water, and says in a harsh tone, "My God, man, have you found Jesus yet?"  The old drunk wipes his eyes and says to the preacher, "Are you sure this is where he fell in?"

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- I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose-fitting clothing...
If I HAD any loose-fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!

- Look, you can either agree with me or you can be wrong.

- I got my wife a metal detector as a present, but she didn't like it.
Strange, as she always likes to dig up things from the past.

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Christopher Columbus was the best deal maker in history. He left not knowing where he was going, and upon arriving, not knowing where he was. He returned not knowing where he had been, and did it all on borrowed money.
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AND, IT'S STILL RAINING

 COLD AND WET DAFFODILS LYING ON THE GROUND

It has been a very wet couple of days with rains beginning Wednesday evening.  And, it's still raining as I post this tonight.  Not much going on today.  Swung through Clinton this morning on my way to Exeter to make an eye check-up appointment for early May at Huron Optometric.  My last physio appointment at Russett Rehabilitation in Exeter went well and I was home shortly past noon and spent the afternoon in our sunroom reading.   

THIS ABOUT SUMS UP THE DAY

 IT WAS AN INSIDE DAY FOR PHEEBS TOO

Al's Music Box:)) California Dreamin' is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips in 1963 and first recorded by Barry McGuire.  The best-known version is by the Mamas & Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in December 1965. The lyrics express the narrator's longing for the warmth of Los Angeles during a cold winter in New York City.  "California Dreamin'" became a signpost of the California sound heralding the arrival of the nascent counterculture era. The song was written while John Phillips and Michelle Phillips were living in New York City during a particularly cold winter, and the latter was missing sunny California. John would work on compositions late at night and brought Michelle the first verse one morning.  At the time, John and Michelle Phillips were members of the folk group the New Journeymen, which evolved into the Mamas and the Papas.  They earned their first record contract after being introduced to Lou Adler, the head of Dunhill Records by Barry Mcquire. In thanks to Adler, they sang the backing vocals to "California Dreamin'", with members of the session band The Wrecking Crew, on McGuire's album This Precious Time. Adler, impressed with the Mamas and the Papas, then had the lead vocal track re-recorded with Denny Doherty singing, but paired with the same instrumental and backing vocal tracks, and an alto flute solo by Bud Shank, reportedly improvised. The guitar introduction was performed by P.F. Sloan. McGuire's original vocal can be briefly heard on the left channel at the beginning of the record, having not been completely erased.  The single was released in late 1965 but was not an immediate breakthrough. After gaining little attention in Los Angeles, a radio station in Boston was the catalyst to break the song nationwide.  It was certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in June 2023 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.  In 2021, Rolling Stone placed the song at number 420 in its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

 DRIVING THROUGH HENSALL ONTARIO THIS MORNING I SPOTTED THESE TWO GENTLEMEN  AND THEY DIDN'T SEEM TO BE BOTHERED BY THE COLD RAINY WEATHER AT ALL

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Two old men had been best friends for years, and they both live to their early 90's, when one of them suddenly falls deathly ill. His friend comes to visit him on his deathbed, and they're reminiscing about their long friendship, when the dying man's friend asks, "Listen, when you die, do me a favor. I want to know if there's baseball in heaven."  The dying man said, "We've been friends for years, this I'll do for you." And then he dies.  A couple days later, his surviving friend is sleeping when he hears his friend's voice. The voice says, "I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that there's baseball in heaven."  "What's the bad news?"  "You're pitching on Wednesday."  

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- Just remember: when you go to court, you are trusting your fate to twelve people that weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty!

"Hey Alexa, can you check my bank account and see what Apple product I can afford to buy...."Alexa: "Apple Juice."

- I’m trying to learn the alphabet but I can’t get past X.  I don’t know why.

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The Fourth of July was coming up, and the nursery school teacher took the opportunity to tell her class about patriotism. "We live in a great country," she said. "One of the things we should be happy about is that, in this country, we are all free."  One little boy came walking up to her from the back of the room. He stood with his hands on his hips and said, "I'm not free. I'm four."

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NAW, I DIDN'T THINK SO

 RAIN SOAKED DAFFODILS TODAY

Woke up to a rainy day and that was okay.  My hip was in need of a rest from all the yard work.  A rainy day Friday is predicted as well and that will still be okay.  Everything went well Wednesday morning at Sarnia's Bluewater Hospital when I had my hip X-ray.  In the brief 30 seconds I saw Dr. Garach he told me the X-ray looked good and he would see me again in two months.  I was disappointed by that because I thought this appointment was the last one.  Oh well, at least I don't mind driving the 120-mile round trip to Sarnia and back and it won't be in the wintertime.

