I KNOW IT’S EARLY BUT I WAS CHECKING MY MOUNTAIN DIRECTORY BOOK ANYWAY:))

Not much of consequence going on today.  I did help neighbor & friend Bruce take a load of junk to the County dump.  He slipped over this morning & hooked on our utility trailer & we went back to his place, picked up the load of trash & headed off to dump it.  And that was just about the height of my day.  Our cooler mid 60's sunny temperatures today turned out to be totally fabulous.

STORMY SKIES OVER OUR HOUSE

I have never thought of a Mourning Dove as being an aggressive bird just as I have never thought of Blue Jays as passive birds but last night I watched as both species of bird blew my thoughts right out of the water.  Had put a handful of birdseed on the feeder station after supper & was at the computer working on my post.  Saw a Mourning Dove land & begin pecking up some seeds.  Two Blue Jays winged in & the Mourning Dove immediately drove them both right off the feeder.  One returned & again was repelled by the Mourning Dove.  Shortly after the Dove flew up into a tree & a male Cardinal touched down on the feeder.  Back came the Mourning Dove with feathers all a puffed.  The Cardinal was not so easily driven back & the two of them fenced off for domination of the feeder.  Round & round they went for a few seconds but the Mourning Dove won the feeder & reigned supreme.  Didn't get any photos of all this.  It was late evening & just not enough light left in the day.

 

TAKE-OFF ON THE PARK’S POND
Spent a little time with my Mountain Directory West (for Truckers, RV, and Motorhome drivers) book Wednesday night.  I was checking routes from Custer South Dakota on down through Colorado, Utah & northern Arizona.  (Mike, if you get a chance can you send me the route you & Pat take from Custer to Congress)  I was surprised not to find any mountain grade warnings for South Dakota so guess it's flatter than what I figured.  Been so long since I've been through that neck of the woods I can't really remember what the topography was like.

Ivan continues to have himself another action packed summer in the great Canadian Rockies.  WHERE THERE'S SMOKE THERE'S FIREFIGHTERS  Fire spotting in tall fire towers, briefly at the controls of a real helicopter, helicopter re-fueling, & just about anything else needed of him around the fire bases he frequents.  Fire fighting crews, water bombers overhead & the excitement just keeps going & going for this guy.  And he's been able to get some great aerial photos riding in the Choppers from base to base or wherever the Helichoppers put down for whatever reason.  What a life this guy has, what a life.  And in another 8 or 9 weeks he'll be hitching up his 5'ver & heading once again for the wide open spaces of the great South-West.  Here's a link to a post I wrote about Ivan & I doing a little Jeeping near Bouse Arizona a few years back.  IVAN & I GO A JEEPIN And by golly Wandering Willy was there too:))

I asked Kelly a few days ago if she missed the Santa Fe & she said, 'no not at all'.  She has already noticed how much better on gas the Sunfire is & just filled it up for the first time since we got it.  Always nice when things work out well.

Motivation is a wonderful thing....when it's working.   Read somewhere that it is sometimes thought of as, 'the need to have a reason behind our actions to achieve our goals.'   Motivation can be an elusive & slippery thing.  Here one day, gone the next.  It is the force that drives those high powered engines of the successfully inclined younger generation.  Oh, it's still here in the older generation as well but I would hardly call the engine high powered anymore by comparison.   Some may be motivated 24/7 while others may be a little more subdued with their feelings & expectations & understand the coming & going part.  I love it when motivation taps me on the shoulder & says, "come on Al, lets take the old head for a spin around the block."  Love those days.  Those are creative times filled with fine thoughts & good feelings.  Good days indeed:))

A BAYFIELD SUNSET

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A farmer had been taken advantage of several times by the local car dealer. One day, the car dealer informed the farmer that he was coming over to purchase a cow.  The farmer priced his cow as follows:

Basic cow........................... 499.95

Shipping and handling................ 35.75

Extra stomach........................ 79.25

Two tone exterior.................... 142.10

Produce storage compartment.......... 126.50

Heavy duty straw chopper............. 189.60

Four spigot/high output drain system. 149.20

Automatic fly swatter................ 88.50

Genuine cowhide upholstery.......... 179.90

Deluxe dual horns.................... 59.25

Automatic fertilizer attachment..... 339.40

4 x 4 traction drive assembly....... 884.16

Pre-delivery wash and comb.......... 69.80

FARMER SUGGESTED LIST PRICE:....... 2843.36

Additional dealer adjustments:...... 300.00
TOTAL LIST PRICE (Including options): $3143.36

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH A KEURIG & I’M ALSO TALKING TEDDY BEARS TONIGHT

Wrapped up my skunk project this morning & I think Mr. Skunk has moved on down the road.  Main reason for wanting that skunk gone was to prevent Pheebs from being sprayed at some point.  

