THE BOUNCING BAYFIELD BURRITO BUMS STRIKE AGAIN

RAIN & FOG HAS STOPPED THIS COMBINE FROM PROCEEDING ANY FURTHER INTO THE WET WHEAT  FIELD (CANON SX210)
The big bad Thunder Monster came in the night & once again totally traumatized our little Motormouse.  Max was never bothered by thunder but Checkers was.  The little Motor becomes frantic & scurries about the house in a hyperventilated state looking for an escape from the loud booming Monster who I am sure she thinks is chasing her.  As a rule she generally ends up under Kelly's bed because no amount of holding & snuggling with her helps.

PLEASE DON'T LET THAT THUNDER MONSTER GET ME DAD  (CANON SX210)
Until Kelly told me this morning, I hadn't remembered that this is a long week-end for us here in Canada.  That means scads & scads of people in Bayfield & our little Supermarket would be totally overrun.  Once again that meant a hit & run raid to Goderich by the two Burrito Bums.  A gas fill up followed by a quick grocery excursion through the Food Basics store led us right across the road & into McDonald's Drive Thru line up. 

I could hardly get a word in edgeways as the Kid completely took over the ordering of 2 Burritos & a small coffee.  How the girl on the other end of that microphone knows what all that barking means I don't know but sure enough it was only minutes later when she handed me a bag of concealed Yummies out the window. Me & the Kid were off like Jack the Bear down the highway & quickly off onto a country road whereupon we got right into our cheesy Burritos.  The Kid likes the tiny meatballs & I eat the rest.  Aw yes, another lightning raid & successful mission for the two Jeep headed bouncing Bayfield Burrito Bums:))  And yes, when you drive a Jeep Wrangler, you bounce!!

OK MOTOR, JUST KEEP IT QUIET & I'LL DO THE TALKING!!
  
'BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK'.....SHHHHHHH!!
 
CAN YOU DRIVE A LITTLE FASTER DAD.......OK, OK, WE'RE ALMOST THERE
 
WHY ISN'T OUR BURRITOS READY MA'AM........OK LADY, WHAT THE HECK'S THE BIG HOLD UP,  DO I HAVE TO COME THROUGH THAT WINDOW!!!!!!!!!   (CANON AF750))
One of the absolute best ways to view the night sky is through a reasonably good pair of 7x50 binoculars.  I ordered my Bausch & Lomb binos through the Canadian astronomy magazine SKYNEWS about 15 years ago & they have proven to be one of my better investments.  Binoculars will get you out into space immediately with little effort.  Nothing to set up except for a tripod which I highly recommend.  With binoculars I can clearly see the Andromeda Galaxy which happens to be the closest Galaxy to earth.  It is actually visible to the naked eye if you have a dark night & 20/20 vision.  It will be especially visible in the clear Autumn sky soon.  7x50 binoculars will show you the craters on the moon & mountain ridge lines, but it is essential to have the binos rock steady on a tripod.  And, a full moon is not the best time to view the moon.  Too bright & the lighting is too flat.  Catch the moon in it's crescent  to half full stages for the best viewing.

IT CERTAINLY WAS NOT A MORNING FOR SUNGLASSES  (CANON SX210)
There are a lot of great point & shoot cameras on the market.  Lots of options, zoom factors, megapixels, mossmagators & just about anything else you can think of.  For the most part they do a fine job & I used two of my point & shoots for some of tonight's photos.  BUT, if you are at all serious about improving the quality of your photography you are going to have to move up to a DSLR.  (Digital Single Lens Reflex)  I would suggest either Canon or Nikon.  You need to have a camera with a viewfinder!! 

Holding a camera out at arms length, unsteadily weaving around trying to compose a serious photograph in an LED display just doesn't cut it.  I know that because my Canon SX210 is one of those cameras.  You need to get a camera snug up against yourself with your eye in a viewfinder so the only image you have in front of you is the image you are composing, nothing else.  This is essential to composition & essential to keeping your camera steady & for sure it is essential to keeping your camera safe.  Have your camera tucked in close to your body at all times & never pick up your DSLR without first hooking the camera strap around your arm.    Well, 'in my humble opinion' anyway.  IMHO:))

