MY FAVORITE OLD BOOK COVER

THIS IS THE BOOKCOVER THAT STARTED MY LOVE OF THE OLD WILD WEST BACK IN THE EARLY 50'S

Some of you folks might be interested in knowing how a rattlesnake got into the backpack of The Happy Campers so check out the June 14th entry of Rex & Mary. They are currently camped in the Black Mountains near Oatman, Arizona & you can find them here... http://rexandmary.blogspot.com/

The photo at the top of the blog is the actual cover of a book I had when I was a small boy growing up back in the early 50's. The rest of the book is gone but I found the cover while cleaning out my Mother's house years ago. It was this book that I would look through over & over marveling at all the wild west cowboy pictures. My imagination was in overdrive as I turned the pages looking at desert scenes, mountains, stagecoaches, cowboys, sagebrush, & towering cactus. The drawings came alive for me & it was in these colorful pages that my love for the American southwest took hold. Little did I know that many years later I would actually be living for a few months of the year in the very same lands where these pictures were drawn from. It was exciting stuff for a young boy years ago & it's still exciting stuff for that young boy these many years later.

THAT IS PINE POLLEN ON THE WINDSHIELD

Bayfield's nautical community & local merchants have their fingers crossed for good weather this coming week-end. Sail & Canvas is a popular annual sailing regatta with many boats on the water competing & racing. The towns wide main street is filled with outdoor artisans & musians. People come from near & far to take part in the festivities.........weather permitting!!AS KIDS WE ALWAYS CALLED THIS EARLY MORNING STUFF ON THE GRASS............FROG SPIT

To-day's Pun.......Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.

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RAINY DAY, WATERLOGGED BRAIN, SHORT BLOG:((

A LARGE LAKE FREIGHTER TAKES ON A LOAD OF SALT FROM THE GODERICH SALT MINE

Thanks to Rick over at http://rickpaulettervjournal.blogspot.com/ for the suggestion about our "Blogs We Follow." Made a few changes that should work OK now so I'll try it for awhile. Be sure to check out Rick & Paulette's pics of their new puppy, Rylie. They just brought her home & she's a little sweet-ums:)) A FLOTILLA OF GEESE ON THE CALM WATERS OF LAKE HURON

We had so much rain to-day I had to leave my water wings on all afternoon. My mobility van travels took me up into the Wingham area & despite the rain I enjoyed every scenic mile. I'm always happy to be on the road going somewhere even if it is work related. Had time to slide down to the Goderich harbor & snap a few rainy pics as well between stops. To-morrow I will be south of Bayfield & over around the Exeter area. I wished the company I drive for was busy enough to have me on the road more often. Oh well:(( Short blog to-night because I was late getting home plus the brain is a little rain soaked from to-day's downpour................ To-day's Pun..... Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet he suffered from bad breath.This in turn made him a....."super-calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis."

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NICE MORNING RIDE TO THE BEND & BACK

A TOTALLY DIFFERENT LOOKING GRAND BEND BEACH

For most us us the names Fred & Wilma immediately conjure up memories of the Flintstones years ago. The TV cartoon has been off the air for a long time now but RV bloggers Fred & Wilma are alive & well living in Michigan. Quickly approaching retirement they are looking forward to taking their 38' Winnebago Adventurer into warmer winter climates in the very near future. You can find the Flintstone namesakes at http://flintstones1970.blogspot.com/ VIEW OF THE KID'S PLAY AREA FROM ATOP THE BEACH HOUSE

Our "Blogs We Follow" list is growing so I have decided to trim it up a bit by listing only the blogs that are remaining currently active. I will still keep an eye on the bloggers who haven't been posting for awhile & if & when they are up & running again I will either re-add them or make mention of their post in the blog. For anyone reading those blogs at the moment I sugguest you add their websites to your favorites so you don't lose them. I will do this Wednesday night. I'm going to keep Gypsy97 on the list though because I'm expecting her to re-surface any time now. I think she has got herself into a bad reception area. Her last post was May 27th. If anyone has heard from her, let me know & I'll post an update on her status. GRAND BEND'S ONLY LARGE BUILDING.....A BEACHFRONT CONDO

