Saturday, April 07, 2012

A FEW SAD MEMORIES & THEN IT WAS ON WITH THE DAY

DSC_3565
CANADA GEESE ON GOLDEN POND
It was one week ago this morning we started our long journey home from our digs in Congress Arizona. Already it seems like so very long ago & our memories of Arizona House seem so very far away. This past week will always be remembered as a sad journey, having just lost our dear sweet little Motormouse. It is nearly one year now that we lost both Checkers & Max as well. I quietly sit in my chair waiting for another day's sunrise. Soft music filters through the darkness. The glow of a computer screen casts a pale light onto my keyboard. The whirlwind week has finally caught up with me. It is a time for reflection. It is a time for sadness. Sensing my sorrow, a little doggy face appears out of the darkness beside my chair. A ray of sunshine on a darkened morn. Pheebs cold little nose nudges my hand as if to say, 'it's alright Dad, I'm here now’.
DSC_0001
SPRING CROCUS
But, not to worry. I will not let the sadness get me down. It is a new day, a new sunrise. Things to do & tasks to be attended to. It’s Saturday morning & Saturday mornings have always been my favourite time of the week. Now, what goals will I set for myself today. Let’s start by finding my socks. Oh, that Pheebs!!
DSC_3584
MANY LARGE GOLDFISH IN OUR PARK’S POND ACROSS THE ROAD FROM US
Heard my first Northern Flicker & Red Wing Blackbird this morning. Buried my first Red Wing Blackbird too. Flew into one of our sunroom windows & died instantly. Bird feeders are up & loaded with seeds. Today’s visitors included Blue Jays, Cardinals, Red Wing Blackbirds, Black Capped Chickadees, Grackles, & Yellow Finches.  I did see a black Squirrel scamper up a nearby tree with a peanut in it’s mouth so the Squirrel wars are about to begin for another season.
 DSC_3592
A FEMALE COMMON MERGANSER SKIDDLES ACROSS THE POND
Kelly & I headed off to the town of Goderich on some errands. Stopped at McDonald’s to check out the new renovations. Looked up at the menu & saw the Burritos. Thought of Motor & I coming to McDonald’s last summer for our Burrito fix. Had ourselves a coffee & moved on. Big bag of wild birdseed at TSC. Couple more stops & we got ourselves right the heck out of town. It’s Easter week-end & the stores & streets were full of humanoids flopping around everywhere. I may never return to Goderich ever again. But, then again……
DSC_3587
And a note to my fellow Facebookers. I have been receiving some ‘Friend Requests’ lately & I thank you folks for your interest. But, I have not accepted them because I am afraid of getting ‘hacked’ again. I accepted a Friend Request’ a few months ago which turned out to be a jerk who hacked my account & began sending out spam messages for some money scheme in my name. For that reason & that reason alone I do not accept Friend Requests anymore. Nor do I accept or participate in any gaming stuff or any requests of any kind for anything. I simply do not trust Facebook to protect me from the scum bag low life creeping around the internet looking to do damage to others.
DSC_3594
AND SHE TAKES TO THE AIR
We use Google’s search engine here & I particularly like Google’s, Google Earth. I think this company has made numerous positive strides forward in the past bringing many great programs & applications to bear but I am also beginning to wonder if the great Google Monster is quickly outgrowing itself & morphing into something well beyond it’s own common sense. There has been a lot of buzz around lately about the new Blogger dashboard, etc. This is a good example of what I fear to be coming down the pike. Google is beginning to act like a frantic Bull in a china shop as it links this to that & that to this. Could the easy blogging format as we know it be on the way out. Already annoying changes have been made to the ease of Picasa’s Web Album features, not to mention the Dashboard, etc. Could Picasa’s easy to use photo editing program be under scrutiny for change? I don’t hear much about the highly touted Google+ anymore. Has it fallen on it’s face or am I just too far out of the great Monster’s social loop now. I know of two Blogs that have totally & unexplainably disappeared off the internet recently. Just vanished. Owners went to access their blog and they were gone. I’m sure there are others. Is this a result of Google’s ongoing changes. Will our blogs at some point go the way of great Dinosaurs & disappear to make room for some new wave of Google techno pop culture. Google is a major profit driven company & I wonder what expense & damage they will cause in their charging pursuit through the china shop in quest of their golden idol bottom line. I don’t know, I’m just thinking out loud & asking a question or two. Oh, just my humble opinions of course……..
DSC_3566
<<< A WOODPECKER HAS DILIGENTLY BEEN WORKING ON THIS OLD PINE TREE
And, here’s something to keep in mind. Remember to check your Spam folder in your Blogger Dashboard on a regular basis because you could very well have reader’s comments in there that never got published. Received an email awhile back from a reader wondering why we had not published her comments. Turns out they were all sitting in our Spam folder. Kelly just found all those comments yesterday & published them. Also found a comment from Karen & Steve that had not been published. So, might be a good idea to get in the habit of regularly checking your Dashboard’s spam folder.
DSC_3614
<<< MALE CARDINAL AT ONE OF OUR FEEDERS
And for you 5th wheel owners in our area. Most of you probably know by now that top of the line CARRIAGE has closed it’s doors, ceased building it’s prestige's 5th wheel trailers & gone out of business. Doesn’t mean their product is any less. Just means they had some management problems. STORMRUNNER RV SALES & SERVICE here in Bayfield has about half a dozen Carriage 5th wheels left. With a special extended warranty on the units you are probably not going to find any better deals. No sales people at Stormrunner. When you deal here you deal directly with Harry & Dianne, the owners. No middle people, no commissions, no hype & no pressure. No baloney:)) They have decided to replace the Carriage line with Thor Industries REDWOOD 5TH WHEEL line. Dianne & Harry are friends of ours & we know they will treat you fairly. Tell em the Bayfield Bunch sent ya:))
46F in Bayfield today & 75Fin Congress Arizona:))
DSC_3615
BLACK CAPPED CHICKADEE
GROANER’S CORNER:(( A very religious man lived right next door to an atheist. While the religious one prayed day in, day out, and was constantly on his knees in communion with his Lord, the atheist never even looked twice at a church.
However, the atheist's life was good, he had a well-paying job and a beautiful wife, and his children were healthy and good-natured, whereas the pious man's job was strenuous and his wages were low, his wife was cheating on him and his kids wouldn't give him the time of day.
So one day, deep in prayer as usual, he raised his eyes towards heaven and asked: "Oh God, I honour you every day, I ask your advice for every problem and confess to you my every sin. Yet my neighbour, who doesn't even believe in you and certainly never prays, seems blessed with every happiness, while I go poor and suffer many an indignity.
Why is this?" And a great voice was heard from above ...
"BECAUSE HE DOESN'T BOTHER ME ALL THE TIME."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

