MOODY SKIES PERKED ME UP THIS MORNING

STORMY SKIES ALONG LAKE HURON SHORES THIS MORNING

Armed with a piece of raisin bread toast and home made coffee little Spoogers and I headed off in the direction of Bayfield under threatening dark skies.  A few sprinkles on the windshield and while standing on the shores of Lake Huron at Bayfield's beach I could hear rumbles of thunder peeling across the dark horizon to the West.  Although we did get a short shower later on the thunder boomers never did come our way and make land fall.

I'M THINKING THIS MAY BE A NEW CONCRETE TOP ON BAYFIELD'S SOUTH PIER

LARGE BOULDERS WILL BE USED TO SHORE UP THE LAKESHORE BANK

OUT THERE IS WHERE WE HEARD THE THUNDER

PHEEBS IS NOT AFRAID OF THUNDER AND HERE SHE LOOKS OFF TOWARDS THE STORMY HORIZON

I HOPE THEY HAVE A GOOD BAILING BUCKET ABOARD

Again our usual route southeast of Bayfield and despite a cloud cover overhead it turned out to be a feeling good morning.  It was not a dull gray overcast but a sky with a lot of character making for some nice ethereal lighting.  It was a joy to be out and about in the 'warmer' countryside with my mood reflecting what I was seeing and feeling.  

ON THE PIER I WALKED BY THIS CANADA GOOSE NOT MORE THAN THREE FEET AWAY AND IT JUST WATCHED ME WITHOUT ANY CONCERN AS I PASSED BY

LOCAL FISHERMEN ALONGSIDE THE BAYFIELD RIVER PATIENTLY WAITING FOR A BITE

And of course always my favorite ambient instrumental music on my precious Sirius Satellite radio as we travel along as well.  That radio is one of the best investments I ever made years ago and I never leave home without it.  Haven't listened to a commercial radio station for well over a decade now.  Don't miss it and never will.

A SPRING STREAM MAKES IT'S WAY HAPPILY THOUGH A CEDAR FORREST

Another thing I stopped listening to a long time ago is TV commercials.  If and when I do have occasion to watch something on TV I do so with the remote either in my hand or on a table close beside me.  My finger resides on the 'mute' button.  It's not only the repetitiveness of commercials but it's the increased volume and the fact I do not have the trust anymore to believe most of them to tell me the truth. ('we get too soon old and too late smart eh')

A GROVE OF WILLOW TREES DISPLAYING THEIR SPRING COLORS

And speaking of television I am still in my daily habit if in the vicinity of a TV at the top of any hour of snapping it on to check the latest mayhem going on in American politics.  It's not that I am a political person because I'm not but I am drawn like a moth to a flame to keep up with our neighbor's latest daily madness.  What an absolute political mess America is in and I don't think it is going to get any better any time soon.  I've tried maybe half a dozen times to ignore the troubles of our neighbors south of the border but having spent so much time there these past 13 winters and having family and friends living in the States it is hard to ignore what's going on in a country that we have enjoyed so much over the years and a country that has given us so many pleasurable memories.

DO YOU SUPPOSE THE FARMER HAS TRIMMED THE BOTTOMS OF THESE CEDAR TREES....NOPE, HE SENDS HIS COWS TO THIS PASTURE AND FROM YEARS OF GRAZING UNDER THESE TREES THEY HAVE KEPT THEM TRIMMED UP

OH DEAR DO I HAVE TO USE THE 'SNOW' WORD HERE

Kelly baked us up a delicious batch of Morning Glory muffins this afternoon making the whole house smell absolutely wonderful.  I figure with Kelly's home made muffins along with my home brewed coffee each morning I should be able to save myself about $800 a week now....:))

WON'T BE LONG NOW UNTIL HAPPY CAMPERS WILL BE RETURNING TO THEIR FAVORITE AREA CAMP GROUNDS...THIS ONE IS KERR'S CAMPGROUND A COUPLE MILES SOUTHEAST OF VARNA ONTARIO