Beautiful day but rain moving into the area over the next couple days so figured it would be a good morning to take the bike for a run down to Grand Bend & have a look at the new beach renovations there. The motorcycle was needing a good run anyway & so was I. After a stop at the Bayfield carwash to hose all the pine pollen off the bike I was southbound for the Bend. Don't like washing vehicles here at the house because the strong chlorine in the water always leaves spots. NICE MORNING FOR A RIDE TO THE BEND

Grand Bend's main drag looks the same but they sure have made a lot of improvements to the beach area. I really, really, hope the summer teen-agers will respect all the hard work, time, & money, that the people of Grand Bend have put into their now family oriented beach project. It's obvious they are trying to make it family friendly. I have put this mornings beach pics in a photo album which can be found here.
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/THENEWGRANDBENDBEACHJUNE16TH2009#

An old Tavistock (my hometown) friend from many moons ago dropped in this afternoon & we had quite a chin wag. Been about 10 years since we last talked over in Stratford & it turns out he now lives just 3 miles from where we do. Small world.

ACCOMODATIONS ACROSS FROM THE BEACH

Looks like I'm going to be busy with the mobility van over the next couple of days so I'm looking forward to some nice scenic country driving. It's one of the many advantages of living in a small town because everywhere you go involves driving through the countryside to get to where your going. I call that a huge bonus:)) ROMANCE WILL ALWAYS BE ALIVE ON THE BEACH AT THE BEND

Sidenote to the Grand Bench beach........My Dad as a young man was stationed at an air base just east of the Bend during the war & he told me how the guys used to get a car to-gether or hitch-hike into the Bend on Saturday nights to go swimming & dance the night away in the beachfront Pavillion. He said he had many a good time on that beach. My Dad died in 1992 & on the morning of his funeral I drove to Grand Bend & went for a walk along the shore. I picked up a small pebble in the sand & later slipped that into my Dad's jacket pocket to take with him & bring him good luck on his next journey..........................

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THANKS FOR STOPPING BY FOLKS:))

OUR FRONT YARD JUNGLE IS SLOWLY ENVELOPING OUR HOUSE

Monday morning weigh-in....... 208:)) Well, at last my weight is heading in the right direction again & I'm down 5 pounds from last week's 213. First benefit I am noticing is the soreness in my legs has greatly diminished. Wished I could say the same for my cravings of peanut butter & honey sandwiches but it's going to take a little longer to lose that one. I've been down this road before so I know what to expect & I do know they will eventually go. I beat alcohol addiction nearly 30 years ago followed by my cigarette habit about 27 years ago. Ten years ago I wrestled a coffee addiction down to a sensible level & now it's the battle of the bulge. It took me many attempts over a period of years before defeating alcohol & cigarettes. Getting my coffee consumption under control took awhile too. I've been fighting this weight thing for about 5 years now but one of these times I'm going to nail it to the wall for the last time!! Just like I did all the others!!!! STELLA de ORO' LILLIES

How many times have you shot your face off with the garden hose!! Did it again to-day while cleaning some windows. Had the hose in my right hand as I reached around the ladder to pick up the squeegee. As I leaned forward I squeezed the hose trigger against the ladder & blew my glasses off. And it seems everytime I drop the hose on the ground it always has to land on the trigger side sending a blast of water straight up my unsuspecting nose. Ohhhhh, the hazards of summer!!

Even though we haven't been traveling anywhere for the past two & half months I am still amazed at how many people still visit our website. We were averaging 160 hits a day on the site last winter. The numbers dropped slowly since we've been home but leveled out about a month ago to an average of 105 visits a day. That is so encouraging for someone like myself who has spent a lifetime wrestling with poor self esteem & low confidence levels. A big thank-you to everyone out there who literally helps to make my day.............everyday!!. Thanks for stopping by folks:))))

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A PERFECT WEATHER DAY:))

WILD DAISIES

New RV bloggers K & D have just launched themselves out here into the Cyber blogging world & are off to a good start. Located in picturesque British Columbia they have just posted their 4th blog entry & you can find them here..............
http://kanddintherv.blogspot.com/ Welcome aboard the good ship Lollyblog:))

