WHERE CAN I GET A BIG TANK OF STINK BUG JUICE!!!!

QUIET PLEASE..........ARTIST AT WORK:))

Our weather has sure gone into the dumpster. It's the time of year for air conditioners, not furnaces, but as I type this it is the sound of our furnace I am listening to in the background & not our air conditioner. I even cracked on a bit of heat in the van this morning on my driving Goderich.

Kelly rolled out her bicycle yesterday, dusted it off & set about with some colorful acryllic paints jazzing it up & giving the bike a cool new 60's look complete with painted-on flowers, designs, & a stick on hippy peace logo. Her artistic abilities know no bounds. She had Gratefull Dead stickers on her little Mazda 323 years ago too. Quite a cool ret-ro Chick I'd say:))

Followed one of those

inconsiderate cheapskate car drivers this morning. You know the ones.....they save themselves a few hundred dollars when buying a new car by having the dealership take out the turn signals because they say they don't use them anyway. These cheap-o's obviously know what turns they are going to make but couldn't care less if anyone else knows. And one of these days I'm going to install a big tank of stink bug juice on the rear bumper of my van complete with a spray nozzle & trigger on the dash for dealing with.........tailgaters!!!! I see tailgating as one of the absolute & totally dumbest things a lot of drivers do. You can have 2 cars completely alone going down the highway in the same direction with not another single vehicle anywhere in sight & chances are the second car will be sucked up right behind that first car & it will sit there mile after mile after mile. I'm not a slow driver so when I get one of these air heads ramming up behind me I get very upset with their stupidity & would like nothing better than to let him/her have it with a big wonkin blast of good old foul smelling slimy stink bug juice. And the closer he/she is............the bigger the dose. 10-4!!!!

TO-DAY'S HUMOR: Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were a bit cold, so they lit a fire in the craft. It sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

I uploaded some of June's photos to our Picasa web album site to-day & titled the album.....June 2009.

OOOPS, USED ONE OF THE PICTURES TWICE.....TOO HARD TO GO BACK & FIX NOW

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

IT'S ABOUT TIME I GOT MY HEAD BACK UP INTO THE STARS

THIS MORNING'S BUTTERFLY

I have always had an interest in the night sky & it was nearly 15 years ago when I first subscribed to a Canadian Astronomy magazine by the name of Skynews.
An excellent magazine for both amateur & professional astronomers. I like it's easy to understand monthly centerfold night sky chart. Editor & Astronomer Terence Dickinson had an Astronomy book out at the time called Nightwatch which I bought. Armed with that book & monthly issues of Skynews I set about under the cover of darkness learning the night sky. Fortunately at that time we lived in an old farmhouse way out in the country far from city lights & I was able to sit outside many nights with my eyes & thoughts wandering among the stars. STELLARVUE 80mm AT1010 NIGHTHAWK REFLECTOR TELESCOPE

In the summer of 1999 my Aunt in Sarasota Florida drove up to Canada for summer visit. We had been emailing back & forth for about a year & she knew of my keen interest in Astronomy. I didn't suspect a thing until Aunt Jean drove into our driveway, parked, & opened her trunk. There, all carefully wrapped up in a blanket was a white & very professional large looking Meade 4'5" Reflecting telescope. She had bought it as a gift for me & brought it all the way from Florida. What a great surprise that was & I spent many night's that summer under the stars with that scope. However, the following summer the scope met with a premature demise. I had left it on it's tri-pod & set up on the covered cement porch for the night with a blanket over it. In the morning when I came out, the scope was lying flat on the hard cement & broken. Only thing I can figure that happened is the barn cats while running around in the night must have scrambled up the blanket & pulled the whole telescope over. I never had another telescope after that until the summer of 2005 when I bought a new 8" Celestron Dobsonian reflector. Don't know what I was thinking because this scope was way beyond my learning curve & patience. Plus it was heavy & had to be carried around in two pieces everywhere. It was a year later when we bought our truck & fifth wheel that I realized this scope would not be suitable for traveling anywhere so headed over to London & traded it in on a smaller more portable Stellarvue 80mm Nighthawk Refractor telescope. Didn't have a proper tri-pod for this scope & by the end of the summer I had lost interest in it, put it in it's case & stuffed it under my bed. That was 3 years ago I did that & to-day I hauled out that Nighthawk telescope, dusted if off, & set it up in our driveway this morning. I was actually planning on selling it & had put an ad on the Kijiji site in London last week. Had one reply from a fellow by the name of John & as we emailed back & forth he suggested I should keep the scope because it had good reviews in one of the Astronomy magazines. With a few helpful telescope tips & accessory suggestions from John I began to re-think my selling plans. If I can adapt my Nikon cameras to this scope & get myself another eyepiece plus something called an erecting prism I might just be on my way happily back to the starry night sky & some new photo opportunities. I have been missing my nightly wanderings in the heavens for too long now & it's about time I get myself back up into the awesome reaches of our wondrous Galaxy.............:))

Awwwww yes, I like this thing called................... "excitement!!"

