TODAY, I SUSPECT IT WAS A BIT OF BOTH

 ROADSIDE PEONIES

Under cool, bordering on cold moody skies, Pheebs and I followed a smattering of rain to Goderich.  And yes, I had a scratch of heat on in the Jeep.  

 IT WAS A BIG SKY MOODY MORNING

Grabbed a coffee to go at McD's and took a spin down around the harbor.  It was a cold wind coming in off Lake Huron.  On the lake's horizon, skies looked stormy over the State of Michigan to the west.  A quick stop at Goderich's 'Zehrs Supermarket' and we headed home.

 IT LOOKS LIKE MICHIGAN MAY BE HAVING STORMY WEATHER WAY OVER THERE ACROSS LAKE HURON

It was perfect weather for working outside today but alas, I couldn't seem to drag myself out of my tiredness.  Sometimes it is hard to tell if it's a tiredness of mind or tiredness of body.  Today, I suspect it was a bit of both.

Finished the last book in the Emily Of Blue Moon trilogy a couple days ago.  It was another one of those books that I wished would never end.  Readers already know how much I like author Lucy Maude Montgomery's writing so there is no need for me to say more here.   I'm well into my next book entitled, The Oceanography Of The Moon by author, Glendy Vanderah  I'm not quite sure what to think of this book yet.  

Al's Music Box:)) You Were On My Mind is a popular song by the We Five written by Sylvia Fricker in 1961.  It was originally recorded by Ian & Sylvia, but better-known versions were recorded by the We Five and Crispian St. Peters.  The song was written in a bathtub in a suite at the Hotel Earle in Greenwich Village. Fricker wrote it, her first composition, in the bathroom because "it was the only place the cockroaches would not go".  In 1965, the song was covered by an up-tempo version, with slightly altered lyrics and melody, by the California pop quintet We Five. The performance by We Five is noteworthy for the gradual buildup in intensity, starting off somewhat flowing and gentle, increasing in intensity in the third stanza and remaining so through the fourth stanza. The fifth and final stanza starts off gently and concludes very intensely, ending with a series of guitar chords.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  An elderly, but hardy cattleman from Texas once told a young female neighbor that if she wanted to live a long life, the secret was to sprinkle a pinch of gunpowder on her oatmeal each morning. She did this religiously and lived to the ripe old age of 103. She left behind 14 children, 30 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, five great-great-grandchildren and a 40-foot hole in the ground where the crematorium used to be.

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WE ARE BOTH AVID 'FRESH AIR INSPECTORS'

 A GREEN BACKED HERON AT OUR PARK'S POND THIS AFTERNOON

A rainy start to the day which began clearing up shortly after 9 a.m.  My turn to drive this morning so Richard and I headed off under blue skies south on Highway 21 through Bayfield where we picked up our Hortons coffee and muffins to go.  Continuing south we popped into all the short sideroads between the Highway and the lake.  It's always interesting to see all the cottages, properties, landscaping, and million-dollar homes nestled into the forested woodlots along the shoreline of Lake Huron.  By the way, both Richard and I are avid 'Fresh Air Inspectors' also sometimes known as 'Sidewalk Superintendents' or 'Strawbosses'.  Our combined expertise in this field lends itself well to our thoughts and opinions about everything that we see along the way:))

With cooler air and a nice breeze upon us this afternoon I was able to finish up the grass cutting and weed whacking.  Even had enough energy left over to do a Park pond walk with Pheebs.  I had started a small front yard flower bed edging project early last week and if I keep up my current lackadaisical pace I might even be able to finish it by Christmas.   

 PHEEBS AND I STOPPED AT THE 'REST-A-BIT BENCH AGAIN TODAY

 LASER FOCUSED ON A FISH OR A FROG

Ellen's Groove:)) Summer Jam with Ellen and friends including her Dad on lead guitar. 

Al's Music Box:))  So Much In Love is a song written by George Williams, Billy Jackson, and Roy Straigis (initially under the name John Joseph). It was originally performed by Williams's American soul vocal group the Tymes and was released in the summer of 1963 on Cameo Parkway Records, which produced many pre-Beatles hits of the 60s. It quickly became The Tymes' first hit single.

 IT LOOKS LIKE THIS GREEN BACKED HERON HAS SPAGHATTI TOES

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Prison vs. Work::

- IN PRISON...you spend the majority of your time in an 8x10 cell.  

AT WORK...you spend most of your time in a 6x8 cubicle.

- IN PRISON...you get three meals a day.

AT WORK...you only get a break for one meal and you have to pay for it.

- IN PRISON...you get time off for good behavior. AT WORK...you get rewarded for good behavior with more work.  

IN PRISON...a guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you.

AT WORK...you must carry around a security card and unlock and open all the doors yourself.

