HATS!!....WHO NEEDS EM ANYWAY!!

THIS HERE HAT'S MY FAV...RIGHT FROM THE 'HIGH LONESOME' STORE IN ELFRIDA, ARIZONA.......YES SIREEEEE:))

For over 60 years I got away with not having to wear hats.  Never did like the darn things anyway.  Always figured they made people look kinda silly & what useful purpose did they serve besides making people look....well, kinda silly. 

And, what do I mean by looking silly??  Ok, it doesn't get much more silly looking than those ridiculous things sitting on the top of Queen Elizabeth's head over there in that England place.  Coon traps, Beaver dams, old  rusting battleship gun turrets with wild paint splashed on them?  Not just her, but seems like all those royalty fluffs have their head's adorned with some kind of goofy looking foreign & lost machinery parts of sorts!!

 

AWWW C'MON DAD, ENOUGH WITH THIS HAT STUFF!!

Now, back here to this side of the pond!!  I never liked ball caps & that's probably because they were always popular & all the guys were wearing them.  Curved brims, flat brims, big letters, flashy logos & whatever else could be dragged through the garden & put on them.  Never did like those Dutchman caps either.  Reminded me of some little kid standing around with his finger stuck in a dike somewhere.  And besides, they looked kind of wussy or something.  Always liked Cowboy hats though but up here in our neck of the woods in Ontario a feller runs the risk of being carted off in an unmarked white windowless van to the funny farm if he were spotted wearing a cowboy hat.  Kinda like Woody, from the cartoon character in the Tom Hanks movie, Toy Story.  Ya just kind of stick out like a sore thumb!!

DAISIES BY DAYLIGHT

Never had to wear a hat until we started RVing a few years ago.  And, I say I had to because I sure wouldn't stick one of those clothy mossmagators on my head if I didn't have to.....but here's my problem!! 

STOPPING TO SMELL THE BUTTERCUPS

I'm pushing 66 & still have a full head of hair & it's naturally curly.  I can quickly look like a bushy gray Brillo pad on any given damp day.  I have a tendency to grow my hair a bit on the long side because I don't care for that shaved billiard ball look that is supposed to be so cool these days.  Don't want to be thought of as 'going with the flow' you know!!

AN OLD CROW KEEPS A WARY EYE ON THE BAYFIELD BUNCH WALKING BY

My hair problem begins sometime in the night when I'm sleeping.  I go to bed looking reasonably civilized for 65 but by the time morning rolls around my head looks like the whole Chinese Army did a route march right from one side of my left ear to the other.  And, by the looks of it they all apparently wear hob nail boots too!!!!

BLUE SKIES ABOVE THE SUMAC LEAVES

When we are home for the summer I can get away with this because I have a shower every morning & wash my hair.  I can get it wrestled down into some kind of controlled flattened pattern of sorts & if I mousse it to death enough the pattern might hold for the day thus preventing me from scaring small children on the street & elderly folks on my mobility van drives.

CLEMATIS FLOWER IN OUR BACKYARD

Boondocking is our preferred lifestyle while we are on the road during the winter season.  Because of a limited water supply I am unable to have that daily morning shower or even wash my hair in a bucket.  The only option I have is to plop one of those misguided monkey caps on my head to cover up the scary hair plume.

HEY, YOU LOOKIN AT ME AGAIN!!!!!

Luckily, in the American Southwest cowboy hats are the norm & preferred head coverings for all the locals.  Big hats in a big land just seem to go hand & hand.  I blend right in with my big 22 ten ton cowboy hat & I am totally comfortable with that.  However, there are some problems here too.  We have a small car & I have a big cowboy hat.  Only room for one of us in the car at the same time.  The wide brim interferes with my picture taking as well but then again so does the brim on a ball cap unless I spin it around backwards which by the way you can't do with a cowboy hat or your going to end up looking like the east end of a horse going west.

I tried wearing my black cowboy hat to work one day a couple summer's ago.  There isn't a lot of room to maneuver around in the back of the mobility van & it kept falling or getting knocked off while I tried to fasten the floor belts to the wheelchair frames.  The last straw came when I bent over to pull an elderly lady's wheelchair into the back of the van.  Hat fell off & landed in her lap.  She quickly beat it to death thinking she was being attacked by a giant black widow spider!!

Now, here's the really scary part.  This winter time RVing hat habit of mine has followed me home again this year!!  First noticed back in 07 that I was beginning to wear those menacing head muffins even though we were home & I was back into my daily shower routine.  Without even thinking anymore I just automatically reach for one of my goofy ball caps before heading out the door every morning.  Guess I should mention here that girls can wear these ball caps much cuter & better than guys do.