Needing to give myself a slight psychological boost this morning I figured the best way to do that was gather a few things together for loading in the rig.  Any fussing I can do around the Big EEE always puts me an elevated travel frame of mind.  We hung up our first picture in the coach today as well.  Not exactly a southwest scene but southwest colors for sure.

THIS PAINTING PUTS A NICE SPLASH OF COLOR ON THE WALL

 

I WILL SLOWLY & CAREFULLY ARRANGE THINGS IN THE BINS THEN TOTALLY RE-ARRANGE EVERYTHING ABOUT A HUNDRED TIMES OVER THE NEXT 2 MONTHS

Air was a bit muggy this morning so after putting some things in the rig I figured it was Jeep time so loaded up little Miss Most Best, cranked the windows down & headed into Bayfield.  Stopped at Subway for a breakfast sandwich & a coffee to go.  Had my first experience with a KEURIG.    I technically continue to fall so far behind the times & this morning was a good example of that as I struggled to figure out how to  use Subway's Keurig coffee machine.  Lady gave me a cup & a small round sealed container I assumed held the coffee.  I walked over & stood in front of the machine.  I was totally baffled as to what to do next.  Figured maybe I should set my cup under the spout, tear open the container & dump my coffee in the cup before pressing a button or pulling a handle or something to get hot water running into the cup.  Lady at the counter saw my dilemma & came to my rescue.  Well at least I had the placing of the coffee cup correct.  The lady pressed a button, something opened & she took the coffee container from me, set it in a round slot spot & closed it up.  She hastily pressed a couple buttons & my coffee was on it's way.  Sometimes I feel like such a boob.  I said to the lady, 'it's always good to learn something new'.  She said, oh those machines have been around for years' to which I replied, 'no, I meant me'.  At least I got a smile out of her. (TOOK THE KEURIG PHOTO OFF THE INTERNET)

JOHN DEERE FARM MACHINERY SEEMS TO BE THE FARMER’S CHOICE HERE IN THESE PARTS

 

 

IT’S WHEAT HARVESTING TIME HERE IN SOUTH-WESTERN ONTARIO
Pheebs & I headed ourselves south of Bayfield & ambled our way along some gravel roads looking at all the Windmill again.  Nobody around so we stopped near one & walked up fairly close to it.  They definitely have a rather large & strange sound to them.  It's kind of a mechanical swishing as the large blades & metal parts mesh with natures wind.  Not unlike windmills of old with their rusting chains & creaking metal blades turning in the wind.  But somehow so very, very different.  I wouldn't mind living on a farm with the sounds of an old nearby windmill but I would not want to live anywhere near one these newer & bigger than big Monster Megalythathons.  No sireeee not for me.

I’LL BET THESE COMBINES HAD THEMSELVES ONE BIG WINDMILL OF A HARVEST THIS YEAR

 
We didn't go far this morning & just poked along taking in the ambience of the morning.  Always enjoy looking at all the farms along the way & how the majority of people have them looking so nice.  Big change in the way farms look now compared to 50 years ago when many of them bordered on being derelict with long grass grown right up to the house.  And what a change in farm machinery over the years.  Long gone are those little gray & red Ford tractors.

WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE ENOUGH ROOM FOR ALL OUR VEHICLES RIGHT HERE AT HOME

  

NEEDLESS TO SAY I ALWAYS HAVE TO BACK OUT OF HERE VERY CAREFULLY…THAT CORNER PEAK ON THE CARPORT ONCE TURNED AN OPEN SCREEN DOOR ON OUR DAMON CLASS A INTO A TWISTED PRETZEL…I LOVE MY DRIVER’S DOOR & WOULD NOT WANT A CLASS A WITHOUT ONE…AND  THERE IS NO WIND NOISE FROM IT:))

EVEN WITH THE SLIDE IN WE STILL HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM TO MOVE AROUND WHILE PARKED OR MOTORING DOWN THE ROAD

 