 A FEW FARMERS ON THE LAND FRIDAY

 A FACEBOOK FRIEND RECENTLY REMINDED ME HOW MUCH I LIKED DOUBLE CHOCOLATE DONUTS BACK IN THE MID-80'S.  I HAD TOTALLY FORGOT THAT.  ON THE WAY HOME FROM SARNIA FRIDAY MORNING I COULDN'T WAIT TO GET A 'DUBBA BUBBA AT TIM HORTONS IN FOREST, ONTARIO.  I EVEN GOT A BITE OUT OF IT BEFORE TAKING A PICTURE OF IT.

With me standing at the end of our driveway at 9:25 this morning waiting for Richard and Richard standing at the head of his driveway at the same time waiting for me, it quickly became apparent by 9:30 that one of us had forgotten whose turn it was to drive this morning for our semi-monthly country road coffee cruise.  With Richard now well on the north side of 80 and me now pushing 80, you don't suppose there was the slightest possibility of we two aging Seniors getting things mixed up now do ya??  Naw, I didn't think so. Realizing something had gone amiss I had Kelly phone Richard right away to tell him I was on my way to pick him up.  Five minutes later all was well and we were back on routine southbound on Highway 21 heading for Bayfield's Tim Hortons.   From there, with coffee and muffins in hand, our travels continued south to Grand Bend and the surrounding area.  It was another couple of hours well spent and as usual, I came home feeling better than when I had left home.

 BOTH RICHARD AND I LIKED THE LOOKS OF THIS LITTLE 'SUMMER COTTAGE' SOUTH OF GRAND BEND THIS MORNING

With the day being rainy and damp, I spent most of my afternoon reading.  After Friday morning's last physiotherapy appointment tomorrow in Exeter, and with today's weather continuing into tomorrow I will likely do the same thing Friday afternoon as I did today.  Sunshine on Saturday:))

 HEAVY OVERNIGHT RAIN LEFT THESE TWO DAFFODILS WITH THEIR FACES ON THE GROUND

A few days ago I made a mistake in calling the Solar Eclipse a Lunar Eclipse.  Thanks to a couple reader's comments on that post for bringing this mistake to my attention.  Here's the definition of the two different eclipses.....'The major difference between the two eclipses is in the positioning of the sun, the moon, and the Earth and the longevity of the phenomenon, according to NASA.  A lunar eclipse can last for a few hours, while a solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes'. 

 A SPRING BLACK-CLOAK BUTTERY??  NOPE, JUST A BLACK BUTTERFLY ORNAMENT ON A PARK RESIDENT'S TREE

Ellen's Groove:)) Here's Ellen on the second day of practicing Symphony X and once again it shows Ellen's amazing progress.  Notice how fast she is becoming with her fingerwork and if you watch her face for a smile, you will catch her slight mistake.  

 ONE OF MAYBE A DOZEN PAINTED TURTLES IN THE PARK'S POND

Al's Music Box:)) Up Around The Bend is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by the band's frontman John Fogerty. It was composed and recorded only a few days prior to before the band's April 1970 European tour and was included on the album Cosmo's Factory.  It was released as a single, with "Run Through the Jungle" on the flip side.  The song opens with a prominent, high-pitched guitar riff played by John Fogerty. The lyrics have Fogerty telling of a gathering "up around the bend" on the highway and inviting the listener to join in.

 A TOUCH OF COLOR ON A DULL GRAY DAY

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man entered a pet shop, wanting to buy a parrot. The shop owner pointed out three identical parrots on a perch and said, "The parrot to the left costs 500 dollars."  "Why does that parrot cost so much?" the man wondered.  The owner replied, "Well, it knows how to use a computer."  The man asked about the next parrot on the perch.  "That one costs 1,000 dollars because it can do everything the other parrot can do, plus it knows how to use the newest Stellar AI Multi-Matrix operating system." Naturally, the startled customer asked about the third parrot.  "That one costs 2,000 dollars."  "And what does that one do?" the man asked.  The owner replied, "To be honest, I've never seen him do a thing, but the other two call him boss!"

- Just once when logging in to my computer, I want a username and password prompt to say: "Close Enough."

- A German asks a Mexican if they have any Jews in Mexico. The Mexican says, “Sí, we have orange jews, apple jews, and grape jews!”