CLOVER

Years ago I beat an alcohol dependency & then a tobacco dependency.  Now, here I am again at 65 dealing with another dam dependency.  A 'hat on my head' dependency!!!!!!!!!  Ya, ya, I know.............get a haircut, quit my griping, & go to bed!!  Say, how about a nightcap.  A cappuccino perhaps:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( And remember to be extra nice to your kids because they could be the one's choosing your nursing home someday!!

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"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/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

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

WE HAVE A PAINTER IN THE FAMILY

MARKING OUT A DESIGN ON AN ELFRIDA GOURD IN THE BACKYARD

A month ago I was grumbling & complaining about having too many 'nothing days' & today I am happy to have a....nothing day:))  No mobility van runs until Wednesday so it was a quiet day at home getting caught up on a lot of computer stuff plus outside jobs. 

Kelly started a couple of paint projects that kept her busy for most of the day.  She decided to repaint some old & peeling deck furniture.  While the first coat of paint was drying from that project she moved on to painting up some gourds.  Last winter while at the ranch near McNeal Arizona we had picked up some gourds at the Elfrida Community Gardens.  Figured they might make for some colorful bird houses.  Today Kelly tried her artistic hand at some creative paints & designs for the gourds. 

 

KELLY'S DECK FURNITURE PAINT PROJECT...THAT WHITE COLOR IS ONLY A BASE COAT OVER THE BLUE & DARK YELLOW

Some of my time was taken up with transplanting some Hostas & weed trimming.  Most of my time was spent on the computer.  I always get excited whenever an email comes in from someone asking for permission to use any of my photos.  That is always very personally rewarding for me & just kind of puts the icing on the RV lifestyle cake.  Last night an email arrived from Pearce Arizona wondering if a few of my Camp Rucker photos from two winters could be used in an article on the GRAPEVINE CANYON RANCH blog site.  Sure can:))

Looks like we have a lot of rain headed our way & tomorrow is going to be a soggy one.  I will be out with the mobility van in the afternoon so better remember to take my rain coat.

 

Photo tip.....If your subject is in shade on a sunny day, use your camera's flash.  It's called 'fill-in-flash' & it puts a puff of light on your subject. Your camera's meter is probably reading for a correctly exposed background so your subject will be too dark.  Fill in flash was used on all these photos today except the frog below.  I brought in some natural morning sunlight for that shot:))

I have never been comfortable with the word, retired.  Always figured that mostly applied to folks who had worked long & hard for many years at their jobs.  People who stuck with careers through thick & thin.  Retirement always had a ring to it that smacked of success.  Retirement was a reward at the end of a long & dusty employment filled road.  Sometimes people ask me if I'm retired & my answer is always a quick,'no!!'  Don't figure I will ever see myself as a retired person.  Just don't like the sound of it & I don't think it applies to me anyway.  In fact I get a little embarrassed when somebody even asks me that question.  Retired??  Retired from what!!  And, am I really that old already!!  My rambling, sporadic, & adventurous work history over the years reads like a tall tale out of a Charles Dickens novel.  I will do a blog about it sometime, but not tonight.  In fact, think I'll go retire.............. to bed!!

  <<< Isn't she just a lovely little creature:))  xoxoxo

GROANER'S CORNER:((  You know your over the hill when you're on vacation and your energy runs out before your money does.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"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/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

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

A NICE WORKING DAY CRUISING THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE

AN OLD MILL ACROSS THE RIVER IN GORRIE ONTARIO....(All of today's pics were shot with my point & shoot Canon Powershot A720IS.)

FOUND ME A NICE SHADE TREE TO PARK UNDER BETWEEN CLIENT RUNS THIS AFTERNOON

Nice to see the long shafts of early morning sunlight peeking through the pine trees.  Looks like a big bright sunny day ahead.  We need a good drying out for sure.

RICK just hit the 100 mark on his blog 'Followers' list on Sunday.  Rumor has it he's going to invite everyone from the list out to Cowichan Bay next week for an, 'all the cookies you can eat fest.'  Yay Rick:))  Neither Rick or I care for the word 'Followers' but that is what Google has decided to call blog readers who decide to publicly 'follow' along reading Google sponsored blogs so I guess that is the way it is.  Can't be messin with Gargantuan Google you know!!  Besides, they might put a hex on the 'Cookie Fest!!'

VIEW FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT

The folks over at RV LIFE ON WHEELS just had a new Blue Ox tow package installed on their Jeep.  The photos show a mighty fine set up & they are pleased with the results.  I think John & Judy may be explaining a little more about the set up in tonight's blog too.

NOT OFTEN YOU SEE SIGNS LIKE THIS ANYMORE ALLOWING SWIMMING.....USUALLY IT'S 'NO SWIMMING' OR 'TRESPASSERS WILL BE EATEN!!'