I ESPECIALLY LIKE THE DASH SET-UP IN THIS RIG

Archive Memory::  How many of you fellas still have your Teddy Bears?  I do:))  As a little boy I hung out with my 3 favorite Pals Nancy, Panda Bear, & Punkin Head.  Nancy was a small doll with a blue dress & Panda was a big pink & white bear.  Punkin was the head honcho.  Nancy & Panda are long gone now but I still have my Punkin Head.  Punkin stayed in my bedroom at my Mother's house long after I was gone out into the world.  At some point he was moved from the house out to an old green barn we had behind our place where he stayed for a countless number of years in quiet seclusion.  In 2004 the task of emptying my Mother's huge house became a big job set aside for Kelly & I.  The barn had to be cleaned out as well & that is where I found my old Pal Punkin Head.  He was a little worse for wear than I remembered him as a kid, but then again age hasn't really treated some of us too kindly anyway has it.  I brought him home that day & he has resided on the top shelf of my bedroom closet ever since, warm & safe.  Big change from the freezing cold winters in the barn & all the prowling cats.  Today, while rooting through some things to take south this Winter I spotted my little Pal just sitting back relaxing.  I brought him down from the shelf & as he sat beside me on the edge of my bed, just like we did about 65 years ago, old memories were shared between us.  We sure were the best of Pals those oh so many, many, years ago & we are still the best of Pals to this very day…………………..:))

MY OLD PAL PUNKIN HEAD >>>

GROANER'S CORNER:((A 3-year-old was diligently pounding away on her father's word processor. She told him she was writing a story. "What's it about?", he asked.
"I don't know.", she replied, "I can't read." 

---

A couple was going out for the evening. They'd gotten ready, all dolled up, cat put out, etc. The taxi arrives, and as the couple got out, the cat shoots back in. They don't want the cat shut in the house, so the wife goes out to the taxi while the husband goes upstairs to chase the cat out. The wife, not wanting it known that the house will be empty explains to the taxi driver, "He's just going upstairs to say goodbye to my Mother."  A few minutes later, the husband gets into the cab, "Sorry I took so long," he says. "Stupid old thing was hiding under the bed and I had to poke her with a coat hanger to get her to come out!"

SKUNK PROJECT UNDERWAY AS OUR SUMMER ROLLER COASTER RIDE BEGINS TO SLOW

Just after dark Monday night I checked to see if Mr. Skunk had exited himself from under our wood shed to forage for the night.  He had.  I shovelled dirt into the hole & put a slab of cement over it.  Checked the hole first thing this morning & Mr. Skunk had not dug it out again upon his return this morning.  Suspecting he was smart enough to dig a new hole on the north side of the shed I checked it out & sure enough, a new hole.  Figured I had better go back to the first hole & spend some time making the west end of the shed Skunk proof.  Moved the cement slab & dug down nearly a foot along the wall & set in a long piece of tightly slatted pressure treated lattice work to prevent the skunk from digging under.  Back filled & laid down a couple heavy concrete slaps as well.  I'm hoping that will solve the problem.  Will do the same thing again Wednesday morning after Mr. Skunk exits his new digs after dark tonight.

WORKING AWAY AT TRYING TO SKUNK PROOF OUR WOOD SHED
Pheebs & I hauled a load of tree trimmings to the dump & that was about the extent of our day.  It remained cool & overcast & I'm beginning to think our seasonal mid August weather change may be two weeks early this year although I haven’t seen signs or felt the change in the air yet.  For me it's not official until I hear the early Autumn Crickets chirping.

 

I’VE SURE HAULED A LOT OF YARD WASTE HERE OVER THE NEARLY 12 YEARS WE HAVE BEEN AT THE 5 SEASONS ESTATES

 

IN CASE ANYONE WAS WONDERING WHAT THAT LIGHT AT THE END OF OUR TUNNEL TRAIL LOOKS LIKE THE TELEPHOTO SHOT AT RIGHT SHOWS IT

It has been quite a cycle we seem to have landed ourselves in these past 3 or summers.  Despite always being so happy to get home in early April we seem to somehow both become restless with our house & surroundings just a month or so later.  Not so much about wanting to be back on the road again as finding another house & property in the countryside nearby.  Every summer we seem to board this roller coaster ride up & down round & round.  We come up with all the right reasons to move & then we come up with all the right reasons to stay right where we are.  We might see something in a Real Estate ad that looks right up our alley & we get all excited about it as the roller coaster car reaches it’s peak.  Lasts for a couple days then we’re not as excited & we come zooming back down to earth again.  We look at our own place & talk about why we would like to move & then a day later we talk about all the reasons we like it here.  Every summer the same as we board this roller coaster of indecision & ride through the peaks & valleys of our sometimes on again off again discontent.  But then August rolls around & the seasonal change seems to have an effect on our thinking.  The house idea kind of fades away again as the coaster slows down & pulls into the station.  We jump out & begin thinking ahead to our upcoming & exciting winter travels.  We walk across the platform & climb aboard another car, another roller coaster, another adventuress ride filled with more decisions & uncertainties.  More peaks & valleys.  More plans & more changes.  I love these seasonal mind shifts & how they constantly keep our imaginations challenged………………….:))

