THROUGH THE MAITLAND CEMETARY

THOUGHT THIS AN ODD PATCH OF GRASS GROWING ALONGSIDE THE TRAIL

Goderich’s Maitland Cemetery is located within the city limits at it’s extreme east side on the north side of highway 8.  It’s a picturesque old cemetery with roads winding through it and bordering on the Maitland River valley on it’s north side.  Between the cemetery boundary and the Maitland River lies a quarter mile wide stretch of land running high above the Maitland River for a few miles.   And that is where Pheebs and I headed this morning. 

THIS IS THE FIRST INDICATION YOU ARE ACTUALLY IN A CEMETERY

FOLLOW THE ROAD THROUGH THE CEMETERY KEEPING TO THE RIGHT AND YOU WILL FIND THE TRAILHEAD LEADING TO THE HIGH BANKS OF THE RIVER BELOW

I’VE NEVER FIGURED IF THAT LOCK IS TO KEEP PEOPLE IN OR KEEP PEOPLE OUT

I LIKE SMOKE TREES

On August 21rst of 2011 a devastating tornado ripped through this area and totally destroyed an old growth forest.  It’s been nearly 7 years and nature is finally making a definite comeback.  Ninety nine percent of the tall hardwood trees are gone and I noticed this morning the prominent trees growing now taking over are Sumac.  All the old trees were eventually put through wood chippers and it is those wood chips that make up the walking trails.  Sumacs are pushing up everywhere through those wood chips and the wide pathways are being overtaken.  If the trails are not soon maintained  there will be no trails at all.  Sumacs are very evasive and fast growing.  I love Sumacs and we have them around our house near Bayfield but I am forever having to keep them under control or we would soon be completely overwhelmed.

TRAILHEAD IS AT THE RIGHT BEHIND JEEP

CEMETERY CAN BE IN SEEN IN THE BACKGROUND…..YA YA I KNOW, WASH THE JEEP!!!!

NICE SOFT CUSHY WALKING FOR DOGGY PAWS

THIS SITTING BENCH AND THE TRAIL IN FRONT OF IT ARE BEING OVERTAKEN WITH GROWTH

PLANTS HAVE ENCROACHED ONTO THIS TRAIL LEAVING IT A MERE PATHWAY NOW

MUST SAY I WAS SURPRISED AT HOW FAST THE FLORA IS GROWING

SUMAC FLOWER ON THE LEFT AND A FEW BROKEN TREES MAKING A COMEBACK AFTER THE TORNADO

DEER FLIES WERE BOTHERSOME BUT NO MOSQUITOS AND IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE THAT JUST 7 YEARS AGO NOW A BEAUTIFUL OLD GROWTH HARDWOOD FOREST STOOD RIGHT HERE

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF NICE HAND CARVED WOODEN SIGNPOSTS ALONG THE TRAILS BUT SOME ARE HARDLY VISIBLE ANYMORE SUCH AS THE ONE ON THE RIGHT

ALL THAT REMAINS OF A LARGE TREE RAVAGED BY THE TORNADO OF 2011

Low on skim milk Pheebs and I slipped into Bayfield’s Foodland after supper and I again was surprised how much the day had already cooled off.  With windows down it felt a little chilly on my arms and would you believe this morning we had to crack a touch of heat on when we first set out.  Yup it’s all true.

NICE VIEWS FROM THIS AREA OF THE MAITLAND RIVER BELOW

Pleased to say I have been able to keep myself on a relatively even keel these past number of weeks.  Not too grumpy, not too impatient, no feelings of sadness, and I’ve kept my standard depressive thoughts to a minimum.  Say you don’t suppose Kelly has been dropping handfuls of ‘happy pills’ in my morning shakes when I haven’t been looking do ya…………

ONE DOESN’T HAVE TO LOOK FAR TO STILL SEE SIGNS OF 7 YEAR OLD TORNADO DAMAGE

Again, with our refreshing cooler morning air giving way to the days heat and humidity Pheebs and I were soon back to the Jeep and headed for home.  With overnight cool air still in the Motorhome I was soon inside puttering about again.  Cleaning and moving things around trying to come up with a comfortable set-up for this winter’s travels.  We find in these latter years of traveling that ‘comfortable’ has become our top priority.  At the end of a long driving or hiking day sitting on a thinly cushioned bench dinette or hard dining room chairs is not my idea of comfort.  Been there, done that, and no more of that!!  And as many RV’ers have found out, RV furniture in many cases is simply not comfortable whether its the couch or the tub chairs!!  For me I describe comfort in one simple word. ‘RECLINER’.  I relax in my recliner, I read in my recliner, I do all my computer stuff (on the road) in my recliner, and then to polish all that comfort off, I sleep in my recliner.  Yep, that’s how I spell comfort these days alright:))

