ENERGIZED MORNINGS

I have always been a morning person & regardless of things I have to do, places I have to be, or appointment's I have to be at, I prefer to get everything taken care of in the morning.  I think this becomes more important as we age because our internal battery does not retain it's overnight charge as well as it did when newer many years ago.  The fullest charge that battery will ever have in a 24 hour period is in those precious morning hours.  Cooler weather extends the charge & hotter humid weather depletes the charge.  Therefore, in my little world of logic & reason it is imperative that I get as much done in the morning hours as possible before the battery drain begins it's afternoon spiral into a state that does not have enough juice left at the end of the day to even light a plastic candle!!

NO, THIS IS NOT THE TOAD WE TOW BEHIND THE MOTOR HOME

I think the most common mistake I see people making with their photos happens to be the easiest one to correct.  It is the same mistake I continually make just about every time I pick up the camera & one which I am forever having to correct in the Picasa photo editing program.  'Tilted Horizons!!'  There doesn't even have to be a horizon for me to still tilt the photo down at the left side.  It's my biggest photo bugaboo!!  Fortunately Picasa has a 'Straighten' tool & a photo can be straightened up in mere seconds.  Because I have the 'tilt' problem I always notice tilted horizons in people's photos right away.  The fix is as easy as sliding a little horizontal bar left or right.  I suggest taking an extra few seconds of time to make sure your pics are straight before uploading them to your blog....I do:))

MAPLE LEAF BEGONIA ... This is a good example of 'backlighting.'  The light source shines through your subject instead of on it.

Randy over at THE ROAD RUNNER CHRONICLES blogged about his reflections on blogging today & I think a few fellow bloggers might pick up some more helpful tips there.  Between Randy, Rick & myself we sure have managed to open up a nice pleasant can of worms to keep the blogging circles a-buzz for a bit:))  By the way, check out RICK'S NEW INFORMATION CARD.  Cool:))

BLUE JAY

Hey Vic, thanks for helping restart our Blog Follower's list & welcome aboard our blogsite.  I hope 'Travels With The Bayfield Bunch will keep you interested & entertained from time to time.

For about 5 months of the year our 3 dogs eat, live & sleep in a 12 x 33 foot box & they are nice enough to share that box space with 2 humanoids which of course would be Kelly & I.  We are in & out of this box dozens & dozens of times a day 7 days a week for months at a time.  It is the heart & hub of our lifestyle on the road & whenever this big box heart moves, it takes us with it.  Keeps us warm on cold days & cool on the scorchers.  Protects us from the walloping southwest winds & keeps us dry on rainy days.   We are off the ground & safe from predators including the two legged type.  This large rectangular fiberglass Mossmagator delivers us in relative safety & comfort between points of travel & is large & strong enough to carry the whole Bayfield Bunch & all their mobile possessions.  It even tows our car & can gather several types of satellite signals plus radio waves, cell phone signals & towered internet connections.  And it can do all this whether we are moving or not.  With it's roof top solar panels & 4 bank battery system it delivers power for all our boondocking needs without having to be tethered to one of those electrical box thingys.  It handles our drinking water, showers, bathroom facilities & cooking needs with little effort.  Our rig is like a large Mother Hen tending to her flock & it seems the busier she is, the happier she is.

 

PROVIDING SHELTER ON A STORMY ARIZONA DAY

So, if we love our Motor Home so much, how can we just abandon her each spring & pay little or no attention to her all summer long.  How can we be so heartless in our abandonment because there she sits in our driveway now all sad, forlorn, & downright depressed!!  Oh Dear:((

WELL OK, MAYBE SHE'S NOT THAT DEPRESSED (File photo from last October)

I took the tri-poded header photo (Moon) picture from our front yard through the pine trees.  Nikon D40 with my 700MM Telescope lens. 1/100th of a second shutter speed & ISO 800.  With the help of Picasa I gave the moon a cheesy orange look:)) 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( 

A newly retired couple from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Mildred and Art Stutmeyer, were wrapping up their third month of full-time RVing, driving down a lonely two-lane back road near Yuba City, California. But it wasn't a happy day, because they were steaming mad at each other. Their nerves were really on edge, probably because they had opted for a 24-foot fifth wheel trailer instead of one with more space, and the close quarters were driving them both batty! For example, Art kept getting mad at Mildred for leaving her socks on the dresser. And Mildred was equally bothered by Art's constant belching and the fact that he never even apologized for being so disgusting.