  

SOMETIMES I THINK WE JUST HAVE IT TOO NICE HERE TO EVEN THINK ABOUT MOVING ANYWHERE ELSE 

Archive Memory::  Is anyone else out there as confused about garbage bag sizes as I am!!!! Ever since our local garbage collector made everyone change from green garbage bags to clear garbage bags awhile back we've had a heck of a time finding the right size to fit our garbage can. It's doubly confusing up here in Canada because of all this centimeter & liter stuff. For example what is this 66cm x 91cm or 26po x 36po stuff all about.  And 133 liter bags. What are ya going to dump in that one, an old Volkswagen!! One lady store clerk wanted us to measure the width of our garbage can which was a nineteen & a half inches. She said a 26 inch bag would fit....it didn't!! We've got garbage bags coming out our ears now & none of them fit. Whaddya do with 57,492 garbage bags ya can't use. Then we decided to get a bigger sized garbage can with a lock proof lid to keep the coons out. So what are we gonna use for bags in that one......parachutes!!  We later find out the store that sold the garbage can doesn't have the bags to fit them now. "Awwww rubbish" I said to the clerk. "Isle 42 section A sir for the rubbish department" she said to me. Ya, just as I thought.....& exited the store!!

GROANER'S CORNER:((  You're not old UNLESS you can remember ..... -Being sent to the drugstore to test vacuum tubes for the TV.
-When Kool-Aid was the only drink for kids, other than milk and sodas.
-When there were two types of sneakers for boys.
-When boys couldn't wear anything but leather shoes to school.
-When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up.
-When all your friends got their hair cut at the kitchen table.
-When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.
-When nobody owned a pure-bred dog.
-When a dime was a decent allowance, and a quarter a huge bonus.
-When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
-When girls neither dated nor kissed until late high school, if then.
-When your mom wore nylons that came in two pieces.
-When all your teachers wore either neckties or had their hair done, everyday. -When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, for free, every time. And you got trading stamps to boot!
-When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box.
-When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him, or use him to carry groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
-When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.
-When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed...and did!
-When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.

NEARBY TORNADO TOUCH DOWN, TRAVEL TALKS & WE HAD THE BIG WHEELS ROLLING TODAY:))

NO IT’S NOT AN ALICE IN WONDERLAND MAGIC TUNNEL IT’S JUST PART OF OUR EVERYDAY WALKING TRAIL A SHORT DISTANCE FROM OUR HOUSE

While putting together Sunday night's post I noticed darkening skies outside our sunroom.  Checked our areas real-time weather & saw a band of fast moving  thunder storms coming in across Lake Huron heading right for us.  Our electricity goes off here with a mere sneeze so quickly published the blog early before we lost power.  Twenty minutes later with rain, thunder & lightning upon us our electricity went off & came on 3 times in 5 minutes.  Checking the radar again I could see the bulk of the storm had veered south of us clobbering Grand Bend & it was confirmed today that the area immediately south of Grand Bend was indeed struck by a Tornado.  One person injured with large trees down on houses & vehicles.  Funnel clouds later spotted near Kitchener Ontario.  We are halfway between Grand Bend & Goderich & it was Goderich just 3 years ago 13 miles away that had a tornado tear up the town resulting in one death.  That's 2 tornados on either side of Bayfield in the last 3 years.  That makes us a bit nervous here in amongst our towering pine trees.

Knowing we had a storm headed our way we put the Big E's awning up on the rig & pulled the slides in.  Battening down the hatches if you will.  Everything was fine through Sunday night's storm so figured we'd take the Motorhome for a run this morning to charge up the engine battery & just give those sitting tires some exercise.  Needed a few things so we all piled in the rig & headed ourselves off to Goderich.  Nice sunny cool morning for a drive & just love getting behind the wheel of that Motorhome to go somewhere.  Smoothest riding & quietest running RV we have ever owned.  Just a real treat to drive something like that.

