QUIET SATURDAY AT HOME

MAX ON THE MORNING TRAIL

Aside from slipping over to Deerpark Lodge this morning to take a few branches off a pesky Cherry tree with the chainsaw, it has been a very quiet Saturday.  Branches were hanging out over the pool area making a mess of the concrete walkway around the pool.  Trimmed up a few scruffy shrubs while there & that was about it.  They have a retired fellow who looks after the grounds but every once in awhile I slip over there & put my 2 cents worth in as well:))

Kelly spotted our rascally intruder this morning & I was able to get a few shots of Mama Coon feasting on our birdseed.  It was obvious she had a batch of babies somewhere not far away.  We just let her go ahead & have her breakfast.  Nothing appeared to be broken this morning so I wasn't upset with her.  When she left I wished her well & told her to say hello to the kids for us.

   

Had trouble getting this post to publish tonight & in this space I had a paragraph with a link.  The link was to a site which contained both audio & visual & I'm wondering if that was the culprit that threw a monkey wrench into the blog publishing.  If you are reading this then that means the blog has published & it was that link I put in that caused the initial problem!!

KELLY TOOK THE ABOVE PHOTO of our bayfieldbunch.com sign on the back of our mini van this morning.  It is missing a 'b' & a 'dot.'  Luckily her Son Ben owns his own graphics company & will be bringing us the missing letters this week-end.  FLORENCE SIGNS & GRAPHICS.  Always good to have a graphics company in the family.   I had just placed some potted Sumacs in front of the Motor Home & that is what shows up in the creative rear window reflection looking like palm fronds.

MALE RED BREASTED GROSBEAK

It's always interesting reading other RV blogs to see how people spend their time & what things they find interesting in their travels.  Some folks follow the NASCAR racing circuit while others like to visit the tourist attractions in the areas they are traveling.  For some it's the culinary arts & fine eateries they pursue.  Some folks enjoy historical sites while others stop at interesting cemeteries & museums.  For a lot of folks it's the visiting & social life they crave whether it be with family or friends.   For me personally it is just simply about the honesty of nature & it's beauty.

MALE CARDINAL

GROANER'S CORNER:((  And on this ever faster spinning merry-go-round of life it's not whether you win or lose, but how you place the blame.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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.

BLOGGER POSTING PROBLEM

Am having trouble posting tonight.  Following error message keeps appearing but I will keep on trying........!!

The server reported an error with the following URL:

http://www.blogger.com/feeds/10886995/posts/default

400 Bad Request

MAKING THE FISHING LINES DISAPPEAR

So disappointed first thing this morning to see our two humming bird feeders totally empty with one lying on the ground.  Our Niger seed feeder lay broken on the ground as well & two wooden bird feeders were emptied of their seeds.  And, one of our two suet feeders was missing.  Found it later in some shrubbery, pried open & totally emptied.  It's the work of raiding raccoons in the night & there is nothing we can do to stop them.  Chipmunks & squirrels can eventually be outfoxed but the coons are a different story.  They are too humanlike in their thinking & they have the strength to lift, break, & pry things open.  Very discouraging!!

Turned out to be another in a series of beautiful warm days & I was fortunate enough to have another mobility van run which took me from one sleepy little village, through the picturesque countryside, to several other small villages & back again.  Noticed some of the farmers have taken off their first cutting of hay already & I'm beginning to see fields of corn sprouting.  Shoots are out of the ground about 4 inches.  Agricultural southern Ontario is off to another fine growing season.

WE HAVE POSTED A SENTRY TO WATCH OUT FOR THAT RASCALLY RACCOON TONIGHT

I've been sitting at the computer for awhile tonight & actually headed off in two different blog post directions only to stop & save what I had written for another time.  One post will need photos to go with it & I will have to head out & do some shooting before posting that one.  The other was another lament about being earthbound for the summer but I figured people have heard enough of that out of me for awhile so I stuck that one back up on the shelf for a rainy day.  Maybe if I let it gather a little dust it might take on a bit of character.

 

NOTICE HOW THE BIRDFEEDERS FISHING LINES SPOIL THE ABOVE PHOTO.            

NORTHERN FLICKER....With the Picasa Photo Program's 'Retouch' tool I took the fishing lines out.  I also used the 'Crop' tool to remove a lot of wasted space around the subject.  And, I used 'I'm Feeling Lucky' & 'Auto Color' plus the 'Sharpen' tool. I left the 'Saturation' tool alone in this case. 