26 comments:

  1. So sorry for your loss of little Motormouse -- glad Pheebs is providing support. GREAT pics as usual. Cannot imagine driving from AZ to CN as quickly as you and Kelly did -- we move way too slow for that...lol!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh my, you got me crying again. Thank God you have the lovely Pheebs, she is indeed a special dog.

    You have so many colourful birds, in your part of Canada, our shore birds are not so pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I LOVE finding your blog on here so early in the day! Don't know how many nights I've sat up waiting for you to post. It would be a terrible day for LOTS of people if something happened to your blog!! You do a huge service to your many "followers" and the rest of us!, by sharing your lives. You are treasured. Our hearts are linked with yours through all the highs---and the lows. Have a great Easter weekend. Rose

    ReplyDelete
  4. Somebody told me that Carriage merged into Thor Industries, so new carriage models are now Thors.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have thought a lot lately how it was that Pheebs was sent to you at a time you would most need her. It was no coincidence, was it?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I wondered where all the pretty birds went. I hope they wake you up each morning like they did me. You better not be awake waiting on them. I slept 12 hours last night.
    I do not know the beautiful bird you caught on pixels, but let us know when you find out.
    I am dreading going home this Summer.

    ReplyDelete
  7. HAHAHAHA! And the Lord was annoyed.

