SITTING IN DARKNESS LISTENING TO ‘THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE’

A PEACEFUL DRIVE THROUGH OUR RURAL COUNTRYSIDE THIS MORNING
We don’t always miss everyday sounds……..until the sounds cannot be heard anymore. Could be a television in the background, furnace coming on, a whirring fridge motor or the recycling of a water heater. At 6:59 this morning we had all those sounds. At 7 a.m. we did not. It was all part of a 4 hour pre-planned electricity shut down by our power company. Everyone affected received a telephone call a few days ago by the company informing them of the power interruption while they worked on some area maintenance issues.
I skittered about this morning filling jugs of water and lining up some candles. Brewed my cup of coffee, fed the furry guys, grabbed a shower and whirled up my routine breakfast shake. Just made it into my chair with laptop in place as the lights blinked out right on time at 7.  Now it was just candlelight and the glow from my laptop computer screen.  I was enveloped in silence, and silence has never been my friend.  Took me a few minutes to think of my music library on the laptop.  Then, I remembered Simon and Garfunkel and quickly accessed my library and sure enough, there it was, the ‘Sounds Of Silence.’ It was a great song in the mid 60’s and it was a great song this morning again as I sat quietly in my chair:))  ♪♫ Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again. ♫♪

A RELAXING STROLL THROUGH A COUNTRY CEMETERY It was 7:45 before the morning sunrise cast enough light through our darkened windows allowing me to blow out the 5 candles I had set around. But, now what to do with the remaining 3 hours. Pheebs was raring to go for a morning walk so off we went.  We couldn't coax Motor to go though, she doesn't like the cold mornings.
On our return I could see it was going to be a nice day so threw the cameras in the Jeep and headed off out into the countryside.  I don’t take Pheebs along when I have camera gear in the Jeep.  Fired up my iPod, plugged it into the Jeeps sound system and spent a couple relaxing hours cruising along with the, 'Sons Of The Pioneers:))  Still a fair few coloured leaves left on many trees so it made for a scenic drive.
<<< MANY LEAVES ARE DOWN NOW BUT THERE ARE STILL BURSTS OF AUTUMN COLOURS TO BE FOUND
343 is a memory number for me.  All the years driving for the Stratford Airporter years ago my driver's number was 343. Many times my words, "343 to 687" meant I was calling my home base in Stratford or "343 to 352" meant I was calling another driver with my vans two way radio. "343 to 510" meant I was radioing a dispatcher in Kitchener Ontario and “343 to 99" put me in touch with a dispatcher at the transportation desk in terminal 2 of Pearson International Airport in Toronto Ontario. Whenever I see that number now whether it be on a digital clock or as in today's case, my Blog Followers list I am always reminded of my 13 years transporting people to and from the Toronto Airport.  With that thought in mind we welcome JOOL as our 343rd Blog Follower.  Noticed some of Jool's interests include, RV Living, Full Time RV, Casita Travel Trailers, Women and Single RVers.  Welcome aboard Jool, nice to have you along:)) 

From time to time I receive questions about photography and am I professional photographer.  Jool wondered this and inquired about my camera equipment in a comment on Saturday's blog.  First, no I am not a professional photographer.  Just a guy with some camera equipment who enjoys photography as a hobby.  I have 4 cameras.  My two main cameras are a Nikon D90 and and a Nikon D40.  The D90 carries a Nikkor 18-55mm lens and the D40 carries a Nikkor 70-300mm lens. Both lenses are interchangeable with either camera.   The camera I carry with me on my belt every day is a point and shoot Canon Powershot SX210is and my fourth camera which generally resides on a table beside my chair is a point and shoot Canon Powershot A730.  All fine cameras that do add to the final photographic image but if you are not aware of your surroundings, a camera can be of little use.  Some folks might be interested in my SEEING WITH A PHOTOGRAPHER'S EYE post which I wrote back in July. 

