SINCE WE LAST DID THAT

IN OUR PARK

With a bad leak in my sunroom last Spring, caused by an ice buildup, I knew I had to get that repaired before another winter set in.  So, on a good recommendation, I had a fella come this morning and install a heat cable along the edge of the roof where ice always builds up.  He also found a spot higher up where the sunroom joins the main roof and repaired a spot where the caulking had given way, creating a hole.  Being a steel roof, he also tightened down some loose roofing screws.  We'll see what happens this Spring.

HOWARD THE SEMI-RETIRED ROOF GUY REPAIRING MY SUNROOM ROOF TODAY

HEAT CABLES TO PREVENT ICE BUILD-UPS 

I finished planting my Spring bulbs today.  All seventy-five of them.  I wonder what the odds are of them all showing up in the Spring.  I was careful not to plant any of them upside down.  Well, at least I don't think I did.  Our beautiful late September continues to hold, with the day once again filled with brilliant sunshine and temps in the high sixties.  Hauled the E-bikes out, dusted them off, charged the batteries, aired up the tires, and off we went into Bayfield early this evening.  (Tonight's photos in tomorrow's post) It had been a few months since we last did that.  It was nearly a year ago now that Woodsy surprised me with an E-bike for my birthday.

 TWO E-BIKES ON THE LEFT AND ONE NORMAL BIKE ON THE RIGHT

Memories Music Box:: Galveston by Glen Campbell.

 A YOUNG OAK TREE AT OUR PARK'S REFORESTATION PROJECT 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( There were 3 friends stranded in an island. Exploring the island, the 3 men found a bottle so they opened it. A genie came out, and she said that she would grant them 3 wishes. The first man said, "I wish I was with my family" then poof he was with his family. The second guy said "I wish I was in a bar with my friends" then poof he was gone. The third guy was feeling bad and the genie asked, "What's wrong?" The man said, I'm lonely I wish my friends were here. Poof, his two friends were back in the island.

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- Buckwheat of the Little Rascals fame grew up, became a Muslim, and changed his name. He now goes by Kareem of Wheat.

- Relinquishment will lead to calm and healing in your relationships. If that doesn't work, try small claims court.

- Accept misfortune as a blessing. Do not wish for perfect health or a life without problems. What would you talk about?
Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated?
- Wherever you go, there you are. Your luggage is another story.

At the urging of his doctor, Bill moved to Texas. After settling in, he met a neighbor who was also an older man. “Say, is this really a healthy place?” “It sure is,” the man replied. “When I first arrived here, I couldn't say one word. I had hardly any hair on my head. I didn't have the strength to walk across a room and I had to be lifted out of bed.” “That's wonderful!” said Bill. “How long have you been here?” “I was born here.”

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Today's Art Gallery

SATURDAY, SUNDAY, MONDAY, POST

OUR PARK THIS MORNING

Saturday:: I kept a wary eye on the clock Saturday evening, knowing the Harvest Moon was due to rise at 7:02 and the sun due to set at 7:14 p.m. 

 A CORNFIELD AT DUSK ON THE WAY TO MY WALKING ROAD

AN AREA FARMER TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE TWILIGHT HOURS

 BIG SKY AT SUNDOWN

I finished up my country road walk just as the Sun slipped over the horizon and then went off to find the Moon, which should have been in the sky by then.  I drove a short distance to higher ground and waited.  But no Moon, despite the Sun having already set.  I scanned the cloudy horizon, but to no avail.  Drove to another hill, and there it was, about ten degrees above the horizon already, barely visible, in a cloud-shrouded eastern sky.  To the west, skies over Lake Huron had been clear for the sunset, but no such luck looking East.  With the Moon barely discernible, I headed into Clinton and grabbed my coffee to go at Hortons before heading off across the darkening countryside to my night sky viewing spot.

 TOPPING A HILL THIS WAS MY FIRST SIGHTING OF THE HARVEST MOON

 ON THE WAY TO MY NIGHT SKY SPOT

TOOK THIS PICTURE OF THE MOON THROUGH MY LIVING ROOM WINDOW AFTER I GOT HOME

Sunday:: Most years, when Autumn is early upon us, I've thought about planting Spring bulbs, but each year, except for maybe one, I never did.  However, this year I was more determined than ever to get some Spring bulbs and get them into the ground.  Checked online to see if the Goderich Canadian Tire Store had Spring bulbs.  They did, so with that on my list, and after my morning walk, I headed straightaway to Goderich on another beautiful sunny late September morning.