The silence in their Ford pickup truck was deafening. It seemed they had argued for an hour. But now, only silence. "It wasn't supposed to be like this," Mildred said to herself, holding back tears. Art, frowning, was also deep in thought, thinking, "If only we had bought that 38-footer." Yes, it was a very tense time.
As they drove past a huge barnyard packed fence-to-fence with big, fat, ugly pigs includiing one with tucks, Mildred, who was now about to pop with pent up frustration, just couldn't resist making a sarcastic comment .Pointing to the pigs, she said slyly, "Relatives of yours?"

Art, equally frustrated, stared back at her. "Yeh, they're relatives," he said, "In-laws!"

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UN-AWAKENED"

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.

DAILY BLOGGING ROUTINES

 

ALL OF TONIGHT'S PHOTOS WERE TAKEN IN OUR FRONT YARD THIS AFTERNOON.  ORANGE ONE'S ARE TIGER LILY'S & THE WHITE ONE'S ARE HOSTA FLOWERS

As soon as I stepped out the door into the cooler air this morning I could feel my humidity depleted energy levels begin to rise.  After having dragged my butt around for weeks on end I found myself outside with the hedge trimmer & weed whacker taking care of some much needed & long neglected yard work.  Another coat of paint on the utility trailer panels & then if was over to the neighbor's to trim up a Magnolia tree & other shrubs.  If it hadn't been Sunday I would have fired up the mower & did some grass cutting as well.  It was a productive morning & I never hit my recliner for a snooze until 12:42 P.M. & that's about the time some humidity began to creep back in.

A very special thank you to our latest blog followers, Kathy & Robert from SEASHELLS & OVERALLS & Carol from CAROL K's JOURNEY.  Just when I had all but given up on our Follower's list, you folks rode into town & perked up my day:))  And thanks to Janna & Mike from TIN TEEPEE/LOG CABIN for pointing out my geographical error in yesterday's post.  The Kofa Mountains are indeed in Arizona & not California.

Well, in keeping with the latest 'Blogger Buzz' I figured I'd do one final blog on it with a slightly different perspective & tell you how a typical blog day goes for me.  I often wonder how & when other folks put their blogs together, where they get their ideas, favorite times of day for reading or writing blogs, what formats they use & in what sequence do they put things together like pics & text.  Do they use more than one computer & do they do their blogs all in one sitting or stretch it out though the day.  I used to do the whole thing after supper but I've kinda gotten away from that now.

My day begins in the dark because I am generally up around 5 a.m.  Beside my recliner on a small table sit's our older Toshiba laptop.  I have a cushioned Ikea laptop pad which the computer sits on.  I lean back in my cushy recliner as a floor lamp dimly lights the keyboard.  I sometimes have a little laptop Motormouse asleep on my lap as well.  (I got a big lap) Soft ambient music floats quietly out of the stereo while Kelly & the dogs are all sound asleep in various parts of the house.  I have the patio door beside me slightly open so I can hear the birds waking up.  Quite often it is a Cardinal who starts the day.

First site I always check on is my Hotmail account to have a look at what 'comments' have come in overnight & how much trouble I have gotten myself into.  Next, I check our Outlook Express email account & that is followed by Sitemeter where I see which way the previous day's  'visit' numbers have went.  Up or down.  This is followed by a look at our 'Feedjit site because that tells me which photo's people find interesting enough to look at.  From there it is off to check my Gmail account which in turn springboards me on to have a look at what's going on in my Facebook world & see who's doing what to whom.  My last stop is our own blog site to check my 'Shout' box & 'Follower's' section on the way to our blog list of fellow bloggers.  This is where I begin my blog reading for the day.  I try to read each blog as I go down the list & comment accordingly.  It is also at this time where I may or may not pick up an idea for the day's blog & as often as not I will begin the day's post at this time.  My whole morning blog routine generally averages about two & half hours.  In this time period I may also check some weather sites.  Might do some Google searches & web browsing as well.

