I HEARD HER SAY ‘SORRY’…..I HEARD MYSELF MUTTER SOMETHING ELSE!!

Can't remember the last time I was ever at opening day for anything.  Maybe the Grand Canyon's North rim back in May of 92 so Friday morning I figured I had better bring myself up to speed on my 'opening day' status.  Kelly & I slipped into Bayfield first thing to attend the grand opening of Bayfield's brand spanking new Foodland grocery store.

BAYFIELD’S NEW FOODLAND
 
AND HERE COMES KELLY WITH HER LITTLE SACK OF GROCERIES

BAYFIELD’S OLD FOODLAND
We mistakenly thought if we went right at 9 we would beat the masses.  Well that was a wrong thought & I knew it was wrong before we even arrived at the store.  All the vehicles ahead of us on the highway had their right hand turn signals on....they were all heading for the new Foodland grand opening.  Big spacious parking lot with every spaced filled.  I could feel myself getting grumbly already.  People milling about in their cars looking for a space.  We caught a break when we saw a van leaving just in front of us. 

THESE FLOWERS ARE IN OUR BACK YARD BUT i CAN’T REMEMBER WHAT THEY ARE
 
I should have known enough to just stay put in the Jeep & let Kelly go in.  But I didn't.  I also should have clued in when I saw 3 obviously smart men sitting in their vehicles while their wives had gone into the store shopping.  My grumble level was escalating.  I deftly dodged some people coming out of the store in an animated stage of conversation but my momentary distraction headed me off into the exit door instead of the entrance door.  An employee spun me around & headed me back in the right direction.  I was now well beyond grumble!!  Wall to wall people ahead & I should have immediately turned right around then & there & got the heck out of the place but before I could process that thought Kelly slammed on the brakes right in front of me to pick up a shopping basket.  What!!!!  I swerved left & was immediately T-Boned by a short heavy set lady racing at a break neck pace back to the entrance to grab a shopping cart.  I heard her say 'Sorry.'  I heard myself mutter something else. 
 
 

WE HAD ONE VERY HAPPY LITTLE ROBIN IN OUR FRONT YARD BIRD BATH THIS MORNING
There had to be 132,756 people in that store & I was pretty much in full blown people panic mode.  I knew I didn't have the patience to snail along behind Kelly while she looked at this & & fiddled with that so I pulled a fast right hand turn & went careening off down a few aisles figuring I would at least try to get to the far corner of the store just to say I had officially been there for opening day & seen the store.  In all this turmoil I can tell you that I did see a really nice big bright colorful grocery store flash before my eyes.  Well I saw parts of it anyway amid the crush of frenzied shoppers, browsers, dangerous shopping cart drivers & dawdlers.   Saw my friend Di in line at a check-out for a few seconds & she was just about as panic stricken as I was.  She said her husband Harry had already fled the store & was last seen running down the road in the direction of Bayfield.

AND A FEW LILACS FOR MY AUNT JEAN IN FLORIDA TONIGHT
  
WE DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH SUNLIGHT IN OUR YARD FOR A LOT OF BLOSSOMS EACH YEAR BUT I DID MANAGE TO FIND A FEW TODAY

I jostled & pushed my way around one more aisle & then made a desperate attempt to exit the building fast as I could without knocking anyone to the floor in my rush.  With patience & tolerance in tatters I was a like a desperate man scrambling his way out of a shark tank.  Oh the freedom of fresh air outside as I made a bee-line to the farthest corner of the parking lot where the Jeep was parked.  And oooooooh the sweet feeling of space all around me again.  It occurred to me then why it has been so many long years since I had ever attended the opening day of anything.  Hopefully in my remaining lifetime that was the last Grand Opening of ever for me.  But again, what a beautiful new store Foodland now has in Bayfield compared to their old location.  And what a great addition for the town & folks from Bayfield & surrounding area.  Bravo Foodland & good work all you guys, looks great:))   I'll come back again on a heavily rain soaked day when I know everybody else is staying dry by…………………'STAYING HOME'.

NOW I KNOW THIS ISN’T BROTHER & SISTER BUT MAYBE VERY DISTANT COUSINS……..D’YA THINK:))
I remember someone asked what kind of reception we were getting with our new Jack antennae.  We'll know better once we are traveling.  We have never had TV reception in any of our RV's here in the pine trees but we did get 2 channels a couple days ago with Jack.   However, Rick & Kathy over at IT'S ABOUT TIME had this to say in a comment::   'We've had our Jack antenna since 2012 because the old bat wing only got two static filled channels at best. As soon as the Jack antenna was connected we had thirty-five channels. The only time we have a problem is when we forget to reset the booster after watching cable TV.
Be Safe and Enjoy!