- IN PRISON...you can watch TV and play games.  

AT WORK...you get fired for watching TV and playing games.

- IN PRISON...they allow your family and friends to visit.  

AT WORK...you cannot even speak to your family and friends.

- IN PRISON...you spend most of your life looking through bars from the inside wanting to get out.  

AT WORK...you spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars.

- IN PRISON...there are wardens who are often sadistic.  

AT WORK...they are called managers.

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I WAS QUITE ALRIGHT WITH THAT

OUR COUNTRY ROAD WALKING SPOT

It was Subie on the road again this morning but this time it was Kelly herself at the wheel.  She had a minor dentist appointment in Exeter and felt quite confident that she could drive there and back herself.  And, she did.  Under 70F cloudy morning skies, Pheebs and I headed to our country road walking spot and almost got our half-mile walk in before raindrops turned us around.  Heading home, the raindrops dried up and a few hours later the sun was out for a brief period.  Before the temps climbed any higher, I cut some grass, whacked some weeds, and blew all the pine pollen out of our carport and off our front porch and deck.  Even that little bit of outside activity on this humid morning drained my energy.  Today's afternoon was a repeat of Tuesday's afternoon.  And, I was quite alright with that.

Al's Music Box:)) Reminiscing is a song by Australian soft rock music group Little River Band, released in June 1978 as the second single from their fourth studio album Sleeper Catcher. The song was written by the band's rhythm guitarist Graeham Goble, and sung by their lead singer Glenn Shorrock.   In 2005, Goble spoke of his inspiration and recording of the song, saying "I loved watching old black and white movies, and I always also loved the music of Glenn Miller and Cole Porter, that whole era of writing, and it was my attempt to write a song to depict the romantic era. It came out very quickly, I wrote it in about half an hour. Even though a lot of people think it sounds complicated, on the guitar it's very simple to play. It nearly never got recorded – when the time came to record it, the keyboard player I wanted to use, Peter Jones, was out of town, so we cut the band track with a different keyboard player. It didn't work. A few days later when we tried it again with a different keyboard player, again it didn't work, and the band was losing interest in the song. Just before the album was finished, Peter Jones came back into town, the band and I had an argument because I wanted to give Reminiscing a third chance. Peter played on it, we cut it and finished it, and sent the album to Capitol. Capitol said that they couldn't hear any singles on the album, and didn't know what to release. Five weeks later, someone at Capitol's New York office said 'You're all crazy, Reminiscing is a smash.' Capitol put it out, and it immediately caught fire, and became our highest chart hit." Goble added, "It's quite staggering; you don't realize you've written something like that until it happens, until it's history."

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A Sunday school teacher asked her students to draw a picture of their favorite Old Testament story. As she moved around the class, she saw there were many wonderful drawings being done. Then she came across the drawing of one little boy. He was busy drawing a man driving an old car. In the backseat were two passengers—both scantily dressed.”  "It's a lovely picture,” prompted the teacher, “but which story does it tell?”  The little boy seemed surprised at the question. “Well,” he exclaimed, “doesn't it say in the Bible that God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden?”

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Teacher: "Johnny, if you have $20 in one pant pocket, and $35 in the other pant pocket, what do you have?"
Johnny: "That's easy, I have someone else's pants!"

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A priest and an astronomer find themselves sitting together on a night flight. After introductions and a long gaze out the window, the astronomer asks the priest, "Can't all religions be summed up by stating the Golden Rule?" The priest pauses a bit and asks the astronomer, "Can't all astronomy be summed up by singing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’?”

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"I hope you didn't take it personally, Reverend," an embarrassed woman said after a church service, "when my husband walked out during your sermon."  "I did find it rather disconcerting," the preacher replied.  "It's not a reflection on you," insisted the church goer. "Ralph has been been walking in his sleep since childhood."
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WELL, SOME OF THEM ANYWAY

 KELLY BROUGHT THIS HOME FROM THE MENNONITE MARKET TODAY

No need for a touch of heat in the Jeep this morning and being the first week of June I'd say it's about time.  In fact, weather forecasters called for a humid day, and so it was.  Pheebs and I ambled ourselves around a few country roads without taking any photos.  That's not always a good sign when my mind is not automatically scanning my surroundings for photos.  Home again, it was Subie and I off and running again.  I had an eye exam appointment at Clinton's Huron Optimetric with Dr. Weaver who seems to me to be a genuinely nice fellow.  I aced the eye exam and he had only good things to say about my eyes and their condition.  No need to update my glasses prescription.  I guess at nearly 80 I should once again be counting my lucky stars.  I'm almost willing to believe that I am in better shape than what I think I am.  But, if it wasn't for my complaining some days, I wouldn't have much to write about.  Coming home I took the quiet backroads crawling along with the windows down and the Moonroof open.  No A/C for this turkey and no chance of blowing myself out of the car at 10 mph either.  We got up to 81F today.

