AUNT JEAN'S SHORT FRIDAY NIGHT PHONE CALL

As soon as I heard my Aunt Jean's voice on the telephone at precisely 8:15 Friday night I knew she wasn't well.  Two weeks ago she came down with Covid but when I talked to her last week she was on the rebound and sounding like her old cheery positive self again.  Not so last night.  Tired and needing to rest, she couldn't talk long.  She has lost her appetite and at barely a hundred pounds can hardly afford to lose any more weight.  I will call her again in a couple of days to see how she is doing.  She just turned 97 a little over a week ago.

 A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER'S SATURDAY MORNING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

 STRAW BALES

 A RECENTLY HARVESTED WHEAT FIELD

While slowly making our way along a country road this morning I was hightenedly aware of our pastoral surroundings and thought to myself, this Saturday morning has got to be one of the best weather mornings of ever.  Hard to describe but it had that gentle touch of coolness and magic in the air found only in the soon to be here early Autumn days.  Days I so much look forward to each and every year at this time.

 NO, NOT A GOLF COURSE....A LOW SPOT IN A FARMER'S FIELD

 AREA MARSHMALLOW FARMS ARE DOING WELL:))

 A FINE OLD TREE HAS COME TO ITS END

 TURKEY VULTURES

 A ROAD JUST TRAVELLED

Noticed a lot of farmers out in the fields either continuing with the wheat harvest or cutting and baling grass for hay.  Some were also baling straw after the wheat fields had been harvested.  Confused about hay and straw??  Hay is food for the animals while straw is bedding for the animals.  So, did I pull that off the internet??  Nope, I pulled it right out from between my ears.  But, I did double-check the internet to see if I was right, and surprisingly enough.....I was:))

 SATURDAY MORNING FARM MACHINERY AWAITS SATURDAY MORNING FARM WORKERS

 A FARMER CHECKING OVER HIS COMBINE

 THIS TRACTOR IS PICKING UP LARGE ROUND STRAW BALES AND LOADING THEM ON A  COUPLE RED WAGONS

 A COMBINE WILL EMPTY ITS LOAD OF WHEAT INTO THE TRAILER BEING TOWED BY THIS TRACTOR AND THE TRACTOR WILL TAKE ITS LOAD TO A WAITING TRUCK OUT ON THE ROAD

With the humidity level on the rise, Pheebs and I didn't bother with an afternoon walk.  Stayed inside and ate a watermelon.  Well okay, part of a watermelon then:))   

 CANADA GEESE GLEANING A HARVESTED WHEAT FIELD

Al's Music Box:)) Ribbon Of Darkness is a song written by Gordon Lightfoot that was released in 1965 as a single by Marty Robbins. The song was Robbins' eleventh number-one on the U.S. country singles chart, where it spent one week at the top and a total of nineteen weeks on the chart.  Lightfoot's own version was released as a single in 1965 and included in his 1966 debut album 'Lightfoot' and again for his 1975 compilation album Gord's Gold. The latter recording features the song in a medley with "I'm Not Sayin", as does the live recording from Lightfoot's 1969 Sunday Concert album.  I also like Marty Robbins version of this song as well.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A panda bear walks into a restaurant and orders a meal.  After eating he pulls out a gun, shoots the place to the ground, and runs away. Quickly the bartender runs after him yelling, "HEY YOU CAN'T DO THIS!!!"  The panda turns around and yells "Yes I can. Look me up in the encyclopedia!"  So, the bartender looks up "Panda" in the encyclopedia, and it reads, "Panda: increasingly rare species of bear that can be found in the eastern part of Asia. It eats shoots and leaves.”

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What is the difference between a salon and a saloon?
A salon is where you go to make yourself look better.
A saloon is where you go to make everyone else look better.

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Knock Knock
Who's there?
Isaiah!
Isaiah who?
Isaiah nothing till you open this door!

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When a doctor doctors a doctor, does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as the doctor being doctored wants to be doctored or does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as he wants to doctor.

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As a mother was bribing her little boy with a quarter so he would behave, she said, "Why do I always have to pay you to be good?  Why can't you be good for nothing like your dad?"

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THANKFUL WE WERE ABLE TO ENJOY OUR PARK'S OLD FOREST PATHS YEARS AGO

 A DRAGONFLY AT THE PARK'S POND THIS AFTERNOON

Another pleasantly cool morning but not cool enough for me to put a scratch of heat on in the car as Pheebs and I headed off to Goderich.  I had a prescription to pick up.  All the usual stops and we were back again before noon.

 THE WHEAT HARVEST HAS RESUMED

 CALM LAKE HURON WATERS FOR THESE TWO PADDLE BOARDERS AND THAT SAILBOAT ON THE HORIZON IS THE FIRST SAILBOAT  OUT ON THE LAKE I'VE SEEN THIS YEAR

 BEACHGOERS ENJOYING A FINE SUMMER MORNING AT GODERICH'S ROTARY COVE

 SPOTTED 'OLD LONESOME' ON THE WAY HOME

Kelly's oldest Son Jason, and his son Reeve came up to Deer Park Lodge yesterday so Kelly headed over there early this afternoon for a short visit.  It had been a while since she last saw Jason and Reeve.  