My spellchecker seems to on the fritz to-night so please excuse any mistakes. I must remember to feed it in the morning!!

TO-DAY'S HUMOR: What is the difference between Bird Flu and Swine Flu? For bird flu you need tweetment and for swine flu you need oinkment.

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

BETWEEN A DRAGGY TUESDAY & A SLUMPY THURSDAY

OUR RESIDENT HOCKEY WHISTLE FROG AIRING UP TO BLAST HIS HOCKEY WHISTLE

If yesterday was a productively busy day then to-day was the total opposite. Aside from doing some painting in the motorhome it was just simply a dull gray morning followed by a duller gray afternoon.

It's Canada's Birthday to-day but just doesn't feel quite right when the day falls in the middle of the week. July 1rst generally means a lively long week-end, not a dull gray Wednesday buried somewhere between a draggy Tuesday & slumpy Thursday. Well, Happy Birthday anyway Canada!!

COPPER COLORED SPOOL OF THREAD CENTER FOREGROUND IS THE THREAD THAT WENT INTO OUR CAPS & VEST YESTERDAY

Not as many frogs in our little pond this year as others. Sounded pretty lively back in the early spring but then they kind of faded away. Right now we have a mating pair of hockey whistle frogs making quite a racket every night. They are a kind of very camoflauged tree frog that come to ground for a couple of weeks in late spring or early summer. I call them hockey whistle frogs because they sound just like a hockey referee blowing on his hockey whistle full tilt in an acoustically noisy sports arena. WAITING FOR THE SUNSET IN BAYFIELD'S PIONEER PARK

Thanks to everyone again for the constructive & positive feed back on the Bayfield Bunch logo. By the sounds of things we may be seeing some more creative logo efforts popping up in some fellow RV'ers blogs soon. The Paint program is in everyone's Windows operating system & it's free. Press, Start-All Programs-Accessories-Paint. Head on in there, take your patience with you, trot out your creative side, & have some fun:)) Oh, & take some old rags with you in case you get paint all over you & the keyboard. I did!!SOME GREENERY ALONG THE TRAIL

On our RV card logo (don't like to use the words "business cards" because we're not a business) we put, TheBayfieldBunch.com & on the back of the photo vest we put, BayfieldBunch.com because we found that either one typed into Google brings up the same result except one asks...Did you mean the Bayfield Bunch but it's the same result. The word "The" on the card looks better there but we figured just Bayfield Bunch was better on the vest without the word "The." At least it all sounds good in theory.............................sorta:))

TO-DAY'S HUMOR: A six year old goes to the hospital with her grandmother to visit her Grandpa. When they get to the hospital, she runs ahead of her Grandma and bursts into her Grandpa's room... "Grandpa, Grandpa," she says excitedly, "as soon as Grandma comes into the room, make a noise like a frog!" "What?" said her Grandpa. "Make a noise like a frog because Grandma said that as soon as you croak, we're all going to Disney Land!!!"

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

LASER COMPUTED EMBROIDERY ON OUR NEW CAPS

KEVIN SOEHNER LETTERS UP SOME BALL CAPS FOR US TO-DAY

Turned out to be a dull gray day with sporadic rain showers for most of the morning. Just as well because it turned out to be a busy day on the computer with emails coming in & emails going out. One email from El Centro in California came from a school district requesting permission to use some of my photos from the Tumco Mining site & the Salton Sea area this past winter on their about to be redesigned website. I happily agreed & will receive a photo credit. A nature magazine in England last winter published one of my desert photos in conjunction with an artist's rendering of a salamander as well so it's a nice feeling to know people are enjoying the photos. Just goes to show you never know who's looking at your stuff:))

Both Kelly & I generally wear hats in the southwest quite a bit & it dawned on us last winter that we should be wearing hats that told where we are from. After all, I wear my Arizona hat up here quite a bit so it's only fair we wear Bayfield hats down there. Problem was in finding Bayfield hats/caps we like. There were a few in some shops in Bayfield but nothing we really fancied. Last week Kelly came across a place in Goderich that not only sell the kind of hats we wanted but they also put on the hat whatever you want. So, this afternoon we headed for
Goderich on some errands & thought we'd stop by the place to have a look.

