Friday, April 09, 2010

THE OLD HOME TOWN BRINGS ON A REFLECTIVE MOOD

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BAYFIELD'S PIONEER PARK OVERLOOKS THE REMAINS OF AN OLD LAKE HURON SHIPWRECK IN THE BACKGROUND

Woke up to a cold gray morning with the thermometer dipping below the freezing mark.  Didn't take long for my mood to match the weather & I knew the early stages of 'cabin fever' were beginning to inch their way into my mind. 

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EVEN THE DAFFODILS WERE TOO COLD TO OPEN TODAY

Took the 2 big furry guys out for a short hike & could tell they weren't really into walking this morning.  An icy wind coming in off the lake turned us around & headed us back home.

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BOATS AWAIT WARMER WEEK-ENDS ALONG THE BAYFIELD RIVER

Threw the camera bag & a couple cameras in my little blue mini-van, cranked up the heat & a few radio tunes.  Rolled out of our park about 8:45 a.m. with no particular place to go.  The heavy dark cloud patterns looked like a winter's sky laden with snow & there was no hint of sun anywhere.  Picked up a few back roads & headed east across the dull & overcast landscape.  I don't even think the birds were flying this morning.

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BAYFIELD'S TWIN PIERS TO THE RIGHT

By 10 a.m. I had reached the outskirts of my old home town of Tavistock, Ontario.  Last time I was down around that way was two years ago on a sunny summer afternoon on my motorcycle.   There is a Tim Horton's in Tavy & it was time for my second coffee of the day anyway so I slipped into town & through the drive-thru.  Parking lot was full.

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Don't know about anybody else but for me it's always a strange kind of feeling going back to 'the old home town.'  So many memories everywhere & so many emotions connected with those memories.  It's rarely ever a happy time for me when I drive around the streets past what used to be the elementary school or down to the old baseball park.  Probably a third of the kids I grew up with are gone now.  My imagination can still see them though on their bicycles, in what's left of the old schoolyard, on the street corners,  & hanging out at all the old favorite places.  I can see their faces & I can hear their voices.  And I can remember the good times.  And I can remember the bad times.

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PONTOON DOCKS STACKED ON THE BEACH AWAITING THEIR SUMMER SPOTS ALONG THE  BAYFIELD RIVER'S EDGE

Stopped at a cemetery to visit some old friends & family members.   More memories, more emotions.

I never stay long in the old home town anymore.  A passing nod to a house here, a smile at a street corner there, & then it is time to leave & let the heavy doors of time slowly close behind me until someday I pass this way again..............  Someday.

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WOODEN STEPS LEADING FROM BAYFIELD'S PIONEER PARK TO THE BEACH & PIERS BELOW

It was a quiet meandering drive back to Bayfield with my mind in reflective thought.  Snow flakes were in the air & I saw a few brief sun splashes far off on the western horizon.  It was one month ago today we left Borrego Springs California on the first leg of our journey home.  It seems like a hundred years ago....................

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GROANER'S CORNER:((  Very early one morning two birds are sitting at the side of a large puddle of oil. They see a worm on the other side. So ... the one flies over and the other one swims through the oil.  Which one gets to the worm first................... The one who swam, of course, because "Da oily boid gets da woim."

Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

9 comments:

  1. It looks pretty bleak there right now, but I bet it is wonderful there when it warms up a bit.
    Can't wait to see the summer activies on all that lovely water.
    Lovely pictures. Thanks.
    Happy Trails, Penny, TX

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  2. Beautiful pictures and glad you shared your thoughts of your hometown.... Sound to me like your missing the road already! Have a GREAT day!!!
    Donna

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  3. I don't even want to go back to my old hometown where I was raised. A lot of good memories get overcome by the less than good ones. I think they would all be mostly good memories if it wasn't for teen age and high school.

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  4. The photos around the lake are beautiful even on a dreary day. Cheer up...you'll be on the road again in just a few months!

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  5. Al, we awakened to 36 degrees clear down here in Alabama, it is just the last vestages of winter, and will be out of here shortly. Go look at the weather forecast for Calgary for the next week if you want to see something dreary. 8 to 12 inches of snow for a day next week.

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  6. Hopefully warmer weather and sunshine will brighten things up a little. My Mom has a summer place on the St. Lawrence and she is anxious to get up there. She's also waiting for the weather to turn so they can do their after winter clean up of the yards.

    I love the B&W with only the daffodils being yellow. Neat trick, did you have to add the color after making it B&W? Is there a way to block out only the item in the photograph that you want to be colored?

    Connie

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  7. Beautiful pictures of your old home town! It does look like a bit of dreary day for sure but hopefully that will all change for the better in a few more weeks. You captured the feelings of returning home pretty well.

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  8. Heck yeah, I agree with Rick. I rturned to my Arizona hometown two months ago after an absence of 10 years. I won't do it again. Time changes a lot of things, but happily, the present is much more beautiful and homey. We can't stop time but we can our present is the BEST present!

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  9. loved all the photos of the wooden piers!!.great job.your blog is never a disappointment!

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