AFTER A LONG BATTLE WITH CANCER A FRIEND, FELLOW RV'ER, AND FORMER BLOGGER HAS PASSED AWAY

It was under cloudy skies this morning Pheebs and I made our way around a few country roads.   With our leaves turning now I was hoping for sunshine to highlight the Autumn colors but no such luck.  Wasn't until after we were home skies began to clear.  Checking our weather channel it looks like sunnier days are on their way so we'll see what we can find in the morning.

FOR C AND G

Aside from a forest walk around the pine tree trail here in our Park I spent most of the afternoon in my sunroom recliner reading.  Taking a break from my usual WW2 history books I have again picked a book dealing with music.  Testimony: A Memoir by Robbie Robertson  Music fans may remember Robbie Robertson from Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks to Bob Dylan's 'The Band' to Martin Scorsese's movie The Last Waltz.  Great songwriter and guitarist.  And he's got a story to tell.

OUR QUIET FOREST TRAIL

 

Sad to read this morning our friend, fellow RVer and former Blogger Mike McFall has lost his long and courageous battle with cancer.  He passed away in Congress Arizona Thursday.  We had commented on each other's blog for a few years before finally meeting Mike and Pat at North Ranch in 2011.  After selling our house in Congress a few years back Mike and Pat were the last couple we said goodbye to before leaving Congress for the last time.  Mike's blog is still on my sidebar and here's a link to the last post he wrote nearly 5 years ago when he was undergoing early cancer treatments.  Mike and Pat's Travels  Mike was an easy going likable fella and well known in RV circles.  In his younger days he was a rodeo rider and State Trooper in Nevada.  We along with other fellow RV'ers have spent a few late afternoon happy hours at Mike and Pat's place.  Mike's cancerous suffering is over now and may he finally rest in peace.  And to Pat we wish all the best with her own medical concerns.

MIKE AND PAT SHOWING US AROUND THEIR BIG CLASS A MOTORHOME 

Saturday October 19th this year marks 40 years of continuous sobriety for me and each year I put a link in to a post I wrote a number of years ago telling about my first AA meeting.  You can read that post here....One Day At A Time.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Redneck Letter
Dear Billy Joe Bob 
I'm writing this slow because I know you can't read fast. We don't live where we did when you left home. Your Pa read in the newspaper that most accidents happen within 20 minutes of your home, so we moved. I won't be able to send you the address because the last family that lived here took the house numbers when they moved so they wouldn't have to change their address.  This place is really nice. I even has a washing machine. I'm not sure it works so well, though - last week I put a load of clothes in and pulled the chain, we haven't seen it since. The weather isn't bad here. It only rained twice last week; the first time for three days and the second time for four days. About that coat you wanted me to send; your Uncle Bubba said it would be too heavy to send in the mail with the buttons on, so we cut them off and put them in the pockets. Bubba locked his keys in the car yesterday. We were really worried because it took him two hours to get me and your father out. Your sister had a baby this morning, but I haven't found out what it is yet so I don't know if you are an aunt or uncle. The baby looks just like your brother. Uncle Bobby Ray fell into a whiskey vat last week. Some men tried to pull him out but he fought them off and drowned. We had him cremated; he burned for three days. Three of your friends went off a bridge in a pickup truck. Butch was driving. He rolled down the window and swam to safety. Your other two friends were in the back, they drowned because they couldn't get the tailgate down. Your Favorite Aunt........
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A COLD WET RAINY DAY AND I DON'T THINK MY PILLS ARE WORKING

Our cold wet and windy damp day was a prelude to November when we have lots of cold windy wet days.  November of course is much worse with all the colorful leaves off the trees giving way to a grey and brown bleak colorless landscape.  In my opinion November is the worst month of the year.

A COLD RAINY MORNING

Couldn't help but thinking today how busy we would normally be right now loading the last minute things into one of our Class A or Class C motorhomes years ago.  I always liked to begin our annual winter trip to the southwest on the 3rd Saturday of October.  Not every year mind you but most years.  The last couple years it was late December before we had the big wheels rolling and one time we actually left in September.  Oh the good old RVing days eh.  Our first six of thirteen years were our best years.  Whether we'll make it back to the southwest again is anybody's guess.  If there is a chance I'm hoping we can grab it.

