Monday, May 16, 2011

I'M STILL TICKED OFF AT TIM HORTONS!! BUT, I STILL LIKE THEIR COFFEE

DSC_3797

BLUE JAY 

Oh joy, another dark & dreary rain soaked day.  I’m anxious to get the new wood stain on the deck but I’m gonna need a stretch of some actual real live dry weather to do that!!
DSC_0010-3
RETIRED ROD had wondered in a comment Sunday how we were making out with our ongoing Squirrels vs Bird Feeders war.  I have to tell you right up front that we were finally winning…...until this morning!!  Hadn’t had one single Squirrel on the new bird station since setting it up & securing until I walked into the sunroom this morning & saw a black Squirrel perched on top of it just as content as can be.  No Squirrels on any of the other feeders so far because I have finally managed to strategically locate them out of Squirrel reach.  I don’t dislike Squirrels at all & Sunday watched two of them playing in the front yard for a long time.  It’s just when they rip into our bird feeders that I get ticked off with them.  In fact, I don’t dislike any animals whether they be birds, bugs or crawly things.  Ok, I don’t like Mosquites!!
DSC_7423 DSC_7409 DSC_7422DSC_7399  
Some readers may remember a few of my posts regarding my love/hate relationship with Tim Hortons over the past few years.  Love the coffee but do not agree with their business ethics.  In a previous post, the 4th & 5th paragraphs in, TIM HORTONS.....THE DUMBING DOWN OF CANADIAN COFFEE DRINKERS!! tells you how I feel about their continuously shrinking cup sizes & how I figure that same ploy will come to America as well.  Hadn’t had myself an in-house Hortons coffee since last November until I stopped at a Hortons in Goderich a couple of weeks ago.  What a total insult it was to be handed a porcelain cup of coffee that is now bordering on the size of a tea cup.   Obviously downsized once again over the winter.  And, to add insult to injury, they have raised their prices again.  So, that’s it for me & Tim Hortons.  No more casually stopping in for an occasional coffee anymore.  This is one consumer who has had enough of being dumbed down by Canada’s largest coffee giant!!!!  And Starbucks?  Nope, none of that high priced burnt Char for this guy!!  Now, in all fairness I must admit I am not a big coffee drinker anymore anyway.  One cup at home in the morning & sometimes a second cup before noon & that’s it.  So why am I ticked?  Just the principle of the matter. 
  DSC_0001-1

L to R..... CANADIAN SMALL COFFEE - AMERICAN SMALL . CANADIAN LARGE . AMERICAN LARGE. ...... NOW, TELL ME WHY CANADIANS GET LESS COFFEE FOR MORE MONEY!!  BECAUSE WE CANADIANS HAVE BEEN DUMBED DOWN THAT'S WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Been reading some great reviews on Nikon’s new DSLR camera, the D5100.  Retired Rod has one on order.  For any camera buffs out there it might be good to have a look at the new model.  But, be aware, the camera is going to take a fair bite out of a thousand dollar bill.
DSC_0043
Thanks to Sue over at THE MOHO AND OTHER TRAVELING TALES I was reminded this morning of something that had slipped my mind.  She talked about a photo site she has just joined called SMUG MUG.   I am familiar with Smug Mug which happens to be a great site & I have actually had an account there the past year & a half or so.   Problem is that my photo account had expired this past winter & I had not remembered to renew it.  In fact I had almost entirely forgot about my Smug Mug site.  Quickly reinstated my status & am now working on refurbishing & beginning anew my photo albums once again.  Currently working on my ‘birds’ album which can be seen at FEATHERED FRIENDS.

DSC_3795

I am always amazed at wood carvers & how they can carve such great detail & patterns into things.  From ancient man to modern day, the wonders of carving patterns goes on, as evidenced by the following photos I took a few days ago of these mysterious carvings I found.  Could this date back centuries?  Maybe North American Indians or could these carvings have come from old Mexico.  Maybe even European.  Do the symbols denote a Master intelligence of some kind.  Could these be symbols of a past Alien culture here on Earth?  Am I seeing Alien like Spider creatures depicted on what could be an old wooden cane?