N'SEW ON (and so on) is located at 53 South Street & we were surprised to be greeted by such a friendly personable fellow by the name of Kevin Soehner. (friendly retail people are as scarce as hens teeth these days) He dropped everything he was doing, showed us some hats, & explained how the high quality custom embroidery process worked. Within the space of 35 minutes he had done up two new hats for us plus embroidered BayfieldBunch.com on the back of my photo vest to boot. It's all done by some manual labor on Kevin's part, a lot of instant mathematical computing by a computer & some very accurate laser-light precision sewing by a fast stitching machine. The 5 minute process for each hat took 2,880 stitches to make up the words, Bayfield Ont. Canada. The photo vest lettering took 6,400 stitches & was done in a short 12 minutes. In Kevin's advertising it says they're fast turnaround time & friendly service make them an ideal place to do business with. Well, we can sure attest to the friendly service & fast turnaround time alright. Not often you find a fellow as pleasantly humorous as Kevin Soehner anymore. And the best part was yet to come. I was busy taking pictures while Kelly paid for everything & when we got back to the car I cautiously asked how much it all came too & was floored by the answer. I sure didn't expect to pay 1950's prices in 2009. What a pleasant shock it was to FINALLY have something done that wasn't an out & out money grab. Thank-you Kevin for giving us a little hope for the human race's moral & ethical business practices again. Kevin doesn't have a website (he's waaaaaaay too busy) but can be reached by email at nsewon@gmail.com
I will include a few pics in the blog to-night & put the rest of the photos in June's web album shortly.

Also had an email from http://www.fulltime-rving.com/ with an invitation to join the site & submit an RVing story which I did. So all & all it was a very busy day despite all the gloomy weather outside. And Kelly forced me to pose for these pictures!!
PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
WE PURPOSELY KEPT THE LETTERING LOW KEY

FIXED KELLY'S HAIR & SQUARED OFF MY BLACK HAT

PIONEER PARK SUNSET OVER LAKE HURON, BAYFIELD ONTARIO CANADA

It seems I was standing on a white sailboard with a large dark green canvas sail overhead. Someone was standing beside me silently talking. The sailboard appeared to be sitting in a small grassy parking lot somewhere at the foot of a steep hill. I was aware of many songbirds somewhere & they seemed to be drawing me away from my friend beside the sailboard. I could see his lips moving but it was only birds I was hearing. I struggled to get back with him but the strength of twittering birds prevailed & slowly pulled me toward the light of consciousness & out of my dream. As I slowly opened my eyes I could hear the morning's songbirds outside my window and saw directly in front of me a pair of big brown eyes just beyond my nose. Cora, our little Motormouse dog was curled up right there on the pillow peering intently at my puzzled face. What a great way to start another day:))

Well, my great start to the day didn't last long as I stepped on the scale for my Monday morning weigh-in & was greatly disappointed to see the number 209 appear on the read out. This is a gain of 3 pounds from last Monday morning. With the exception of one piece of rhubarb pie two weeks ago, one strawberry shortcake a week ago, & one bacon & egg breakfast I have totally stayed away from all sweets & fried food since starting out. Very discouraging for me to say the least!!

Thanks to all the folks for sending in suggestions on our Bayfield Bunch logo. Made the suggested changes this afternoon, straightened out a few lines on the coach, re-aligned the headlights, re-did the grill, put a green dress on Kelly & a blue shirt on me. Fixed Kelly's hair & squared off my black hat too. Oh, & I added a set of clearance lights at the the top of the rig as well. Kelly's youngest Son in Cambridge owns his own graphics business so we are going to send the logo over there & he can figure out the correct sizing, etc. Right now the logo is more of a square than a rectangle. Neither Kelly or I wanted to wrestle with those mathematical configurations on the printer set up here at home.

YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE CHANGES I'VE MADE.....THANKS GUYS:))

Kind of a strange weather day with pockets of rain randomly coming in off the lake whenever they felt like it.......

TO-DAY'S HUMOR: A man woke up in a hospital after a serious accident. He shouted, 'Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs !' The doctor replied, 'I know you can't - I've cut off your arms !'

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

HAVING A WHIRL AT CREATING A LOGO

The rains began sometime in the night & continued on & off for most of the morning. Our dog walk was rained out as was any other outside activities. In all Microsoft operating systems is a program called Paint. I had never paid much attention to it over the years but on this rainy Sunday morning it was about to get my undivided attention for an hour or so.