FLOTILLA OF CANADA GEESE  (NIKON D40 at 300mm)
One of the prettiest star clusters you will ever find with your binoculars is the Pleaides, sometimes called the Seven Sisters or Suburu.  This constellation will be in the Eastern sky soon & will remain aloft traversing the night sky from East to West through the winter.  Don't miss it.  Binoculars will open up a whole new & fascinating world for you & I suggest a good set of binoculars before moving on into the world of telescopes.  Besides, binoculars are easy to use, easy to carry around & have multiple day time uses.  Compared to telescopes, I can't express enough the ease of use that binoculars are.  They will transport you many, many miles out into space in just seconds & leave you aghast at all the shimmering diamonds in your new found world:))

NOTICE THE BEE AT BOTTOM RIGHT JUST FLYING INTO THE FRAME AS I WAS TAKING THE HOSTA BLOOM PHOTO (NIKON D90)
Continuous rainy weather I find depressing just as continuous sunny weather I find boring.  We are so fortunate in Southwestern Ontario to have a perfect 75-25 mixture of the two with sunny weather falling into the 75% category.  The 4 prominent Seasons also bring on changes in weather patterns 4 times a year & that keeps things interesting.  I find the nice mixture of lightning & thunderstorms in our area takes the edge off endless sunny days.  I love to see weather changes & all that it brings. 

A COUPLE OF OUR AREAS WEALTHIER FARMS AS SEEN THROUGH MY 300mm TELEPHOTO LENS:))  (NIKON D40)
Last nights thunder storms led to a picturesque fog this morning.  Shafts of sunlight pierced the heavy cloud cover in the afternoon & probably tomorrow we will be under bright clear sunny skies again.  I may not be to hip on the never ending changes to computer software etc but for the most part I am a creature of ongoing change & I like that.  One of these days I may even change my old well worn short sleeved summer shirt for another old well worn short sleeved summer shirt.  Of course the key word there was.........'might':))

NOTICE THE CLEVER DOCK AT THIS FARM PROPERTY ALONG THE MAITLAND RIVER  (NIKON D40 at 300mm) 
And speaking of bright & sunny you might want to hop on over to JANNA'S blog & check out what bright & sunny now means to her & Mike today after a long trip & a purchase in Boise, Idaho Thursday:))

NEVER KNOW WHAT KINDS OF VEHICLES YOU MEET ON THE BACK ROADS...FIGURE THIS OLDSMOBILE IS SOMEWHERE AROUND 1956 VINTAGE  (NIKON D90 at 18mm) 
Found a couple pieces of paper beside the computer this morning with a bunch of names on them.  It's in Kelly's handwriting & I'm wondering if this is something a husband should be worried about.  Well here, see for yourself as I scroll down the names...............Moky, Opie, Paddy Wink, Pepper Phoebe, Piper, Sage, Sassy, Storm, Chickie, Dusty, Razzel, Samara, Sammy, Toby, Snoopy, Ripley, Sadie, Samba, Mattie, Scampy, Abby Maggie, Chloe, Cinder, Daisy, Dakota, Josie, Kimbra, Libby, Lilly & Mia.  Now, d'ya think this could be a list of some former boyfriends, or could it be.........................Hmmmmmmmm:))  Say, I bet that Dusty guy could be a real concern!!

THE VERY SHALLOW BUT MIGHTY MAITLAND RIVER LAZILY ON IT'S WAY TO LAKE HURON & EVENTUALLY OVER NIAGARA FALLS, UP THE ST. LAWRENCE & INTO THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN  (NIKON D90 at 18mm) 
THE LAST PARAGRAPH:  With all the ongoing & escalating turmoil south of the border we have pretty well dispensed with any further hopes or plans of finding ourselves a quiet little winter get away place somewhere in the American Southwest.  We stay in touch with what is happening in the U.S. at a ground level & we know for a fact & understand how the overall situation is deteriorating.  None of that takes away my love & desire to live in the Southwest but we are once again drawn back to reality & made aware of how truly fortunate we are to live right here in Canada.  The most we can hope for is to Snow Bird for as long as we can & enjoy our beloved Southwest home away from home as best we possibly can while we are still able to go there & while it still lasts...........10-4.
  
THIS OLD IRON BRIDGE WAS BUILT OVER THE MAITLAND RIVER IN 1885  (NIKON D90)
GROANER'S CORNER:((  On a rural road a state trooper pulled this farmer over and said: "Sir, do you realize your wife fell out of the car several miles back?"  To which the farmer replied: "Thank God, I thought I had gone deaf!"
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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.