 DSC_0011DSC_0004  DSC_0007  DSC_0009 DSC_0010 DSC_0008DSC_0006  

All possible theories I suppose & in an indirect way they may all be connected because the Masterful Carver of these wooden objects goes back to the beginning of time itself.  This work was done by none other than Mother Nature herself carving her magic into these broken Pine branches that lay on the ground after some heavy winds a couple days ago.  Probably a tiny burrowing wood insect:))

 DSC_0012  DSC_0011-1 

GROANER'S CORNER:((   Once upon a time, there was Larry the Lobster and Sam the Clam. They were the best of friends. One day, they were both killed. Larry the Lobster went to Heaven and Sam the Clam went to Hell. Larry the Lobster missed Sam the Clam so much, he asked God if he could go to Hell to visit Sam. God agreed, but he told Larry not to forget his harp.
Larry the Lobster agreed and down to Hell he went. When he found Sam the Clam, he had his own Disco in hell. Larry the Lobster had such a great time with Sam the Clam, that he lost all track of time. Larry heard the voice of God saying "Larry you must come back to Heaven now."
Larry ran as fast as he could back to Heaven. When God saw Larry, he said, "Where is your Harp?"
Larry replied, "I left my Harp in Sam Clam's Disco."

-----------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.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.

14 comments:

  1. darn Tim Hortons!....us Canadians just are not as observant I guess!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. While I don't really care for mosquitos, I have an intense dislike for squirrels as well as all rodents.

    Tonight's groaner is really a groaner!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful pictures once again!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am slooooooooo. Kept thinking....what is the joke?? You can imagine how bad I am at telling them!

    Can't wait to go see all your birds in one place!

    ReplyDelete
  5. next time you order your coffee, tell them that you're american. That way you get the bigger cup.

    ReplyDelete
  6. We call the squirrels tree rats down here in the beginning of the West. KC is where the wagons loaded up and started out on three of the old West trails.

    And the camera came this afternoon, but that could take up three blogs to explain.

    And the camera came this afternoon, but that could take up three blogs to explain.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like the Taste of Timmy's coffee but the only way we can get it is mail order so we very seldom see it here at the Ranch, Canadians aren't the only ones being dumbed down, just go to the grocery store and everything is shrinking in packaging. just like oil the price of a barrell has steadily been dropping for over a month and Gas & Diesel continue to rise in both countries, why. because we let it happen , if any industry needs government regulation it's the oil industry. Hey Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am so "green" with envy over the beautiful wildlife that surrounds you there in Bayfield land. I so enjoy the photos!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have only had a Starbucks coffee once, and really didn't care for it..Every week I meet my YaYa's at Mickey D's (McDonalds). There you can get ANY size coffee for 75 cents, Senior price..and one FREE refill!! Ya gotta love it. Good Luck with Squirrel Wars...McGuyver and I need to bring in reinforcements!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Always make my own coffee. I like it a certain way but if I do get a drink on the go like a frappe, I head for the golden arches, still the best bang for the buck. My squirrels drive me nuts too. Got them a corn cob holder that holds the whole cob. They are lovin it and stay off the bird feeders. Your birds are gorgeous in your yard!

    Cheers!

    Virginia

    ReplyDelete
  11. Now THAT Groaner certainly earned a three star groan from us! Way to go! And those carved icons didn't fool me for a minute. I knew exactly what they were. And so did you, you big tease! But you had the advantage of picking up the pieces of pine branch to see them.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think the Tim Horton's problem is already here in lots of places. I love Starbucks coffee, but refuse to pay the ridiculous prices in the shops. So we buy it at the grocery stores and make are own-after all that is one of the advantages of a motorhome-right?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love your photos, as always. How can you get cross with a squirrel that has a face like that? We don't have black squirrels here in So Cal. I've only ever seen one in your photos. Keep on snapping.

    ReplyDelete