Monday, November 18, 2013

PACKING UP THE WINNIE WAGON FOR A MONDAY DEPARTURE WESTWARD:))

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HEADING WEST                -                       HEADING EAST

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Nice full Moon Saturday night as Pheebs & I slipped outside for a walk around the front yard & a stroll through our little Cactus garden.  Only the third full Moon we have seen since leaving the South-West 8 months ago.  We generally see all the full Moons while here in the South-West but did manage to catch a couple while back in Ontario over the summer.  It’s nice here because we can just look out our windows & clearly see Sunsets, Sunrises, Moon downs, & Moon rises.  Groovy:))

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THIS MORNING’S SETTING MOON REFLECTION

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AND WHO SAID THERE COULDN’T BE 2 MOONS IN THE SKY

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WITH A LITTLE CREATIVE ‘PHOTO SHOPPING’ IN PICASA I CREATED SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT OUT OF THIS MORNING’S MOON

Comet Ison is now visible in the low pre-dawn skies to the South-East but I haven’t found it yet due to low cloud cover on the horizon these past few days.  Pheebs & I will be out first thing Monday morning looking for it again.  It is currently passing through the constellation Virgo.DSC_0010

No images on the Critter Cam this morning so we are hoping we are at the end of our Skunk problem.   Just as well because had we had the trap set last night & had it caught a Skunk, Pheebe would have been sprayed this morning for sure.  When we went out she made a bee-line around to the back of the house because she has clued in on the cat food on the ground back there.  Cat food used as Skunk bait.  Close call!!

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CLOUD SHADOWS ON THE SOUTHERN END OF THE DATE CREEK MOUNTAINS

Turned out to be a fine weather day.  Cooler around 60F but works great for me when I am busy outside.  House stays cool, in fact I had to put my long sleeve shirt on whenever I went in.  Used our new ?? (couldn’t find the name on it) heater for the first time this morning to take the chill out of the air.  We have tried out a few new heaters since buying the house & I must say out of all of them we are the most pleased with this infrared ?? (I’ll ask Kelly in the morning what make it is…..she’ll know)

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AND HERE IS A RARE TORTOISE BACK CURVE BILL THRASHER:))

Spent time cleaning glass in the Winnie Wagon.  Don’t mind a bit of dust & dirt on a vehicle but I do like windows to be clean.  Loaded up some of my stuff & kept busy at a host of small odd jobs.  Kind of a constructive putter you might say.

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I THINK SOMEBODY IS JUST ABOUT READY FOR A SNOOZE

And thanks to RETIRED ROD for setting me straight on how to change the time setting for my blog publishing.  Seems I need a little more ‘setting me straight’ stuff these days.

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THIS GROUP OF PHOTOS TELL ME I HAD BETTER BUMP UP MY SHUTTER SPEED NEXT TIME OUT…CAN’T TELL IF THAT LAST LITTLE GUY IS COMING OR GOING

Took the Sirius Satellite antennae out of & off the Jeep this afternoon affixed it to Winnie The Bago’s roof.  Same idea I had with the Damon.  Tin can lid glued to the fiber glass roof & the magnetic antennae pod stuck to the lid same as a car top.  Ran the antennae wire down the side of the awning arm & through the bottom of the passenger door.  And here’s the most amazing part…..when I was all done, it worked.  Maybe that’s why there was 2 Moons in the sky.

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I LATER PUT A SWATCH OF WHITE DUCK TAPE ON THAT ANTENNAE WIRE

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AND A COUPLE PHOTOS TAKEN FROM WINNIES ROOF BY THE SHADOW COWBOY HIMSELF

Rig is pretty well loaded & ready to go Monday but it will not be an early start.  We generally only do those 4, 5, & 6 a.m. departures when we are either traveling to or from the South-West.  Imagine we’ll roll into Slab City sometime late Monday afternoon.  Will probably I-10 it to Box Canyon road east of Indio & slip down through Mecca.  We haven’t done that stretch of road along the Salton Sea from Mecca to Niland yet so tomorrow that is likely the direction we will head.  But who knows, we might slip south of Blyth again & skip through the Imperial Sand Dunes at Glamis & head north from Brawley.  We’ll see which way the wind blows us………………..

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<<< TONIGHT’S SLIGHTLY ENHANCED RISING MOON (I PUT AN EXTRA HELPING OF CHEESE ON IT)

GROANER’S CORNER:(( 

How do you tell a Canadian from an American?
It used to be enough to ask him to say the alphabet. When the Canadian got to the end, he'd say "zed" instead of "zee". But 18 years of Sesame Street have taught a lot of Canadian kids to say "zee," and it's starting to sound as natural as it does south of the 49th parallel.
Another test used to be the word "lieutenant". Canadians pronounced it in the British was, "leftenant", while Americans say "lootenant". But American cop shows and army shows and movies have eroded that difference, too.
Canadians have been adopting American spelling as well. They used to put a "u" in words like labour. The main organization in the country, the equivalent of the AFL-CIO, is still officially called the Canadian Labour Congress. But news organizations have been wiping out that distinction by adopting American spelling, mostly to make it easier to use news copy from such agencies as Associated Press without a lot of changes. So it's "Canadian Labor Congress" when the Canadian Press, the national news agency, writes about it.
Some pronunciations, considered true tests of Canadians, are not as reliable as they're thought. Take the word "house" for example. When some Canadians say it, it sounds very Scottish in American ears. Visiting Americans trying to reproduce what they hear usually give the Canadian pronunciation as "hoose".
The same for "out" and "about". The way some Canadians say them sounds like "oot" and "aboot" to many Americans. And when an American says "house" to a Canadian, the Canadian often hears a bit of an "ay" in it, something like "hayouse".
But pronunciation isn't a good test because people from different parts of Canada speak differently. A resident of the Western province of Alberta, where there has been a considerable inflow of settlers from the United States, may sound like a Montanan or a Dakotan.
Then there's the ubiquitous Canadian expression "eh?" - pronounced "ay?" This is a better test because many Canadians tack it on to the end of every assertion to turn it into a question.

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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

 

9 comments:

  1. Getting ready to roll and on the road again is fun.
    We always enjoy the drive south of Blythe through the Imperial Sand Dunes, almost feels like we are in another world.

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  2. You guys have a safe trip.....Anxious to see your solar installation.
    I sure love your pictures!!
    We are heading into Phoenix to see my favorite DR. I bet he has the answer to my puzzle...Hope so!!

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  3. Hey, Al...you guys will be over here in our neck 'o the woods (i.e. desert)! I've give you a wave!
    Cheryl Ann

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  4. Thanks for all the rid pictures....love the cardinal in the tree.

    Safe and fun travels!

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  5. Love the photos of the moon(s)!! Have fun in Slab City!!

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  6. Al on the rv is the roof fiberglass and are the sides fiberglass as well
    Well if yes,, all u need to do is hang the antenna inside the wall as high as the roof ceiling , it will pick up the signal just fine
    Or if the walls are fiberglass as well set the antenna next to a window
    On my big truck the whole roof is fiberglass all I do is set the puck (antenna)in a inside roof pocket the only time I lose a signal is in a real deep canyon pass or a tunnel
    When u come back before u take the unit in the house try moving the antenna around inside up close to the roof (but not near a window )just remember the unit has a 5 or 7 second delay after it loses it's signal
    Joy your day

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  7. OK, I'm ready...Never been to slab city, so let's get this show on the road!!!

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  8. Have a safe trip, and enjoy the road, whichever one you end up on.
    Have a great sunny day.

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