ALOOF, DISTANT, REMOTE, DETACHED, WITHDRAWN, RESERVED, UNCOMMUNICATIVE, UNFORTHCOMING, UNAPPROACHABLE, UNRESPONSIVE, UNFRIENDLY, UNSOCIABLE, INTROSPECTIVE, & INTROVERTED --- OH DEAR WHAT CAN THIS ALL MEAN……………

Made it a point not to eat anything after supper Monday night & this morning headed myself off to Goderich’s MAITLAND VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER to leave a bucket of blood for tests regarding a couple upcoming medical appointments shortly.  Pheebs came along for moral support in case they had to chase me around the parking lot with needle in hand.  Seems the older I get the easier it is for them to catch me:((

OHHHHH HOW NICE THE AROMA OF THIS NEWLY MOWN HAY FIELD WHEN I DROVE BY EARLIER TODAY

THIS BEAN FIELD HAS RECENTLY BEEN HARVESTED

ANOTHER BEAN FIELD FINISHED

Needing a few photos for tonight’s post Pheebs & made our way from Goderich along half a dozen slow country roads on our way over to Clinton.  A couple weeks ago I was into TIRECRAFT to have a slow leak repaired in one of Libby’s tires & I was told  by knowledgeable tire guy Doug Riehl at the time one of Libby’s tires should be replaced so I stopped in to make arrangements to have that done this coming Thursday at 2 p.m.  Sure don’t want a tire problem when the Jeep’s being towed behind the Motorhome.  Another beautiful morning so Pheebs & I took the scenic route back to Bayfield snapping off a few more photos along the way.

COOL MORNING AIR MEETS WARMER POND WATERS CAUSING A SLOW RISING MIST

Afternoon was spent tending to more yard work as our weather just continues to dazzle me with it’s Autumn wonders.  Bush lines are still green but the old Master’s paint brush has softly alighted touching a group of leaves here or a single leaf there.  Our Autumn is a tad behind last year but will soon be upon us with a palette of blazing colors.

Ruth from Travel With Kevin & Ruth asked in part this question in Monday night's post, "Seeing you love travelling so much, how come you don't do any side trips in the RV from Bayfield during the summer being that you mentioned that sitting still in Bayfield for 6 months is hard enough"?……….Several reasons for this with the first one being financial.  We came to the conclusion several years ago that expensive travels in Canada during the summer would stretch us too thin.  Unlike the South-western United States with it's large availability of free BLM lands to stay on for RV'ers like ourselves Canada has no such thing or if they do they are very few & far between.  Traveling in Canada during summer months means expensive & crowded RV Parks & neither Kelly or I have any interest in traveling that way.  Back in 06 when we 2 Newbies first ventured out traveling down into the States we realized within a month our RVing dream was going to be over before it barely got started if we couldn’t figure out a way to travel cheaply & not have to stay in costly RV Parks.  In 08 we went solar, embraced the boondocking lifestyle & have never looked back.  If we could comfortably travel in Canada using our favored boondocking ways we would definitely have us a second look at some summer travel plans.  Where would we like to go??  Kelly has never seen Canada’s East coast so I’m thinking we would head for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island, Prince Edward Island, & Newfoundland.  I have traveled to all of those places except Newfoundland.

Just cannot believe how fast time has been flying by.  We're already down to just a few days over 4 short weeks before we leave.  The whole summer has simply flown by & as I said before I think it is the many country road Jeep drives Pheebe & I have taken these past five & a half months that has helped me pass the time & has also eased my traveling itch somewhat.

Talking to a neighbor awhile back he mentioned he never sees us around the Park very much.  We replied with ‘well we like to keep a low profile & hang out by ourselves’.  He said he understood that but felt some folks in the Park felt we were a little ‘standoffish’.  Well, being rather vaguely familiar with that word I figured I had better head for the dictionary to get myself an official definition about us.  Here are the words describing ‘standoffish’::   aloof, distant, remote, detached, withdrawn, reserved, uncommunicative, unforthcoming, unapproachable, unresponsive, unfriendly, unsociable, introspective, introverted.  Looking over these words & giving each one some thought I had to agree some of these words did indeed apply to us & more specifically to me.  Each word of course is closely associated with each other word in describing standoffish.  Couldn’t let this one slide by without an opinion of course so here’s my take on how these words apply in our case.

ALOOF:  No, we do not hold ourselves above others because that borders on arrogance & we are definitely not arrogant people. 

FOUND A FEW SPIDER WEBS IN OUR TRAVELS THIS MORNING

DISTANT, REMOTE, & DETACHED all apply.  We do not participate in Park activities whether official or unofficial & we do not get involved with Park politics.  We make it a point to stay out of people’s problems as best we can & I always figure the best way to do that is to cut down on the number of people we/I deal with. 