EVEN THE HULLET MARSH WAS QUIET THIS MORNING
GROANER'S CORNER:(( 
A Russian, an American, and a Blonde were talking one day.
The Russian said, "We were the first in space!"
The American said, "We were the first on the moon!"
The Blonde said, "So what? We're going to be the first on the sun!"
The Russian and the American looked at each other and shook their heads.
"You can't land on the sun, you idiot! You'll burn up!" said the Russian.
To which the Blonde replied, "We're not stupid, you know. We're going at night!"
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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

OUR SOUTHWEST TRAVELS….VACATION OR LIFESTYLE??

TOOK THIS PICTURE OF MYSELF USING A NIKON D50 ON A TRIPOD AND SELF TIMER  WITH THE LIGHTING BEHIND ME  COMING FROM THE JEEP’S HEADLIGHTS….I AM TAKING A PHOTO OF THE FULL MOON COMING OVER THE SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS EAST OF ELFRIDA ARIZONA….CAMERA I AM USING IS A NIKON D40 WITH MY TELESCOPE LENS…..IT WAS A COLD NIGHT SO I HAD 37 LAYERS OF CLOTHES ON AND THAT IS WHY I LOOK SO BIG…………YA RIGHT!!

I have never looked at our 5 or 6 months in the southwest during the winter as a vacation.   In my mind, a vacation is 2 or 3 weeks away relaxing on a beach or at cottage somewhere.  We took a travel trailer up to Killbear Provincial Park near Parry Sound, Ontario about 12 years ago for a couple weeks and I considered that……. a vacation.

HIGHWAY 82 HEADING EAST TOWARDS HUACHUCA CITY ARIZONA

Our lifestyle in Bayfield is nowhere near our lifestyle on the road.  Everything is different (including my attitude:)) Different country, different people, different house and greatest of all, different scenery which has the great option of changing whenever we want to change it.  I once had a neighbour say to me, "well, it's nice to get away for awhile in the winter but then you have to come back to the real world." That statement stuck in my craw all summer that year as I pondered those words.   Our half year life on the road is every bit as real as our half year life here in Bayfield.

BOON DOCKED JUST A FEW MILES NORTH OFJOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA

I noticed while traveling that I rarely think of our life in Ontario and when I do, the memory always seems so far away that it just doesn't really seem to matter a whole lot.  Our life in Bayfield is like an old faded memory from a far distant Planet.   Only time my thoughts turn to our Bayfield life is the last few weeks around the end of March before we return from the Southwest.  Can’t say those are good thoughts for me.

CASTLE VALLEY NEAR MOAB UTAH BACK IN 2008

I have blogged a few times before about us having the best of both worlds and of course in many ways it is true.  I think most people would probably agree with me on that one.  Pretty darn nice having a home base and yet be able to travel for half the year.  But, only half the year……….  Unfortunately for me, I was just  born with a restless spirit and too darn much travel juice in my blood!!

Our two reality worlds will soon be switching places once again as we head off for our second home in the land of deserts & mountains. Our other lifestyle. That other reality.  My personal favourite of……………..our two lifestyles:))

 

WE ARE GOING TO DEARLY MISS A COUPLE OF OUR BEST OLD TRAVELING PALS THIS WINTER

GROANER'S CORNER:))  I got in a fight with my wife last night and it was totally my fault. She asked me what was on the TV and I said............"dust."

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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.

-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.

OUR PICASA PHOTO ALBUMS   http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy

The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.

BUSY DAY & A NASTY HAIL STORM!!

WE HAVE BUSY LITTLE BIRDS IN OUR FRONT YARD GARDENS (I may have posted this pic before but can't remember)

Turned out to be a busy  Monday as I filled in for a driver this morning & used the company's mini-van to move a fellow from one town to another for a short medical appointment.  This afternoon I was back in the mobility van & off to London with a young disabled fellow & his Mother on board. 

         

PARKED AT LONDON ONTARIO'S WELL KNOWN & RESPECTED UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL LAST WEEK

We were almost at our destination when the sky's opened up & we got hit with a short & savage rain storm with beating hail & nearly zero visibility.  Sounded like the hailstones were coming right through the windshield.  Fortunately the heavy deluge of ice & rain only lasted about 10 minutes but it was enough to spawn immediate flood warnings on the local radio station & it was amazing how much water was cascading down the streets.

