OH GOODY GOODY GUM DROPS, NOW I CAN START COMPLAINING ABOUT THE WEATHER BEING TOO HOT

AMID THE SAILBOATS

How sweet it was to see the thermometer at 57F this morning at 7 a.m. as opposed to it's 30 & 31F readings the past few mornings.  Nice to feel that touch of humidity in the air & feel the warm morning sun peeking through the tall pine trees.  Any day now I will able to switch my semi annual complaining from, 'too cold' to 'too hot!!'  I knew it would be warmer today because the frogs were really chirping it up around the pond last night.  I still have not seen a single hopping green amphibian yet this year but when I cleaned the pond pump today there was evidence on the plastic water pipe of small egg clusters.  Could be snails.

The pair of geese on the larger pond across the road have abandoned their nest again for the third year in a row so we probably will not see any little furry goose guys paddling around in the water.  We think maybe a raccoon raids the nest & grabs the eggs.  Checkers woke me up last night around midnight barking at a raccoon that had come up on our deck & tipped over a container of birdseed.

OUR RED BREASTED GROSBEAKS ARE BACK

I drove the Santa Fe into Clinton last night for the final first aid class.  I noticed right away a big difference in the car's handling since the ball joints were replaced & new rubber put on all the way around.  Sometimes when things deteriorate slowly you don't notice it & gradually compensate for the deterioration.  Big, big, difference in handling.

The first aid class from 7 to 10 dealt with fractures, dislocations, slings, 1rst-2nd & 3rd degree burns, impaled objects, heat stroke, frost bite, splints, poisons, extruded eyeballs, & lots of other grizzly gruesome things.  Bottom line.......stay in bed every day, don't do anything or go anywhere to avoid all injuries.

Planted 3 more Emerald cedar trees out front today.  In hindsight, I wished we had just bought about a hundred cedars when we first moved here & totally ringed our property with greenery because now 7 years later we would have had a nice tall solid cedar barrier all around us.  Cardinals love thick cedars.....& so do I!!

AZALEAS

My Facebook comments last night were not directed at anyone specifically & were certainly not intended to offend anyone.  Just my thoughts on Facebook in general.  Lots of mighty fine folks out there but a lot of that stuff is not my cup of tea.  It's just that I have a habit of, 'getting things off my chest once & awhile!!'  Different strokes for different folks as the saying goes & not to worry Chef, I still got ya in the mix here:))

SPRING FLOWERS ALONG THE ROADSIDE

Another question about Nikon & Canon cameras a couple days ago.  I'm sure thousands of dyed in the wool brand loyal Canon & Nikon enthusiasts will disagree with me but I don't think any one company is better than the other.  Both have quality cameras with varying degrees of great quality in their many different product lines.  The only reason I chose Nikon a few years back was that I had always wanted a Nikon camera years ago in the 35mm days.  They were just about the top of the line camera at that time.  Since then Canon has made great strides & both companies are now equally competitive.  But, here's a few things that I have noticed over the past few years that might make me consider the Canon line of cameras in the future.

OUR FRONT PORCH AWAITS ANOTHER SUMMER

Whenever watching the news or nature specials I always pay particular attention to what camera's are being used.  I am seeing more Canons than Nikons.  The Astronomy folks use mostly Canon cameras & I think sports photographers favor the Canon line as well.  Also, if your looking to buy new or used lenses & cameras there seems to be far more Canon equipment out there to chose from than Nikon & I think the prices may be better too.  I don't have any stats or facts to back any of this up....just my opinion.

A SPRING DANDELION

GROANER'S CORNER:((  My wife's jealousy is getting ridiculous. The other day she looked at my calendar and wanted to know who May was.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

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

JUST MY 'FACEBOOK' OPINION OF COURSE!!

A FROSTY MORNING THISTLE

Second half of our two part first aid course tonight so blog will be short.  Of course I said that a couple days ago about Tuesday's blog & then it just seemed to trudge on forever.

DEER PARK LODGE GROUNDS

Kelly headed off to Cambridge this morning to see some of her Grandkids that she hadn't seen before we headed west last October.

KEEPING AN EYE ON THE FRONT YARD BIRDS 

Same old, same old, here today with the continuing clean up & that was about it.

 

I THINK THIS LITTLE FELLOW IN OUR YARD THIS MORNING WAS AN EASTERN TOWHEE

Was saddend this morning to read about fellow RV Blogger RANDY & PAM'S young daughter-in-law Meghan passing away from cancer.  This was Meghan's blogsite....THE BEE'S KNEES.  I remember Randy sending out something about Meghan on Facebook a few times recently but I unfortunately never took the time to read it.