At different periods during the day I check our desktop computer for any updates in our Hotmail or Outlook Express accounts.  Short snoozes in my recliner during the day may be coupled with adding a bit more to the upcoming blog via my laptop.  Generally around 5 in the afternoon I may have most of the blog roughly thought out & assembled.  I do it all in an Outlook Express email format on the laptop & after supper around 7 I email that copy to my Gmail account & then slip into the sunroom & pick it up on our desktop computer there.  I then copy & paste it into Live Writer on the desktop & make any changes where necessary & often add further content.  It is also at this time when I unload all the photos from the cameras into the Picasa program on the computer & begin the process of editing each & every photo.  Depending on the number of photos, this can take awhile.   When finished I add all the photos to the blog, re-read it a couple times looking for mistakes & decide if there is anything I should edit out.  If everything is OK I hit the 'Publish' button & away it goes.  Total time invested in putting the blog together from start to finish would probably add up to about 4 hours each day.  Sometimes longer if I have publishing problems.  My home blogging routine is much the same as my routine while we are traveling because I do everything basically the same way.  Only difference is different place, different time zone, & different comfy chair:))

I never ask Kelly to read the blog & see what she thinks because she's liable to tell me & that could alter my content.  She never asks what I am going to write about either which is just as well because I don't always know myself what I am going to write about.   I do my own editing & spell checks & keep my fingers crossed that I haven't messed anything up too bad.  Some mornings Kelly might point out a spelling error if she reads the blog & that's about it.   I don't know really know if she reads it or not all the time & I am just too darned afraid to ask.  It's just one of those things we don't talk about. 

Well, I just received a blunt comment in my Hotmail account on this past Friday's Do's & Don'ts post.  I knew when I wrote that post I would be walking a thin line on how it was going to be interpreted.  My intent was to help, not to hinder.   In hindsight I should probably not have used the word's 'do's & don'ts' because that just rattles people.  My mistake there & I have since gone back to the post & changed the title.  Yes, blogs are about anything you want to write about & what content you want to put in your blog, etc.  I was only suggesting that if you are interested in, & like to write about the NASCAR racing circuit , the Masters Golfing Classic, Motocross, wind surfing, basket weaving, or parental guidance seminars it might be better for your blog if you post it where people with like minded interests can read & comment on it.   And with the huge number of growing blogs it is just humanly impossible to keep up with everyone's blogs.  Wished I could, but I can't.  I have blogged about my feelings on this many times before & expressed my regrets about blogs slipping through the cracks but it's just the way it unfortunately is & until there is a way to replace the fallible human brain's memory cells with a state of the art mega memory computer chip I'm afraid people's feelings are going to be hurt & feather's ruffled.  I wish the commenter well & I do understand her hurt feelings.

GROANER'S CORNER:))  Three old guys are out walking.  First one says, 'Windy, isn't it?'
Second one says, 'No, it's Thursday!'
Third one says, 'So am I.......... let's go get a beer..'

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UN-AWAKENED"

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.

RV BLOGGERS WE HAVE MET

THIS MORNING'S WALK THROUGH A FIELD OF CLOVER

In his Friday blog RICK talked about Microsoft's Paint program & included an example of the Bayfield Bunch logo I made up nearly a year ago using that program.  We had that logo implemented into a business card format thanks to Kelly's son & his graphic business.  We have found the cards an easy way for people we meet to access our site.  I will sometimes leave a card in a restaurant, visitor's center, a bulletin board, or under a rock cairn along the trail.  Always nice to receive an email from someone if & when they find one of our cards.  And thanks to Rick for using our card as an example of Microsoft's Paint program.  By the way, drawing this card out was no easy feat using just the mouse.  Wished they had something like a USB 'plug-in-pencil' for drawing things!! (Drawing was another hobby of mine as a kid)

Judy, over at TRAVELS WITH EMMA has taken the Picasa photo editing program plunge & is doing quite well with it right off the bat.  She is currently in the Yellowstone Park area & having a great time touring all the scenic sites.