A young lady came home from a date, rather sad. She told her mother, "Jeff proposed to me an hour ago."  "Then why are you so sad?" her mother asked.
"Because he also told me he was an atheist. Mom, he doesn't even believe there's a hell."  Her mother replied, "Marry him anyway. Between the two of us, we'll show him how wrong he is.

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MUSIC BOX, GROANER'S CORNER, AND A COUPLE TOONS

I couldn't get myself interested in blogging today so I will leave you with Al's Music Box, Groaner's Corner, and a couple Toons.

Al's Music Box:)) Garden Party is a 1972 song written by Rick Nelson and recorded by him and the Stone Canyon Band for the album Garden Party. The song tells the story of Nelson being booed at a concert at Madison Square Garden. It was Nelson's last top 40.  On October 15, 1971, Richard Nader's Rock 'n Roll Spectacular Volume VII concert was given at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The playbill included many greats of the early rock era, including Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Bobby Rydell, with Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band listed in advertisements as a "special added attraction".  Nelson came on stage dressed in the then-current fashion, wearing bell-bottoms and a purple velvet shirt, with his hair hanging down to his shoulders. He started playing his older songs like "Hello Mary Lou", but then he played the Rolling Stones a Country Honk (a country version of their hit song "Honky Tonk Women") and the crowd began to boo. While some reports say that the booing was caused by police action in the back of the audience, Nelson thought it was directed at him. Nevertheless, he sang another song but then left the building and did not appear onstage for the finale.  One more reference in the lyrics pertains to a particularly mysterious and legendary audience member: "Mr. Hughes hid in Dylan's shoes, wearing his disguise". The Mr. Hughes in question was ex-Beatle George Harrison, who was a next-door neighbor and good friend of Nelson. Harrison used "Hughes" as his traveling alias, and "hid in Dylan's shoes" most likely refers to an album of Bob Dylan covers that Harrison was planning but never recorded.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Little Johnny was having problems in English class, so his teacher, Miss Figpot, decided to stop by Little Johnny's house on her way home. She wanted to discuss Johnny's poor performance directly with his parents.  When she rang the doorbell, Little Johnny answered.  "Hello Johnny, I'd like to talk to your mother or father," she said. "Sorry, but they ain't here." He replied.  "Johnny!" She said, "What is it with your grammar?"  "Haven't got a clue," Johnny replied, "but Dad sure was mad that they had to go bail her out again!"

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IT WAS THE VERY MUCH MOST BEST WEATHER DAY OF THE YEAR SO FAR

 BY GOLLY ITS OUR FIRST FROG IN THE FRONT YARD FROG POND

Diffused sunlight is better than no sunlight and so it was this morning when the furry kid and I ventured out.  Having forgotten a few things in Goderich last week it was back to the harbor town we went.  Our usual routine except this morning, because it was so nice out we parked the Jeep at the end of Rotary Cove and headed off along the shoreline in the doggy walking area.  It's about half a mile to the end and back so it was good to get our legs walking.  And, it was the first morning this year that I felt a real warmth in the air even with a breezy south wind.  Hands down, it turned out to be the very much most nicest weather day of the year so far.  I wasn't long in shedding my heavy leather jacket.  What a wonderful feeling it was inside to be totally enveloped by the morning's air outside.  And, it just got better and better.  Temperature records for this day were broken.

 I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS EARLY-GROWING CROP IS BUT IT SURE LOOKS GREEN

 DAFFODILS ALONGSIDE THE ROAD ON OUR WAY TO GODERICH

HEY, THERE'S A NEW TUGBOAT IN GODERICH'S HARBOR

 WALKING ALONG THE SHORELINE I NOTICED A ROCK PAINTED BLUE

 SHORELINE RESTORATION CONTINUES

 YOU CAN SEE THE FAINT DOG WALKING PATH IN THE FOREGROUND AND YOU CAN SEE HOW IT GOT WASHED OUT IN THE BACKGROUND 

TTHERE USED TO BE A NARROW WORN PATH THROUGH LONG UNCUT GRASS BEFORE BUT NOW  I SEE THEY ARE MOWING THE WHOLE AREA WHICH MAKES IT MUCH NICER FOR DOG WALKERS AND THAT'S PHEEBS UP THERE ON THERIGH

AT THE HIGH  LAKE WATER LEVELS THREE YEARS AGO THIS WHOLE FOREGROUND WAS UNDER WATER

 LAKE HURON'S LAKE LEVEL AT ONE TIME WAS UP TO THOSE TREES ON THE RIGHT

 A LADY SITS QUIETLY AT THE WATER'S EDGE ENJOYING HER MORNING

 AND I THINK THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THERMOS OF COFFEE SHE HAD

From the harbor, we slipped up into town and stopped at the Saint Vincent de Paul Thrift Store where we had borrowed some medical aids before my hip surgery.  I had been carrying them around in the back of my Jeep for a couple weeks and this morning we took them back.  Another thing off my checklist.  From there it was a customary stop at Walmart before heading home.  And how nice to be driving with both front windows down today and no heater going.  

