THIS MORNING WE CLIMBED ABOARD BAYFIELD’S SAWMILL TRAIL

With warm sunny days finally upon us Spring has really sprung and how nice to see and hear colorful songbirds once again making their annual welcome appearance. 

NO THESE FLOWERS ARE NOT AT OUR HOUSE

Pheebs and I slipped up to Goderich, grabbed ourselves a McDonalds coffee and slipped on down to the harbor.  We don't do muffins any more and actually Pheebs has not had any muffin bits since late last December just before we left for the Southwest.  I haven't been picking up a coffee every morning either and some of our drives are now caffeine free.  Not always easy breaking bad old habits but there comes a time when one has to face up to the hard facts of an aging reality.  I am hard at work now on some other questionable food habits and routines as well.  Gotta get this weight off and keep it off.  Oh Gee where have I heard that before and how many times.  Well hopefully this just might be it finally.  I didn’t beat my serious alcohol and cigarette addictions plus half a dozen other minor addictions the first half hundred times I tried either.

I DON’T REMEMBER SEEING THE PACIFIC HURON IN PORT BEFORE….IT’S DOCKED AT THE GODERICH ELEVATORS 

NOTICE THE FIGURE ON THE BRIDGE TO THE EXTREME RIGHT

COULD IT BE THE SHIP’S CAPTAIN OUT CHECKING TO SEE IF HIS HUNG OUT LAUNDRY IS DRY YET

SPRING BEACH CLEAN-UP CONTINUES ON GODERICH’S ROTARY COVE BEACH

GREAT WEATHER FOR FARMER’S THESE DAYS

There are a number of trails in and around Bayfield that I always seem to forget about but this morning I remembered one not far from where we live and that is where Pheebs and I headed.  It's called The Sawmill Trail and if you click the link you can see it has an interesting history.  It’s a loop trail so Pheebs and I did the whole walk.  Kelly and I once hiked it a number of years ago and I remembered it as being scenic as it follows alongside the Bayfield River.

 

WE HEAD OFF DOWN THE TRAIL

THIS TRAIL WHICH WAS AN OLD ROAD BACK IN PIONEER AND DAYS AND BEYOND LEADS TO THE BAYFIELD RIVER BELOW

NO THIS STRETCH OF WATER IS NOT THE BAYFIELD RIVER

ACROSS THE RIVER RESIDES A SEASONAL PARK IN WHAT IS CALLED ‘THE FLATS’

WE REACH THE RIVER AND TURN RIGHT HEADING WEST TOWARDS BAYFIELD AND LAKE HURON

ALONG THE RIVERBANK

Luckily we had the trail to ourselves.  Usually if there are cars parked at a trail head we go right on by.  When out walking in nature with Pheebs and my camera the last thing I want to hear is the sounds of people and if I spot people on the trail ahead we'll often duck off into the forest until they have gone by.  It's not that they are not fine people I'm sure, it's just my way of avoiding people encounters.  My life seems to remain less complicated that way.  Something that has taken me years to learn.

AFTER A SHORT WALK WE COULD SEE THE HIGHWAY 21 BRIDGE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF BAYFIELD CROSS THE BAYFIELD RIVER….LAKE HURON IS ABOUT HALF A MILE BEYOND THAT BRIDGE STRAIGHT AHEAD

THIS BRIDGE IS DUE TO BE REPLACED SOMETIME IN THE NOT TO DISTANT FUTURE I HEAR

THIS TRUCK IS HEADING SOUTH INTO BAYFIELD

BECAUSE I COULD SEE THE BOTTOM OF THE RIVER I THOUGHT IT LOOKED VERY SWIMABLE

 

A FALLEN TREE BLOCKS THE TRAIL BUT PHEEBS BULLDOZES RIGHT THROUGH THE CENTER WHILE I HAD TO SLIP AROUND THE TREE AT LEFT

I COULD TELL A FISHERMAN HAD PASSED THIS WAY

Spent another enjoyable afternoon puttering around outside.  I'm sure glad we have the size of property and mobile unit we do.  Not big enough to be overwhelming and not small enough to become boring.  We sure lucked out when we found this quiet place in the pine forest almost 16 years ago.  Despite our talk of moving these past half dozen years or so we will probably end up staying right where we are.  Maybe my usual restlessness is finally beginning to grow a bit of moss on it.  Who would have ever thunk it.  Certainly not me.

HEADING UP LEWIS’S HEARTBREAK HILL AND IF YOU READ THE ABOVE SAWMILL TRAIL LINK YOU WILL SEE WHY IT IS CALLED THAT

IT IS VERY RARE FOR ME TO TAKE A SIT DOWN BREAK WHILE OUT WALKING BUT SIT DOWN I DID FOR HALF A MINUTE WHILE ASCENDING THE GRADE….NOTICE LITTLE MISS SMARTY PANTS WAY UP THERE ALRREADY AT THE TOP

SITTING ON THE BENCH FOR HALF A MINUTE I HAD MYSELF A ‘SELFIE’ BLAST

NEARING THE TOP OF THE HILL

ACTUALLY NOT MUCH OF A CLIMB COMPARED TO SOME OF OUR HIKES YEARS AGO IN THE MOUNTAINS OF THE SOUTHWEST AND TO MY FRIEND MARK FROM BOX CANYON BLOG OUT THERE IN THE MIGHTY COLORADO MOUNTAINS THIS LIMP GRADE WOULD BE NO MORE THAN A FLATTENED ANTHILL FOR HIM

NOW I REALLY HAD TO WORK HARD AT CONTORTING MY FACE INTO SOME SEMBLANCE OF A SMILE HERE….SMILING IS NOT A NATURAL LOOK FOR THIS GRUMPY OLD FACE

ONLY A HUNDRED YARDS OR SO BACK TO THE TRAILHEAD FROM HERE

Now that warmer sunny days are once again upon us I can feel the energy change both mentally and physically within myself.  So glad to finally be on the other side of last week’s doldrums.  If I could only stay here……………..

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A guy joins a monastery and takes a vow of silence: he’s allowed to say two words every seven years.  After the first seven years, the elders bring him in and ask for his two words. 'Cold floors,' he says. They nod and send him away.  Seven more years pass. They bring him back in and ask for his two words. He clears his throats and says, 'Bad food.' They nod and send him away.  Seven more years pass.  They bring him in for his two words. 'I quit,' he says.  'That’s not surprising,' the elders say. 'You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here.'

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- A student was asked if he knew what Roe v. Wade was about. He answered that he thought it was the decision George Washington had to make when he decided to cross the Delaware.

- I've noticed the strangest thing about men who hang out in bars a lot.  It seems they have only one of two reasons to be there: They have no wife to go home to... or they do.

- What do you mean by telling everyone that I'm an idiot?  I'm sorry, I didn't know it was supposed to be a secret!

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There was once an aspiring veterinarian who put himself through veterinary school working nights as a taxidermist. Upon graduation, he decided he could combine his two vocations to better serve the needs of his patients and their owners, while doubling his practice and, therefore, his income. He opened his own offices with a shingle on the door saying, "Dr. Jones, Veterinary Medicine and Taxidermy -- Either way, you get your dog back!"

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