HEARING CRICKETS ALONGSIDE OUR MORNING WALKING ROAD

Another weather-perfect mid-August morning as Pheebs and I again were escorted on our country road walk by dozens of pretty little yellow Cloudless Sulphur Butterflies.  It was a fairylike scene to have all these tiny butterflies flittering around us and moving with us as we walked along the road.  And I noticed a curious thing about them.  Here and there along the gravel road, I saw a few butterflies that had been struck down by passing vehicles.  I saw groups of fellow butterflies gathered around their unfortunate brother and as I passed they would flutter up into the air and then return to the unfortunate one on the road.   I felt it was yet another sign of the great power in this Universe that despite what people think they know, we really know so little.  

 A BUTTERFLY ALIGHTS ON THE ROAD BESIDE ITS FALLEN  BROTHER

It's this mid-August time of year I generally always blog about the early change of the season with its cooler nights and shortening days.  There is a stillness in the air as Mother Nature begins her slow but steady transition from summer's heat and humidity to Autumn's pleasantly cooler days and nights.  Hearing Crickets alongside our walking road this morning really brought the coming change into focus for me.  It is the early beginnings of my favorite time of year.  It is the coming Autumn which gently flavors the cooling air with a potpourri of magical moments and feelings of cozy well-being.

 ALTHOUGH NOT VISIBLE...THERE WERE CRICKETS IN THERE:))

A GROWN-OVER FORGOTTEN FARM LANE LEADS TO AN OLD FORGOTTEN FARMHOUSE

 WE LIVE IN A RURAL COUNTRYSIDE OF ROLLING FARM LANDS

The Huron County Plowmen's Association is having their 96th annual plowing match just around the corner from our Park over the next few days.  I noticed some activity in the large previously harvested wheat field this morning.  The only fly in the ointment for the plowing match is the weather.  It looks like rainy days are headed our way which could dampen the planned activities.  I wish them well.

Not much going on today.  To hot and humid for me to be outside so I stayed inside.  Kelly also had a slow day just kinda resting up.  And Pheebs was quite content to get caught up on a few old forgotten snoozes.     

 KELLY WORKS ON HER GRIP STRENGTH WITH A HAND STRENGHENER

A Blast From Our Past:))  The American Southwest is notorious for its big winds & we have surely found that out firsthand over these past few years. We were boondocking in the desert about 6 miles south of Quartzite, Arizona back in January of 2008 with continuous winds sweeping in from the north each night. It was really reeking havoc on our sleeping & making me extra irritible.....if that's possible!! I blogged about that big wind & my coyote theory the following night & mentioned that in the morning I had gone outside & totally 'Moose Saluted' that old north wind just to let him know what I thought of his nightly antics. Wasn't long & I had some emails asking what a moose salute was so rather than trying to explain it I took a picture of myself demonstrating the moose salute & put it in next days blog. Here is that blog about the wind and...............the Moose Salute!!  ......  From January 14th, 2008  The big wind gusts finally let up last night around 9:30 only to return around midnight with reinforcements. I don't know if that is what woke me up or if it was our border collie Checkers growling like crazy. Next thing I heard were the coyotes & it sounded like there was a herd of them right outside the door somewhere having some kind of a convention. Yips, hoots, yelps, whines, cries, & barks.......they had it all. I think there is probably an old Indian legend around somewhere that says it is the panting breaths of many howling coyotes that cause the mighty winds to come sweeping across the sleeping desert floor in the dead of night.  When I first went outside this morning I noticed the wind had finally abated so without further ado I proceeded to put our awning down & clipped on the camouflage netting. Then, just to be a smart ass I poked my head around the end of the coach, stuck my thumbs in my ears & gave that big old north wind a good old fashioned Canadian Moose salute. Well, you know what happened!! Within half an hour I was scrambling like nuts to get the awning retracted & ended up chasing our Canadian flag across the desert floor after having it being blown right off the flag pole. That wily old wind had returned my Moose Salute with a vengence & he's been chasing my butt all over the southwest ever since........!!

 HERE I AM NEARLY 17 YEARS AGO MOOSE SALUTING THE OLD NORTH WIND

Al's Music Box:(( Little Darlin'  was written by a 16-year-old Maurice Williams with both melody and doo-wop accompaniment strongly emphasizing a Calypso rhythm. First recorded in January 1957 by Williams' group the Gladiolas.  The Diamonds' successful cover version followed a month later.  The Diamonds were a Canadian pop group that evolved into a doo-wop group. The Diamonds' version reached number two in sales for eight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard ranked this version as the No. 3 song of 1957.  The Diamonds' version is generally considered superior. Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine argues that the Diamonds "Little Darlin'" is an unusual example of a cover being better than the original.  The Diamonds' take remained the bigger hit, and over the years, the better-known version. Normally, this would have been an outrage, but there's a reason why the Diamonds' version has sustained its popularity over the years: it's a better, fiercer recording. Both versions are good, even if they're a little silly, because it's a good doo-wop song, giving each member of the quartet a lot to do. At times, the vocal phrases verge on self-parody -- the "ai-ya-yi-yai-yai-ya"'s or the "wella-wella"'s -- which may be why The Diamonds' version is superior.  On the Pop Chronicles, host John Gilliland claimed that their version was in fact a parody of the genre.  Nonetheless, "Little Darlin'" (primarily the Diamonds' version, but to some extent the Gladiolas' version) remains an all-time rock 'n roll R&B classic.

OUR PARK'S LOG PILES CONTINUE TO GROW

GROANER'S CORNER:(( I want to be 18 again and ruin my life differently. I have new ideas.

- I'm on two diets. I wasn't getting enough food on one.

-  It's not how you win or lose, it's how you place the blame!!

- I put my scale in the bathroom corner and that's where the little liar will stay until it apologizes.

- My mind is like an internet browser. At least 19 open tabs, 3 of them are frozen, and I have no clue where the music is coming from.

- Hard to believe I once had a phone attached to a wall, and when it rang, I picked it up without knowing who was calling.

- Apparently RSVPing to a wedding invitation "Maybe next time" isn't the correct response.

- She says I keep pushing her buttons.  If that were true, I would have found mute by now.
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