Was surprised to see we had a new Follower today.  A big welcome to N & J.  Just about when I had about given up on seeing any more 'Followers' you guys rode into town & saved the day.  JERRY had left a comment on Rick's blog about their 'Follower's list hitting a plateau.  Don't feel bad Jerry, we're flat out over here on the Bonneville Salt Flats. 

GEE, I WONDER WHY ALL THE FORMER GHOSTS LEFT TOWN!!

Now, speaking of Jerry & N & J.  Jerry is just home from the Tucson Hospital recovering from knee replacement surgery so if there is anyone in the Benson Arizona area with a hockey stick & puck, how about going over to Jerry's & getting him outside for a good old game of road hockey in the next few days.  Probably more fun than the upcoming physio he is dreading!!  And check out N & J's DIARY OF A MIDLIFE CRUISER for a younger twist on their upcoming fulltime RV adventures.  It's a blog layout with posts having a lively, light, bright & refreshingly springy feel to them.  They are excited, & literally counting down the final few days before hitting the road.  Just a little over 2 weeks to go.  Drop by & share in their enthusiasm.  Oh, & don't let the dental picture scare you.....Yikes!!

RURAL ONTARIO

Another busy day & my mobility van travels again took me to & through small towns with names like Blyth, Londsborough, Belgrave, Bluevale, Wroxeter, Gorrie, & Fordwich.  Which witch??  The little town I grew up in was named after another small town in England, Tavistock.  About 6 miles east of my old home town is a little place called Punky Doodle's Corner.  I have no idea what country Punky Doodlers come from.  Do you suppose some of the young ruffians there might be called Doodle Punks.  If there was a pet grooming place maybe they would even do Poodle Dunks:))  I better knock this off & get out of here.....me thunks!!

<<<< MENNONITE HORSE & BUGGY TRACKS IN THE SOFT GRAVEL NEAR THE TOWN OF GORRIE

GROANER'S CORNER:((  And did you know a skeleton is nothing more than a bunch of bones with the person scraped off!!

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"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/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

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

ANOTHER WORKING SUNDAY

OUR FRONT YARD JUNGLE....I was really stuck for blog photos tonight so zipped out the door with my camera & cracked off some shots of our front yard.  When we moved here nearly 7 years ago none of this was here because nobody had lived in this place for 3 years & the front yard was just flat & bare with some sparse patches of dead grass here & there.  Kelly & I planted all this stuff & each year it just grows, & grows, & grows:))

The rains began about 10 P.M. Saturday night & continued until 8 in the morning.  Temps had dropped as well so figured it probably was not a great morning for a bike ride.  For whatever reason, I've always kind of liked a Sunday morning bike ride.

WE DUG A LOT OF THIS STUFF UP IN THE BUSH & HAULED IT HOME

By the time I came in from walking the dogs this morning Kelly said my work place had called wondering if I could fill in today for a driver who had phoned in sick.  Of course I had to check my very heavy schedule of doing nothing for the day first......Yep, looked like I was good to go:))

Drove over to Clinton & picked up the company's white mini-van & headed off for Goderich about 25 minutes to the west.  This isn't a mobility van but it does offer the same service to folks for the same reasons as the mobility van.  It is for transporting people who are able to get around on their own.  Picked up a couple of folks & headed for the little town of Walkerton about an hours drive northeast of Goderich.  Dropped the people off at their destination then settled in for a two & a half hour wait....which brings me to right now.  I remembered to bring the laptop with me this time so here I am backed into a large parking lot, sitting in the passenger seat of the van & happily typing away putting in time:))

AS MENTIONED, NONE OF THIS WAS HERE WHEN WE CAME, EXCEPT THE BIG PINE TREE OF COURSE

It was a nice drive today going through little towns with names like Carlow, Holyrood, Dungannon, Nile, Lucknow, & Belfast.  I was even on roads today that I had never been on before & I absolutely love seeing new scenery.  More little towns like Kinlough, Kinloss, Greenock, & Walkerton.  You can see in the names of the towns that a lot of folks settled this area from Ireland.  Even a little sign at a T-intersection that said Puddley's Corner.  Not sure where those folks might have settled in from though!!

I was back home in Bayfield before 5 in the afternoon so that nicely took care of another frumpy Sunday for me.

THE FROG POND IS OUT THERE SOMEWHERE

And what does a bunch of Harley-Davidson motorcycles have over a lone Scooter these days anyway!!   Check out RETIRED ROD'S blog as he Scooters himself in amongst a rumbling pack of  hunky Harley riders over there in that wild & windy State of Kansas. 