Today turned out to be a totally rainy Saturday.  Luckily I had backed the utility trailer into the car port  a few days ago so Bruce & I were able to get a few more things done & even stay dry in the process.  Blog reader Wil, in a comment the other day asked, "have you cleaned and repacked the bearings yet, Al?"  Co-incidentally, Bruce had noticed one of the trailer wheel hubs missing last week & said he would clean & repack the bearings because they were probably full of dirt & grime.   That job was one of the things Bruce took care of today complete with putting on a new hub cap.  I spliced all the trailer wiring back together again & actually got the tail lights functioning properly so it was a productive day for both Bruce & I despite the gloomy rain.

NEIGHBOR BRUCE PULLS OFF THE WHEEL BEARING ASSEMBLY

   

A  PRODUCTIVE RAINY DAY SATURDAY IN THE CARPORT 

In MARGIE'S BLOG on Friday she talked about meeting some fellow bloggers (BIG DAWG AND FREEWAY) & that started me to thinking about a few RV blogging folks we have met as well in our travels.  The more I thought about it the more I began to realize we had met more folks than I had first thought.  To the best of my ability this is our list & apologies to anyone I may have temporarily forgotten.  As I list each person I will follow with their blog site name & the place where we met them. 

RICK & PAULETTE ...(Rick & Paulette's RV Travels) BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

JERRY & SUZY...  (Our Life on Wheels) 'THE RANCH' McNEAL, ARIZONA

LAURIE & ODEL...(Semi-True Tales of Our Life on the Road) BISBEE, ARIZONA

FROGGI DONNA & STU... (2 Taking a 5th)KOFA MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA

WANDERING WILLY...Wandering Willy's Travels) BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA  

JIM & RENE... (live. work. dream.) 'THE RANCH' McNEAL, ARIZONA 

JOHN BROWN... (John & Brenda's Incredible Adventure) QUARTZSITE, ARIZONA

MOTTI & PATTY... (TraveLiving Journey - Our Life as Full Time RVers) BISBEE, ARIZONA

DOUG & JOANNE... (Personal Trip Journal - Living Our Dream) YUMA, ARIZONA

RANDY & PAM... (WarnerRVnewS) BAYFIELD, ONTARIO   

JANNA & MIKE... (Tin TeePee/Log Cabin) KOFA MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA

ELLIE & JIM...(Justravelin) KOFA MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA

SANDRA & GORDON... (nightly news) WHY, ARIZONA

PATTY & DAVE... (Adventures of Shadow the RVing Dog) BELLE STARR'S RANCH, DOUGLAS ARIZONA

IVAN... (Roadtrip 2010) 'THE RANCH' McNEAL, ARIZONA 

BOONIE... (the Occupation of Independence)SILVER CITY, NEW MEXICO

WANDERWOLF MIKE... (Meanderings of Wanderwolf) AJO, ARIZONA

MICHAEL J DEPRAIDA...BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

DEBBIE & ROD... (Rocks Off With Debbie Too)BAYFIELD, ONTARIO

MIKE & MAUREEN... (RV Adventures with MnMnM) CANNONVILLE, UTAH

For Kelly & I with our rather hermit like RVing lifestyle, the fact that we have met this many people is nothing short of amazing.  We have met other folks as well but I have only included the RV BIog gang here.  I know there are RVer's out there who could fill up whole hard drives with lists of people they have met but for us I sure never figured we would ever meet many people, let alone this many people.  Eeee-Gads, we are becoming quite the social butterfly's!!  Crazy, huh:))

WE HAVE HATCHED ANOTHER BATCH OF BABY ROBBINS IN THE CARPORT

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Two elderly gentlemen from a retirement center were sitting on a bench under a tree when one turns to the other and says: 'Slim, I'm 83 years old now and I'm just full of aches and pains. I know you're about my age. How do you feel?'
Slim says, 'I feel just like a newborn baby.'
'Really!? Like a newborn baby!?'
'Yep. No hair, no teeth, and I think I just wet my pants.'