 

(click to enlarge)

GREEN HERON.....I caught this little fellow flying about 8 a.m. this morning & the photos are in sequence from take-off at the pond's near shore to landing in a willow shrub on the far side.  I really do think I need to get myself a longer lens soon:))

HAIRY WOODPECKER >>>>

GROANER'S CORNER:((  And did you know that the nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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.

NICE DAY & SOME MEXICAN BORDER MEMORIES

POOR MAMA GOOSE....NO BABY GOOSES THIS YEAR:((

Another cooker today but when you don't have to be outside working in the heat it's not too bad.  Nice mobility van run to London & back this morning in air conditioned comfort.  A big plus from the days many years ago when I might have been out in the back of some new housing sub division on my hands & knees in the dirt laying new sod for hours & hours in the heat.  Yep, did that for awhile in Kitchener Ontario back in the late 60's.

OUR LITTLE 'MOUSE'

I have read in the RV NET FORUMS from time to time about RV'ers having their rigs towing assemblies tampered with by kids while they have been away from their rigs or even around the other side gassing up.  I always make it a point to especially check our tow pins whenever we have made a stop somewhere.  Kids have been known to pull them out &  bicycles have been stolen right off the back of some rigs at fuel stops.  Came across a blog last night that ran into what could have been a very dangerous situation when they stopped at a Flying J for diesel fuel.   Check out R SANITY RV ADVENTURES

ALONG THE FOREST FLOOR

While ranch sitting near McNeal Arizona last winter I noticed they had a small photo group meeting every Monday afternoon over in the little town of Elfrida so I threw my cameras in the car & wandered on over.  Met some great folks over the next couple of months before departing the area & heading further west.  Ray, (RAY'S QCC BLOG) from the group still sends me updates & keeps me in the loop as to what the group is up to & what photo shoots they are out on.   He has just put a BLOG SITE together for the group & you can find photos of their last shoot in the rough & tumbly down town of Naco Arizona on the Mexican border.   Kelly & I were in Naco this past January & here is my BLOG & PHOTOS from that day....complete with a bullet hole in a downtown window!!

 

MAIN STREET NACO ARIZONA....THE MEXICAN BORDER IS DEAD AHEAD!!

We are sometimes asked if we feel threatened at any time while near the border in the Southwest & my answer to that is...no!!  I would feel much safer there by the Mexican border than I would in most large cities I have been too in Canada or the States.  We only had one incident & that was when we crossed into Mexico one time south of Why, Arizona at Lukeville.  You can read about our little scrape here...SONOYTA 

LOOKING DEEP INTO THE HEART OF MEXICO FROM ATOP CORONADO PEAK SOUTH OF SIERRA VISTA, ARIZONA

For the most part it is life as usual just as it is here.  It's when something happens along the border & the media gets a hold of it that makes things seem much worse than they sometimes really are.  We have met many locals in the last couple of years & they all seem less concerned with the problems than people living far to the north.  We have seen people in the desert & we have found pieces of clothing, back packs, etc.  We have heard the ambulances wailing by in the cold nights heading out into the desert to pick up people in distress & we have been buzzed by border patrol helicopters. 

WHENEVER WE HEAR A BORDER PATROL CHOPPER COMING OVER THE RIDGE WE  JUST STAND VERY STILL & PRETEND WE ARE JUST A COUPLE OF SAGUARO CACTUS SHADOWS IN THE DESERT

We have seen the bright yellow flares floating out of the night sky lighting the ground below & one morning we came across about a dozen Mexican folks sitting in single file along a ditch with 2 border patrol guys standing over them.  The group looked to be handcuffed, weary, & worn.  Unfortunately it is the way of life along the border & would we ever consider not going there because of those problems.  No, not a chance.  The American southwest is too special a place not to go & besides, it is just another great chapter in the exciting saga of the daily liveliness & charm of the old wild west..................................:))

    

(click to enlarge)

THERE'S KELLY CRAWLING UNDER THE BORDER WIRE INTO MEXICO EAST OF DOUGLAS ARIZONA - 'ADIOS KELLY'- OH OH SHE'S HEADING BACK TO THE CAR....DIDN'T FIND ANY BARGOOOONS IN THE DESERT I GUESS!!