And speaking of Rod, I noticed he left a comment in our box about my dealings with Henry's Camera Store this past Friday.  In the comment Rod goes on to say, "It doesn't seem unusual to rethink the value of the old lenses once you get off by yourself.  In the heat of battle, you just accepted that they were worth a small value. Blinded by the acquisition of the new and wonderful big lens. But......upon re thinking, they became worth more to you than the camera store wanted to invest, so cooler heads prevailed. Seems perfectly normal to me! Geezeritus??? Geezerisms???? Naw I don't think so......."

PATH IN FOREGROUND LEADS FROM OUR HOUSE TO THE FOREST

My reply to Rod is this.....It is sometimes necessary & most helpful when the need arises for someone to step up & bail me out of my own thoughts.  Ya did a good job big guy.  Much appreciated:))

THIS IS ACROSS THE ROAD FROM OUR PLACE & WE WALK THIS WAY EACH MORNING

GROANER'S CORNER:((  And here's my thoughts about Christmas.......what other time of the year do you sit in front of a dead tree
and eat candy out of your socks!!

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"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/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

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

KELLY PICKS UP AN OLD FRIEND OF MINE IN LONDON

YEP, THIS NEW LENS IS REAL FINE FOR CLOSE-UPS ALRIGHT (all pics in tonight's blog were taken with new lens except the comparison photos)

I did a very much most unusual thing this morning.  I actually picked up our darn old telephone mossmagator thingy & made a phone call somewhere.  What is this world coming to!!!!  That somewhere turned out to Henry's Camera Store in London.  No, I wasn't calling about my new lens.....I was calling about my old lens.  I asked very nicely if I could have my dear old friend back.  That lens & I have travelled many miles together & I was missing him like crazy by the time I got up this morning.  There was nothing wrong with the lens so figured I should have kept it as a spare.  It is much lighter than the new lens too & that may prove to be advantageous in some future photo situations.  The 2x Convertor I traded in can also be used with the new lens to double it's maximum power to 600mm.  Now, what was I thinking about when I decided to trade that in anyway!!  Once again, that saying which was coined many years ago sure applies to me in this case for sure...."We get too soon old & late smart."

HENRY'S CAMERA STORE...This accidental shot was done seconds after I clamped the new lens on my camera at the store counter & aimed out the door to check the auto focus.  Got a little too heavy on the trigger & inadvertently snapped this photo....so why is it in the blog??  This marks the very first photo I took with my new lens.............that's why:))

AND THIS WAS MY FIRST OUTSIDE PHOTO WHEN I GOT HOME

The same fellow, Mike, I bought the lens from Friday took my call first thing this morning & when I asked him if I could have my stuff back for the trade in price he said, "well I'll have to call my Boss because I'm not sure how that works & I've never heard of anyone doing that before."  Thought to myself, 'ya, well your probably dealing with your first case of Geezeritus here buddy.  Hey, maybe those kids behind the counter had me sized up correctly all along anyway.  Bet they got my name on file with a warning note like, 'watch this guy....he's prone to wild fluctuations of Geezerisms!! 

 

COMPARISONS..... New lens is much bigger & heavier than old lens.  Pictures of lens on camera show the 2x Convertor between the lens & the camera body effectively making the 300mm's a 600mm lens.

And two thumbs up for Henry's London location for returning my equipment for the same trade in allowance price.  Thanks Mike:)) 

Kelly was headed for London anyway this morning to pick up a few things so she just swung around Henry's Camera Store & picked up my two trade-in Pals & that was that.

                    

HIDING BEHIND A HOUSE PLANT KEEPING AN EYE ON THE PESKY SQUIRRELS

One of the great advantages of RVing is the flexibility it offers.  If you don't like the scenery you can just move.  Maybe the weather's grubby so pull up the jacks & head for some better weather.  If your in an RV Park & have a noisy neighbor you might be able to re-locate to a quieter spot or just exit the park completely.  We have been known to move if another RV even comes within a quarter mile of us sometimes.  But, what if your living in a sticks & bricks place between bad neighbors.  How do you handle that situation day after day.  Check out the problems WILD BLUE YONDER is having!!  Maybe we can all band together & send her some speedy 'House For Sale' vibes:))

WIND CHIMES IN THE GARDEN

The overnight rains let up before dawn & the cloud cover dissipated about mid morning.  Out came the lawn mower & a short while later the grass was shortened again for another week or so.  Next came a clean up of the van interior including vacuuming.  Quick trip into town for a 6" tuna sub at Subway & back home to clean the pond pump.  Took my new lens for a walk around the front yard, racked up some snooze time in the recliner & helped Kelly unload some big hanging flower baskets when she returned from London in late afternoon.  And after about 29 hours of soulful separation I finally had my good old 55-200 camera lens back home again safe & sound too.........10-4:))

BIRD IN SILHOUETTE

GROANER'S CORNER:((  You know your getting old when you sink your teeth into a big juicy steak......and they stay there:((

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"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/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

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