    Yeah, I'm worried about Google in general. I used to trust their products. Now it feels like the general drive to win over users has taken a page out of Facebook's "nuts to you" policy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Second the Good Luck Duck's comments on Google. Seriously thinking of trying to move my blog to Wordpress before it disappears into the vast unknown that is the corporate bottom line.

    Sherry
    www.directionofourdreams.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. have a lovely Easter weekend..surrounded with memories of your beloved, Motormouse..those burritos will never taste the same..
    thank goodness for Pheebes and her cold nose to get you out and moving!..

    ReplyDelete
  10. have a wonderful Easter....so glad you have the pheebes....to keep you busy....take care

    ReplyDelete
  11. have a wonderful Easter....so glad you have the pheebes....to keep you busy....take care

    ReplyDelete
  12. So glad Pheebs is there for you.

    The thing about Google is it is a for profit company and since Blogger is free, they can do whatever they want and probably don't give a hoot whether we like it or not. I hope they don't start charging cuz then I would have to quit but then sometimes I guess ya get what ya pay for!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think you must be out of the great Monster's loop as Google+ is growing by leaps and bounds. Why do you think Google is making all the changes to Picasa and Blogger? It's to integrate with Google+.

    Your other Canadian blogger friend, Rick and Paulette, has a good handle on what Google's doing and why and he explains it all very well if you are interested.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have a love/hate relationship with FB, kind of like WalMart but even cheaper.

    It was over 80 in Congress today when I went through. Gorgeous 74 up on the hill.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I do remember to check my "spam" folder from time to time. Turns out though, it's only just spam in there. "Delete" is the next step. Some times having a low profile is an OK thing.
    Enjoy your Easter. Hope it warms up.

    ReplyDelete
  16. That FB wants to be in everyone's face up close and personal 24/7, no thanks. Goggle's android market seems to be taking precedence now. Sorry to hear of blogs being lost, terrible shame. They are the sanskrits of people's lives which most hold very dear to their hearts, especially yours. It's no secret we live in a cold, profit-driven society. Life these days is not for the faint of heart. Happy Easter BFB!

    Take care.

    Virginia

    ReplyDelete
  17. Loved your top two photos today, gorgeous! And I agree about Google--are they getting too big for their britches??

    ReplyDelete
  18. yes Google, Blogger and Picasa are all good and does make you wonder where we might end up. Take care and enjoy the warming up weather.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Happy that you have the Pheebs she certainly knows when you need a little cheering up. You have some beautiful birds coming to your feeders. Have a good Day!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Happy Easter Al and Kelly,
    Love reading your blog and seeing the great pictures you take.
    The Pheebs came into your lives to make you young again. She was sent to you by Max and Checkers as they knew little Cora was leaving soon. Think happy thoughts.
    Have a Blessed Sunday.
    Sylvia K.
    Murrieta, CA

    ReplyDelete
  21. Did you know that you can put a picture on Google Earth of your home or a particular spot. There is a picture on Marshall South's home.

    Sorry about your "mouse". It is hard to lose a dog the family has grown up with.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I strongly agree with your thoughts about the Blogger, Picasa etc. Originally I had only placed a few photos there to share with a friend. By accident I found out that all my blogger photos are stored there too. Not my doing. I didn't ask for it.
    As for FB, I have lost interest in FB. It is like sending an SMS. And just thinking of lifeline thing - from birth to death all at the fingertips of FB.
    I like the blogger community better. It is like bunch of friends one grows to learn about and like. But I am afraid there will be changes too. The lure of the profit will bring it. We just have to adjust.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I think the disease of Cursmudgeon is contagious...and I caught it..I wonder sometimes if it wouldn't be a more "personal" life for all if we would all just put down the "smart" phones, back away from the computer screen and get to know the simple life again...I am not going gently into the world of technology...See?..I DID catch that disease!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Beautiful photograhs as always! You may want to know that the folks who made our 5th wheel, Evergreen, hired most of the engineers and mid-level management from Carriage! They will be building the new high end Evergreen 5th wheel RV's! Give Kelly a hug and scratch Pheebs ears from us! We landed in Zion Utah today for our workamping job! Geri and Chuck

    ReplyDelete