1961 FORD THUNDERBIRD (this is like the one I blogged about a few days ago)Looking out the window first thing this morning I wondered if the Thunderbird car rally was going to be on to-day. Heavy cloud cover overhead & it felt like rain with all the humidity in the air. We didn't get far on our walk either because of the mosquitoes & biting sand flies.
57 T-BIRD
Kelly headed off to Deerpark Lodge for the day & I set up my camera & scope near our front yard frog pond in hopes of photographing a few birds at the feeders. No easy matter but the birds have been teaching me some rare patience!! I'm used to automatic settings on cameras where everything like exposures & shutter speeds is done in fractions of seconds with no thought or input from the person behind the camera except for composition. Trying to photograph a fidgety little bird half hidden 40 feet away in a cluster of branches with a totally manual telescope attached to a camera on fully manual settings sitting atop a tri-pod not designed for telescopes in the first place is a real fine exercise in quiet prolonged patience. What a great way to wake up the brain & learn some new camera techniques, and I'm loving every minute of it. . 
55 THUNDERBIRD
55 THUNDERBIRDHeaded over to Bayfield's Clan Gregor Square around 11:30 this morning & sure enough there were the Thunderbirds this time. Not as many as the Corvette show earlier in the month but I think the threatening weather had put a damper on a number of Thunderbird owners. About 50 or 60 were there & more kept rolling in for the half hour or so I was there. First stop was a black 61 T-Bird just like the one I had blogged about a few days ago in, Moonstruck By A Thunderbird. It even had the same red interior. Always figured if I would have ever had the chance to have a hobby car it would have been an early 60's cigar shaped T-bird. Stopped at a small booth for a hot dog & ended up dropping a big load of hot dog relish onto my D50 Nikon so figured it was time to pack it in & go home. To see the photos from to-day's rally just click on THUNDERBIRDS.D
2002 THUNDERBIRD
Had an amusing afternoon with Chippy our new resident Chipmunk who has claimed the pond project area for his new digs because he likes the new birdfeeder buffet. I have 2 birdfeeders on a metal shepherd's hook pole & Chippy saw that as a direct line to Al's diner. Tried some clothespins on the pole but that didn't stop him so I put some white trailer hitch grease on it. That worked for awhile & it was comical watching Chippy slip sliding on the pole. Didn't take long for the grease to dry out & Chips was back up that pole & knee deep in birdseed again. I now have more birdseed in the pond than the local birdseed store has on it's shelves. Noticed a lot of frog tadpoles in the pond a clustering around the seeds. Apparently they have found that new buffet of yummies to their liking as well. Oh great, so now I'm going to have to contend with flying frogs in another few weeks!! Undeterred I went into my little workshop & headed back out to the pond with my trusty oil can. I lubed up that birdseed pole real good then went back up on the porch to watch the shenanigans. Wasn't long & Chippy was back & this time he had brought Mrs. Chippy. Obviously a planned night out at Al's Birdseed Diner. Well, it wasn't to be because neither one of them could get up the pole. The Diner dinner was a bust & Mrs. Chippy let Mr. Chippy know it too. With a flurry of harsh shrieks & tweets she was off through the shrubbery & headed for home followed closely by a somewhat disappointed & embarrassed Mr. Chippy!!
And you know what, I could swear that little Chipmunk turned around before disappearing under a large rock.........and gave me the finger!!!!
And you know what, I could swear that little Chipmunk turned around before disappearing under a large rock.........and gave me the finger!!!!
1960 FORD THUNDERBIRD HARDTOP (complete with 2 ladies inside)GROANER'S CORNER: I couldn't quite remember how to throw a boomerang, but eventually it came back to me.
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
A few errands to run this morning so headed off to Goderich for my number one stop at Tim Hortons. On the way I spotted a host of colorful wildflowers growing alongside the road so that quickly turned out to be my first stop instead of Hortons. I always travel with a camera of some kind & this morning was no exception as I parked the van alongside the road & cracked off a few flower pictures. Despite all the human turbulence in the world it is truly a beautiful planet we live on & I was reminded of that once again as I strolled amongst the roadside flowers with my camera. A picture here, a picture there, & I was on my way. 
Decided to move some bird feeders into place around the pond project this afternoon in hopes of attracting some fine little feathered friends to my camera lens. I'm happy with the results I'm getting with my telescope & camera arrangement lately so I'd like to try my hand at some more feathery critters now. I have really been enjoying my new found photography interests these past few weeks & that has helped take some of the edge off this long & slightly boring summer.
By the looks of our computer weather map here we have a lot of rain headed our way to-night. Not good news for the Ford Thunderbird enthusiasts who are planning their annual get to-gether to-morrow in Bayfield's Clan Gregor Square. It's all grass there & I don't think the fellas will want to be getting their vintage Thunderbirds all muddied up. I'll grab a camera & head over that way in the morning anyway just in case the rain misses us. The early 60's cigar shaped T-Bird has always been a favorite of mine ever since I saw my first one many years ago in the village of Tavistock where I lived. I still remember when the Sommers family down the street bought a brand new jet black Ford Thunderbird. Wow, it was as sleek as a space ship. I would often see one of the older boys, Jim, driving that bird & like a moonstruck teen-ager I was totally mesmerized everytime Jim & that car cruised by. I would always stop whatever I was doing & watch for as long as I could trying to imagine what kind of heaven Jim Sommers must be in driving that long, low, sleek black Thunderbird. Back in those days, that's what dreams were made of for a young carstruck teen-age boy.................:)) 