We are into our 4TH day of consecutively great weather here in Bayfield Ontario & I'm thinking this has to be the longest stretch of back to back super weather days this year.  It's a nice time right now before the heavier summer heat hits us.

 

We had several reasons for heading up to the Bruce Peninsula Friday & one of them was to check out some locations for the rig.  Not too encouraging as far as boondocking areas go.  It's more of a rugged type of landscape on the Bruce, heavily forested, lots of rocks & small lakes.  Lake Huron to the West & Georgian Bay to the East have some of the finest clear waters with the Georgian Bay side also sporting caves, grottos, & rocky cliffs.  There's fresh clear & cold waters are  a haven for Scuba Divers. 

We figured it had been nearly 20 years since we had last been camping up that way.  Some of Friday's photos were taken on a 10 acre piece of property for sale that out of curiosity we took a drive in to have a look at.  Emphasis on 'just to look at' but what a great rustic area this whole Bruce Peninsula is.  A perfect place for a reclusive summer retreat.   From Bayfield to TOBERMORY at the Northern tip of the Bruce is about a 280 mile round trip from Bayfield or 3 hours one way……………………
  

A FEW DAYS AGO THIS ORANGE TULIP WAS A DEEP RED COLOR
GROANER'S CORNER:((    A man wrote a letter to a small hotel in a Midwest town he planned to visit on his vacation. He wrote:  I would very much like to bring my dog with me.  He is well-groomed and very well behaved. Would you be willing to permit me to keep him in my room with me at night?"  An immediate reply came from the  hotel owner, who wrote:  SIR: "I've been operating this hotel for many years. In all that time, I've never had a dog steal towels, bedclothes, silverware or steal pictures off the walls or use them as a coloring book.  I've never had to evict a dog in the middle of the night for being drunk and disorderly. And I've never had a dog run out on a hotel bill. Yes, indeed, your dog is welcome at my hotel. And, if your dog will vouch for you, you're welcome to stay here, too."

A 9 HOUR DAY TRIP IN THE JEEP TO ONTARIO’S BRUCE PENINSULA

ALONG LAKE HURON’S SHORELINE SOUTH OF TOBERMORY

We took off this morning on what turned out to be a 9 hour day trip in the Jeep up to Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula.  By the time we arrived back home tonight I was just too tired to put a post together.  I will probably have more to say tomorrow about our day including the opening of Bayfield's new Foodland Supermarket.  Tonight I will just leave you with a few photos......

 

 

 

GROANER'S CORNER:((On the first day of school, about mid-morning, the kindergarten teacher said, "If anyone has to go to the bathroom, hold up two fingers."  A little voice from the back of the room asked, "How will that help?"

---

As the lone female in our house, I find that certain male habits have really begun to get on my nerves. One day, I emerged from the bathroom completely exasperated when I bumped into my husband.  "What is it with guys that they won't replace the toilet paper?!" I raged.  "I know," he said, nodding in agreement. "I noticed that when I was in there earlier."

PLANTED 30 PLANTS – UNPLANTED 30 PLANTS & THE SANTA FE CAME HOME TODAY:))

GODERICH HARBOR THIS MORNING
In Wednesday's post I had a couple pics of an unidentified jet aircraft I saw heading slow in a northerly direction over Bayfield.  Tom thought it might be an L-39 Jet Trainer & Cyndi sent the following comment, 'The aircraft is called a Galeb/Jastreb, manufactured in Yugoslavia. It's used by these countries: Bosnia-Herzogovina, Burma(Super Galeb), Libya, Yugoslavia, Zambia. I have no idea what it is doing in Canada. Here's an article that shows the silhouette: SOKO J-21 JASTREB………. I was curious this morning to know if that small Jet had indeed landed at Goderich's Sky Harbor airport so without further ado Rascal Buns & I were in the Jeep headed for Goderich.  I was running low on my favorite natural peanut butter found only at Zehrs Supermarket so that was our first stop.  Next was a gas fill-up followed by a tour down around the harbor.  Two big freighter’s loading salt & another one inbound a couple miles out.   From there we headed for Goderich’s Sky Harbor Airport.   Although it has actually been closed for awhile now the runway is still operational I think & I did see 4 cars at the terminal office.  One small prop plane sitting off to the side but no sign of any small Soko Jet.