DAISIES & CLOVER

To-day we had one of those perfect weather days. Low to mid 70's, no wind, just the right amount of fluffy clouds, no humidity & warming sunshine. Geeeezzzzz, I like when that happens. We have a small storm coming in over the lake at the moment but it's not a big one. Some rain, some thunder & lightning maybe & then it will be gone in the night. At least I hope so. Thunderstorms scare the beejeebers out of our little Motormouse & she noisily hyperventilates a lot, crawls into the bathtub, under Mom's bed, & tries to hide under my T-shirt............. while I'm still in it!! A CLOVER BUNCH ALONG THE TRAIL

Had a mobility van run over to London & back this afternoon so I really enjoyed being out motoring through the beautiful June countryside. Only about 10% of the run itself was in the City of London & anytime I don't have to be in a city for any reason I consider that a huge bonus. Why oh why oh why would any sane human being live in a city if they didn't have to. Just one of the many perplexing questions in my life I guess. Have I ever lived in a city......Yes!! A couple months in Montreal, a year in Halifax, about 9 months in Toronto, about 5 years in Kitchener, & about 20 years in Stratford Ontario. That's it for me...............no more cities!!!!

INSIDE AN IRIS

In regards to yesterday's blog about the Vintage car rally in Bayfield I managed to lay my hands on a summer schedule to-day for Clangregor Square. Any car buffs in the area might be interested in the "Vette Fest" (corvettes) for July 4th & 5th. Not to be outdone, the "Ford Thunderbirds" meet will take place Sunday July 26th.BIG FROG POND BOSS

Bayfield is a very "happening" village during the summer & for anyone traveling in the neighborhood be sure to drop in & spend some time in a little old town by the lake. Check out my photos of Bayfield here & you will see what I mean.....
http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/gallery/5845016_7pESE#362675509_zZfh9

YEP, THE HERMIT IS RIGHT...........THIS IS AN IMPATIENS FLOWER

When I was a boy growing up, Sundays were always quiet restful days. I still adhere to that, especially the quiet part. I know I have become less tolerant to noise in these latter years but it really annoys me when people insist on firing up lawn mowers, chain saws, weed whackers, or leaf blowers on these supposedly quiet mornings. Some even decide to work away on their cars with sanders, lug nut machines, etc. We have 6 days of the week for all that kind of stuff. Whenever I hear those machines running on Sunday mornings it tells me something about the person at the other end of that device. Not considerate of neighbors feelings & probably too absorbed in self to really care anyway. Do I wish we lived out in the country again...........you betcha!!!!

And remember..."Inside every older person is a young person wondering what the hell happened."

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VINTAGE AUTOMOBILE'S IN CLANGREGOR SQUARE.....BAYFIELD ONTARIO, CANADA

We did something rare to-day..........we got in the car & actually went somewhere. For people who follow our travels in the southwest during the winter that statement may be a little hard to understand. Kinda hard for me to understand too but it seems from the time we return home in the Spring until the time we leave again in the fall we just never go anywhere!! Kelly's heavier work schedule has a lot to do with it & when she does get a few days off she's just happy to spend relaxing time at home. I'm not nearly as busy with my mobility van job as Kelly but I just don't seem to have the same travel urges as I do when we are in the southwest. Could have something to do with our over familiarity with this area. In last night's blog I had mentioned a couple living near St. Marys Ontario who I used to do a lot of gardening & groundskeeping for 10 years ago. It had been over 6 years since we saw Pat & Bernhard so to-day we headed off on a 45 minute drive to their place. Don't know how they do it but these people did not look one day older than the last time we saw them. Guess it's just that good old country living plus the fact they fly to their other home in Portugal every winter to escape the horrid Canadian winters. Winter is enough to age anyone!! Before leaving Bayfield we noticed a bunch of old cars lined up so made a quick stop at Clangregor Square where an antique car rally was underway. I'm not familiar with the makes, models, & years of these vintage cars but they were all clearly from the very beginning of the automobile era. A Hupmobile, a White, & an Oakland were mixed in with Fords, a Rolls Royce, & Cadillacs. Probably 50 or 60 cars in the park with many proud owners nearby. I managed to crack off a few photos & you can find them in a photo album I uploaded to-day. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/VINTAGEAUTOMOBILESINCLANGREGORSQUAREBAYFIELDONTARIOCANADA
I didn't caption the pictures because none of the vehicles had any information about them posted & I didn't know the years. Would have been nice if the owners could have set up some kind of info board in front of their vehicles. PROUD HUPMOBILE OWNERS