YES I KNOW IT LOOKS CLUTTERED AND GORPY BUT IT WORKS….THIS BASICALLY WILL BE OUR SET UP THIS WINTER WHEN STOPPED FOR THE NIGHT…..KELLY’S AREA AND RECLINER ARE BEHIND ME

AND YES THIS IS MY IDEA OF BEING COMFORTABLE AT THE END OF THE DAY…..AND NO THAT IS NOT AN IROQUOI HAIRCUT I HAVE, JUST A BAD HAIR DAY

I did take more photos today and will try to squeak them into tomorrow’s post.  I was able to ruthlessly edit 102 photos down to 63 so that was a plus for a change.

PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Before heading south for a vacation, it may be a good idea to learn the language of our southern brothers and sisters. And we're here to help...

Hah Tu Spek Suthun:

BARD - verb. Past tense of the infinitive "to borrow."

Usage: "My brother bard my pickup truck."

JAWJUH - noun. A highly flammable state just north of Florida.

Usage: "My brother from Jawjah bard my pickup truck."

MUNTS - noun. A calendar division.

Usage: "My brother from Jawjuh bard my pickup truck, and I taint herd from him in munts."

ALL - noun. A petroleum-based lubricant.

Usage: "I sure hope my brother from Jawjuh puts all in my pickup truck."

FAR - noun. A conflagration.

Usage: "If my brother from Jawjuh doesn't change the all in my pickup truck, that things gonna catch far."

BAHS - noun. A supervisor.

Usage: "If you don't stop reading these Southern words and git back to work, your bahs is gonna far you!"

TAR - noun. A rubber wheel.

Usage: "Gee, I hope that brother of mine from Jawjuh doesn't git a flat tar in my pickup truck."

TIRE - noun. A tall monument.

Usage: "Lord willing and the creeks don't rise, I sure do hope to see that Eiffel Tire in Paris sometime."

RETARD - Verb. To stop working.

Usage: "My granpaw retard at age 65."

RATS - noun. Entitled power or privilege.

Usage: "We Southerners are willing to fight for out rats."

FARN - adjective. Not local.

Usage: "I cudnt unnerstand a wurd he sed ... must be from some farn country."

JU-HERE - a question.

Usage: "Juhere that former Dallas Cowboys' coach Jimmy Johnson recently toured the University of Alabama?"

HAZE - a contraction.

Usage: "Is Bubba smart?" "Nah ... haze ignert."

VIEW - contraction: verb and pronoun.

Usage: "I ain't never seed New York City ... view?"

GUMMIT - Noun. An often-closed bureaucratic institution.

Usage: "Great ... ANOTHER gummit shutdown!"

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Teacher: What is the chemical formula for water?
Johnny: HIJKLMNO
Teacher: What are you talking about?
Johnny: Yesterday you said it's H to O!

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PHEEBS & I WERE OUT SWAMPING IT THIS MORNING & PUTTERING AROUND IN THE MOTORHOME

A short and fast moving storm rolled through our area late Monday afternoon bringing with it delightfully cooler air which chased the existing heat and humidity right out of Dodge.  Well at least for a few hours anyway.

LOOKS LIKE THE LADIES BAYFIELD POLE WALKERS WERE OUT IN FULL FORCE THIS MORNING

HEADING ON DOWN ANOTHER SCENIC COUNTRY ROAD

LOOKS LIKE FARMERS HAVE GOT THE WHEAT HARVEST IN

Taking advantage of our morning’s cool down Pheebs and I with a coffee to go from Bayfield’s Shopbike Coffee Roasters headed southeast out of town to a walking spot where Bannockburn Line dead-ends south of Centennial Road.  This dead end road runs along the east side of Kerr's Campground.  If you happen to click on the campground site and look through the photos keep an eye out for Pheebs:))

PARKED THE JEEP AND HEADED DOWN THAT ROAD TO WHERE IT ENDS AT A SWAMPY AREA…..ABOUT A HALF MILE WALK THERE AND BACK

WOULDN’T ADVISE GOING DOWN THERE WITHOUT A 4 WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLE

LOTS OF BULLRUSHES

 

We’ve never encountered another person along this rutted stretch of bush road alongside the campground but we sure did encounter a number of biting Deer Flies this morning.  No mosquitos though despite it’s swampy area at the southernmost dead end.  A nice easily accessible spot for a quiet country walk.  Once past the campground look for a parking spot alongside the road on your left.

