Finally, a perfect weather weekend for Bayfield’s annual Sail & Canvas weekend They sure have had their fair share of bad weather for this event over the past few years. I did manage to grab a few sailboat photos from atop the cliffs at Pioneer Park but didn’t stop in town for any pics. I’ll do that another time when things are a little quieter in this former little fishing village. 
The humidity in the air caused a bit of haze out over the lake today so the horizon was not discernable. An optimal photographic day for sailboats would be temps a bit cooler with big white fluffy clouds in a blue sky. Not enough wind today to get the boats healed over cutting through the waves with wide bow waves & frothy wakes. Not many colored sails on the boats either but I did manage to grab a few photos anyway. 
For any of you creative arts & crafts people out there I thought you might be interested in seeing a fellow blogger’s site documenting her step by step procedure in creating wall mountable animal heads. May I add here that no real animals were harmed or lost their actual heads in this process:)) A lot of time, effort & materials goes into Merikay's work. She is on her 4th post now but if you click on this MERIKAY link it will take you to her first post where she begins the process & you can follow along on her blog from there. She is currently working on 6 heads that will later be shipped to a customer in London Ontario Canada.
If you ever wondered how cute a little Biscuit dog can be then just check out RETIRED ROD'S blog today. Jim & Dee, the TUMBLEWEED folks, made it across the border into Canada OK & are currently spending some time & checking out the sights with Sandra & Gordon from the NOT SO NIGHTLY NEWS near Ottawa. Ever been on the road to hell!! JIM, SANDIE, SCOOTER & SKITTLEZ just spent some time there…..& lost a few parts along the way. 
Been awhile since I had myself a little rant so here goes. Sure seems to me Arizona certainly does not get it’s fair share of news coverage. Along with the 3 major fires burning now a fourth fire has started. CNN made casual mention of it this morning calling it the Antelope fire but didn’t even mention in what part of Arizona it was. They then quickly switched to coverage of a smaller fire in Georgia which is closer to their home base of Atlanta of course. On tonight’s ABC news a small 35 acre brush fire in Texas made the news but no coverage of the thousands & thousands of acres burning in Arizona right now!! Had any of these Arizona fires been burning in California’s glitzy Hollywood Hills I’m sure the major news channels would be all over it.
Countless wildlife has already been lost in the Arizona fires with thousands & thousands of acres being consumed & reduced to ash daily. People have lost their homes, areas are being evacuated & the city of Sierra Vista is threatened. We know 2 of these fire areas well & people living in & near them. Many are Blogging, Facebooking & Twittering about how serious these fires are & many are helping by volunteering their time, vehicles & trailers to help save horses & cattle in the path of the flames. Only casual mention is made of all this by the major news channels like CNN. They are more interested in their tunnel vision reporting on Weinergate & anything else that can be sensationalized to boost their ratings. 
Whitney from Gleason Arizona posted this on Facebook today….”Friends, the fires here just keep getting more and more out of control with NO hope of putting them out. The Chiricaua Mountain Fire started on Mother's Day and burns hotter everyday. Temps are in the 100's and 40-50 mph winds. Please Pray for the firefighters, homeowners, people already evacuated, rescue workers, animals.” We who know & love the beautiful land there & feel your pain Whitney. 
Reader Richard R from Windsor Ontario sent me an email with some renovation ideas for the bird station. I have already removed that big mossmagator board at the front but think I will leave the roof flat so the birds can walk around & perch on it. The metal skirt on the post is a good idea but metal work is well beyond my non existent tin smith skills. And a word of thanks as well to all the other folks who have sent in ideas & comments on how to deal with those pesky Squirrels & Coons. The battle continues………………………
![Bird Feeder Modification[1]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvrxo4nkiF5_zDfBlc_fiNBBArPYhIrCnwqgK6dSYF1Axuvsjyr1Hb3MYQLyqp0Rbqur1RK8EZtLA09CeGpFcVJwsDE1FzYuvg7wU5dlXc2PUEQcv3vcQxHrxnWGgD1Mmowhj/s1600-h/Bird%252520Feeder%252520Modification%25255B1%25255D%25255B3%25255D.jpg "Bird Feeder Modification[1]")
GROANER'S CORNER:((
A carpenter was giving evidence about an accident he had witnessed. The lawyer for the defendant was trying to discredit him and asked him how far away he was from the accident.
The carpenter replied, "Twenty-seven feet, six and one-half inches."
"What? How come you are so sure of that distance?" asked the lawyer.
"Well, I knew sooner or later some dam fool idiot would ask me so I measured it!" replied the carpenter.
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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.
great shots of the sailboats..nothing like feeling the wind in your sails and moving across the water!
