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| SPRING IS THE TIME FOR BABY LAMBS |
Wednesday, April 29th. Not a good day, but I did manage to take myself for a drive out to my night sky spot and sit for a while watching the Moon play hide and seek with an easterly slow-moving cloud cover. Plus, I had things to think about, and sometimes, difficult situations need difficult decisions...... |
| LOOKING SOUTH DOWN BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET AT DUSK |
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| SOON THESE TWILIGHT BOAT DOCKS WILL BE FILLED WITH HAPPY BOATERS AND THEIR BOATS |
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| ANOTHER COLORFUL BAYFIELD SUNSET |
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| DO YOU SEE THE EYES AND NOSE IN THE FIREY CLOUDS? |
Thursday April 30th. On Wednesday, I had to deal with an appliance problem. My old Kenmore clothes dryer had occasionally been making gruesome sounds and sometimes vibrated like an old Massey Ferguson tractor running on one and a half of its four cylinders. So much so that several times it vibrated a salt shaker off the kitchen stove top shelf. I was expecting the dryer to give up the ghost at any time. If it is the same dryer that came with this mobile home, then it could easily be somewhere around forty-two years old. Kelly and I replaced the washer about 15 years ago, but on Wednesday, with nearly half a load of wash in it, it just quit working, and I could not get it restarted. After thinking things over, I decided to replace both the washer and dryer and be done with it. I figured I could maybe get a better price if I bought them as a pair. And, I did. I decided to take a drive over to a place in Vanastra, south of Clinton, and have a look at what they had in washers and dryers. Saw a pair that fitted the bill and bought them. Late Thursday morning, a couple of fellas and a truck arrived from Vanastra's Good Choice Appliances. In that truck, they had a matching GE Moffat washer and dryer. I had checked the reviews on these appliances, and for not being top-of-the-line machines, their review ratings were great. They don't come with all the bells and whistles or fancy frills that some do, but that's quite all right, nor do I. The removal and installation of the appliances went well, except for one glitch. One of the rusty mobile home water hose connections could not be removed from the faucet. The nice young fella from Good Choice tried his best to get that hose unattached, but it wouldn't budge. He was afraid that if he reefed on it any harder, he might break a water line. So, long story short, I have a plumber coming on Monday to see what can be done. Luckily, most of my laundry was caught up on Wednesday before the washer quit. Because of the price of the washer and dryer, and now a plumber coming, it might not be until next year sometime that I'll have enough money scraped together to go back to the Woodland Drive-In for a foot-long hot dog with the works. Oh Dear:(( By Thursday afternoon, after the appliance fellas were long gone, I found myself in the dumpster again. Maybe it was the thought of having to wait so long for a hot dog that set the blues upon me.
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| ON MY WAY TO GODERICH THURSDAY MORNING TO RUN HALF A DOZEN ERRANDS |
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| BLUE SKIES OVER LAKE HURON AT GODERICH'S ROTARY COVE |
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| YES, THOSE TWO BOXES ARE FOR ME |
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| THERE GOES MY OLD WASHING MACHINE OUT |
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| AND, HERE COMES MY NEW ONE IN |
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| THE APPLIANCES ARE NOT IN THEIR EXACT PLACES YET.....THEY AREN'T AS WIDE AS MY OLD SET, BUT THEY ARE DEFINITELY TALLER AND KINDA DOMINATE THE WASHROOM.....TO ME, THEY LOOK KIND OF CLUMSY, BUT IT'S PERFORMANCE THAT COUNTS, NOT LOOKS |
Friday, May 1st. Fortunately, after waking up this morning, I was able to climb back out of that dumpster, adjust my attitude, give myself a shake, and took myself for a drive out to my morning walking spot in the country. With the temperature at 36F, I was dressed warmly, but had there been any kind of wind, there would have been no walk. I deliberated on my walk whether to continue the morning with a drive around the countryside, or head back home. Well, with gas prices these days, I decided going home was the wiser decision. Besides, both my mental and physical energy levels were back up, and I figured I had better take advantage of that and get a few more things done. Twenty minutes later, I was on the end of my wheelbarrow with shovel in hand, digging up and relocating more ferns. Mentioning ferns, I wonder how many people remember a comedic-style Talk Show format back in the late 70s called 'Fernwood 2 Night'. Both hosts of that show, 'Martin Mull' and 'Fred Willard' are gone now..... It was a nice day for working around outside as temperatures rose into the high 40's with partially sunny skies. I don't remember how many ferns I eventually relocated, but I don't think it was a whole lot. Oh, and I moved some large rocks around too. All in all, it was a good day, and if the skies remain partially clear tonight, I may head out later and see if I can catch me a look at the full Moon. One of these nights, I must try dusting off my telescope and setting it up again. It's been a few years since I last had it out of its case. I wonder if I'll even remember which end of it to look through.......