I have had Facebook for a bunch of years now & have become very resistant to all it's games, add on's, & numerous requests for this, that, & the other thing.  I don't join any groups, sign any petitions, buy any farms or cattle or whatever they do on all those silly Farmsville or Yoville, or Hooterville places, or whatever Ville lands on my desktop.  I'm not into joining political or religious groups or save the Alaskan Hippos groups.  I don't care if Rhinosaucerouses can't lay eggs & I don't have to have bouquets of flowers sent to me because it was my sister's uncle's great grandfather's birthday 6 weeks ago.  No, I am not an instant winner of anything & yes, I do believe I am from the planet Cyberschnozz.  So ,when any of this stuff pops up on my Facebook page I quickly dispatch it.  Sometimes something comes along that is real & of importance but out of habit I send it on it's way with barely a look see & that is how I probably missed the message Randy was sending out about his daughter-in-law recently. 

I think Facebook is a great communication tool & if used maturely & responsibly it is a definite plus for friends & families to stay in touch.  Notice I used the word, 'maturely.'  In my opinion it's too bad it is so chalked full of, & stuffed with, soooo much silly stuff but I guess Facebook's prime target market is all the teeny boppers out there so it is to be expected.  Guess that's where the maturity issue comes in.  Just my opinion of course & besides......I don't call myself an old Cursmudgeon just for nothing you know!!

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GROANER'S CORNER:((  The average woman would rather have beauty than brains because the average man can see better than he can think.

Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

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

OUR WALLETS ARE DEFINITELY LIGHTER TODAY:((

IT'S MY STICK...NO, IT'S MY STICK!!!!

Our nasty little cold snap is still with us with temps expected to dip down around freezing tonight again.  Sunlight by day & icicles by night it seems.

STAYING AHEAD OF THE WAVES

Picked up our Santa Fe this morning & our wallets are definitely  lighter by $ 1,547.73.  I've often heard it said years ago that good tires are the cheapest form of insurance you can buy.  Couple that with a few new front end parts & we'll consider that premium... paid in full!!

 

 

 

BALL JOINTS, NEW TIRES, FRONT END ALIGNMENT, ETC$. ETC$. ETC$.

Plugged away at my garden & tool shed clean up again today & now have enough floor space visible for a Saturday night square dance now.  The junk purge continues!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HEY MAX, THE STICK IS BEHIND YOU

Our work related 3 hour first aid course Tuesday night centered around CPR training (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation).  We were shown how the new people friendly AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR'S  (AED) work & understand they will soon be in most all public places with easy accessibility for anyone to use in case of an emergency.  CPR was also practiced on plastic dummy models & it was all very informative.  Thursday night's class will be fractures, broken bones, splints & slings, etc.  Wished I could have taken my camera there last night & got a shot of fellow driver Bruce trying to get his arms around me for one of them there HEIMLICH MANEUVERS:))

 

 

 

 

 

 

(click to enlarge)

Kelly phoned from Deer Park Lodge this afternoon saying the lake had a really pretty aqua color to it so I loaded up Checkers & Max right away & we went over for some photos & a game of water sticks.  Both dogs love playing in the water but the waves were a little too strong this afternoon so I had to be careful to only toss the sticks a few feet offshore.  Those guys aren't as young & strong as they used to be & they were quick to remind me that I wasn't either as the 3 of us trudged our way back up the long steep hill from the beach.

 

 

 

BIT OF A CLIMB UP FROM THE BEACH

I'm really short for anything to blog about tonight so before I sit here too long & customarily launch into something silly I'll just quietly back myself away from the computer & maybe go watch a little mind numbing night time television........NOT!!!!

GROANER'S CORNER:((  When you are young, you want to be the master of your fate and the captain of your soul. When you are older, you will settle for being the master of your weight and the captain of your bowling team.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

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

OK.....ABOUT THAT HAIRCUT PICTURE!!

  A KANSAS SUNRISE

The weather turned out to be a big disappointment today with icy winds blowing in across Lake Huron freezing everything in it's path including the ice cubes in our freezer.  No motorcycle waxing today because the metal was too cold.  I did finish washing the final bug population off the front of the Motorhome though & figured had I picked them off with a tweezers I would have had enough bugs to thicken up a big pot of travel bug stew for supper.

CLEANING UP THE RIG

In last night's blog I had a picture of our Motorhome interior & received some questions.  The photo was taken with a wide angle lens just as most real estate pictures are so the interior appears bigger than it really is.  Wide angle lenses are commonly used in small spaces to include as much of the subject as possible.  None of that furniture you see is secured to anything except the heavy computer desk in the left foreground.  Those red chairs are light enough to just pick right up & walk out the door with.  The bigger fold up bed in the corner is heavy & sticks like glue to the floor.  For traveling we just set that one red chair up on the slide section beside the other chair & that's it...in comes the slide.  This whole set up works fine for us & the dogs but would probably not work for most RV travelers simply because most folks like to socialize, play cards, entertain, & yadda yadda yadda.   As you all know we are not into any of that stuff so don't need all the extra seating, couches, tables, & stuff.  But, first & foremost, we ditched the original furniture simply because it was just tooooooo darn uncomfortable.