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UN-AWAKENED"

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.

BLOGGING.....JUST MY OPINION

The overnight rains dropped our temps a bit but I think all the extra moisture in the air really ramped up the humidity again.  Painted one side of the utility trailer panels this morning but I have a feeling they will be a long time drying.  Cleaning windows is not one of my favorite things but with a spare squirt of energy & some half hearted enthusiasm I at least managed to get our living room windows done today.

SLIPPED DOWN TO THE BEACH TONIGHT TO HAVE A LOOK TOWARDS DETROIT WHERE TORNADO WATCHES WERE IN EFFECT

The morning's rain gave me an excuse to make a Jeep run & check for any water leaks in case we had not installed the hard top correctly a few days ago.  Everything checked out dry so I chalked that up as an extra bonus for the day.

BAYFIELD HARBOR

A fair few bloggers seemed to come down with haircuts this past week or so & this morning I was no exception.

                   

ORDERS FROM HEADQUARTERS came down this morning saying if I did not get a haircut I would not be allowed to leave the house without a bag on my head.  I tried on the bag.........& then I got the haircut!!  That scared me so bad I figured I had better trim my beard up as well.......................!!

This coming September will mark my third year of blogging & in these past 3 years I have developed some thoughts, ideas & opinions about what I think makes some blogs more readable than others.  I am going to go out on a limb here & offer some do's & don'ts as I see it.  Most important is to remember these are only my thoughts & my thoughts alone.  You may agree with some of them or you may not & there is nothing personal here.  Everyone sees things differently & I am certainly no expert on blogging but here goes my thoughts anyway.

- Do not put music on your blog.  It is annoying!!  If you insist on music then offer it as an option.  Put a button at the top of your blog which people can click on if they really want to hear your most favorite song of all times.   Some people put in a video option but the key word there is 'option.'  Do not make it a default video that people have to sit through.  Same thing with 'Slide Shows.'  Remember, there are still a lot of internet folks out here with slow internet speeds plus all the Air Card people with their 5 Gig limits.  That audio visual stuff just totally chews up download times & bandwidth.

- Don't load your site with aggravating advertising, regardless of how much you think you need the .49 cents a month extra income.  If I click on a site that is loaded with stationary or pop up advertising I immediately pop right out of there & I do not return.  I have seen blogs so full of advertising that it was hard to find the actual post itself.

- Try not to fall into the rut of starting your blog off everyday with the same words & morning routines you used the day before or the day before that, or......  Be creative.  You do not have to start your blog from the very beginning moments of awakening.  The blog does not have to have a standard beginning or ending.  Again, be creative & think outside the box.  Start each day from a different perspective.  In any book, that first paragraph can make or break the reader's interest in the rest of the story!!  I had to drop a blog last summer because after about 3 months I could not get past the first paragraph anymore because of basically the same routine every morning.  Nice people I'm sure but after awhile I just referred to it as, 'the coffee blog' & moved on.

- Stay away from all that glitz, glamour & glitter stuff.  Dancing bears, frolicking flamingos, Las Vegas billboard lights, reams of happy faces & flying Brazilian billboards proclaiming that you, 'Have A Nice Day!!'

- Some bloggers promote their blog sites by encouraging people to leave comments or join their Followers lists.  Nothing wrong with that of course & we all look forward to comments & Followers but it's just not in my nature to do that despite my 'Followers' list being dead in the water for the past couple months.

- Do not ramble on with long drawn out blogs like I do.  Make them shorter & keep them interesting.  And yes, I know my blog photos are too big.

- Write your post in short paragraphs & avoid running your whole blog into one long rambling hard to read blonk.  I used to do that until a reader straightened me out.

