STARGAZING

 LOOKS LIKE A COUPLE OF SUNDAY BEACH GOERS WENT HOME AND FORGOT THEIR BEACH SHOES

It was nearly 11 p.m. Sunday night when I stepped outside the door onto our back deck and looked up hoping to see stars.  I wasn't disappointed.  Twenty minutes later Pheebs and I were in the Jeep heading out into the dark countryside and it wasn't long before we reached our 'night spot'.  A yellow nearly quarter Moon hung low in the western sky.  I had brought along my reclining gravity chair so I set it up right away in the middle of the narrow gravel road.  Tipping back with binoculars in hand I was soon traveling my way around the starry night sky.  I left my camera gear in the Jeep.  Again I was surprised by no Mosquitos as I listened to a band of howling Coyotes off in the direction of Bayfield.  And once again, that pleasant earthy smell of the countryside took me back to years long ago.  In the forty minutes we were there I saw seven satellites and one brief meteor flash from south to north.  And for the first time this year, I could plainly see the Milky Way coming up high out of the east.  Speaking of the east, it is so disappointing to see the amount of light pollution creeping more and more into southern Ontario's night sky.  I figure it is the combined light source of Seaforth, Mitchell, Stratford, and quite possibly Kitchener Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, and as far away as the big megapolis of Toronto.  I couldn't see the Scorpions tail in Scorpios to the southeast either.  It was lost in the ever-expanding glow of Exeter and London.  Very disappointing for being this far out into the countryside but southern Ontario is surely and inescapably losing its dark night skies.  It was shortly after midnight when we arrived back home.

 QUIET MORNING WATERS IN BAYFIELD'S HARBOR

 SOME OF THESE SAILBOATS SURE HAVE BIG STEERING WHEELS

 SOME CORN STOCKS ARE ALREADY UP ABOUT A FOOT

 A FLOCK OF WILD TURKEYS HAVING BREAKFAST IN A FARMER'S BEAN FIELD

I was surprised to wake up to pouring rain this morning.  There certainly was no evidence of inclement weather in Sunday's clear night sky.  With the morning's heavy cloud cover darkening my enthusiasm I couldn't seem to drum up any interest in anything, even after skies began clearing by 9 a.m.  But oh how lovely the cooler air brought in by those overnight rains.  Our Jeep ride was short and we were soon home again.  Tipped back in my sunroom recliner reading, I didn't do much for the rest of the day but Pheebs and I did manage an afternoon walk along what's left of our Pine Tree trail.  

 NOW HOW COULD YOU GO HOME WITH ONE SHOE ON AND FORGET THE OTHER ONE AT THE BEACH

GROANER'S CORNER:((Three handsome male dogs are walking down the street when they see a beautiful, enticing, female poodle.  The three male dogs fall all over themselves in an effort to be the one to reach her first, but end up arriving in front of her at the same time. They're speechless before her beauty, slobbering on themselves and hoping for just a glance from her in return.  Aware of her charms and her obvious effect on the three suitors, she decides to be kind and tells them, "The first one who can use the words "liver" and "cheese" together in an imaginative, intelligent sentence can go out with me."  The sturdy, muscular black Lab speaks up quickly and says "I love liver and cheese."  "Oh, how childish," said the Poodle. "That shows no imagination or intelligence whatsoever." She turned to the tall, shiny Golden Retriever and said "How well can you do?"  "Um. I HATE liver and cheese," blurts the Golden Retriever.  "My, my," said the Poodle. "I guess it's hopeless. That's just as dumb as the Lab's sentence." She then turns to the last of the three dogs and says, "How about you, little guy?"  The last of the three, tiny in stature but big in finesse, is the Chihuahua. He gives her a smile, a sly wink, turns to the Golden Retriever and the Lab and says: "Liver alone. Cheese mine."

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