 A FEW PHOTOS LEFT OVER FROM MONDAY'S POND AND BEYOND WALK

Waaaay too hot for me to be outside this afternoon so I didn't feel guilty about staying inside tipped back in my sunroom recliner reading with a fan blowing cool air on me.  I'm almost kinda getting to like these Senior days.  Well, some of them anyway.    

Al's Music Box:)) The Tracks Of My Tears is a song written by Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin. It is a multiple award-winning 1965 hit R&B song originally recorded by their group, The Miracles, on Motown's Tamla label. The Miracles' million-selling original version has been inducted into The Grammy Hall of Fame, has been ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America and The National Endowment for the Arts at No. 127 in its list of the "Songs of the Century" – the 365 Greatest Songs of the 20th Century, and has been selected by Rolling Stone as No. 50 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", among many other awards.  In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked the Miracles' original recording of "The Tracks of My Tears" as "The Greatest Motown Song of All Time".  In the five-LP publication The Motown Story, by Motown Records, Robinson explained the origin of this song in these words: "'Tracks of My Tears' was actually started by Marv Tarplin, who is a young cat who plays guitar for our act. So he had this musical thing [sings melody], you know, and we worked around with it, and worked around, and it became 'Tracks of My Tears'." Tarplin's guitar licks at the song's intro are among the most famous in pop music history.

 A STRAWBERRY PIE

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Two children went into their parent's bathroom and noticed the scale in the corner.  "Whatever you do," cautioned one child to the younger one, "don't step on it!"  "Why not?" asked the sibling.  "Because every time mom does, she lets out an awful scream!"

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She: "Sweetheart, what's your gift for our 25th anniversary?"
He: "A trip to Thailand."
She: "That's amazing! And what about when we hit our 50th anniversary?" she asked.
He: "That's when I come back to get you."

- If you can show me a man with a comb-over, I can show you a man who thinks that by crushing a bag of chips, you make more chips.

- Did you hear about the old man whose birthday one year lasted only one minute?  It was his sixty-second birthday.

- I am looking for someone to brush their teeth with me.  I am really concerned after I found out that 9 out of 10 dentists say brushing alone won't reduce cavities.

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RAPIDLY UP TO SPEED ON THE 402 I NEARLY BLEW MYSELF RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW

The cloud cover was so low first thing this morning that it was almost sitting on the tree tops when Pheebs and I headed out to our country road walking spot.  We only did half of our half mile walk.  Pheebs wasn't into it so we headed back home.

WINDMILL LAKE EAST OF OUR PARK

A MISTY MORNING WITH CLOUDS NEARLY ON THE DECK

 CAN YOU SMELL THE NEW MOWN HAY?

Changing vehicles and with a bit of drizzle on the windshield Subie and I rolled out the driveway.  Heading south through Bayfield and tuned in to my favorite SiriusXM music channel, I grabbed a Hortons coffee to go and set a southwesterly course for Sarnia Ontario's Bluewater Hospital.  A nice morning for a drive with light traffic all the way including the 402.  By the time we reached the Bluewater Hospital skies had nearly cleared themselves.

 SARNIA'S BLUEWATER HOSPITAL

 A BRIGHT CHEERY HALLWAY

I was early for my appointment of course and things moved along quickly.  Two X-rays this morning instead of one.  Dr. Garach said the X-rays looked good and he was pleased with my progress.  I have to go back for another X-ray in September.  I asked him about the occasional pain in my right leg and knee.  He said that is normal and explained something about the new hardware in my hip.  He said that occasional soreness and pain will eventually go away.  Well, we'll see but I was encouraged by the fact that I didn't have a speck of soreness or pain in my right leg all day.  

 WAITING OUTSIDE THE X-RAY ROOM READING MY KINDLE

Upon leaving the hospital I found Subie in the parking lot with no problem and we were soon heading East out of Sarnia with both front windows down and the Moonroof open.  Oh, the pleasures of warmer weather.  Minutes later and rapidly up to speed on the 402 I nearly blew myself right out the window.  I had to get that moonroof closed and my windows back up to stop the hurricane going on inside the car.  With Subies aerodynamics restored I as able to roll along in quiet comfort listening to my tunes.  With a stop in Forest Ontario at Subway for a Tuna Sub which I somehow managed to not get all over myself, I wasn't long in getting home.

 EAST BOUND AND DOWN HEADING FOR HOME

Finally home and turning onto our street I saw something going on up ahead in front of our house.  It was a Seaforth cable company installing a line up our driveway to the house for a fiber optic installation.  Tuckersmith Communications is installing fiber optics in our Park.  They will be back again to hook that line up to the outside modem at the other end of our unit.  We are currently with Eastlink Communications and this Tuckersmith line will give us an option should we decide to make a change with our internet, TV, and phone company at some point.  Options are always good things to have regardless of what you are doing.