 SEAGULLS HAVING A NICE RELAXING DAY AT THE BEACH

THE GULLS WEREN'T THE ONLY ONES HAVING A NICE DAY AT THE BEACH

FOLIAGE ALONG COVE ROAD

 TOOK THIS SLIGHTLY WISPY PHOTO OF THE MOON AT 11:10 SUNDAY NIGHT FROM MY REAR DECK

Home again, with a few groceries and bulbs in hand, I set about planting them, but not all of them just yet.  Two spots for now, and later in the week I'll figure out a few more spots.  I'm already looking forward to seeing them all blooming in the Spring.  Tulips, Daffodils, Narcissus, Hyacinths, and Crocus.

MY PACKAGES OF SPRING BULBS

 I PLANTED SOME OF THE BULBS ALONG THAT STRIP BESIDE THE HOUSE AND AROUND THE CORNER INTO THOSE ROCKS

 MORE BULBS WENT INTO THE GROUND AROUND THIS LARGE ROCK AT THE FOOT OF MY DRIVEWA WHERE THE LAMP POST IS

Woodsy popped in mid-afternoon, so I took a break from bulb planting, and she brewed up some coffee.  Later we stopped into the Woodland Drive-In for a bite to eat and then took ourselves for a little drive around Bayfield.  What a gorgeous weather day it was.  Woodsy stayed till nearly eight o'clock and then headed back to Stratford.  The Moon was again shrouded in cloud cover, so I didn't head out anywhere.

LATE AFTERNOON SUNSHINE ON LAKE HURON

 WOODSY CHECKS THE PHOTO SHE JUST TOOK WITH HER CELL PHONE

AT BAYFIELD'S BEACH

Monday:: All showered up, shaved, and with my hair combed, I headed out the door this morning to my first ever 10:30 exercise class at the Bayfield Community Center.  Feeling a little shaky I headed in, but as soon as I went through the lobby door and heard the loud strains of Dolly Parton singing 'Joline' Joline.' I knew there might be something amiss.  And there was. Up the stairs I went to where 'Joline' 'Joline' was being belted out louder and louder.  Reaching the top, I could see through the glass doors what appeared to be a lot of ladies doing dancersizes, or whatever they call that.  And there was a sign on the door saying, 'Do Not Open This Door after 10:15'.  Can you just imagine the bee's nest I might have walked into had I not seen that sign.  I quietly made a hasty retreat down the stairs and out of the building to my car.  Knowing me as well as I do, I knew that I must have read the daily events for the exercise classes wrong.  Home again, I saw that I did. But here's the positive side of this: at least I made the effort and went.  It looks like the exercise class is Wednesday morning at 10:30, and I do plan to be there. Well, that's my intention anyway.  But now there is a dark horse standing in the wings.  I have been troubled lately with a lot of pain at the top of my spine on the left side.  It feels like somebody is sticking a hot poker into the top of my shoulder. I first noticed that pain about twenty years ago, and more recently it has increased with some chairs I sit in as well as sometimes driving and e-biking.  Planting bulbs yesterday brought it on, and the two Tai Chi classes I have attended greatly aggravated it as well.  I'll see what happens with the upcoming exercise class. My Tai Chi class did not go well today with the pain in my upper back/lower neck and my unexpected inability to once again focus, remember, and retain what is being taught.  I don't understand why my mind is having so much trouble with this, but I it is.

 THIS GREAT WEATHER HAS BEEN GREAT FOR AREA FARMERS HARVESTING THEIR BEANFIELDS

Al's Music Box:: Along The Navajo Trail by the Sons of the Pioneers.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man went to an upscale Manhattan restaurant and ordered soup du jour. When the waitress brought it out, he exclaimed, "What is this?" The waitress said, "Why, it's bean soup." The man said, "I don't care what it has been, what is it now?"

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A guy walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm and says to the bartender: "I’ll take a beer, and one for the road."

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- “I think there are about 1-2 million baseball fields in the world, but that's just a ballpark figure.”

- My brain is like the Bermuda Triangle. Information goes in and then is never found again.

- You know it's cold outside when you go outside, and it's cold.

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A young lady came home from a date, rather sad. She told her mother, "Jeff proposed to me an hour ago." "Then why are you so sad?" her mother asked. "Because he also told me he was an atheist. Mom, he doesn't even believe there's a hell." Her mother replied, "Marry him anyway. Between the two of us, we'll show him how wrong he is."

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Al's Art Gallery