RENOVATION DAY IN QUARTZSITE ARIZONA

Maybe in the high end coaches the quality of the furniture is such that it is actually people friendly.  Not so in the lower or mid line coaches.  We put up with the uncomfortable stuff for our first trip with the coach but the second year out we weren't long in hauling the dinette, tub chair, & sofa bed right out of there & selling it all in Quartzite Arizona.  For the next few days all's we had in there was a couple fold up chairs & a small wooden table.  From Quartzsite we headed to an RV Park in Casa Grande & while there zipped up to an Ikea store in Tempe/Phoenix in search of new furniture.  We spent hours in that store & I have to admit it was probably the only time I ever really enjoyed being on a shopping excursion.  I had never been in an Ikea store before & was totally knocked out by the whole Ikea concept.  Check out our photos from that day here.... IKEA DAY.

IKEA KNOWS HOW TO DO IT RIGHT!!

I think we sold our rig's furniture for around $400 in Quartzite & refitted the rig at Ikea for about $350.  Probably the only time in my life I ever came out ahead on a deal.  We bought a fold up bed, two Poang chairs, lamp, foot stool & an assortment of other goodies.  It had to all be assembled later so the boxes were easily loaded in our car for the drive back to Casa Grande.  Spent the following day assembling everything & we were ready to go. ASSEMBLING THE STUFF & AL STARTS THE PAINTING

We decided on the interior color while thinking of the southwest & how much we liked the adobe look.  While in Casa Grande we went to Wal-Mart & I picked up a clay flowerpot in the garden section & took it over to the paint department where the fella read it with his magical little color scanner.  Had him mix us up a quart of paint to match & that was it.  Originally had only planned on painting the small section of wall directly behind the chair & lamp but the following summer I took the paint swatch on the lid of the can to our Wal-Mart in Goderich Ontario & had them brew us up some more paint.  I then painted the whole slide area plus the kitchen section.

PATAGONIA STATE PARK, ARIZONA

And, what the heck was the Bayfield Bunch doing at a fancy schmancy RV Park like Beaudry's in Tucson, Arizona?  Well, it wasn't exactly by choice but we had developed a water leak in our 5ver while at Patagonia State Park near Nogales & that leak needed fixing.  No place in Nogales to have it repaired so headed on up to Tucson.  Spotted Beaudry's from the Interstate & headed in to have things looked at.  It was a minor repair but  by the time they were done we were totally dead tired from traveling & decided to just stay in their adjoined RV Park for the night.  Ended up staying 3 nights while exploring around the Tucson area before leaving.  Nice laundry room, nice pool, nice internet access room, restaurant, etc. But, it just wasn't our cup of tea & the price per night was pretty steep.  We stayed at a number of RV Parks in the early days & it didn't take us long to realize we would be further ahead to invest future monies in a solar system.  It has turned out to be one of the best RV decisions we have ever made.  

POOL & HOT TUB AT BEAUDRY WE NEVER USED

Now, about that haircut picture in last night's blog.  That photo was taken before I actually went under surgeon Kelly's scissors.  Never thought to take an 'after' photo so at Kelly's request, I attempted to do that this morning.

OK, HERE'S THE 'AFTER' PICTURE

A young fella by the name of Rick showed up this afternoon from Lorne's RV Service here in Bayfield with our new Motorhome kitchen tap assembly.  Only took him a matter of minutes to haul out the old cracked one & have the new one up & running with real water coming out.  He made it look so easy to do that I thought to myself, well, maybe I could have done that myself.  Now, having seen how it was done I think next time I might just have a very good chance of doing that.  Hey, anybody out there need some taps changed:))

RICK FROM LORNE'S RV REPLACES OUR KITCHEN FAUCET ASSEMBLY (click to enlarge)

Also, at this very moment our Hyundai Santa Fe is undergoing a complete ball joint replacement plus 4 new tires with a front end alignment & tire balancing at Huron Tire & Auto in Clinton, Ontario.  Should make quite an improvement to it's driving capabilities I suppose although I thought it drove fine before.  Oh well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

I am putting this blog together in late afternoon because tonight I have to spend the first 3 hours of a two part first aid course put on by the Home Care company I drive part time for.  Second 3 hour installment will be Thursday night again from 7 to 9.  Hey, anybody out there need a broken leg fixed.............................

RENOVATION DAY SUNSET.....QUARTZSITE

GROANER'S CORNER:((  'You should be ashamed,' the father told his son, Andy, 'When Abraham Lincoln was your age, he used to walk ten miles every day to get to school.'  'Really?' Andy responded. 'Well, when he was your age, he was president.'

Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

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