I'd had it in the back of my mind for quite awhile to try my hand at designing a Bayfield Bunch logo. Just a little something we could put on a piece of paper or card to exchange with fellow RV'ers on the road. It would save having to scramble for a pen & piece of paper to scrawl email addresses or websites on.

Started out by going to Clip-Art sites on the internet & trying to find drawings of cactus, trees, a motorhome, etc. Found some pictures but couldn't quite figure out how to join & size them together so gave up after a bit & decided to have a go at drawing the stuff myself. It was at this time I remembered Microsoft's Paint program so with mouse in hand & a bunch of uncharacteristic patience I set about figuring out the programs tools, brushes, lines, pointers, pencil markers, colors, erasers, text & whatever else it had in it's little bag of tricks. Logo at the top of blog is a first draft. Any suggestions for changes.??

Haven't figured out how I'm going to get this logo onto paper yet when it's done but Kelly has a lot more experience with printer programs & formats so maybe she can figure out the workings of our seldom used printer & come up with something. Regardless, it was kind of a fun way to spend an hour or so on a dull gray & rainy Sunday morning.........................:))

TO-DAY'S PUN: An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.

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

THE "OOOOOPS" FACTOR

I WONDER HOW MY 3 MOST BEST ARIZONA PALS ARE DOING...........
GLEESON ON THE LEFT, PEARCE TOP CENTER & CORKY ON THE RIGHT:))
What a bunch of wild & crazy guys they are:))
(Click pictures to enlarge)

While reading Travels of John & Bridjet this morning I was reminded of the OOOOOPS factor & stories I've heard about RV'ers backing into trees, catching roof air conditioners on low hanging branches, tires flattened on high curbs, awnings torn off in high winds, open bin doors spilling contents onto the highway, tow dollys & vehicles becoming detached from their tow vehicles, 5th wheels being dropped onto truck beds & just about anything else you can imagine. And, of course we have had our share of OOOOP's as well:((

Last summer a pine tree jumped out from behind another pine tree & OOOOOPSED off an open rear bin door. Two summer's ago while moving the rig forward our carport must have swung on it's cement post foundation & OOOOOPSED an open screen door into a twisted pretzel. Pulling out of a campsite in Silver City New Mexico last November I nearly OOOOOPSED a whole electric post right out of the ground with the driver's side of the motorhome. I have also pulled out & OOOOOPSED a couple of electrical cables. OOOOOPSED a rear hydraulic jack last November near Alamogordo New Mexico when I dropped the rig down too hard on an over extended jack. OOOOOPSED both sides of the rig with some nice desert pin striping while motoring through chollo shrubs in the desert looking for boondocking sites near Why, Arizona. Two years ago we OOOOOPSED both dual wheels on the passenger side into a ditch in Lindsay Ontario while trying to make a tight right hand turn into a darkened parking lot late one night. OOOOOPSED our satellite dish in Quartzite Arizona by not anchoring it down properly & having a big north wind slam dunk it into the desert floor & if I were to think about it for a bit more I could probably come up with some other additional good OOOOOP's as well!! Click here to read about our LINDSAY OOOOOPS two years ago:((
And to you guys out there who would never admit to an OOOOOPS......good luck keeping your socks dry while walking on water!!

Had a mobility van run this afternoon & I was once again reminded how fortunate most of are. Having to spend your middle age confined to a wheelchair all alone in a couple small rooms dependant on medications for the rest of your life is not a fate I would wish upon my worst enemy. Very sad.

Looks like a wet rainy week heading our way so I might have to get my rubber ducky out & put my water wings on again........................... "Glub Glub"

TO-DAY'S PUN: Two cows are standing next to each other in a field. Daisy says to Dolly, 'I was artificially inseminated this morning.' 'I don't believe you,' says Dolly. 'It's true; no bull!' exclaims Daisy.

And did you know......The most dangerous animal in the world is the common housefly. Because of their habits of visiting animal waste, they transmit more diseases than any other animal.

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

NICE MORNING FOR A BACK ROAD MOTORCYCLE RIDE

I MISS MY MOODY MOUNTAINS (Borrego Springs, California)

The humidity was gone out of the air to-day making for a really pleasant morning. Perfect for a motorcycle ride so I headed off out into the countryside. Local country roads were hard packed from recent rains & dust free making for some nice enjoyable slow scenic riding. My favorite kind:)) Years ago Kelly & I went on a "Food Drive" motorcycle run with about 40 other motorcyclists. It was a 4 hour ride with a couple of stops in between & it was the first time I had ever ridden with a bunch of other motorcycles. By the end of the day I knew I would not be doing that again. For safety sake each bike is confined to a small riding block in the formation & if you stray out of that block there could be a serious collision with another bike. Not my idea of a relaxing enjoyable ride so if & when I go somewhere................ I go solo!! Never was much for group decisions anyway.