HAIL ON THE GROUND BESIDE A HOUSE & SHREDDED LEAVES ON CAR OUT FRONT

Someone asked again what camera equipment I use & because I didn't get on it right away I have forgotten who it was so I'll include a link to a post I had done about that on September 19th of 2008 just in case that same person happens to be reading this tonight.  Just read the camera part & disregard all my other blusterings that day in long ago September.  The country was in full blown financial meltdown at the time & so was AL's attitude.......again:((  Click on..... NIKON CAMERAS

 

COUPLE OF NIKONS & A CANON.....NIKON D50 ON THE LEFT WITH THE D40 ON THE RIGHT & CANON BOTTOM RIGHT (Am hoping to trade that longer 55-200mm zoom lens in for a 70-300mm zoomer shortly) Photo was 'colored popped & sharpened' in Live Writer:))

Whenever I see we have a new follower I generally click on their profile to see who they are & if they happen to have a blog site.  That is how I have come across other folks interesting RV blogs & have sometimes included their links in my posts.  In the last little while I have generally liked to try & give new bloggers or new followers a bit of a jump start by including a point of interest from their post into my blog.  Latest follower Terry K's profile shows most of his categories as 'classified' so I am not too sure what that is all about.  My experience has been that most folks are very free, honest,  & open, with their RV lifestyle & blog sites, etc.  So, TK if you are a legitimate follower, I say welcome.  If not................??

WAITING PATIENTLY FOR A HUMMINGBIRD TO SLOW DOWN!!

My external hard drive seems to be acting up tonight again & is not letting me access my file photos.  I have a lot of photos stored on there.......or did!!

HAVING A LOOK AT ANOTHER JEEP.....2005

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband stalking around with a fly swatter.  "What are you doing?" She asked.  "Hunting flies" He responded.  "Oh, killing any?" She asked.  "Yep, 3 males, 2 females," he replied. Intrigued, she asked "How can you tell?"  He responded "3 were on a beer can, 2 were on the phone."

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UNAWAKENED"

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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 FINE THANKSGIVING DINNER WITH A FINE BUNCH OF LOCAL FOLKS

 

BISBEE’S MULE MOUNTAINS COMMUNICATION TOWERS

We woke up to a slight cloud cover this morning & that meant some temperatures above 32F for a change.  My feet didn't freeze to the ground when I stepped out of the rig.  The cloud cover also signaled an incoming weather change.  The day started out calm as I relaxed in a lawn chair with my 10 o'clock coffee soaking up some warming rays & quiet serenity.  Minutes later I'm nearly upside down as the first wind gusts swept into the valley blowing swirling clouds of dust before them.  The rig's awning was bouncing & the flags were snapping as we scrambled to get the awning up & secured to the rig.  Just goes to show you can never leave your awning unattended in the southwest.  That wily old wind is always nearby tucked away in a canyon somewhere just waiting for you to head off to town & leave your lawn chairs out & your awning down.  I'm sure it finds great pleasure in swooping down, scattering tables & chairs & bending awning arms around like pretzels.  I swear someday's I can hear that mischievous old wind laughing as it goes blowing by with a load of somebody's laundry in it's clutches.  It's enough to blow the underwear right off a horse.

OUR CHILE LIGHTS IN A DRAGOON MOUNTAIN SUNSET

Noticed we had a new blog follower this morning & would like to welcome fellow Canadian Pat from Guelph Ontario & his blog, TRAVELS WITH LEFTY Welcome aboard neighbor:))

SAND HILL CRANES WINGING THEIR WAY HOME AT THE END OF THE DAY

Received an email from Marianne at, THE RV TRAVEL BLOG this morning.  Turns out they are also Canadian neighbors from Elora, Ontario & while checking out our outdated links site I came across these folks at FULL TIME RVING.  Both of the these sites are very informative & I would recommend you have a look at them.  I can see I am going to have to update & re-vamp our links section because I had totally forgotten about one of them & didn't have the other one linked at all.  While double-checking our blogger list I also came across DOWN THE ROAD FROM DOGPOUND'S latest post 3 weeks ago which I had totally missed in the flurry & fog of Bloggerville. I wonder how many other folks I have missed:((  I did finally catch up on our email correspondence with readers but also feel I've missed some of you so have decided to deal with each email right away from now on as soon as it lands on the desktop.  Well, that's my well intentioned plan anyway!!