WELL AT LEAST IT WASN'T ICE AND SNOW ON THE ROADS

It was a rainy Jeep ride from the time Pheebs and I left Bayfield until the time we got home again.  Staying on pavement this morning we cruised up to Goderch and back.  Gas, a few groceries and a swing down around the Goderich harbor where we found the road to Rotary Cove blocked off.  Turns out with recent high winds the past couple days and high lake levels waves have come ashore damaging the boardwalk and eroding the shoreline in spots with water even reaching the shoreline road.  Last week I had said I thought the lake level had dropped a bit.  I was wrong, it hasn't.

LAKE LEVELS ARE STILL OVER THE FISHING AND TUGBOAT PIER

Been over a week now since I started on the pills to help cut down on my constantly running to the washroom since my radiation treatments a few weeks ago.  The pills do not appear to be working and I'm still on the run.  Especially during the night when I am up three, four, and five times.  I guess that might help explain my daily tiredness and low energy levels.  I again fell asleep in my sunroom recliner this afternoon.  I don't normally do that.

OUR PARK IS IN THOSE TREES TO THE LEFT

TURN OFF INTO OUR PARK AHEAD

AND THAT'S OUR FRONT YARD JUNGLE ON THE LEFT

GROANER'S CORNER:((  The police recently arrested a man selling "secret formula" tablets he claimed gave eternal youth. When going through their files they noticed it was the fifth time he was caught for committing this same criminal medical fraud.  He had earlier been arrested in 1794, 1856, 1928 and 1983....
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A man walked into a hardware store and picked up a can of fly spray. "Is this good for wasps?" he asks the assistant. To which she replies "No, it kills them."
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WE AGREED NOT TO BOTHER LOOKING AT REALLY OLD RV'S ANYMORE

With a loud clap of thunder at 3:23 a.m. I had a doggy on my lap.  First time I've ever seen Pheebs react to thunder but the clap was so loud it scared me awake as well.  Both of us had been sound asleep.  Thirty seconds later Pheebs hopped off my lap and resumed her favorite sleeping spot on the couch and all was well again.  Rains that came Thursday evening lasted all night leaving us with water puddles in the driveway.  No matter as the little Boogs and I splashed our way out the driveway anyway heading for Clinton.  Low on wild birdseed we stopped into the Sun Country Eco Store and stocked up before grabbing a coffee at Clinton's Tim Hortons and heading on out of town.  Noticed right away how quickly our trees are changing now.  Forests are finally becoming ablaze with color.

Country roads were muddy but no matter the Jeep was dirty anyway as we headed over to the Bannockburn Conservation area hoping nobody would be there.  Two vehicles in the parking lot so we breezed right on by to the Baird Cemetery nearby.  Quiet cemeteries are always nice people free places to walk.

Our dismally dreary skies hung around all day so spent my time reading and snoozing in the sunroom.  Can't seem to dredge up enough energy to get interested in going outside.  Too cold and damp.  However, something did perk my interest later in the afternoon.

Kelly had spotted an older 1995 Class C 27' Jamboree on Kijiji a half hours drive away from our place so later this afternoon we headed over to Londesborough Ontario to have us a look see.  I didn't have any expectations for something that old and it was just as well I didn't.  It did have some good points about it but it was just too old and had seen better days.  We agreed on the way home not to bother looking at really old RV's
anymore.  Our search continues..............

GROANER'S CORNER:((   In the ascertainment of an excogitation of linguistic proclivity, one might ascribe to the mentation that a phratry exists in which some encyclopedists designedly cultivate a nonplussed ambience hypothecated to befuddle the vox populi.

TRANSLATION: Judging from the words some people use, you'd think they purposely write to confuse the average person. 

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A research team proceeded towards the apex of a natural geologic protuberance, the purpose of their expedition being the procurement of a sample of fluid hydride of oxygen in a large vessel, the exact size of which was unspecified.  One member of the team precipitously descended, sustaining severe damage to the upper cranial portion of his anatomical structure; subsequently the second member of the team performed a self-rotational translation oriented in the same direction taken by the first team member.
TRANSLATION:
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.

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SO WHY ARE THE RUSSIANS LOOKING AT MY BLOG!!!!