We lost a neighbor to cancer yesterday. Just recently retired & looking forward to spending summer vacation & travel time with his wife & little dog. Had just purchased a newer truck & travel trailer this past winter. He was only 62 & it is a reminder that at this age & stage the hands of time are winding down much quicker on all of us. Do whatever it is you want to do now............. while you still have your health!!

When is a travel blog not a travel blog? Does it cease to be when the traveler's return home? Does it lose it's travel status when the blogger stops blogging about travels or does it lose it's status when the blogger blogs about thoughts, feelings, & opinions of non traveling issues? Hmmmmmm, just curious.........................

TO-DAY'S PUN: Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: 'Does this taste funny to you?
And did you know.......Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air.

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

AWWWWW NUTS, I MISSED THE HAIL STORM TO-DAY!!

AND WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE FOR CHRISTMAS PRETTY LITTLE GIRL

Ho Ho Ho...........6 months from to-day will be Christmas. I didn't get any pictures for the blog to-day so have included some pics from Christmas Day 2 years ago in 2006 when the Bayfield Bunch was staying in Pancho Villa State Park in Columbus, New Mexico. We had gone to a Christmas Day dinner put on by a volunteer group of town's people at the local hall. After the turkey dinner we heard what we thought were sleigh bells on the roof & the next thing we knew Santa Claus blew through the front door with a big sack of presents for everyone. Kids & Seniors alike all ended up on Santa's knee that day including Kelly & I:)) HELP, GET ME OUT OF HERE!!

It's been about a month since I last took the motorhome for a run so took it out for the 16 mile around the country block tour this morning. Everything checked out fine & the rig ran like a fine tuned swiss watch. We have been very pleased with this coach since purchasing it used back in April of 2007. It's not a high end motorhome & the workmanship & materials used in the coach are nothing to write home about but the Chevy Workhorse chassis, Vortec engine coupled with an Allison transmission, have been very smooth & reliable. SOME LOCAL ENTERTAINERS

I couldn't help but think as I was driving along this morning how much I wished we were still on the road traveling somewhere. I've been to Canada's east coast several times but Kelly has never been there. I have always wanted to return to British Columbia for a visit since leaving there in 75 too. Would like to travel the coastline of Oregon & Northern California as well & summer is really the best time to do that. Montana, the Dakotas, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, & others await. When I look out the window & see the motorhome just sitting there month after month it just kind of drive's me buggy. So much to see & do yet & so little time left to see & do it all in!! That economic downturn last September & the winter's downslide of the markets sure rocked us back on our heals & forced us to re-consider our future plans. I'm still hopeful though that we will have many years of mountains & canyons in our future. Sitting at home watching the world pass us by is not an option!!!!
COLORFULLY DECORATED HALL WAS FILLED TO CAPACITY LATER

Heard thunder out over the lake & noticed dark skies to the north in the direction of Goderich late this morning. Had some errands to run in Goderich anyway so grabbed my cameras & headed off in hopes of getting some storm pictures on the beach there. As I approached the harbor area the rains came & within minutes it was raining so hard I couldn't get out of the van anyway. What I didn't know was that back in Bayfield the town was being pummeled by hail. Just as well I didn't know that because I would been going bonkers worrying about our solar panels on the motorhome's roof being smashed. I saw what hail did to Kelly's car years ago so I know the damage hail can do. By the time I got out of Wal-Mart & headed back to Bayfield the storm was over. It was later reported on the local 6 o'clock news that a tornado touch down had destroyed a house about 60 miles inland from us. Soon as I got home I scampered up the rig's ladder onto the roof & much to my relief the solar panels had withstood the hailstones & were fine.

And Ontario's liquor stores have averted the big bad booze strike so countless thousands of hard core drinkers have stepped back from the brink of absolute panic & are once again comfy in the knowledge they will have a perfectly normal alcohol infested summer after all................................