 OH-OH WHAT THE HECKS GOING ON

 IT'S A GOOD THING KELLY IS OUT THERE KEEPING AN EYE ON THE FLOWERS

An afternoon Park Pond and beyond walk for Pheebs and I netted me a few photos and we sure stirred up a bunch of Red-Winged Blackbirds on the East side of the pond.  They must be nesting in the Willows by the water and probably have young ones in the nests.

 THESE BIRDS WERE SURE UPSET WITH PHEEBS AND I

 LATE AFTERNOON SHADOWS ON THE POND'S BANK

 I LOVE A DARK FOREST WALK

 THIS MIGHT BE A BLACK SWALLOWTAIL

Al's Music Box:))  The Weight  is a song by the Canadian-American group 'The Band' that was released as a single in 1968 on the group's debut album 'Music from Big Pink'. It was their first release under this name, after their previous releases as the Canadian Squires and Levon and the Hawks. Written by Band member Robbie Robertson, the song is about a visitor's experiences in a town mentioned in the lyric's first line as Nazareth. "The Weight" has significantly influenced American popular music, having been listed as No. 41 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Sons of All Time published in 2004. PBS, which broadcast performances of the song on Ramble at the Ryman (2011), Austin City Limits (2012), and Quick Hits (2012), describes it as "a masterpiece of Biblical allusions, enigmatic lines, and iconic characters" and notes its enduring popularity as "an essential part of the American songbook."  "The Weight" is one of the Band's best-known songs, gaining considerable album-oriented rock airplay.  Cash Box called it a "powerhouse performance."  The 1969 movie Easy Rider used the song as recorded by the Band.  Robbie Robertson,  found the tune for 'The Weight when strumming idly on his guitar one day.  He noticed that the interior of the guitar included a stamp noting that it was manufactured in Nazareth, Pennsylvania (C.F. Martin & Company is situated there) and he started crafting the lyrics as he played.  The inspiration for and influences affecting the composition of "The Weight" came from the music of the American South, the life experiences of band members, particularly Levon Helm, and movies of filmmakers Ingmar Bergan and Luis Bunuel.  The original members of the Band performed "The Weight" as an American Southern folk song with country music (vocals, guitars and drums) and gospel music (piano and organ) elements. The lyrics, written in the first person, are about a traveler's arrival, visit, and departure from a town called Nazareth, in which the traveler's friend, Fanny, has asked him to look up some of her friends. According to Robertson, Fanny is based on Frances 'Fanny' Steloff, the founder of a New York City bookstore where he explored scripts by Buñuel. The town is related to Nazareth, Pennsylvania because it was the home of Martin guitars. (Robertson wrote the guitar parts on a 1951 Martin D-28.) The singers, led by Helm, vocalize the traveler's encounters with people in the town from the perspective of a Bible Belt American Southerner, like Helm himself, a native of rural Arkansas.  The characters in "The Weight" were based on real people that members of the Band knew, as Helm explained in his autobiography, This Wheel's on Fire.  In particular, "young Anna Lee" mentioned in the third verse is Helm's longtime friend Anna Lee Amsden, and, according to her, "Carmen" was from Helm's hometown, Turkey Scratch, Arkansas "Crazy Chester" was an eccentric resident of Fayetteville, Arkansas, who carried a cap gun. Ronnie Hawkins would tell him to "keep the peace" at his Rockwood Club when Chester arrived.  

 THIS BEGONIA HANGS ON OUR LAMP POST AT THE END OF OUR DRIVEWAY

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, "What's with those guys? We must have been waiting for fifteen minutes!"  The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such inept golf!"  The priest said, "Here comes the green-keeper. Let's have a word with him."  He said, "Hello George, what's wrong with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?"  The green-keeper replied, "Oh, yes. That's a group of blind firemen. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime."  The group fell silent for a moment.  The priest said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight."  The doctor said, "Good idea. I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist colleague and see if there's anything he can do for them." The engineer said, "Why can't they play at night?"

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A zookeeper is ordering new animals. As he fills out the forms, he types “two mongeese”. That doesn’t look quite right, so he tries two mongoose, and then two mongooses.  Giving up, he types, “One mongoose, and while you’re at it, send another one.”

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Getting away from their high-stress jobs, a couple spends relaxing weekends in their motor home. When they found their peace and quiet disturbed by well-meaning, but unwelcome, visits from other campers, they devised a plan to assure themselves some privacy.  Now, when they set up camp, they place this sign on the door of their RV: "Insurance agent. Ask about our term-life package."

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