The annual dreaded pine pollen menace has descended on us the past few days. Every year in June the Pine trees give off a fine pollen powder that wafts through the trees in fog like yellow clouds. It gets into every nook & cranny imaginable & if it rains we'll have small yellow rivers & puddles on the ground. It was something we never new of before moving here just as we hadn't realized that in the Autumn multiple pine needles fall to the ground & have to be raked up just like leaves. At the top of my pet peeves list regarding television garbage is LOUD TELEVISION COMMERCIALS!! Came across the following article a few days ago. Am I convinced this "volume" problem will be solved?? No I am not........broadcasters greed will probably prevail & the commercials will only get louder:((

By Carrie Wells, McClatchy Newspapers Carrie Wells, Mcclatchy Newspapers – Wed Jun 10, 4:27 pm ET

WASHINGTON — Congress soon might mute screaming TV-ad announcers who press viewers to "buy now!" — if broadcasters don't beat the lawmakers to the volume button.

Under a proposal to be taken up Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission would squelch ad volumes to the average decibels of the TV show during which they appear.

Currently, TV ads can't be louder than the loudest peak in a show, said David Perry , the chairman of the broadcast production committee of the American Association of Advertising Agencies in New York . Ads often seem louder to viewers, he added, because a program's volume peak rarely comes just before an ad.

"Every time the ads came on they blew me out of my seat," said Rep. Anna Eshoo , D- Calif. , who introduced the bill last June. "It really turns you off, makes you think, 'I'll be damned if I give them any of my money.' "

She's a member of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, which will consider the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, aka CALM. It has 63 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and two in the Senate .

Broadcasters say they have their own plan to lower TV ad volume, which could take effect within a couple of months. The switch to digital TV on Friday, they say, also could help by enabling advertisers to use a wider range of sounds, instead of relying on pure volume to get attention.

Dan Jaffe , the executive vice president for government relations of the New York -based Association of National Advertisers , said that advertising and broadcasting industry leaders knew that loud commercials annoyed customers because they'd received numerous complaints.

To resolve them, broadcasters and advertisers want to set their own standards, in which a commercial would be "loud enough that a reasonable person can hear it, but not so loud you can hear it in Mongolia ," Jaffe said. "Our members don't want to offend viewers."

Eshoo concedes that her bill isn't as high a priority as, say, health care or war funding, but she's confident that it will pass.

"People practically throw their arms around me when they hear about it," she said.

However, an aide to Sen. Roger Wicker , R- Miss. , who introduced the bill in the Senate last year, said Wicker wouldn't reintroduce the bill because he was working with broadcasters to hold down the volume.

"The senator is monitoring the progress being made and will consider reintroducing legislation if the industry cannot fix the problem on its own," Wicker's spokesman, Jahan Wilcox , said in an e-mail.

Perry, the ad agency association's spokesman on the matter, agreed that broadcasters should set their own loudness standards.

" Congress will inevitably make it more messy than it needs to be," he said. "It's like going after a fly with a pistol."

Britain set similar restrictions on loud ads last year.

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ME & QUEEN ELIZABETH (repeat)

A STORMY LAKE HURON

I've got a bit of a blog jam going on again so I'm going to reach back into my little sack of musty blogs & dust off a post I wrote about a year ago. I'm not sure but I may have posted it once since then too.........sorry for the repetition if I did:((

I think it was sometime in the mid fifties & I was probably ten years old or so when I first saw the Queen of England. It was a fleeting glimpse as she & the Prince of Whales passed by in an open car on William Street, Stratford Ontario Canada. But, I was sure she saw me. Afterall, I was a young 10 year old boy with a big imagination so why wouldn't she have seen me. The roadside was jammed with throngs of cheering people as far as I could see & the Queen of England had just become my friend. It would be another 45 years or so before the Queen & I would lay eyes on each other again.

