Tuesday, September 08, 2015

KELLY HEADS FOR SPENCERPORT NY WHILE PHEEBS & AL HEAD FOR LONDON ONTARIO

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HEY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S GOT NOTHING OVER ON SOUTHERN ONTARIO WHEN IT COMES TO CABBAGES…..YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE A NEW CABBAGE PATCH DOLL BEING BORN HERE

Overnight rains quit around 8 this morning & Kelly was on her way to Spencerport New York one hour later under partially clearing skies.  Looked like she might be in for clear sailing all the way but turns out some rain caught up with her near Woodstock.  She plans to be back next Wednesday or Thursday & I think that will be just about the longest we have been apart in about 22 years.  Oh Dear, now I'm going to have to make my own morning coffee.  That is if I make it all.  Hardly seems worthwhile when I only drink half a cup anyway.  We'll see how I feel about that in the morning.

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JUST ABOUT READY TO GO THIS MORNING

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OH-OH THINK SHE MAY HAVE FORGOT SOMETHING……YES SHE DID, HER IPOD

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NEITHER ONE OF US SAW PHEEBS QUIETLY SNEAK INTO THE BACK SEAT & IT WAS LUCKY KELLY SPOTTED HER JUST BEFORE HEADING OUT

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BYE BYE SEE YOU NEXT WEEK

My first dilemma popped up minutes after Kelly left when I thought to myself, 'well what am I going to do all day now'.  Everything's too wet outside to do anything plus it's still  uncomfortably humid so our only recourse is to fire up the Jeep & go see if we can find us some interesting photos for the day.  Sitting around the house doing basically the square root of nothing was not an option & besides I saw a few rays of sunshine poking through the trees.

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SPOTTED THIS ON THE BACK OF A PICK-UP TRUCK THIS MORNING……….YEP IT SAYS IT ALL & I GOTTA GET ME ONE OF THOSE STICKERS

Undecided where to go we just headed out of the forest in the direction of Bayfield.  So much for those few rays of sun I had just seen.  Clouds were looking ominous & sure enough minutes later cruising Bayfield's main street down came the rain & that was the end of that & headed back home.  Preparing to be stuck inside all day I checked our email.  Monday I had dashed off an email to HENRY'S CAMERA SHOP in London about the vibration in my 70-300mm Nikkor lens & checking the email I saw they had replied saying, 'bring the lens to the store & they would have a look at it'.  WALLA....Pheebs & I had our destination for the day & minutes later we were in the Jeep headed for London Ontario.

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NOTICED SOME AREA BEAN FIELDS ARE READY FOR HARVESTING

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Rain had ended & skies began slowly clearing after all as we made the hour's drive to the North end of London.  Couldn't believe how hot & humid it was there compared to Bayfield.  Didn't take the fellow at Henry's long to determine that yes the lens should definitely be sent to Nikon for repairs.  I figured that was the best thing to do until I was told 2 things.  First, Nikon charges a flat fee of $250 to look at the lens.  If the lens can be fixed for less than that then that is the charge but as the clerk told me it could very well be over the $250 fee in which case I would have to pay the $250 plus repair.  A new 70-300 lens can be head for $526.00.  Well now what to do?  I asked how long it would take to repair the lens & was told it could be anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks.  WHAT!!!!  Didn’t want to take the chance of heading for Arizona in 6 weeks without my favorite lens.  Well that was that & I made the decision right then & there to just hang on to my lens & keep using it until it becomes unusable which could be tomorrow or 6 months from tomorrow or maybe not ever but that is highly unlikely.   Took a bunch of barn photos on the way home with it & it shuddered maybe 10 out of 50 shots.  Turns out all photos taken with it still remained sharp but just in case I do have my 50-200mm lens warming up in the bull pen.

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HADN’T DRIVEN TOO FAR BEFORE NOTICING THE BEAN HARVEST IS ALREADY UNDERWAY IN SOME FIELDS

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Sure was glad to get out of London & back into the countryside.  Picked up a Horton coffee & muffin in Lucan & under clear sunny skies we ambled our way along a bunch of country roads back to Bayfield adding another batch of barns to my files along the way.  A few leg stretching stops & with our A/C on full blast we were back home somewhere around 2 p.m.

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SPOTTED A COUPLE CROP DUSTING PLANES IN OUR TRAVELS

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ANYTIME I SEE AN AIRPLANE I ALWAYS CONSIDER THAT A BONUS …..HAVE ALWAYS HAD A FASCINATION FOR THEM

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Liked this post on frugal-rv-travel.com by Cheri in New Braunfels Texas entitled, ‘Not what I expected’.  What I especially liked was Cheri’s honesty in talking about something that simply didn’t turn out to be what she expected.  She could have chosen not to write about it or glossed it over putting a ‘happy face spin’ on it all but she didn’t do that.  She talked about her thoughts & feelings & I always appreciate when someone is honest enough with themselves to write about how they really feel.  ‘Tell me your days aren’t perfect & I will understand & be your friend’.

