THE BIG SCARY WINTER STORM THAT WAS.....OR WASN'T

ON BAYFIELD'S BEACH THIS MORNING THIS LONE PERSON STANDING ALONE WITH HER THOUGHTS REMINDED ME OF ACKER BILK'S STRANGER ON THE SHORE

Oh, 'Wonder of Wonders', we didn't lose our power.  Wednesday's snowfall turned to freezing rain Wednesday evening and we had more snow overnight but by dawn's early light this morning the big scary winter storm had passed us by and blew itself out.  No sign of it anywhere on my weather map.  Compared to many other places across the country we here in our area got off very lucky.

 LOOKS LIKE WE GOT ABOUT TWO INCHES OF SNOW FROM THE PASSING STORM

A wee drive into and around Bayfield this morning and we were home again with the first order of business being to get myself back onto the end of my snow shovel.  Luckily, Wednesday evening's freezing rain didn't turn the newly fallen two inches of snow into a solid block of ice and it was easily shovable.  More snowy days are predicted over the next couple of weeks but hey, we're only six days away from March 1rst and a month from now we'll all be one short week away from closing in on April Fool's Day.  I counted six very red male Cardinals in our front yard today and a couple days ago I saw the first Chipmunk of the year on our deck.   

One last word on the storm.  Had we not prepared for it by gathering our candles together along with the Buddy heater, camping stove, etc. etc. and etc, that storm would for sure have knocked out our area's power for at least three long days!!  It's okay neighbors, there's no need to thank us for going to all the trouble of getting out all our winter storm stuff:))    

 WITH THE BAYFIELD RIVER FREE OF ICE AGAIN A LONE FISHING BOAT HAS VENTURED IN AND TIED UP

 LOOKING SOUTH ALONG BAYFIELD'S ICY SHORELINE

Finished another book about unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) entitled UFO's For The Twentieth Century Mind: New And Expanded Edition.  This was a long 17-hour read and I found a few places very heavy to get through, but get through I did and would recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject.  Of all the books I have read on the subject, this one pretty much covers all the bases in a straightforward way.  The following statement from the book is basically its bottom line......'Although the evidence of contact is not strong scientifically, if we approach this phenomenon with as much common sense as possible, we can see that there is too much smoke to ignore the likelihood of fire.  Too many people have had too many experiences............. Started a new book today called, Dying To Be Me: My Journey from Cancer to Near Death, to True Healing, by Anita Moorjani.  I don't know where this book will lead me, but my curious mind is willing to venture forth in search of more elusive answers. 

 THIS WAS A COMMON SCENE AROUND BAYFIELD THIS MORNING

Being a very music-oriented person (not talented) all my life, I spend the vast majority of my waking hours surrounded by music.  Yes, I know I've kinda written about this subject a few times before, but here I go again.  When I go to bed at night (my living room recliner) I switch our TV to an instrumental music station on Eastlink's 904 channel called 'Stingray/The Chill Lounge'.  I set this at a low volume and the music plays all night.  When I wake up, I turn up the volume and the music plays for the rest of the day except when Kelly watches her favorite TV shows.  Putting myself together in the washroom each morning I play my cassette tapes on a 'boombox' there.  They are all tapes I made back in the 80s.  Later, when Pheebs and I leave the house and walk to the Jeep I am without music for about half a minute.  The second thing I do after starting the Jeep (or the Subaru) is tune in to my SiriusXM music 053 channel called  Downtempo/Deep House Chill'.  That music plays non-stop all the time we are out and about.  Home again and at the computer, I right away tune into my instrumentally based 'SomaFM Groove Salad' station which plays all day right up to 10 o'clock at night when I transition back to the living room.  By the way, none of these channels have commercials, DJs, or announcers.  If they did I wouldn't be listening to them!!  While at the computer I sometimes like browsing around on YouTube and checking out many of the music videos there.  If I see someone playing a bass guitar I stop and listen.  That's how I found 'Ellen's Groove'.  Today, I stumbled across a great song from 1985 I hadn't heard for a very long time.  When I first heard this song nearly four decades ago I knew there was something unique about it because the vocals and instrumentation made it so.  It was a song that seemed to take me back in time with a touch of sadness in a good way.  The group was called 'Double' and the song they had was called.....The Captain Of Her Heart.

 NICE TO SEE THE VAST EXPANSE OF LAKE HURON FREE OF ICE AND SNOW AGAIN

Fourteen years ago today, Kelly and I did a six-mile hike in Arizona's Dragoon Mountains in a rugged area known as the Cochise Stronghold.  It was a long hike for us and by the time we completed it my feet were so sore I had to take off my hiking boots and drive our Hyundai Santa Fe stick shift car back to the ranch in my sock feet.  Hiking To The Cochise Stronghold.  

 KELLY CHECKS OUR TRAIL MAP

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Please read carefully as this may help you out on this year's Income Tax!!!

Dear Sir,

I have a Benefit Question:

Many years ago, I married a widow out of love, who had a 25-year-old daughter.

After the wedding, my father, a widower, came to visit a number of times, and he fell in love with my stepdaughter.  My father eventually married her without my authorization.

As a result, my stepdaughter legally became my stepmother and my father became my son-in-law.

My father's wife (also my stepdaughter and my stepmother), gave birth to a son who is my grandchild because I am the husband of my stepdaughter's mother.  This boy is also my brother, the son of my father.

As you can see, my wife became a grandmother, because she is the mother of my father's wife.  Therefore, it appears that I am also my wife's grandchild.

A short time after these events, my wife gave birth to a son, who became my father's brother-in-law, the stepson of my father's wife, and my uncle.

My son is also my stepmother's brother, and through my stepmother, my wife has become a grandmother and I have become my own grandfather. 

In light of the above-mentioned, I would like to know the following: Am I eligible to receive childcare benefits? 

Sincerely yours,

Mohammed ......

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