WITHDRAWN:  This applies to both Kelly & I but especially me.  Yes I am a very withdrawn person & prefer to quietly go my own way as opposed to the way of others.  I am much happier & content hanging out with myself therefore I withdraw from hanging out with others. 

RESERVED: Again this is me but in a different way.  Dictionary defines a reserved person in part as, ‘a person who doesn't share his feelings, thoughts or emotions.  In a general sense this is true for me unless it is one of two situations.  Either talking with a true & trusted best friend or as seems to happen almost daily…….sharing many of my feelings, thoughts, & emotions right here in my blog like right now.  Ya I know, I’ve always thought it kinda strange too.

UNSOCIABLE:  Well, I guess this does apply to both Kelly & I & yes it’s true I’m afraid we fit this word to a T.  We definitely are not sociable people & we do go out of our way to avoid social events as a rule.  We don’t socialize with our neighbors here in the Park & on the road traveling we are the same way with all our RV friends & neighbors.  Nothing to do with not liking people & everything to do with just the simple act of socializing.  Sitting around in a group of people trying to get a word in edgewise or having to sit through half a dozen story telling conversations which hold no interest for us is something neither one of us is good at & again especially me.  Much easier on everyone if we just avoid these kinds of things so yes I guess that does make us unsociable by definition.

  

UNCOMMUNICATIVE, UNFORTHCOMING, UNAPPROACHABLE, UNRESPONSIVE:  Well they all apply to some degree & the first one hits me squarely on the head.  Once a very communicative fellow it is rare for me anymore to ever strike up a conversation with anyone unless they approach me first.  It would be no effort for me to go days & weeks without ever having to talk to someone.  If you pass me on the trail you will get a ‘Hello’ out of me but I will probably keep right on going.   I’m not exactly unapproachable though & if approached & engaged in a conversation I generally do have respect for the person talking to me & even if I do not respect the person it is not in my nature to be rude or sarcastic.  You will find me cordial & if you have something interesting to say you will find me friendly.  (I do not find politics or sports interesting by the way) You may even have trouble getting a word in edgeways if we both hit upon favorite common interest:))

UNFRIENDLY: Although I may appear to some as unfriendly due to some of the above descriptions I am actually a very friendly fellow underneath it all & especially so to those people who I take a liking to & come to trust as a true friend.  Believe it or not but Kelly once told me one time many years ago ‘I talk to much.’  Yep it’s true & she’s right of course.  If very comfortable with someone I can go on like a manic Magpie but I do pay a price for that as later I analyse everything I said, run a strict critique on myself, then vow to keep my big mouth shut next time & that brings me to the first of my next two words. 

INTROSPECTIVE & INTROVERTED: Now here are two of my favorite words & how fitting they come last to sum up this collection of meanings in describing the word ‘standoffish’.  Introspective is defined as, ‘a reflective looking inward : an examination of one's own thoughts and feelings’.  Again the hammer hits the nail square on the head & describes me perfectly.  I am truly an introspective person & have always been so.  Introverted of course is my all time favorite word here & is defined as,‘a person who is energized by spending time alone’, ‘Introverts often avoid large groups of people’,  a person whose motives and actions are directed inward. Introverts tend to be preoccupied with their own thoughts and feelings and minimize their contact with other people’…….If in a crowd of seated people a speaker should ask, ‘will all the introverted people please raise their hands’ then let me be the first person to jump out of my seat with both hands raised & a big smile on my face.  Yes I an an Introvert & a very proud Introvert at that.  At some point in the future I like everyone else will write a final post & in that post someday I hope to share with my readers my theory of why I am the way I am.  Oh Dear, it sure isn’t easy being me…………….:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((    It seems in this day and time you can't go into an area dominated by a woman without detecting the 'aroma' of some kind of scented candle. Everything from 'Boysenberry Vanilla Potpourri' to 'Spice Orange Jasmine Chocolate'. It's about time men had their own scented candles. Below you will find a few scents men would appreciate.  SCENTED CANDLES FOR MEN

- '62 Chevy truck - Interior and Exhaust

-Gunpowder

-Wet Dog (only if it's your own dog)

-Frying Bacon (actually, a lot of different fried foods)

-Wood Smoke

-Chainsaw Exhaust

-Freshly Caught Bass

-Ozone (arc welder, of course)

-Acetylene

-Freshly Moved Dirt

- Sale Barn

- Silage

- Sawdust

- New Tires

-Hot Metal

-3 Year Old Baseball Cap

Ammonia Fertilizer (light, of course)

-Burning Grass or Leaves

-Alfalfa

-Firecrackers

-Latex Paint