It's the American Thanksgiving Day here & I've noticed a lot of other bloggers giving thanks to various things so I'll add our thanks to the roll.  No great grandiose thanks to imagined ethereal entities or supposed worldly Saints.  Just a very simple & realistic thanks to all you folks out there who send in your comments & emails to the Bayfield Bunch.  Thanks to you all for reading our simple little travel blog & thanks to our fellow bloggers for sharing their daily lives.  And a special thanks to my family members both living & deceased for making this whole Travel with The Bayfield Bunch possible.  Somewhere down the road I will share with you all the true motivation of why I do this blog every day.  

TO-NIGHT’S MOON OVER ARIZONA (Nikon D40 in combination with a Stellarview Nighthawk refractor telescope)

I successfully dodged the snipping scissors this morning & kept my gray locks to grow another day.  Even got away without having to trim my beard.  Kelly fixed up a Sweet Potato Baked Casserole for the potluck Thanksgiving dinner over at the FRIEND'S OF THE SOUTHWEST (Quaker Intentional Community) this afternoon.  I was a bit apprehensive about this place having religious overtones but I needn't have worried.  We arrived at 1 p.m. & met a fine bunch of local people who made us feel welcome & comfortable.  About 2 dozen people altogether.  A diverse bunch of backgrounds & I'm sure everyone had a tale to tell of how they ended up here in the Sulphur Springs Valley of southeast Arizona.  A lady sitting across from me had moved with her husband to this area several years ago from Alaska.  Several friendly Mexican fellows were there from Agua Prieta across the border from Douglas.  Lots of great food, fine deserts, & friendly people.  We received several invitations to visit people at their homes & we learned a bit more about the history of the area.  One lady at the table told us about the history of the Quaker like community, but 10 seconds into her description my short term memory had already forgotten the first 5 seconds so I'll have to try & remember to write things down next time.

 

		THANKS FOLKS:))

THANKSGIVING DINNER AT THE FRIENDS OF THE SOUTHWEST CENTER NEAR McNEAL, ARIZONA             (Click the pictures to enlarge them)

We were back to the ranch shortly after 3 & by then the wind had subsided & it turned out to be a pleasantly warm day with a nice sunset.  We had eaten so much turkey at the dinner this afternoon that we skipped supper entirely.  Took a few sunset & moon photos & that was about it for another fine Arizona day.  To-morrow morning we'll head off to Pearce for their annual, 'Old Pearce Heritage Days' & maybe brush shoulders with some real wild west cowboys:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumor.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

MY SMUG MUG (I am finally working on updating this site)

http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

ANOTHER PAINFUL PAINT STAINED DAY:((

A NEARLY FULL MOON AS SEEN FROM OUR FRONT YARD THROUGH MY NIKON D40 & 80mm REFRACTOR STELLARVUE NIGHTHAWK TELESCOPE LAST WEEK...... Should have mentioned that I cropped, enlarged, & added some contrast & color to the picture as well. Don't know why horizonal & vertical lines appear in the photo except it might be pixelation from enlarging)

My whole day was spent inside with my nose to the paint brush. When having to do something I'm not fond of doing my idea is to just get on with it & get it done so I can move on to something else I do like to do. I should also mention that yesterdays blog comments about the cupboards being outdated, old, & dark were all placed in my mind by my lovely wife, Kelly. Women are more attuned to cosmetic changes than men are & the decision to paint the cupboards was definitely a cosmetic one. I WILL BE SOOOOOOO GLAD TO GET THIS PRIMER COAT FINISHED