 

MORNING PHLOX

GROANER'S CORNER:((  I don't know why I consider myself over the hill when I don't even remember ever getting to the top.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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.

NO FLOWER PICS TONIGHT....I PROMISE!!

1956 FORD FAIRLANE

At the risk of totally OD'ing on flower photos I've decided to dig into the files & pull out some old memory photos from last summer's car show in Goderich.  You can see all the cars here......CRUISE DAY IN GODERICH

1930 FORD HOT ROD

Another scorcher today & from what I read on other people's blogs it's a scorcher pretty much all over the place.  Hot summer weather like this can trap you inside just as easily as those cold winter days can but if I had a choice I would take the summer heat over the winter cold.  Don't have to shovel the results of hot weather.

1946 CHEVROLET TRUCK

Hadn't erased my brain software from the mobility van run Tuesday so when I plugged myself into the van this morning my brain computer programmed in my Tuesday run & headed me off in the wrong direction.  About half way to town A  the brain recalibrated itself & flashed me a message saying, "hey dummy, your supposed to be heading for Town B.

1960 CHEVROLET IMPALA

As I said in yesterday's blog I always head out on the early side & that served me well this morning as I was able to cut across country on some back roads & still arrive on time for my pick up.  Thursday morning I am heading for London Ontario which is totally in the opposite direction so hopefully I will have my brain software correctly re-programmed for that.  I don't ever recall heading for a wrong town before!!  But then again, I probably don't recall a whole lotta things:((

1952 DODGE TRUCK

I've noticed a lot less bird activity these past few days with the hotter weather so I guess their appetites are down too.  That's OK because it will give us a financial break from having to buy so much birdseed.

1956 CHEVY BEL-AIR

In keeping with today's car theme pics I figured I'd throw in a link to a post I wrote a couple years ago.  It's about the days when you could buy & sell cars for just a few hundred bucks sometimes.  And, I sure had my share of cars back in those days.  Check them all out here at, LOTS OF OLD CLUNKERS.

1959 CADILLAC

GROANER'S CORNER:((   As we get older we sometimes begin to doubt our ability to "make a difference" in the world. It is at these times that our hopes are boosted by the remarkable achievements of other "Seniors" who have found the courage to take on challenges that would make many of us wither. Harold Schlumberg is such a person.
Q. "What do you old folks do now that you're retired Harold?"
A. "Well...I'm fortunate to have a chemical engineering background and one of the things I enjoy most is converting beer, wine and whiskey into urine. I do it everyday and I really enjoy it. "  Atta boy Harold, you go guy!!

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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.

BUSY MORNING & RECORD BREAKING TEMPS!!

Whewwww, we had ourselves another record breaking heat scorcher of a day here.  Not sure what the official temps were today but I heard on the radio that it was our hottest May 25th on record.  I'm guessing we were somewhere around 90F with humidity to boot.  Predictions are for a long hot summer.

I am an early bird type person which simply means wherever I go I generally like to get there on the early side & this morning was no exception as I headed out with the mobility van for a neighboring town.  Took my time & totally enjoyed the beautiful morning drive through the countryside before arriving in a little town about 30 miles away.  Picked up a fellow with an accompanying  care worker & drove them to a neighboring small town for a medical appointment.  Picked up another fellow right away with his daughter assisting & then a phone (Blackberry) call had me picking up another lady going from the same hospital to home.  Busy morning for sure but everyone was in time for their appointments & Al even had a few minutes to grab a Tim Horton's coffee & sandwich in there somewhere.  I'm off first thing in the morning again to another small town in the area & transporting someone to another medical appointment.  Yep, I'm a happy guy to be working alright & you may notice my posts may be a little more upbeat because of that:))

When I got home this afternoon I figured I had better kick on the A/C because the doggy guys seemed a little droopy from the heat.  Hadn't had the A/C on since last summer so when I flicked the switches I was not surprised the A/C did not come on.  It's just the way things usually are & figured we would have to call the A/C guy.  I was sure I had done things right but figured I'd wait until the head honcho mechanic got home before making any calls.  It took Kelly all of about 30 seconds to have the A/C going!!  She simply checked the fuse panel & noticed the A/C breaker switch was in the 'off' position.  So, with a flick of the switch we were soon huddled under heavy blankets with wooly sweaters on trying to stay warm.  At no time while trying to get the A/C on this afternoon did my brain reach out & tap me on the shoulder & say, "hey dummy, check the fuses!!" 