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Pete and Mick were in court and standing before the judge on a charge of fighting.  "Why can't this case be settled out of court?" the judge asked.  Pete looked up at the judge and said, "That's what we were trying to do, your honour, when the police interfered."
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Late one night at the insane asylum, one inmate shouted, "I am Napoleon!"  Another patient asked, "How do you know?" The first inmate said, "Because God told me!"  Just then, a voice from another room shouted, "I did NOT!"
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One fisherman to another, "You should've seen what happened yesterday at the lake."  "What happened?"  "I caught a twenty-three pound salmon!"  "Were there any witnesses?"  "Yes, of course! If there wasn't, it would've been thirty-three pounds."
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MORNING WALK IN THE MARSH

SPRING'S MARSH COLORS ARE BURSTING FORTH FROM THE EARTH

How nice walking in the Hullett Marsh this morning to be surrounded by sounds of Spring coming from the tree tops and bogs.  It was a mixed chorus of Peeper Frogs, honking Geese, Red Wing Blackbirds, and gossiping Crows.

MARSH MARIGOLDS

SKUNK CABBAGES

OH-OH HUMANOIDS APPROACHING....TIME FOR PHEEBS AND I TO CLIMB A TALL TREE AND WAIT FOR THEM TO PASS

THERE IS A LOT OF FLOOD WATER IN THE MARSH

'FINALLY' WE SAW SOME TREES BUDDING

Patchy morning clouds reluctantly gave way to early afternoon sunshine bringing with it milder temperatures. I finally finished straightening up one of our outside storage areas.   Kelly caught the outside bug as well and worked away in our metal shed getting things straightened out and plastic bins re-organized.  We have a lot of RV stuff that needs to be put into storage as well.  Guess you could say it was a good 'Spring cleaning' day.  

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Ponderings::
- Why is the word abbreviation so long?
- How come you press harder on a remote-control when you know the battery is dead? 
- Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations? 
-You know how most packages say "Open here".What is the protocol if the package says, "Open somewhere else"? 
- Since Americans throw rice at weddings do orientals throw hamburgers? 
- Why are they called buildings, when they're already finished? Shouldn't they be called builts? 
- Why are they called apartments, when they're all stuck together? 
- Why do people without out a watch look at their wrist when you ask them what time it is? 
- Why do you ask someone without a watch what time it is? 
- Why does sour cream have an expiration date? 
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- What's the difference between baseball and politics? In baseball you're out if you're caught stealing. - The consensus after an election is that 100% of people think 50% of other people have lost their minds. - Stop repeat offenders. Don't re-elect them!
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FINALLY A WEE TOUCH OF COLOR IN OUR FLOWER BEDS

Bit of a change-up in our morning routine today as it was all three of us in the Jeep making our way through the fog to Goderich's A&W.  Yes we had coupons again but that was not our main reason for being there.  Our good friends Richard and Gayle were back from their winter in Georgia and we were there to have breakfast with them.  Readers will remember Richard from our many country road coffee tours.  Great to see them and after breakfast we went back to their Motorhome where Pheebs was able to see her old Pal Beckham again.  Happy doggies.

FOG BEGAN THINNING OUT AS WE APPROACHED GODERICH

Our cold damp foggy morning finally gave way to blue skies and sunshine by early afternoon and what a nice feeling to be out from under those dark and gloomy rain sodden skies.  And nice to be out and about in the yard again.

FIRST PHOTO I HAVE OF ALL THREE OF OUR FROG POND'S GOLDFISH

NICE TO HEAR THE FALL OF WATER IN OUR POND AGAIN

Also nice today to see the first signs of color in our flower bed.  Crocus flowers were out embracing today's warm sunshine.  And by golly I even noticed a few small buds making an appearance on a couple flowering shrubs.  Always a great time of year when Spring finally takes hold and gets serious about living up to it's refreshingly wondrous reputation.

FOUND A FEW SPRING PHOTOS IN THE YARD

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A woman goes into the local newspaper office to see that the obituary for her recently deceased husband is written. The obit. editor informs her that the fee for the obituary is 50 cents a word. She pauses, reflects and then says, Well then, let it read "Fred Brown died."Amused at the woman's thrift, the editor tells her that there is an 8 word minimum for all obituaries. Only a little flustered, she thinks thing over and in a few seconds says, In that case, let it read, "Fred Brown died: 1983 Ford Pickup for sale." 
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A woman was having sharp pains in her side. The doctor examined her and said, ''You have acute appendicitis.'' The woman yelled at the doctor, ''I came here to get medical help, not get a stupid compliment!'' 
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