CANADA STEAMSHIP LINES.....ASSINIBOINE IN THE GODERICH HARBOR TODAY

If it was March we'd be jumping for joy if day time temperatures were over 40F.  But it's October and we're now grumbling because daytime temps have dropped into the 40's.  Crazy huh!!

SPOTTED THIS MORNING MOON ON OUR WAY TO GODERICH THIS MORNING

MOWING ROADSIDE DITCHES

BEAN HARVEST IS PRETTY MUCH OVER SO NEXT IT WILL BE THE CORN HARVEST

Sure glad we had a double carport built years ago.  No scraping frost off the windshield on cold mornings or snow in the wintertime.  I actually prefer a carport over a garage.  I don't know why that is it just is.  Some prefer to have a basement in their house and some don't.  I do.  Lots of folks like a second story on their house.  I am not one of those people.  I grew up in a big two story brick house so I've been there and done that.  So what am I getting at here.  I don't know, just blabbering.

THE ALGOMA BUFFALO WAITS FOR THE ASSINIBOINE TO LOAD UP AND HEAD OUT

Some readers may wonder from time to time about my spelling of certain words.  Especially Canadians.  Why do I spell color instead of colour or neighbor instead of neighbour.  And why do I use miles instead of kilometers, feet instead of meters, and farenheit instead of celcius.  Well, there's a couple reasons actually.  First, about 75% of my blogs readers are in the United States.  Second, I've just never adjusted to the metric system.  Yes I know I should have by now but I haven't.  

'HEY PHYLISS DID YOU HEAR WHAT RALPH WAS UP TO LAST NIGHT'

Sticking with numbers did you know my blog's American readers have always led the way as far as readership goes but imagine my surprise this morning when I decided to have a look at Google Analytics and found out Americans are not the main readers of my blog anymore and it's a little disconcerting to see Russia is now number 1.  Here's the stats today for my readership according to Google.  I don't know what the 'page views' time frame is for the numbers.
Russia --------------- 10,934
United States ------  10,471
Canada -------------    3,346
Ukraine -------------      272
Germany -----------        86
Australia -----------        67
United Kingdom --       59
Vietnam ------------        58
Unknown Region -       33 ---- Aliens:))
France --------------       31
Pageviews last month -------- 112,761
Pageviews yesterday Oct 14th 2019 ----- 3,765
Pageviews all time history ----- 8,079,651
Strange about that Russian number eh.

WINDOW REFLECTION OF A PORCH ORNAMENT

Another gorgeous Autumn day with lots of sunshine and cool temperatures.  Pheebs and I bombed around for about an hour and a half this morning before heading home.  At the time of posting this tonight rains are almost upon us and it looks like we are probably in for a couple days of wet stuff.

I PLANTED THIS CLUMP OF BAMBOO GRASS AT THE PARK POND ABOUT SIX YEARS AGO

FRONT YARD POND

CHIPPY SCOOPS UP SOME BIRDSEED ATOP A STUMP

Nice being able to get out for afternoon walks with Pheebs around the trails here in the Park.  Won't be long and that will come to a jarring halt as winter sets in.  I remember the first few years we were here when we had our first dog Max.  We didn't let the snow stop us and would dress up warm and head out to trudge through the forest snow anyway.  We're not into that so much anymore. 

PHEEBS WAITS PATIENTLY WHILE I TAKE A COUPLE PHOTOS NEAR THE POND

GROANER'S CORNER:(( There was a young Scottish boy called Angus who decided to try life in Australia. He found an apartment in a small block and settled in. After a week or two, his mother called from Aberdeen to see how her son was doing in his new life.  'I'm fine, ' Angus said. 'But there are some really strange people living in these apartments. One woman cried all day long, another lies on her floor moaning, and there is a guy next door to me who bangs his head on the wall all the time.' 'Well, ma laddie,' says his mother, 'I suggest you don't associate with people like that.' 'Oh,' says Angus, 'I don't, Mam, I don't. No, I just stay inside my apartment all day and night, playing my bagpipes.'
---------------------------- Went to the gym and there's a new machine.  I used it for an hour and felt sick. Its good though, it does everything.  Kit Kats, Mars bars, Snickers, etc...
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