MOTHER NATURE COMES ASHORE IN ALL HER TUMULTUOUS SWAGGERING MAJESTY

DESPITE HEAVY STORM CLOUDS ROLLING IN THESE FOLKS ON THE WATER SEEMED TO BE IGNORING IT

Minutes after posting Wednesday night’s post Kelly came into the sunroom saying she had just checked our Exeter live radar weather site and saw an ominous looking storm heading across Lake Huron right for us.  Grabbed my cameras and along with the Pheebs headed out the door jumped into the Jeep & raced over to Bayfield’s Pioneer Park on the bluffs overlooking the lake.

QUICKLY SAW A LARGE STORM FRONT COMING IN

WELL AT LEAST SOMEBODY IS HEADING FOR THE SAFETY OF BAYFIELD’S HARBOR

BAYFIELD’S SAFE HARBOR ENTRANCE

REST OF THAT SIGN SHOULD SAY ‘STORM COMING’

Right away the ominous cloud formations out over the lake told of a potentially bad storm.  There is a name for the dirty gray clouds like the ones I saw stretching horizontally from north to south along the horizon line.  No point in me trying to describe the absolute beauty in those dark threatening clouds so I’ll let my photos try to convey that although it is rare for photos to always grasp the true scope of what one is really seeing with their own eyes.

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT IT WAS WATCHING THIS STORM COME IN

I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE THESE YOUNG FOLKS PAYING NO HEED TO THE COMING STORM

Odd thing about this incoming storm was no wind, no lightning that I could see and no thunder.  Water was calm as I watched boaters and swimmers in the water seemingly oblivious of the large rolling clouds approaching the shore line.  The forward edge of the large menacing cloud kept getting bigger and bigger as it approached until it was nearly overhead.  Then the winds hit blowing my hat off and setting me back on my heels for a second.  Boats were in overdrive heading for Bayfield’s safe harbor as the last few swimmers quickly scrambled ashore.

ONLY ONE NOT INTERESTED IN THE STORM CLOUDS WAS PHEEBS

The gusting winds kept up unabated for about 20 minutes but still no rain, not even a drop.  I stood by the Park’s cedar rail fence and watched as the storm rolled right over top of us heading inland.  Looking back out over the lake skies were weren’t quite as dark but I thought for sure a wall of rain would surely hit us any second.  It never did.  The ferocious looking storm had turned out to be nothing more than ‘Puff the Magic Dragon frolicking in from the big lake and galloping off in a big turmoil of blustery clouds to the East.  What a great experience it was standing there for nearly half an hour watching Mother Nature coming ashore in all her tumultuous swaggering majesty. 

BY THIS POINT STORM WINDS WERE REALLY WHIPPING THE TREE BRANCHES AROUND

It was just a snap cooler early this morning and so much so that I was able to get outside shortly after 7 and accomplish a few more things on our front yard project.  Still really no idea what I’m doing yet but I just keep doing it anyway.  So far it’s been mostly a clean-up digging out old stumps and tree roots in one of the areas I am re-doing.  I have a small electric roto-tiller and that has been a big help softening up the ground for future planting.  I’m also in the process of gathering up some wildflowers and this morning dug me up some Black Eyed Susans near our Parks recycle area.

THIS IS THE AREA I AM CURRENTLY WORKING ON AND BELOW ARE THE BLACK EYED SUSANS READY TO BE PLANTED

By 9 a.m. it was getting hot so had to pull the gardening project plug and head inside for a shower.  By 9:30 Pheebs and I were in the Jeep heading off for a wee drive up to Goderich.  Dropped around a garden nursery to check out the prices on some small white cedar trees.  Waaaay too expensive so decided I’d be better off digging up my own cedar trees out in the bush like I always did before.

NOTICE HOW THE TREES ON THE LEFT ARE BENT BACK BY THE WIND BUT PHEEBS CALMLY TAKES IT ALL IN STRIDE

BY THIS POINT THE BIG STORM CLOUD HAD JUST ROLLED OVER US

With coffee and muffin in hand we took a drive down around the harbor stopping for a leg stretch by the water’s edge near the dog walking area.  Saw a big freighter pulling out and later noticed it had turned south down the lake heading in the direction of Sarnia/Port Huron, Windsor/Detroit.  No idea what it had picked up in Goderich but it would have been either rock salt from the Sifto Salt Mine or perhaps recently harvested wheat at the big grain elevators.  Maybe that freighter was bound for the open ocean after traversing across lakes Erie and Ontario then heading through the Welland Canal and up the St. Lawrence river into the North Atlantic.  From there it’s destiny could be anywhere in the world.  I was able to enlarge my photo later to see the freighter’s name, Michipicoten.  Also here is a You Tube link of the Michipicoten’s Close Call in Duluth Minnesota when she nearly rammed a canal wall one time.

THE MICHIPICOTEN LEAVES GODERICH HARBOR THIS MORNING

DESPITE WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S STORM WINDS LAKE HURON WATERS WERE FAIRLY CALM THIS MORNING

‘NOPE I’M NOT GOING IN THE WATER DAD AND YOU CAN’T MAKE ME EITHER’

‘NO WAY AM I GETTING MY PAWS WET’

‘OOOPS TOO LATE’

IN THE LAKE’S CLEAR WATERS I SPOTTED A RARE LAKE HURON RED BANDED 9 ARMED 4 EYED CYCLOPIAN OCTOPUS CLOSE TO SHORE:))

It was shortly after 11 when Pheebs and I made it home and again and headed right inside to the welcoming arms of our nice cool house.  Kelly was off somewhere running errands, shopping and keeping an eye out for bargoooons of whatever.  She often finds the neatest stuff then turns around and $$re-sells$$ it.  She’s quite the little wheeler-dealer.  Takes after her Dad:))  Me?? I took off after a Turtle once but it was too fast for me………….:((

GROANER’S CORNER:(( I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me, and we all could use more calm in our lives. By following the simple advice I heard on a Dr. Phil show, I have finally found inner peace.
Dr. Phil proclaimed the way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started. So, I looked around my house to see things I started, and hadn't finished; and, before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreo's, a pot of coffee, the rest of the Cheesecake, some Saltines, and a box of Godiva Chocolates.
You have no idea how freaking good I feel.

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Some Missouri home designers are Ozark-itects.”