- Try to vary your blog topics every day & avoid getting tunneled into the same project, mood or subject matter over & over.  In other words, keep people guessing about what your next post is going to be about.   Make tomorrow's post different from today's.

- A step by step, blow by blow description of a button factory tour can get pretty dry pretty quick.  Add a link to the button factory & let the reader click on that if he wants' to know how many colored buttons are sewn backwards onto a checkerboard jelly bean shirt on assembly line B.

- Remember to add your thoughts, feelings, & opinions about what you are seeing & doing when traveling.  Not just, "well, then we went to Bill's Bargain Mart & I got a fly swatter & then we drove to Ambercrombieville & Hank got an ice cream cone with birdseed sprinkles on it & then we decided it was time to go home so we went home & George drove the car but not too fast because we met Sally & Mike and Wally & Rita and Bert and Ernie and Dorothy & Jim and Rosie & Rufus and, and, and, and, etc. etc. etc!!  zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz:((  Be creative & use your imagination.  Throw in some humor, add some feelings.  Again, get yourself outside the box & push some boundaries. 

- Don't do as I have done in the past by poo pooing certain areas of the country or States just because they are not in MY area of interest.  Be understanding & considerate of other people's choice of RV vehicles or style of RVing.  Because you don't agree with or care for things does not mean you have to put it in your blog.  Some things are best left un-said.  Trust me on this one folks.....I know what I am talking about:))

- If you must take a fellow blogger to task over something, do it in a private email & not in your blog.

- Be creative with your comments on other people's blogs.  Make them original, personal & heartfelt.

- Don't write a few lines, publish it & then come back a few hours later & do the same thing.  This is a supposedly clever method used by some to keep people coming back again & again clicking on their site maybe 5 or 6 times a day & that way increasing the numbers & advertising revenues on that particular blog.  Again, probably nothing wrong with that except to me it is putting the advertising dollars first instead of the readers.  Not in my nature to do that.

- Keep your blog printing font size on the large side.  Not everyone has eagle eye vision anymore.  And don't let your font color bleed into your background color making it nearly invisible.

- And remember, our blogs are mainly geared to the RV Lifestyle & related matters.  They are not a platform for political or religious views & bellowing!!  If you want to do that, start up a second blog & target those particular markets accordingly.....and good luck!!

Well, there you have it, I am all thought out for another day.  Just wanted to share a few opinions on blogging with the hopes I may have said something here that may help someone.  At least get people thinking.  More likely enough fodder to get myself into trouble again though.  Oh well, just remember, there are no hard & fast rules for bloggers......just opinions................................ Toodles:)) 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Just heard about an 83 year old woman who talked herself out of a speeding ticket by telling the young police officer that she had to get there before she forgot where she was going.
Makes perfectly good sense to me.....

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UN-AWAKENED"

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.

THE UTILITY TRAILER PROJECT IS NEARING COMPLETION

 

STRANGERS ON A PIER

We're starting to come down the home stretch on the utility trailer project.  Bruce measured & cut the 3 side panels today & tomorrow morning I'll get some paint on them.  Once the tail lights are re-wired the trailer should be roadworthy & ready to go again.

                  

HANDYMAN & HELPFUL NEIGHBOR BRUCE MEASURES UP, CUTS & FITS THE PANELS

Had to slip into work this morning for an hour to attend a meeting on workplace violence & how to handle rowdy Seniors. (just kidding:))  Aside from the elderly lady grabbing a hold of my beard 2 years ago I haven't sustained any serious injuries on the job.  As a matter of fact, nor has any of the other drivers.  That's the nice thing about working with Seniors,  they are just not a violent bunch of folks.  Maybe a little grumpy sometimes but they are not apt to haul off & kick ya in the head or anything like that.  In fact, on some days, I can easily out-grump anyone & I'm a whole lot younger than most of the folks I work with!!