Now, let's have a look at this from a totally realistic man's perspective. First & foremost, there was absolutely nothing wrong with those kitchen & bathroom cupboards. No cracks, no broken parts, no old paint peeling off, & no wood rot. We had replaced the knobs on all the doors about 3 years ago so I thought that was sufficient to bring them into the 21rst century but a woman's mind knows no logical restraints & so sure, change was afoot. Puts me in mind of the old saying, "if it's not broken-don't fix it, but it was too late.....the decision had been made & I am but a bit player here in the Bayfield Bunch's grand scheme of things!! LILY PADS FROM ATOP A COUNTRY ROAD BRIDGE

So, with those thoughts in mind I have been diligently painting away changing perfectly good dark woodgrained cupboards into, well..........that remains to be seen. At least the two hardest tasks are finally over with the long boring preparation & primer painting behind me. Now I can begin to put on the first coast of melamine paint which at this point I have no idea what shade of white it is going to be. I'm a man so white is white....right!! Kelly picked it out at the paint store & went with a 'warm' white. What's warm about white I ask!!!! I probably would have went with a brilliant fuscia orange or something. White is not my favorite color & I guess that's why this blogs background is a dark gray & you can tell by the looks of my blog that I see the world in bright color.......not black & white!! And if the Canadian Tire store ever has a sale on colored spray paint I'm gonna get a hundred & fifty five cans of something & spray our big white motorhome orange, green, blue, burgundy, yellow, khaki or whatever paint they have most of in stock!! A HUMMER

After the past 2 days of contortionist scrambling around on the floor & up down the stepstool my troublesome & very painful right knee is totalled, I'm in my recliner with a cane propped against the chair & I'm down for the count. Definitely NO MORE PAINTING to-morrow!!!!

SELF PORTRAIT IN A DIRTY VAN WINDOW

Kelly's on the way home with a burg & fry's (only my third burg & fry combo in 5 months) from the Docks & all will soon be well in the paint stained world of the Bayfield Bunch's Rembrandt AL:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Blessed are the cracked for they are the ones who let in the light!!

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

CANADIAN HEALTH CARE.......AND A GREAT GOLF IDEA

PHOTO ABOVE shows the Nikon D40 camera & Stellarvue Nighthawk telescope combination I'm learning to use for the bird photos. My left hand is on the tightening knob for tilting the 720mm scope lens up & down. Directly below that is the knob for swinging the lens left & right. Below that, visible on the tripod is a crank for raising or lowering the camera & lens on the tripod. The round gray knob directly above my watch is one of two focusing knobs on the lens. My right hand's forefinger is back on the trigger of the camera & it also runs the exposure compensation button while my thumb adjusts the exposure by turning a dial on the back of the camera. By the time I've made all the adjustments the bird I'm trying to take the picture of has probably already left the country. Beside me on an unseen table sits a second Nikon camera with a 200mm zoom lens, my bird ID books, a pair of 7x35 mm binoculars, & a cup of cold coffee:))
LARRY, CURLY, & MOE......THE GOLDFINCH BROTHERS

With the current problems regarding the American health care system going on in the States right now we have received a few email inquiries from RV friends. There is soooooo much mis-leading information south of the border. My Aunt Jean in Florida also emailed us yesterday with a few questions about what kind of health care we have here in Canada. She writes.......
"Are your doctor visits paid for, or do you have a co-payment? What about hospital stays & surgery? Does the plan pay for any medications? I'm sure you need a referral from your primary doctor to see a specialist of any kind, & approx. how long is the wait to get an appointment. There is such a debate going on down here about Healthcare, one doesn't know what to believe. I presume the rules & payment plans have changed from when the program was first introduced back in the 60's." I've meant to ask you about your OHIP,(Ontario Health Insurance Plan) & how that works BEFORE the age of 65.