WE VENTURED INTO THE SWAMP AND SURPRISINGLY THERE WERE NO MOSQUITOS

PHEEBS IS IN BOTH THE ABOVE AND BELOW PHOTOS

LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY HAS BEEN IN HERE MUCKING ABOUT WITH AN ATV

‘HEY DAD ARE WE LOST YET’

‘NO PHEEBS WE JUST HAVE TO MAKE A LEFT TURN AT THAT BRIGHT GREEN FERN AHEAD’

<<<<<< I THINK AN OLD TROLL LIVES UNDER THAT GNARLY PIECE OF WOOD

Wasn’t long before I could feel the heat and humidity rising again so we made our way back to the Jeep and headed for home.  What an absolutely beautiful morning it had been in the cooler air.  Soon the early morning’s coolness will extend further into the shortening days and we’ll be able to stay out longer, walk farther, and do more things comfortably.

A COUPLE MORE TROLL HOUSES

WILD CHICORY

Back home I was happy to busy myself outside organizing things to be loaded back into the Motorhome for this winter’s journey.  In the Spring each year when we return home I’m in the habit of partially unloading most of the rig’s bins in preparation for cleaning them.  Later this morning I began reloading things and what a nice feeling that gave me.  Yes, some days are just definitely better than other days. 

WHEREVER I GO MY CAMERA IS ALWAYS BY MY SIDE…..OH AND BY THE WAY I DON’T THINK THE DRIVER’S SIDE AIRBAG WORKS SO I AM IN THE HABIT OF STUFFING A BIG PILLOW IN MY SHIRT IN CASE OF A CRASH….YOU DIDN’T REALLY BELIEVE THAT DID YOU:))

AFTER I TOOK THIS PICTURE OF PHEEBS SHE ALSO TOOK A PICTURE OF ME

Just when I thought our afternoon was going to be another write off due to the rising heat and humidity an amazing thing occurred when a pleasantly chilling breeze blew into the area.  Don't think I've ever experienced a quick temperature drop like that before but oh my what a welcome relief it was:))))))))

The strike at Goderich’s Sifto Salt Mine is finally over so that means with no picket line in place a section of the north side harbor is once again open to people like myself who like to occasionally drop by looking for a few photos.

GROANER’S CORNER:))  MacAndrews was visiting his Irish cousin, O'Bannon. While there he decided to do a bit of fishing. As he sat there one afternoon, his cousin walked by.  "What are ye doing?" asked O'Bannon.  "Fishin'," said MacAndrews.  "Caught anything?"  "Ach, nae a bite,"  "What are ye usin' fer bait?"  "Worms" "Let me see it," said O'Bannon.  MacAndrews lifted the line from the water and handed it to his cousin. O'Bannon took out his flask of whiskey and dipped the worm in it. He handed it back to MacAndrews, who cast his line once more. As soon as the worm hit the water, his rod bent over double, the line screaming out.  "Have ye got a bite?" asked O'Bannon.  "No!" shouted MacAndrews, fighting with the rod, "The worm's got a salmon by the throat!"

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“What do you call a water bottle without a cap? De-cap-itated.”

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An Irishman is walking along the beach one day, and he sees a bottle laying in the sand. He picks it up and starts to brush it off, and out pops a genie.   The genie says, "Since you have freed me from the bottle, I will grant you three wishes."   The Irishman thinks for a moment and says, "I'm feeling a might thirsty, I think I'll be wishing for a pint of stout."   POOF! There is a pint of stout in his hand. He drinks it down, and starts to throw the bottle, when the genie says, "I'd look at that bottle again before I threw it if I were you." So he looks at the bottle, and it is magically filling back up with stout. The genie told him, "That is a magic bottle, and it will always fill back up after you finish it." The genie then asked, "What other two wishes can I grant for you?"   The Irishman looks at the bottle in his hand and says, "I'll be taking two more of these."

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