MOSTLY GOOD NEWS AT THE OPTOMETRIST TODAY......EXCEPT FOR A SMALL PROBLEM

Seems to me our eastern sky is getting lighter in the mornings.  Maybe I'm just grasping at straws here but that is the way it seems.  Our temps remained above freezing overnight so we are 'slowly' losing some of our ice and snow.  Have to consider these few days as our annual short-lived January thaw.

 SNORKELING IN LAKE HURON

 MALLARD DUCKS

It was off to Goderich with Pheebs and I for no other reason than it was in our 3-day travel rotation.  Routine drive down around the harbor resulted in a walk at the doggy walking area out around Rotary Cove.  With grassy areas taking prominence along the edge of Lake Huron we didn't have to slog through any snow or slip and slide on any ice.  Boulders located next to the water coated in ice made for a few ice sculptures.

 ICE MAN SITTING BY THE WATER'S EDGE

I could hear machinery working somewhere south of the dog walking area so we ventured down that way.  It was the first time we had walked that section since last Fall's storms and the continuing bank erosion was very evident.  I have a feeling this area at some point may very well be closed to the public as high water levels, wind, and waves continue to eat away at the shoreline.

 BEACHCOMBER

 THAT STRIP OF ICE TO THE LEFT IS THE WALKING PATH IN THE DOG WALKING AREA

 YOU CAN SEE HOW CLOSE THE EROSION IS TO THE PATH

 THE MACHINE I HEARD IS ATOP THOSE BLUFFS TO THE LEFT

 THERE ARE A NUMBER OF MACHINES UP THERE WORKING ON A LARGE NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN GODERICH'S SOUTHWEST END

 YOU CAN SEE A LARGE CHUNK OF EARTH IN THE PROCESS OF BREAKING AWAY AND TUMBLING INTO THE LAKE

 AND HERE YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE PATH HAS BEEN COMPROMISED

When we first arrived in the harbor area I had noticed a tug boat heading out of the harbor into the lake and looking out towards the lake I spotted a large freighter in the mist.  

 A LONG TELEPHOTO SHOT OF A LARGE SHIP OFFSHORE 

 AT RIGHT YOU CAN SEE THE TUG BOAT APPROACHING THE FREIGHTER

 THE TUGBOAT CAN BE SEEN TO THE REAR OF THE FREIGHTER AS IT CAREFULLY MANEUVERS THE BIG SHIP TOWARDS THE NARROW HARBOR ENTRANCE

By the time Pheebs and got back from our walk the tug Ocean A Simard already had the large freighter Algoma Niagara into port and was in the delicate process of maneuvering it into place.  Once in the small harbor, that huge ship had to be pivoted completely around facing back out towards the lake.  It's a delicate dance between the small tug and large freighter as they work together to get the job done and in doing so prevent the freighter from coming into contact with the surrounding piers, docks, fishing boats, and grain elevator buildings.  Those two captains sure have to know what they are doing and work closely together to prevent any nasty and expensive mishaps.

 IN THE HARBOR THESE TWO VESSELS BEGIN THEIR SLOW AND CAREFUL DANCE

 FREIGHTER PERSONNEL KEEP A WARY EYE OUT FOR ANY PROBLEMS

 TOTAL CONCENTRATION ON THE BRIDGE OF THE TUGBOAT

 A TUGBOAT DECK HAND KEEPS A CLOSE EYE ON THE PROCEDURE

 THE TUG MOVES AWAY AND BEGINS A TURN

 BACKING UP AGAINST THE FREIGHTERS STERN AREA IT BEGINS TO PUSH

 THIS EVENT APPEARS TO BE A BIG DEAL FOR ALL THE GULLS IN THE AREA

 THAT BIG SHIP HAS TO TURN COMPLETELY AROUND AND FACE THE OTHER WAY

 WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE THIS FREIGHTER WILL END UP DOCKED AT THE SIFTO SALT MINE DOCK READY TO BE LOADED WITH ROCK SALT

Pheebs and I were home by 11.  Roads were bare and dry.  A couple weeks ago I noticed something wasn't quite right with my right eye.  Nothing painful but my eye was watering and very uncomfortable.  Try as I did I could not find anything in it.  Seeings how my Optometrist place had notified me 3 months ago I was overdue for an eye exam, and seeing how my diabetes person suggested I have a diabetic eye check-up as well, I decided to combine all three and make an appointment.  Kelly phoned the Optometrist place in Clinton and booked me an appointment for today at 2 p.m.

 MAN AND MACHINE EYE TO EYE

Well, back from the Optometrist now.  All went well........sorta.  Not much change in my glasses prescription, cataracts are growing slowly so nothing to be done there, and no sign of eye deterioration due to diabetes.  There is a bit of a problem with my right eye though.  My lower eyelid has turned slightly inward and is irritating the eyeball.  The Optometrist gave me a prescription for something and some drops.  Said to try that for a couple weeks and if it doesn't work and the eye is still bothering me the next step would be surgery to fix that lower eyelid.  I'll wait and see how things go but reading up on this condition tonight those drops are only a temporary solution and it looks like I may have to pay a visit at some point to Abdullah the Butcher commonly known as 'old shaky hand' to have this eyelid surgically corrected.  The condition is called Entropion.  It hasn't affected my vision yet, its just kinda uncomfortable.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A highway patrolman pulled alongside a speeding car on the freeway. Glancing at the driver, he was astounded to see that the woman behind the wheel was knitting!  Realizing that she was oblivious to his flashing lights and siren, the trooper cranked down his window, turned on his bullhorn, and yelled, PULLOVER!"  "NO," the woman yelled back, "IT'S A SCARF!"

-----------------------------

From a passenger ship one can see a bearded man on a small island who is shouting and desperately waving is hands.  "Who is it?" a passenger asks the captain.  "I have no idea. Every year when we pass, he goes mad like that."

=================