NUTHATCH ON A SUET FEEDER

Kelly wrote the following response to my Aunt Jean......
"There is not much difference after age 65. Except you get your prescriptions for $4.00 per script. Also after 65 you get a free eye exam every year. ( pay for your own glasses though. But you get most of that back on your income tax refund. All Dr. visits are free, you are allowed 1 complete physical per year. ( no co-pays ever) you can go to your doctors as often as you want, he can request any blood test he deems necessary. Hospital and surgery free. Ambulance has a co-pay, but not much. You do need a referral for any specialist. I had to see a cardiologist for a stress test and waited one week. Then was referred to Kitchener for a myocardial nuclear infusion , that wait was one day ! I was really impressed. One thing to remember though, neither Al or I have had to deal with a long term major illness.
I know there are pros and cons, but for us, we are thankful to have the care we do without payments of any kind. We can walk into any hospital in Canada and receive free care. I realize that is why our gas it more, a bottle of wine is more etc, etc... I'd rather pay a little more for things and not worry about how to pay for a health care plan...
Anyway... that is my opinion Jean for what it's worth .... Kelly (P.S. I wish Dental was included, have never understood why it isn't)" FEMALE GOLDFINCH ON LEFT....MALE ON RIGHT NEVER KNEW A MORNING DOVE HAD SO MANY SUBTLE COLORS

You can see Kelly is much more knowledgeable on this medical stuff than I am. Only thing I know is if I cut my finger she told me to just put a band-aid on it, shut up, & don't whine!! THIS RED BELLIED WOODPECKER WAS MOVING UP THE PINE TREE SO FAST I ONLY GOT ONE POORLY FOCUSED SHOT OF HIM

Noticed a fair number of RV folks are golfers. I've tried about half a dozen times over the years to get interested in the game but it just never grabbed me. Even bought a used set of clubs back in the early 80's hoping that might spur me on, but it didn't. I'm not one for competitive sports at all & maybe that has something to do with it. There is one thing though that I really liked about golf.....the golf course!! To me, golf course are so beautifully landscaped & go hand in hand with Mother Nature. I love all the shades of green blending to-gether. Golf courses are so scenic with their flowers, trees, ponds, sculptured sand bunkers, & winding pathways for the golf carts & people traffic. Long sweeping fairways bordered with towering trees against deep blue skies dotted with white fluffy clouds makes for picture postcard landscapes. The few times I played, it wasn't the game that caught my attention, it was the scenery. Always thought how nice it would be to just leisurely enjoy the peace & tranquility of the golf course without having to undergo the stress of smashing a little white ball all over the place with a metal club......And then this morning I had a "light bulb" moment regarding golf courses:)) MALE RED WING BLACKBIRD

Seems kind of unfair to me that only small select groups of people are permitted to exclusively use golf courses. If I owned a golf course I would set aside a special day (maybe 3 or 4) every week for Seniors & special interest groups like walking & hiking clubs, photography clubs, bird watchers, nature clubs, artists, horticultural organizations, environmentalists, etc. Bus the Seniors from the care facilities, nursing homes, & Seniors clubs to the golf course then arrange for volunteer golfing people to transport the Seniors around the fairways on the golf carts. I'm sure somebody could come up with a way to safely carry wheelchair folks on some kind of tram pulled by a small vehicle of some kind as well. Think of the endless enjoyment older folks would get from being able to move about in such a beautiful setting. Set up a nice afternoon lunch in the clubhouse & just make it a great outing for the folks. The peacefulness of a golf courses lends itself perfectly to bird watchers, nature photographers, & artist types. Smooth golf cart pathways make for healthy walking. Horticulturists would love the landscaped gardens & all the environmentalists would be a happy bunch indeed. Awwwww, if only:(( But, it's not likely ever going to happen because it's not likely I am going to own a golf course anytime soon.........................But, if I do.....:)) GREAT NORTH AMERICAN PORCELIN BIRD:))

GROANER'S CORNER: Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.