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| A MARVELOUS SKY FOR MY MORNING WALK |
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| FRIDAY AFTERNOON'S BLUE WATERS OF LAKE HURON ON A CALM DAY |
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| A PAIR OF CANADA GEESE PADDLE BY IN THE SURF AT BAYFIELD'S BEACH |
Saturday, May 2nd. In my Friday night phone conversation with Aunt Jean in Sarasota, Florida, she asked if I could slip out after our phone call and take a picture of the full Flower Moon for her. Aunt Jean is a night sky person too, but from her senior care facility in Sarasota, she cannot see the night sky anymore. Her two favorite constellations, by the way, are Winter's 'Orion' and Summer's 'Scorpius'. After our phone conversation wrapped up, I donned my winter coat and quickly slipped out the door and headed for the car. However, I was discouraged when I glanced up at the sky to see it completely clouded over. But, I knew with our limited view of the sky through the trees, there just might be a chance that there was an opening on the Eastern horizon. And, sure enough, as soon as I cleared the Park's pine forest, I was dazzled by a big, huge full Moon just up off the horizon. I could see it was about to disappear behind the large cloud cover, so I pulled over and quickly took some photos before it was gone.
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| THERE WAS A SLIGHT HAZE ON THE HORIZON SO THE MOON IMAGE ISN'T AS SHARP AS IT WOULD BE HIGHER UP IN THE SKY |
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| THE MOON IS SLIPPING BEHIND THE CLOUD COVER |
Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, but on the cold side again at 35F, and I think this cold snap we are in at the moment has slowed our Spring down. It's as if Spring's growth has almost paused, waiting for warmth in the air. Well, if Spring hasn't, I sure do know somebody it has slowed down. Me!! Oh well, as I often say, 'at least it's not the beginning of November'!! Next month at this time, I'll likely be grumbling about the heat. Oh, Allan, will it ever stop!! |
| I NOTICED THIS MORNING THAT FARMERS HAVE BEEN BUSY WORKING THEIR FIELDS |
For the second morning in a row, there was no wind, so a walk was again doable. How refreshing that cold and crisp air on this early May day. Following my walk, my destination was Greyhaven Gardens just west of a little place called Londesborough, which in turn is straight north of Clinton. This is a place Kelly and I would occasionally frequent when looking for plants and gardening things years ago, and I hadn't been there in years. Imagine my surprise to find a big, beautiful store now on the property. Built in 2020, I think. (look for the blog feature on their website where the lady talks about the store idea and building it) Before having a look inside the store, I browsed around looking at all the trees, shrubs, and plants for sale, but I found the prices for things a little too stiff for my pauper's budget. But then again, the price of everything is through the roof these days...even peanut butter!! I wasn't going to bother going into the store, but I'm glad I did. I will let a few iPhone pics speak for me here. I just loved all the colors and all the groovy stuff. This would be a great place to look for a gift for someone other than Walmart. |
| AS SOON AS YOU COME IN THE DOOR THEIR IF COFFEE HERE FOR YOU |
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| I NOTICED WHAT APPEARS TO BE A SNACK BAR HERE TOO |
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| AND, THIS STORE EVEN HAS AN UPPER MESSANINE DECK AS WELL |
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| ON MY WAY TO GODERICH FROM GREYHAVEN WEST OF LONDESBOROUGH |
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| NEARLY HOME AND THAT'S OUR ENTRANCE UP THERE ON THE LEFT AT THE WHITE DOT |
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| I'M OFF TO PLANT MY FOUR JAPANESE KERRIA'S |
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| I WANTED TO GET ALL THIS DONE TODAY BECAUSE THE WEATHER FORECAST IS CALLING FOR SIX STRAIGHT DAYS OF RAIN STARTING SUNDAY |
Al's Music Box:: Everyone's Gone To The Moon by Jonathan King.
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| I'LL BET THEIR MOM TOLD THEM NOT TO GO OUT AND LAY IN THE DIRT |
GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man is driving home, when he is pulled over by a patrolman for a broken blinker. The cop looks into the guys' car and sees a collection of knives in the backseat. "Sir," the cop says. "Why do you have all those knives?" "They're for my juggling act," the man says. "I don't believe you," says the cop. "Prove it." So the man gets out of his car and begins juggling the knives. At the same time, a car with two guys in it drives by. "Man," says the first guy. "I'm glad I quit drinking. These new sobriety tests sure are getting harder."-------------------------
John asks: Why are you drinking so much?
Joe says: Because I donated my body to science, and I am preserving it until they are ready to use it.
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A For Sale ad in a newspaper.....Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica. 45 volumes. Excellent condition. $1,000.00 or best offer. No longer needed. Got married last weekend. Wife knows everything.
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In the men's room at work, the boss placed a sign directly above the sink. It had a single word on it: "Think!" The next day, when he went to the men's room, he looked at the sign, and right below it, immediately above the soap dispenser, someone had carefully lettered another sign which read, "Thoap!"
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During a fire at a convent, a group of nuns are trapped on the third floor. Thinking quickly, they took off their habits, tied them together and used them as a rope to climb down from the window.After safely reaching the ground, a reporter asks, “Weren’t you worried that the habits would have ripped as you were climbing down? They look old and worn.”“Of course not!” said one of the nuns. “Don’t you know how hard it is to break an old habit?”
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Al's Doggy World
Meanings::
Al's Art Gallery