All of tonight's photos are a small example of what you can do with your Picasa Photo program with just a little imagination & a few clicks of the programs easy to use buttons.  No magic or rocket science here, just an easy to use photo program that can be downloaded from Google for free.  Try it, you will like it:))  PICASA 3.6

And when I clicked on 'Live Writer' tonight it said there is a new version LW available so am wondering if anyone has taken the plunge.  What is your opinion?  Newer versions of things are not always better versions of things so I'm hesitant to try it until some of our wiser computer blog sages write a report on it......whaddya think Rick.

Both Kelly and I had to do a bit of running around tonight to help a couple of folks in the Park with some minor computer problems, so I'm a little late getting to the computer, therefore a shorter blog.  Yes, I can hear the sighs of relief out there...............:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?

A. All were invented by women.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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.

NICE MORNING FOR A MOTORCYCLE RIDE

NO, THAT IS NOT A SPIDER IN THE TULIP

The humidity over the past few days has put that summer warmth back in the air & with today's sunshine we in southwestern Ontario had ourselves another totally beautiful weather day. 

BUMBLE BEEN IN AN AZALEA FLOWER

Saddled up the motorcycle about 10 this morning headed out for coffee at Tim Horton's in Goderich.  Following that I hit the country back roads for a leisurely drive through the farmlands of Huron County.  The aromatic smell of blooming lilacs permeated the air as farmers busied themselves on their land with spring planting.  Cattle lazed in the fields & Mother Nature had on her finest coat of lush Spring green.  Just one of those special kind of mornings for meandering slowly along on the bike.

It's quite an ongoing battle of wits I have here everyday with the half dozen squirrels who conspire daily to thwart my best efforts of making our bird feeders.....squirrel proof.  Hanging the feeders from branches on our Sunburst Locust tree with fishing line has been a big help because the furry little monkeys can't get a toe hold on the thin lines to scurry down.  It is amazing how far they can leap as they continuously attempt to make pin point landings on the feeders from the tree trunk or higher branches.  Their antics are totally comical as I sit at the computer & watch all the shenanigans playing out before me.  It's a merry-go-round as they figure out how to get to a feeder & then I go out & adjust it's location.  They figure out another angle & I figure out another solution.  I tried to hang some peanuts out for the Blue Jays but the Cirque du Soleil high flying squirrel trapeze act got them too!!  On & on it goes.  Me & the rascally black squirrel gang.  What a bunch of mischievous Monkeys.

 

Tuesday I will be back to work first thing in the morning with the mobility van again & I'm looking forward to that.  Going to be a bit of back & forth scrambling between tight schedules in neighboring towns to get several people to various hospital appointments on time but that just adds a little excitement & challenge to the job & I love when things get busy like that.

OUR FERNS ARE GROWING WELL AGAIN THIS SPRING

Kelly's Dad over in Spencerport New York is barely holding his own & grows weaker by the day if it is possible to grow any weaker than he already is.  I never thought the human mind & body could take so much punishment & keep functioning.  He has been in & out of the hospital several times in the past few weeks again & is expected to undergo another surgical operation this week again.  Just a week & half ago he was in with congestive heart failure but made it  through & headed home again.   Like I blogged about before, Frank was one of those Marines fighting on the Island of Iwo Jima & wounded there during the second World War.  He is over 90 now & he's still fighting hard to stay alive just as he had to do all those many years ago in the South Pacific.

                         

                      KELLY & HER DAD

A fellow RVer & Facebooker sent me an email yesterday from an RV Park in Sierra Vista Arizona saying they were heading over to Bisbee & Douglas to have a look around & wondered how to find Belle Starr & her Silverado Ranch.  Emailed Joe back some directions & today he emailed back saying they had dropped in to see Belle on Sunday.  He was quite taken with Belle's spunk & enthusiasm just as we were when we met Belle last winter.  Sounds like they had themselves quite a chat.  Belle is still wheelchair bound but holding her own & still keeping an eye out for some good reliable & trustworthy help on the ranch...................

BELLE & HER GOOD FRIEND HOGAN

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Know how to prevent sagging? Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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.