Kelly had a Harvey's coupon offering 2 hot dogs for $4.  Harvey's is located at the east end of Goderich in a large mall parking lot so lots of room.  Ate our dogs & Kelly popped into Zehr's Supermarket for a few things.  It's the only place I can get the natural peanut butter I like.  While Kelly was in the Supermarket I popped into a Dollar Store nearby to get a cinnamon scented candle for the rig.  I was surprised by what I saw walking back to the rig.  There was the Pheebs sitting right up on the dash where we had never seen her sit before.  What a rascal.

  
Moving to another area of the parking lot we stopped & Kelly slipped in & picked up a couple Tim Horton coffees for the drive home.  So nice to be out & going somewhere in the Big E even if it was only to Goderich & back.  And I’m sure loving these cooler 60 degree temperatures.  We are now only a couple weeks away from the time of year our weather patterns change so my fingers are crossed we will not have to endure any more of those muggy hot weather days this year.

EATING OUR HOT DOGS & THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE BOTH SAT AT OUR DINING TABLE TOGETHER SINCE BUYING THE RIG

 

OTHER RV’ers PARKED THEIR RIGS NEARBY & HEADED INTO TIM HORTONS
After detecting some Skunk smells close by a few days ago we have determined a Skunk is living under our woodshed.  Found where he had dug himself in under the shed so I sent him an eviction notice with the garden hose.  However Skunks have been known to wear Scuba Suits so the water obviously did not phase him because I saw evidence of his comings & goings after I sent him that notice.  I have a small cage for catching pesky Squirrels but don’t think it’s big enough for a Skunk & for sure I would end getting myself sprayed if I tried to use it.  Shovelled some loose dirt over the hole & I will check later tonight see if the dirt is pushed back out which will tell me he is out for the night.  I will then lay in some heavy concrete slabs along the ground where the hole is.  Of course I already know all this will do is to have him move around to another side of the shed & dig in a new hole.  I have a feeling this is going to be a very tough eviction.

Thought Cheryl Ann at DEEP CANYON had an interesting follow-up post to her ‘School Memories’ post last week.  Some interesting comments as well.

A little bit of travel talk on our walk this morning.  We are only days away from the month of August already & possibly only weeks away from heading south again.  Ok well I'm pushing it a bit but 8 weeks from now could maybe see us rolling out depending on the route we choose to take.  We hauled out the maps & had us another look at a more northerly cross Canada route.  Taking that route from Bayfield Ontario across the Prairies through Alberta & British Columbia then down through the States to Congress Arizona totals about 4,000 miles so we have pretty much decided not to do that.  That extra distance could easily add another thousand dollars to the gas bill.  Our thinking is this.......at some point we may not be able to travel to the States anymore because of health insurance costs etc.  If & when that happens we will then again take another look at travels within Canada.  And that includes Canada's east coast.  We feel it's more important to travel & spend as much winter Snow Bird time as we can in the South-Western States while we can.  Also at some point if gas prices keep getting too crazy we may have to shorten our travels one day & look for areas in maybe Georgia or Florida to hang out for the winter months.  We will cross those decisions when we get to them.  So for now we are looking to possibly go through Nebraska to South Dakota on our way to Utah where we intend to spend time before heading on down to Congress Arizona.  If we decide on that northerly Dakota route with South Dakota's BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK being our first destination I would like to head out of Bayfield around the end of September before bad weather settles into the Dakotas.  And that's only 8 weeks away.  Oh boy oh boy does this mean I can start loading up the rig in the morning.  That's 'almost' a Yahooie Louie.  Nothing like travel talks to lift my annual sagging Summer spirits:))
 

PATIENTLY WAITING & WATCHING FOR MOM TO GET BACK WITH THE HOT DOGS:))

THIS LITTLE SCALLYWAG GOT INTO MY PITCHER OF BIRDSEED THIS MORNING WHILE I WAS LOOKING THE OTHER WAY & IT LOOKS LIKE HE’S ALREADY GOT A MOUTHFUL
GROANER'S CORNER:((   Overheard in a Social Security office: "I'd like to apply for Disability, please."  "What is your disability?"  "I'm having trouble with my eyes."  "What kind of eye trouble?"  "I can't see myself going to work."
---
One night, a lady stumbled into the police station with a black eye. She claimed she heard a noise in her back yard and went to investigate. The next thing she knew, she was hit in the eye and knocked out cold.  An officer was sent to her house to investigate, and he returned 1-1/2 hours later with a black eye.  "Did you get hit by the same person?" his captain asked.  "No," he replied. "I stepped on the same rake."