TWO BIG LAKE FREIGHTERS TAKING ON  LOADS OF SALT AT GODERICH’S  SIFTO SALT MINE WHILE A THIRD FREIGHTER SLOWLY HEADS INTO PORT

A cool weather front blew all our humidity out of town & the last couple of sunny days have just been great.  Pheebs & I meandered our way up through Mennonite country for a few hours just taking in all the beautifully peaceful rural countryside.  Farmers were busy on the land fertilizing & planting.  Horses & cows in the fields.  All the hardwood trees have filled in & the bush lines are vibrant with colors of green, green, & more green.  Everything looks so fresh.  One of our nicest months of the year is just about upon us.  June it seems is when most everything seems to be so lush & full.  We stopped in a swampy area & were able to walk around without any bugs or mosquitoes bothering us.  I suspect that will end very shortly.  We had left at 9 this morning & we were back home just before 1 p.m.

 

A FEW SWAMPY SCENES
Want to thank folks for the emails, shouts, & comments regarding all the various cleaning solutions & ideas for bringing back the shine on our rig.  Much to think about & research.  Some products seemed very involved while others seem to offer an easier way.  I guess it is just going to depend on how much effort I want to put into this.  I do know that if I am going to try & restore at least some of the shine I have to do it now before my interest & attention fades along with the finish.  Now if I was a rich guy I would just take the coach & have it professionally done somewhere.  But I'm not so I can't.
 

ALWAYS A TREAT TO DRIVE UP THROUGH MENNONITE COUNTRY
And also another word of thanks to readers for their concern about my planting of what we thought was Cow Parsnips.  After an email from Linda K with this JAPANESE KNOTWEED link I decided to err on the side of caution & pull out all 30 plants I had dug into the ground just a couple days ago.  I loaded them in the Jeep, drove down the road & deposited them in the very spot from whence they had come.  Do you know that the weed control center here in our county even has a hot line for that Japanese Knotweed.  Kelly phoned the number & a real person actually answered.  Kelly gave them the location of the Knotweed so I suspect the Weedwhackers Swat Team will swoop in & eradicate that patch.  Too bad in a way because I really liked the looks of the plant & how it tightly filled in offering a nice privacy hedge.  But it’s another fine example of how beneficial a blog can be.  Had it not been for reader’s concerns we might have had Japanese Knotweed growing out our ears.

PHEEBS IS FASCINATED BY THESE LARGE & POWERFUL LOOKING MENNONITE WORK HORSES
 

(Now the following paragraph is a prime example of not putting the cart before the horse or not guessing at an aircrafts power source before checking your own photos.  I wrote the paragraph before I downloaded the photos)  Again today while Pheebs & I were out on our country tour I heard the sound of an approaching jet aircraft & again this one was lower than normal.  He had the power on & I was able to catch a quick shot of him before he banked left over a distant forested horizon.  Appeared to be descending & again it was headed in the direction of Goderich.  Hmmm, wonder what's going on around here.

NOTICE THE PROPELLER ON THE NOSE OF THIS PLANE…SO MUCH FOR ME THINKING IT SOUNDED LIKE A JET COMING…GOES TO SHOW HOW MUCH I KNOW ABOUT ANYTHING EH
Best news of the day is that our Santa Fe is finally out of the garage & back home in our carport.  Can you imagine the surprise on the little Santa Fe's face when I drove her into the carport onto a cement floor:))  The clutch problem was an expensive fix but not as expensive as it could have been had we had opted for a new flywheel.  The Santa Fe is 11 years old & Don at the Bayfield Garage didn't feel the car warranted that kind of expense.  We do have a new clutch though.   I drove it home from the garage & the clutch seemed to work perfectly so we'll see if we can get away without a new flywheel.  The Santa Fe is only used 6 months of the year & now that Kelly isn't working at Deer Park Lodge any more the car will not be used every day.  It would be nice if we could get a couple more summers out of our Hyundai because overall we really do like this solid little car.

GROANER'S CORNER:((     When my son was in the ninth grade, we reluctantly agreed to let him move into the basement. Then I realized how convenient it was to get him to the breakfast table. Before, I used to stand at the bottom of the staircase and scream his name. Now all I had to do was flick the basement light off and on, and he was here.  One morning I flicked the switch, and nothing happened. I did it several more times. "I'm on my way," my son called up. "You didn't have to yell."
---
At the UPS cargo phone center where I worked, a woman called and said, "I need a baseball quote."  I immediately answered with Yogi Berra's famous "It ain't over 'til it's over!"  There was a brief moment of silence before the woman asked, "What was that?"   "You asked me for a baseball quote, and that was the first thing that came into my head."   "Oh ... my husband told me to call and get a baseball quote."   "Does he want to ship something?"  "Yes."   "Maybe he meant a ballpark figure?"