A PATCH OF FLOWERS ON A GODERICH LAWN

 THIS ABOUT SAYS IT ALL ABOUT OUR RECORD BREAKING 73F TEMPERATURE TODAY

Home again is was so nice today to have windows and doors open with the day's gentle breezes wafting through the house.  Oh, and I was finally able to wear for the first time this year.......a short sleeve shirt:))))  For anyone with a house and property, there is always a multitude of things to do in the Spring so I spent another three enjoyable three hours or so working on those multitudes.  The front yard frog pond's water level is now topped up and I have the water pump billowing water over the pond's little waterfall.  And, I spotted 3 frogs in the pond already.  I cleaned both bird baths and added fresh water.  I also set out most of our summer lawn ornaments.  Dug up a dozen bricks from an old flowerbed, burnt some trash in the burning barrel, and dug a hole for a new post in the yard.  Oh how I love being outside at this time of year happily working on all the multitudes of groovy stuff.  When the weather's nice that is:)) 

 MY DUG UP AND CLEANED UP DOZEN BRICKS

 I STILL HAVEN'T CLEANED UP THE POND YET....THE LITTLE WATERFALL IS AT THE LEFT

 THERE IS A FROG IN THE BRACKISH WATER

And, somewhere in this afternoon's yard work, Pheebs and I found time to take ourselves for a walk around the Park's pond.  Nice to see the Painted Turtles out sunning themselves again.     

 PAPA, MAMA, AND JUNIOR

We woke up to a cold house this morning and our furnace wasn't running.  No problem, Kelly to the rescue again.  She right away determined that the batteries in the thermostat were dead and quickly replaced them.  We were good to go and soon had a warm house house again.  But here's my problem, suppose it was just me here....what would have happened??  First of all, it might have taken me a couple of days to realize the furnace wasn't working.  Then, knowing it, my solution would have been simple.  I would put on a pair of wooly socks, long underwear, lined pants, a flannelette shirt with a sweater, ear muffs with a winter hat covering my head, and a pair of warm mitts.  I then would have sat here for the next eight months worrying every day about what I was going to do next winter when it got really cold:((

THIS LITTLE FELLOW IS REALLY GETTING A SNOOT FULL

An early start for the Subaru and I Wednesday morning as we head to Sarnia Ontario's Bluewater Hospital.  It is the final 'hip replacement' check with my surgeon, Dr. Anil Garach.  An X-ray will be taken for him to have a look at.  I don't expect any problems.

 A SNAPPY LITTLE THUNDER AND RAIN DRENCED STORM CELL BLEW IN OFF THE LAKE UNEXPECTEDLY AFTER SUPPER SO I JUMPED INTO THE JEEP AND CHASED IT DOWN THE ROAD

 BUT, IT WAS MOVING TOO FAST FOR ME TO CATCH IT AND I ONLY SAW THE REAR END OF IT HEADING EAST TO SMASH UP THE INLAND FOLKS

 A FAINT RAINBOW

Al's Music Box:)) High Noon by Frankie Laine was written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington for the 1952 movie of the same name. The song won the Academy Award for the best original song.  However, Laine did not sing the soundtrack song for High Noon, which was sung by Tex Ritter, but Lane's own version (with somewhat altered lyrics, omitting the name of the antagonist, Frank Miller) was the one that became a bigger hit.  Tex Ritter's High Noon from the Movie.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  I don't always go the extra mile but when I do it's because I missed the Exit.

- I can't afford an Ancestry DNA kit to learn about my relatives, so instead I posted online that I had won the lottery.

- With the rise of self-driving vehicles, it's only a matter of time that a country song is written where the guy's truck leaves him. 

- I wanna be the level of rich where I don't get mad at beef jerky prices anymore.

- Guys, I need your help. In the middle of an argument with the wife she told me that I was right…What the hell do I do next?

Shirts I own....543.  Shirts I wear....6.  Shirts I'm willing to get rid of ....0.

- Just had my first UFO experience.  Told the wife her cooking was terrible.  Flying saucers everywhere.

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