ReplyDeleteWill all those improvements stop the raccoons?
ReplyDeleteAl, your rant is right. If mansions in Malibu were burning, there would be lots of coverage. I don't think a lot of people understand what the loss of this wildlife habitat means to those of us who love and cherish it.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, not to mention the 40+ homes that have been destroyed. Just because these folks aren't famous or rich doesn't mean this isn't devastating. In fact maybe more so because they can't afford to just go somewhere else and buy a new home.
awesome pictures today as usual. we've been following the fires in Arizona,feel so bad for the people who lost their homes and for all the animals who lost theirs.
ReplyDeleteThose two little boy dogs in Bisbee are sure cute, good thing we're not close by five dogs would be a bit much.
Thanks for the mention.
ReplyDeleteThe sailing pictures are wonderful.
Years ago Craig spent a month teaching a course at Fort Huachuca and between that memory and your blog we have been made aware of this tragedy, I agree that the media is ignoring this fire.
In the big picture fire is part of nature. But yesterday I was wondering how long it would take this delicate environment to recover. Much longer than a forested area that gets frequent rain.
I'm enjoying your pictures today. I try to avoid crowds, also. It's a good thing you had your own place to take pics and the equipment to do it.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Al, it's totally frustrating to me that the only way to get news of the Arizona fires is to read blogs or search the internet. Actually, even some really big California fires didn't get much coverage. Just like the weather. Ever notice that it's always about the east side of the country and the west never even gets mentioned?? Eastern bias of the news media to blame, I am sure. Frustrating as heck!
ReplyDeleteThis is Retired Rod for Biscuit, and she was amazed that her friend Al would make such a prominent mention of her blog and pictures over on her daddy's blog. Of course she thinks she is pretty cute, but is always relieved when other folks confirm it for her....LOL
ReplyDeleteThe fire in Arizona is simply nature taking its course and there isn’t any loss of human life associated with it. The news media appears to be giving this fire the attention it merits. You appear to have a special interest in this area but that doesn’t mean everyone else does or should. What exactly would more news coverage accomplish anyway?
ReplyDeleteMy frustration with the news reports on the fires is that they never show a map of where the fires are or where they are spreading to.
ReplyDelete(ps... I find that people who post snarky messages and then only identify themselves as "anonymous" are COWARDS)
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Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/
Love the sailboat photos! I too have noticed the lack of coverage about the AZ fires. More news coverage could mean more resources being directed toward those terrible fires and yes no human lives have been lost but the fear/displacement/what do we do with our pets/loss of homes, etc. is so frightening, we know, we've been there!
ReplyDeleteNews coverage is the main reason I don't have a TV any more. The cable news probably covered the AZ fire pretty heavily the first day or two, but we all know they have to fill 24 hours 7 days a week, so they drop one thing and jump on to the next pretty quickly. It think the cable networks have just about ruined TV as it is impossible to produce good programs 24/7. Now they just produce junk and commercials for more junk.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Karen about Anonymous posting, and think blogger should remove that option.
I have received a couple of emails about 'participants' in the Monument Fire.
ReplyDeleteLast Friday two of my classmates from Class of '60 were evacuated from their homes. Do not know if the homes were destroyed or not.
Also on Friday one of my cousins and family were evacuated but allowed to return that night after 8:00 pm. A second cousin was bared from returning to her home on Friday afternoon but she drove trough Bisbee to access it from the east.
I find this very sad:
"...and there isn’t any loss of human life associated with it. The news media appears to be giving this fire the attention it merits." Anonymous does not care if my friends or family lose their home, it only merits more news coverage if one or all of them were to die. I assume Anonymous would then wish to see their deaths on "Film at 11:00'.
What gorgeous photos...you do such a great job of capturing the emotion of the moment...love that sparkling blue water!
ReplyDeleteAlso big thank you for the links...so many interesting folks out there in blogland!
I think one reason for more news coverage of the fires is that they are not always caused by nature -- people need to be more aware of the danger from cigarettes and campfires that are not properly extinguished!! on a more cheerful note thanks for all your boat photos!! Martha
ReplyDeleteAl, I loved the photos from “Sail and Canvas”!
ReplyDeleteAs for “anonymous”, I cannot even begin to understand their viewpoint. Further, even if I personally find their comment to be considerably less than scholarly, I would at least have more respect for that person if they had the courage to come out from behind a concealed identity.
John
relaxedrush.blogspot.com
connectedtothevinephotography.blogspot.com
A slingshot and pebbles might be your only solution to discouraging those pesky raccoons and squirrels. A little sting may just be enough to keep them away from the bird food.
ReplyDelete