DELUGES OF RAIN OVERNIGHT LEAVE AREA FIELDS FLOODED AND I MADE THE MISTAKE OF WEARING MY COWBOY HAT IN THE RAIN AGAIN

Rains came in the night and stayed till mid morning.  Heavy at times and puddles formed in the driveway.  It's been a wet Spring and it is because of this our landscape has taken on it's lush green look.  Our ferns this year are huge.  Checking our areas 14 day weather forecast I see the average temperature here by the lake is about 65F.  For me it couldn't get much better.  Any day we don't have to use either the air conditioner or furnace has to be an Okay weather day.  

THIS MOURNING DOVE LANDED ON THE FEEDER SCARING AWAY THE GRACKLES BUT NOT BEFORE THIS GRACKLE GOT HIMSELF A BEAK FULL OF PEANUT BUTTER SUET

WON'T EVEN LET THEM LAND AND BELOW HE STRUTS HIS STUFF STILL KING OF THE HILL

It was raining when Pheebs and I rolled out around 8:30 and we hadn't gone too far when I noticed a familiar odour in the Jeep.  Awww nuts,  without thinking I had gone and put my cowboy hat on again.  Of course it got slightly wet walking to the Jeep but it was enough to set off the smell in the felt hat.  Decided not to turn around and head home to exchange hats but within half and hour I wished I had.  By the time we rolled into the Walmart parking lot it was pouring down buckets.  Despite hurrying into the store I got drenched, hat and all.  I wasn't 5 feet in the door when I was embarrassingly aware of pungent musty smell emanating from my cowboy hat.  Crossed my fingers and hoped nobody would notice but I knew it was going to follow me everywhere in that store I went.  And it did.  A Mother walks by with two little kids in tow.  Kids are staring at me as their Mother scrunches up her nose.  They were no sooner past when I heard one of the kids say, "Mommy why is that man wearing a dead Moose on his head, it's really stinky".  I didn't turn around to offer an explanation, I just kinda tried to lose myself in the cosmetic perfumes aisle.  Of course I heard the announcement...'Attention Walmart Shoppers a bad smell is coming from aisle 9 and customers are urged to avoid that area'.  Gathered up a few groceries and considered my options.  Priority was to get out of the store as quick as possible but then what.  I'm still stuck with this reeking hat all the way home in the small confined space of the Jeep.  Maybe walk over to housewares and get me a small package of close pins and clip one on my nose for the ride home.  Or maybe drive to the Goderich post office and get a shipping box to mail the hat home.  Even considered stopping in Walmart's Kid section and getting some water wings for Pheebs and I.  That way despite the deluge of rain coming down we could at least leave the Jeep's windows down heading home and if the Jeep filled up with water we would at least have our water wings on.  In the end I had to just suck up the smell and be a man about it.  After all I'm sure that's what all the cowboys did years ago.  They never had wussy water wings in those days to get them through the heavy prairie rains.

A LOT OF WATER IN AREA FIELDS

I WAS GLAD TO SEE THIS FARMER (UPPER RIGHT) COME OUT TO CHECK ON HIS CATTLE AFTER THE HEAVY RAINS

Still no 'Little Red' on our bird station so I took the two eaves trough barriers off.  To defer the Crows from the peanut butter suet I moved the suet feeder to under the bird station platform.  Did the same with the Finch feeder.  Maybe I will find myself a little peace of mind in all these bird feeder frustrations after all.  Oh no, wait a minute....I just counted 3 'Little Reds' in the yard:((  Yes really.

THESE DARN CROWS HAVE TAKEN A LIKING TO OUR PEANUT BUTTER SUET

NO THESE AREN'T CROWS THEY ARE GRACKLES

I RELOCATED THE FINCH AND SUET FEEDERS

Heavy rains quit around 9:30 and finally drizzled themselves out about an hour later.   Everything outside was soaked including farmer's fields which had me wondering about some of their newly planted crops.  Easy for a lot of seeds to be washed out and scattered.

HEAVY RAINS DIDN'T BOTHER THIS GROWING CORN FIELD

I WAS VERY SUPRISED THE DELUGE OF RAIN HADN'T BATTERED DOWN PARTS OF THIS WINTER WHEAT FIELD

NICE SMOOTH PAVEMENT ON THIS NEWLY REPAVED ROAD (PORTER'S HILL LINE)

NO WORK FOR THESE PAVING MACHINES THIS MORNING....TOO WET

Turned out to be an inside afternoon.  I knew Park trails would be too muddy for a walk and I wasn't encouraged to putter around in wet foliage outside in the yard under cool cloudy skies.

SAW THIS DREDGING MACHINE AT THE MOUTH OF GODERICH'S HARBOR THIS MORNING

A TUGBOAT PUSHES AND EMPTY BARGE OUT TO THE DREDGER

TWO WORKERS ON THE BOW OF THE BARGE KEEPING AN EYE ON THINGS

MAMA GOOSE LETS THE KIDS PLAY IN A WATERPUDDLE NEAR THE HARBOR

Thinking back over the day I realized I had only spoke one word to one person all day.  It was a Walmart cashier who asked if I would like to donate to some particular cause or something and I said 'no'.  I'm thinking I'm needing more people days like today.  Oh and in case you were wondering about parts of my Walmart hat story you have good reason to. I made up the story about the lady and two kids plus the Walmart announcement and ducking into the cosmetic aisle to hide among the perfumes but I bet had there been a lady in the store with two small kids I'm sure things would have happened just as I described them:((

SPOTTED THESE TURKEY VULTURES DRYING THEIR WINGS ON A BARN ROOF NEAR OUR PARK

GROANER'S CORNER:((  An amateur photographer was invited to dinner with friends and took along a few pictures to show the hostess. She looked at the photos and commented, "These are very good! You must have a good camera."  He didn't make any comment, but, as he was leaving to go home he said, "That was a really delicious meal! You must have some very good pots."
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- If I had a dollar every time a customer complained about the price of cinema food. I could almost afford a small popcorn.
- “I did not know how to use the wood-smoothing tool, so had the woodworker explain it to me in plane language.”
- “Boss can I have a week off around Christmas?”  
“It’s May...”  
“Sorry. May I have a week off around Christmas?
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So I walked into a this bar and heard two girls speaking in what sounded like a lovely Scottish accent. I said: So, are you two girls from Scotland? One of them said: "Wales Idiot!"  So I said: "Oh, I am terribly sorry about that. So, are you two Whales from Scotland?"That's the last thing I remember.
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