 KELLY'S OLDEST SON JASON WITH HIS SON REEVE

I finished my 'needles and vines' project and loaded all the yard waste into the utility trailer before the day heated up.  I gotta somehow remember to stay ahead of things better when it comes to our outside yard maintenance.

 PHEEBS LOVES HER TUMMY RUBS

Our street was a beehive of activity today.  Tuckersmith Communications is now in our area of the Park laying underground fiber optic cables.  These machines are very noisy.

 THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF CABLE BEING USED

 THE CABLES ENTER THE GROUND IN A PREVIOUSLY PREPARED HOLE 

 THE CABLES ARE PULLED UNDERGROUND BY A MACHINE UP THE STREET

 THIS IS THE MACHINE PULLING THE CABLES

With a slight touch of cool air, it was good enough for Pheebs and I to head out for a walk around the Park's pond and beyond.  The tree-cutting machine had been working on the east side and south end of the pond this morning and I couldn't help but notice how our once-familiar landscape is slowly changing.  The area of forest where our favorite old Pine Tree Trail once brought us so many enjoyable morning walks years ago is a mere shadow of its former self.  Walking along this afternoon I had to remind myself to be thankful for all the wonderful memories over the years of walking our dogs, Max, Checkers, Cora, and Pheebs along this trail.  I know change is inevitable and when all is said and done I'm sure the Park's emerging new look will be just fine.  I'm thankful we were able to enjoy the Park's older forest paths years ago.  

MANY OF THE TREES COMING DOWN ARE OLD, DISEASED, DAMAGED OR JUST PLAIN ROTTEN LIKE THIS ONE 

 THINNING OF THE FOREST MAKES QUITE A JUMBLED MESS OF LOGS AND BRANCHES

 HARDLY RECOGNIZABLE ANYMORE THE OLD PINE TREE TREE TRAIL IS A MERE SHADOW OF ITS FORMER BEAUTIFUL SELF....MOST OF THIS TRAIL WAS NEEDLESSLY DESTROYED BY THE PARK'S FORMER OWNER

 IT WAS A ONE TURTLE WALK TODAY

 AS WE APPROACH THE TURTLE IT MAKES A HASTY RETREAT BACK INTO THE POND

 IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO SEE A DRAGONFLY ALONG THE POND'S WATERY EDGE

 TWO OF OUR FRONT YARD FROG POND FROGS

Al's Music Box:)) Till Then by the Mills Brothers.  Two versions by The Mills Brothers and the Les Brown orchestra, respectively, dominated the charts. The recording by The Mills Brothers was released by Decca Records and first reached the Billboard Magazine's Best Seller chart on September 21, 1944. The song was a plea (presumably by a soldier, off to fight the war) to his sweetheart to wait for him until he could get back home. Like many war-themed songs, it enjoyed great popularity when it came out in 1944.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The Laws Of Golf

LAW 1: No matter how bad your last shot was, the worst is yet to come. This law does not expire on the 18th hole, since it has the supernatural tendency to extend over the course of a tournament, a summer and, eventually, a lifetime.

LAW 2: Your best round of golf will be followed almost immediately by your worst round ever. The probability of the latter increases with the number of people you tell about the former.

LAW 3: Brand-new golf balls are water-magnetic. Though this cannot be proven in the lab, it is a known fact that the more expensive the golf ball, the greater its attraction to water.

LAW 4: Golf balls never bounce off of trees back into play. If one does, the tree is breaking a law of the universe and should be cut down.

LAW 5: No matter what causes a golfer to muff a shot, all his playing partners must solemnly chant "You looked up," or invoke the wrath of the universe.

LAW 6: The higher a golfer's handicap, the more qualified he deems himself as an instructor.

LAW 7: Every par-three hole in the world has a secret desire to humiliate golfers. The shorter the hole, the greater its desire.

LAW 8: Topping a 3-iron is the most painful torture known to man.

LAW 9: Palm trees eat golf balls.

LAW 10: Sand is alive. If it isn't, how do you explain the way it works against you?

LAW 11: Golf carts always run out of juice at the farthest point from the clubhouse.

LAW 12: A golfer hitting into your group will always be bigger than anyone in your group. Likewise, a group you accidentally hit into will consist of a football player, a professional wrestler, a convicted murderer and an IRS agent -- or some similar combination.

LAW 13: All 3-woods are demon-possessed.

LAW 14: Golf balls from the same "sleeve" tend to follow one another, particularly out of bounds or into the water (See Law three).

LAW 15: A severe slice is a thing of awesome power and beauty.

LAW 16: "Nice lag" can usually be translated to "lousy putt." Similarly, "tough break" can usually be translated "way to miss an easy one, sucker."

LAW 17: The person you would most hate to lose to will always be the one who beats you.

LAW 18: The last three holes of a round will automatically adjust your score to what it really should be.

LAW 19: Golf should be given up at least twice per month.

LAW 20: All vows taken on a golf course shall be valid only until sunset.

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