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

ALAS, AN EMAIL FROM FELLOW RV BLOGGER GYPSY:))

ALL PHOTOS IN TO-DAY'S BLOG ARE OF A FLOWERING ASTILBE IN OUR FRONT YARD

It's been nearly a month now since fellow RV blogger Gypsy97 headed off to Lassen Volcanic National Park in northeastern California for a summer job & disappeared off our cyber radar screens. She is doing well & sent us the following email this morning which I'm sure she wouldn't mind me posting here.............................. "I came to Sacramento for the birth of my granddaughter (9:17 pm yesterday). I'll be here for a couple of days before heading back to Lassen Volcanic National Park. I love it there, although I have no electricity (also troubles with the generator), no cell phone & no internet. I'm supposed to use the Park radio that was issued to me to keep in contact, but I am at such a secluded spot the radios don't work all that well. Love the folks I work with, the campers are generally nice, but once in a while I have to deal with stuff.It is really a paradise up there and I'm looking forward to returning for a few summers to come. I have been keeping an update for my blog, and will try to get it posted before I leave Sac. It'll be a long one, but I will divide it up into smaller parts. Left my reading glasses back at the Park so I will have to buy yet another set of drugstore glasses to see what I'm doing. (I can barely read what I'm typing here, but you will get the picture.)I miss y'all too, but I will be back." Gypsy When I hear the chorus of songbirds outside my window in the morning I know it is 5 a.m. & time to roll out another new day. I don't know exactly why I get up that early but I just do. Figure if I were to sleep in till 9 or 10 I would probably think I had died & figure the day was half over anyway so what's the point of getting up. Well, that's my logic anyway.

Disappointed this week to find out my back to back 5 a.m. Andy Griffith TV shows have run their course & been replaced by something called Matlock which I have no interest in. Oh well it's just nice to sit quietly by the open patio door & listen to the morning's early song birds. Even the old noisy crows have their kaaa kaaa-ing song parts in the treetop symphony of sounds. Sandra's blog yesterday mentioned a common nuisance for this time of year & for the rest of the summer as well. "BUGS" Our morning's walk yesterday was brought to an abrupt halt when we entered the pine forest. I was immediately swarmed by cluster flies, mosquitoes, & flying hippopotamus's which are brought on by warmer humid weather. One of the reasons we like the American southwest so much in the winter is it's lack of bugs. Walking, hiking, & all outside activities are always pleasurably bug free:)) Spent some time motoring through our beautiful rural farmland again this morning. Crops are quickly emerging from farmer's fields & acres upon acres of waving grass are already being cut for feed & hay. An eye catching swatch of bright yellow on the horizon turned my attention to a large wild mustard crop amid a sea of greens for as far as the eye could see. Many farms along the roads compete for attention with their sweeping mowed lawns, stately maple trees along gravel lanes & colorful flowerbeds around the houses. Cattle & horses lazily graze in sun splashed pastures. It all makes for beautiful country scenes you may only see on picturesque calendars. I really must get out there with my cameras & take some pictures.

TO-DAY'S PUN...... Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.

And did you know there are 206 bones in the adult human body and there are 300 in children (as they grow some of the bones fuse together).

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

FLYING ELEPHANTS & DINOSAURS IN THE SKY

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS WILD FLOWERING SHRUB IS BUT IT REMINDS ME OF SOMETHING WITH A LOT OF YUMMY WHITE ICING ON IT......& SPRINKLES:))

Remember those days long ago as a kid when you would take a blanket outside on a sunny warm summer day & lay on your back watching the big white fluffy clouds lazily drifting by. In those billowing clouds were endless exciting shapes for a small child's imagination. Big scary faces, rumbling rhinosauceruses, elephants with long grayish like wispy trunks, dinosaurs with long bending necks, flying pigs, rabbits with towering ears, cherubic babies with outstretched arms, & anything else a child's mind wants to see. To-day was one of those fabulous sky days as I made a mobility van trip over to Stratford. All the way there & back a circus like parade of big nosed clowns, portly ringmasters, & fairy tale animals floated high overhead visible from my side window. It made for a quietly pleasant drive on a fine summer day & tells me the fabulous imagination of childhood is still very much alive & well within this little boy's mind:)) DAISIES

Watching the local news to-night I see a bunch of Ontario's liquor stores (booze stores) are planning to go on strike this summer. The local TV station interviewed some people on the streets about their reaction & of course everyone is in a panic because their booze supply may be temporarily cut off. Isn't it amazing how addicted the North American population is to their booze supply. One lady was all worried because they had company coming this summer & what would she do!! Our whole society revolves around alcohol. Socially acceptable alcohol of course. Of course!! What would our fine honed upstanding populace think if they knew they were consuming a drug. Yes, a drug. Doesn't matter if you smoke it, pop it, shoot it, sniff it, or drink it..........a drug is a drug is a drug. And a mind altering drug at that!!