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 PRODUCTIVE CAMERA AND TELESCOPE DAY

STOPPED ON MY WAY HOME FROM LONDON FOR A FEW TEST PHOTOS IN A ROADSIDE SWAMP

Monday morning weigh-in....209. Well, at least I'm holding my own & I haven't reverted back to my bad old eating habits:)) NIKON D40 MOUNTED ON THE NIGHTHAWK SCOPE FOR MORE TEST PHOTOS IN THE FRONT YARD

Seems there's a big black crow who seems to take great pleasure in perching outside my window every morning at dawn & crowing me right up out of bed & onto my feet. Oh well, different lows for different crows!! I THINK THIS CAMERA & SCOPE ARE GOING TO WORK WELL TO-GETHER

Since hauling my telescope out & dusting if off a few weeks ago I have been in touch with O'NEIL PHOTO in London in regards to what accessories I needed for the scope to make it adaptable for my Nikon camera as well as some different powered eyepieces for Astronomy purposes. This morning I packed up the camera & scope after breakfast & headed off for O'Neill's Photo in London. Joe O'Neill was expecting me & it didn't take him long to round up the necessary pieces for the scope. He has the same Nikon Camera I have & because this was actually Joe's old scope he was familiar with how everything worked. I had traded in my monstrous Celestron Dobsonian at Joe's 3 summers ago for the Stellarvue Nighthawk I now have.
With some instructions, a few test photos out the window, & a hardy Hi-ho Silver, I was on my way home again secure in the knowledge I now had a dual purpose scope with which I was finally happy. More test pictures from our front porch at home later confirmed my satisfaction. Going to be a learning curve though when it comes to something called "exposure" but that's ok because it's going to push me into the more creative side of photography & make me do more of the thinking rather than just letting the camera do everything for me. I have got a bit lazy over the years with, "automatic this & automatic that!!" The Nikon camera cannot automatically adjust the exposure with this scope set up so that is now up to me to figure out using the manual settings on my camera. So far so good & I'm encouraged by the first test results. UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE CONTROL

I was reminded of my short term memory while reading WANDERING WILLY'S blog last night. He had lost a lens cap & it took him awhile to figure out where it was. I carry a favorite ball cap in the saddle bag of my motorcycle for whenever I stop somewhere. When I take my helmet off my hair is such a floppy floop I have to put a ball cap on so I don't scare anybody. Yesterday while in Goderich I had the hat on while walking around taking pictures of the Point-Counterpoint II boat docked in the harbor. Upon returning to the bike & set the hat on top of a saddle bag while I put my helmet on, jumped aboard the bike, & roared off for home. Well, me & the bike made the trip OK but my hat obviously decided to stay behind. So, all you nice Goderich folks up there, if you happen to see a powder blue baseball cap with the words, Las Vegas on the front could you please pick the little fellow up, dust him off, keep him safe, & send me an email:)) Our addy is on the website. I thank you, my floppy floop thanks you, & I'm sure my hat will thank you too. Came across a fellow's blog a few days ago that had fallen through the cracks & been lost in our bloggers file for awhile. He had first contacted us while we were in the southwest this past winter. Ivan at the time was traveling alone having recently lost his pet cat & traveling companion, Harley. Noticed he had some nice mountain photos from up around Lake Louise on his site so sent him a note to say hello. He not only found another traveling companion, he found two. Not only is there another cat in Ivan's life, there is a girlfriend too & they are about to depart on a roadtrip to the Yukon. Slip on over & hitch yourself a ride with Ivan & the gang at ROADTRIP 09 as they head to a place Johnny Horton sang about years ago.........North To Alaska:)) EVEN OUR PLANTED PLASTIC FLOWERS IN THE SHADE DON'T LOOK TOO BAD:))

And, did you know RICK has himself some competition in the family. You've heard of dueling banjos but that ain't it. How about.........dueling bloggers!! Yep, Paulette has set herself up her very own quilting site called, SWEET PEA QUILTING AND CREATIONS. Welcome aboard the "Blog Log Express" Paulette. Hang on tight cause it leaves the station most every night..............................:))

TO-DAY'S HUMOR: Went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day, but couldn't find any.

I'm going to start putting another photo album to-gether to-morrow for the month of July. I have a few more pictures from Sundays American Waterways Wind Orchestra boat in Goderich harbor.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/