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REMEMBER THAT BROKEN WIND TURBINE BLADE LAST MONTH…..IT’S ALL FIXED UP NOW

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LOTS OF INFRA-STRUCTURE GOING UNDER GROUND IN THESE HERE PARTS

Ok what was for supper on our first home alone night.  Well nothing really, when by myself I have a tendency to nibble my way through the day.  Some cold Pizza, some cold chicken fingers, a peanut butter & honey sandwich, bowl of porridge this morning, a bran muffin & a cold hotdog wiener along the way.  See, I’m no slouch in the kitchen eh:))

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Kelly made it to Spencerport OK.  Here’s a couple travel reports she sent today……’St Catherines Ontario 11:50 for coffee. ‏ Missed the other Tim Hortons ): traffic ok so far. Half hour of rain Woodstock area”…………..Arrived, 6 hrs. incld. 3 stops.  ($17.75 gas at Smokin Joes) thank goodness for A/C.  Border very easy..... 4 cars ahead of me..... all he asked was..."what was the purpose of your trip to Canada?   I just said oh I live there .

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GROANER’S CORNER:))  One of tonight’s groaners comes in the form of a reader’s comment on my Monday night post.  Craig says……….Your barn pictures are wonderful.  Do you have any castles in Ontario, or perhaps immigrant nobility from Europe? If so, you could take some pictures of such/their properties, and intermix them with your barn pictures. Then you could call the resulting collection "Barns and Noble" :-)

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My friend, the manager of a grocery store, nabbed a shoplifter in the act. He was escorting the suspect to the office in the front of the store (near the cash registers), when the shoplifter broke from his grip and tried to run.  After a scuffle, my friend pinned him against the wall and looked up to see a number of surprised customers staring at him.  "Everything's fine, folks," he reassured them. "This guy just tried to go through the express line with more than ten items."

16 comments:

  1. Life of a bachelor eh? I'll be interested to see the outcome of the lens. I would have done what you did, use it until it stops. You have me curious now so I'll be looking on eBay for that 75-300mm lens. Being a morning coffee drinker I'd really like to try a Tim Horton's sometime. I think the closest one to me would be about a 5-6 hour drive north. That would be worth the road trip with the 4 hounds.

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  2. Last year we set ourselves up with another camera body that came from Quebec and 55-250 mm lens both purchased on E-bay. Not being too happy with that particular lens purchase a 75- 300 mm on E-bay while in Florida. Buying all that equipment that way was cheaper than just my original camera body alone.
    You might consider that route for the eventual replacement of any of your equipment.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  3. Its tough to be apart from your partner but you will make it through.
    Keep on doing things and before you know it Kelly be back home!

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  4. Looks like a wise choice on the lens, Al. That's a lot of dough to just look at a lens.

    Jim

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  5. Please tell me that hot dog was not raw.

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  6. The beans in your area are way ahead of here. They are still very green here in Louisiana.

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  7. Steve, just thought I'd mention.....there's a Tim Hortons in Richmond, IN. Not close enough to pop in, but doable.

    Our corn is just now being harvested (Middle Tennessee); beans are still green, not even turning yellow. I'd give them another month.

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    1. Thanks Ladybug ... Richmond IN is doable. I'll have to check it out.

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  8. Wow! I've gotten into Groaner's Corner! Thank You Al.

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  9. corn still growing here also..spring was so wet planting was late

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  10. Enjoyed all the machinery pics. Think that was a good decision on the lens, I did not know they had that policy. Have you tried turning the VR off for a day? I think you suspect focus, but it could be the VR drive. Worth a try anyway and you can see how well you shoot without it also. Wish you and Pheebs the best as Kelly is away. Even though we both had travel jobs and seldom saw each other, now it feels odd to me when she leaves for a week to visit family etc.

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  11. The cowboy doesn't like for me to be gone either and I've been gone a lot lately--hope the time goes by quickly for you and Pheebs!

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  12. Pheebs was very sneaky making her way to the car seat :-) I'm solo this week as well while Bill is fishing with his pals in Montana. Tessa and I are staying busy too. Love the pics of the crop dusters, I always enjoying watching them flying over the fields.

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  13. Those are ginormous cabbages. Have you ever tried grilling them on the grill? Put olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, other seasonings and they are yummy!
    So cute with Pheebs trying to escape in the back of Kelly's car. Dern that dog. HA

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  14. If you're really serious about getting one of those magnets, check out magnetic pedigree.com. If you blow up your picture, you'll see that's where it came from. :)

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