Some of you may remember my blog & pictures last week about Grand Bend Ontario & their newly renovated beach. In that blog I expressed my concern about teen-agers trashing the towns dedicated efforts & hard work. I finished that blog wishing Grand Bend "good luck.: Well, the drunken immature booze infested teen-agers rolled in this past week-end................and trashed the beach!! Unfortunately it will not be a one time thing. The trashing will continue not only on Grand Bend's beach but all over our fair land year after year & decade after decade. As long as people continue to drink, promote, & socialize their accepted & favorite mind altering drug, nothing will change. And to the lady who is so bothered about the booze strike affecting her company this summer. Have you never heard of tea, coffee, fruit juices, water, shakes, pop, etc. etc. etc. Come on world, wake up & smell the stupidity & madness around you!!!!!!

I know most readers will not agree with this post to-day but for the few who do...............thanks for taking the time to understand the very serious reality of a ballooning blight on our society.

Yikes...........where did all that just come from. I'm oughta here!!

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THESE ARE EITHER BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF THEM ALONG THE MORNINGS PATHWAY

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

YAY IT'S SUMMER.....NOW I HAVE SOMETHING NEW TO COMPLAIN ABOUT:))

DAY LILY

Monday morning weigh-in......206. Down 2 more pounds from last week but I was a bit disappointed in that number. Gonna have to chalk it up to that strawberry shortcake last night!!

First full day of summer rolled in this morning right on queue bringing with it warmer air & sunshine. Soon the humidity will build & I will be so glad to have something new to complain about instead of the same old cold & wet weather complaints I've had to listen to all spring.

It was a nice working day as I took a lady to Stratford & back in the mobility van. While at the main entrance of the hospital this afternoon I was reminded of another time I was there with the mobility van two summers ago. I had taken a lady in a wheelchair inside & while I was in the hospital some low life scum ball drug infested low life came right into the mobility van & stole my Fuji digital camera & Sirius Satellite radio. I had seen him sitting on a picnic table smoking near the main entrance when I pulled in but my attention was on the lady as I left the van for a few minutes to wheel her in the front door. I have zero tolerance for garbage people like that & I'm still mad as hell about that incident!!!! The police informed me at the time that Stratford was infested with druggies & they themselves were having difficulty dealing with the upsurge in crime. Too bad because I spent 20 years in Stratford & had found it a nice place to live from the mid 70's to the mid 90's.

It's another working afternoon for me to-morrow as I once again head back to Stratford with a fellow going there for an eye appointment. I'll be on the road Wednesday morning as well so I consider myself very lucky to have had 3 part working days in a row. The company I drive for is going to equip all the vans with Blackberries very shortly & there may be a seminar one night this week for all the drivers & others on how to use them. That would be a good thing. When it comes to phones I'm still back at rotary dialing 101. Phones are not my favorite thing!!

Rick sent me over a comment on how to put a link in the blog without having to use the whole address so I'll try that here. I'm in Outlook Express right now but when I copy & paste this email into the blogger dashboard I will try that. If Rick's name at the beginning is highlighted then you know it worked & Al has taken one more large step for himself & made one more large leap for mankind. Oh boy, wait till I go from rotory 101 to Blackberry 9000:))

Dragged the power washer out this morning for the first time this season & power washed a bunch of cement sidewalk slabs. Nearly power washed my feet into oblivion too. Man oh man those pressurized jets of water are powerful. Great way to get that garden dirt out from under your fingernails though......................................:))

TO-DAY'S PUN....... A set of jumper cables walk into a bar. The bartender says, 'I'll serve you, but don't start anything.'

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

VISITING WITH OLD DEPARTED FRIENDS & RELATIVES

OH OH, THIS STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE & WHIPPED CREAM ISN'T GONNA GO GOOD WITH MY MONDAY MORNING WEIGH-IN TO-MORROW:((

My post on Twitter & Facebook this morning was, "Just checked my watch again to see how many hours are left before we can head for the southwest again this fall!!" I guess that kind of tells you what kind of mood I was in all day. I won't get into a big long spiel about being home for the summer but let's just say if I had my druthers we would be out there somewhere on the road with mountains on the horizon chasing down exciting adventures & creating more endless hours of new memories. AMEN!!