Canadians will recall some of these next names.............
I remember seeing our then Prime Minister, John Diefenbaker when I was a small boy in public school. He stopped in the village of Tavistock Ontario where I grew up & gave a speech by the town's water fountain. I related this story to a friend of mine from Tavy & he said, well don't you remember Pierre Elliott Trudeau coming through town a few weeks later doing the same thing. Alas, I didn't.

In 1967/68 I was a doorman/car jockey at a then posh Tower Hill apartment building at the corners of St. Clair & Spadina Ave in Toronto. The president of the Canadian Cancer Society lived there & one night held a big entertainment function. Myself & another fellow doorman were at the big front glass doors as the limousines rolled up. We smartly stood at attention & swung open the doors for Princess Margaret & Lord Snowden. I remember how she glowed as she walked by with all her jewels on & how handsome Lord Snowden looked. Later that evening 4 of us had to move a heavy piano from a hallway into the suite where the party was going on because pianist Peter Duchin was playing. There was a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player there that night as well but not sure who it was. Might have been Carl Brewer. MAX & CHECKERS LOVE SWIMMING IN THE LAKE

Sat at a table next to Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot in a little Halifax coffee house back in 1966. I was in the Navy at the time. His career was just in the process of revving up & he was playing there. I remember their table was pretty "lively!!" Saw him once more after that in concert at The Center In the Square in Kitchener, Ontario. I think it was sometime in the eighties.
Saw rompin Ronnie Hawkins at the Stratford Coliseum in the early 60's when he was a really wild & crazy guy. Some members of his band went on to form, "The Band" who in later years backed Bob Dylan.

While living in Stratford Ontario back in the 90's I drove for a company called, The Stratford Airporter taking people to & from Pearson International Airport in Toronto. I drove singer & harpist Loreena McKennit several times as well as another lady from a Canadian group called, Farmer's Daughter. Actors from the Stratford Shakespearian Festival frequently traveled as well. Bill Needles, Martha Henry & Rod Beattie were a few of the travelers. Rod Beattie later became well known for his Wingfield Farm series.Saw Johnny Cash & June Carter at Toronto's Ontario Place as well as Tina Turner & Cindy Lauper. Been to concerts in Toronto by, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, ZZ Top, The Eagles, & Neil Young. Saw Roberta Flack on stage at the Festival theater in Stratford. Listened to Moe Kaufman playing, The Swinging Sheppard Blues in Stratford's Knox Church as well.

Back in the 70's & 80's there was a well known stage actress at the festival in Stratford by the name of Pat Galloway. Before moving to Bayfield in 02 I did a lot of grounds work for Pat & her husband Barnhard at their home near St. Marys Ontario. Really, really nice down to earth people. Fellow stage actors William Hutt, Douglas Chamberlain & Douglas Campbell would sometimes be there. In Pat's heyday we heard that there were some pretty lively parties on their estate with various in town Hollywood actors popping in. Oh yes, about me & Queen Elizabeth & our second meeting. I think it might have been in the summer of 1998. The Queen was in Stratford again & I heard she would be heading off to Woodstock, Ontario in early afternoon. I knew that I may never see her again so I hopped on my motorcycle & headed over to a spot out in the country along highway 59 just a few miles north of Hickson Ontario. Nice open spot & no throngs of people this time. Finally, the normal traffic going by ended. No cars at all. Waited & waited & then one car went by & few minutes another one followed a few minutes later by another one. This went on for about 5 minutes. Had I missed her?? Then I saw the convoy of cars coming fast. First one, two or three & then there she was & she was sitting by the back window on my side of the road. Light blue outfit with a matching blue hat. I was standing beside my motorcycle as I waved. No mistaking it this time, she looked right at me, but alas, there was no recognition in her eyes from 45 years before. Whoooooooosh, the car was by in seconds & she was gone.....................

And that was my little story of me & Queen Elizabeth:))

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