Ever wonder about dreams? I am a lite sleeper so frequently wake up 3 or 4 times during the night. Not very restful but I do dream a lot & I figure the reason I remember them is simply due to the fact that I don't slip into that deep heavy sleep for the entire night. I have also learned that as I am waking up from a dream I can remember it better if I don't open my eyes. I can liken it to opening the back of a camera with a roll of unexposed film in it. As soon as the light hits the film the images are erased. Same thing with the brain so if I'm coming out of a dream I resist the urge to open my eyes & look at the clock. Well, as long as it was a good dream anyway. I try to go back into the dream sometimes but it usually begins to fade & I'm only able to retrieve bits & pieces most of the time. I like the flying dreams best as I float over trees & people on the ground. I have never remembered a landing but my take off is always the same. I take about 4 quick steps forward & very carefully step up into the air & begin to float skyward. Sometimes I fly very fast but most times I just kind of move along slowly hovering over things here & there. And sometimes there are others in the air with me but they don't seem to fly quite as well. Meeting old friends is another part of the dream process I enjoy. People from 50 & 60 years ago drift in & out. No rhyme or reason but all of a sudden there they are & I'm talking to them. Could be someone I only met once or twice decades ago or it could be a current friend. The people who have the most impact & leave the longest lasting memories for me are the ones who have passed away. In any dream sequence a departed friend or relative may appear & it is always such a good feeling inside to once again see & talk to them. And then they drift away into the mist & a sadness fills the void. It's those dreams that I try to hang onto as I'm waking up. I try to re-enter the dream & run after that old friend to see them just one more time but they are gone until they re-appear in a dream again to once more put a smile on my sleeping face..................

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

ASTRONOMY vs ASTROLOGY

MARTEN ARTS GALLERY

The rains began around 7 this morning bringing with them a warm front which enshrouded the whole coastline in fog thus putting an end to any hope for a sailboat regatta to-day. Bayfield seems to have bad weather luck when it comes to their annual Sail & Canvas event each year. (I later found out the boats did go out in the fog but you couldn't see them from the shore anyway)

Noticed on my FEEDJIT site that a lot of folks clicked on one particular picture from yesterday's blog so this morning while in Bayfield I stopped & took a few more photos of "Marten Arts Gallery." It was not well identified in the photo yesterday.

We have an older fellow in the park here who does superb woodworking in his garage now that he is retired. He uses exotic woods to painstakingly make very fine vases & bowls etc. After assembling the woods into patterns he turns them on a lathe & finishes them to a fine product. It had been a hobby but more & more people have been urging him to sell his handiwork. Hank decided awhile back to do that so I helped set up a web album site for him & you can see his woodworking skills here... http://picasaweb.google.com/paduka75/RIVERROADWOODCRAFT#

While browsing around this morning on our favorite RV Net Open Roads website http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm I clicked on one of my favorite forums called, Around The Campfire. One of the topics was titled, "Is anyone here into Astronomy?" That perked my interest because astronomy is another one of my interests & I know my way around the night sky reasonable well. I bought a book called "Nightwatch" by Terence Dickinson back in the spring of 2000 & have spent many contented hours with my sky charts & flashlight under the stars learning the constellations, planets, galaxies, & stars, etc. Astronomy is often confused with something else called Astrology & I am always quick to point out that the two of them are totally different. A few years ago I came across the following explanation about the difference between the two & I think the writer sums it up perfectly..............

ASTRONOMY vs ASTROLOGY

People sometimes confuse Astronomy with Astrology. Although related in ancient myth they are literally light years apart in the realm of fact & fantasy. Here is a brief explanation of the difference....
"Astronomy is a science that compels us to seek beyond ourselves and our small world, a science of discovery that enriches our lives by exercising our brain and our intellect. It empowers you to think clearly and rationally. It improves and sharpens critical thinking skills." It may even encourage you to free up your mind to think beyond conventional religious beliefs.
"Astrology disempowers you. By placing your future in the accidental configuration of planets and stars, you avoid taking responsibility for your actions, you fail to make decisions based on your own best self interest, and you give up the power to control your own destiny. Belief in astrology results in a degradation of critical thinking skills, which, combined with the loss of power to control your own destiny, can only serve to degrade your life, not enrich it."
"Be in charge of your life. Experience the mystery, awe, and excitement of observational astronomy..............................................

I'm going to try using medium size photos in to-night's blog & that should make them clickable to enlarge. I will try some different structuring as well. Despite last night's spacing mess I did learn some things. To-night's pics are Bayfield oriented so I will put in my link again for the Bayfield Photos I took last August.
BAYFIELD TOUR http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/gallery/5845016_7pESE#362675509_zZfh9

Maybe one of these fine days I'll even figure out how you people add links by just using a name instead of the whole address like I did above. And, I've noticed some sites are able to read the photo captions by just holding the mouse over the photo. How do you smart people figure all these things out anyway.............................:))

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