I THINK THE JEEP WILL FIT RATHER NICELY BEHIND THE MOTOR HOME & NOTICE HOW CLOSELY ONE OF THE RIG'S STRIPED GRAPHICS LUCKILY MATCHES THE COLOR OF THE JEEP

Want to thank all the folks for the nice comments & compliments regarding my blog & photos.  I can assure you they are all very much appreciated & mean a lot to a feller who has suffered with low self esteem, confidence & self assurance issues all his life.  You people have been a great help to me.  And, would you believe, I have saved all those 2,808 comments over the past couple of years too.  I have them safely tucked away in a file on my Hotmail account & can easily retrieve them at any time when one of those down in the dumps days come along & I'm in need of a little self assurance.  And, those days do come along.

Now, to answer a few questions on some recent photos I have posted in the blog.  The hummingbird pics were taken in our front yard beside the little frog pond.  I used my Nikon D50 coupled with a 55-200mm lens & also used my D40 coupled with my 700mm telescope lens.  Took me 9 shots to get the 2 that I included in last night's post.  I will include a few of the one's I chose not to publish. 

Top blog photo was shot at 200mm. 1/500th shutter speed at F5.6.  Matrix metering & manual focus. 

The close up of the Hummingbird was done with my tri-pod mounted Nikon D40 coupled with my 700mm telescope lens.  1/640th of a second shutter speed.  Manual focus with no aperture setting available.  With that lens I have to guess at the exposures.  ISO 800.  Also, another tip.......I had noticed this Hummer returning to the same flower a few times earlier so I set up my camera, pre-focused & determined the correct exposure by firing 3 or 4 test shots on the flower itself & then waited for the Hummer to fly into the frame.  All's I had to do then was hit the firing button.  Trying to follow the Hummer around in flight is just about impossible.  Kinda like trying to photograph Bats at night.   I haven't been successful at that one yet.

HAPPY TRAILS commented last night with a few photo inquiries & one of the questions was, "Your pics are soft and very warm to the eye. How do you do it?  Well, there are a number of contributing factors.  Time of day is the big one with early morning & evening light being much softer than the harsh contrasts of a sunny high noon day.  The Hummingbird photos were done on a bright, but tree filtered sunny afternoon.  There was shade in the front yard but it wasn't too dark so the lighting was on the soft side with many flowers & plants diffusing any direct sunlight.  By using a telephoto lens the depth of field is very narrow meaning everything in front of & behind the Hummer is going to be out of focus giving the background a soft fuzzy look.  Those orange splotches you see in the background are 'out of focus' day lilies.   Also want to mention Picasa 3 here as well.  The Picasa photo editing program is all important to the finished photo product with it's many tools for softening, tinting, cropping, coloring correcting & sharpening, etc.  Many 'throw away' photos can be saved by creatively using Picasa.  If you don't have it.....go get it.  It's free & it's easy to use:))  PICASA PHOTO EDITING PROGRAM  It's the only photo program I edit my pictures with:))

THESE WERE MY 'THROW AWAY' HUMMER PHOTOS

               

SITTING ON OUR FRONT PORCH PATIENTLY WAITING FOR SOME BIRD OPPORTUNITIES WITH MY TELESCOPE LENS & NIKON D40

That JERRY feller down there in that Arizona Benson town has been having trouble scaring himself up a Roadrunner this summer for a photo shoot so I remembered a Roadrunner encounter we had early last November near Portal, Arizona.  Here's that pesky & elusive little Roadrunner Jerry & if I see him again I'll send him over.   I've made a slide show of the little critter as well.  Click on 'Slide Show' when you get there.  'Meep Meep:))'  (Nikon D40 & 200mm)

View Full Album

Well, I am taking a big chance tonight by including a photo album.  Haven't done this since having 'Publishing' problems last winter in the Southwest when the albums wouldn't publish.  Here goes...................................

GROANER'S CORNER:))   A young, pregnant RVer named Sally was involved in a traffic accident, but because she was riding in a sturdy Winnebago, she survived, although she was left in a coma. When she awoke a few days later in the hospital she was no longer pregnant! She asked her doctor, "What happened?"
He replied, "Sally, you had twins -- a boy and a girl. Your brother named them for you."
"Oh, no!" shrieked Sally. "Not my brother! His elevator doesn't go to the top floor, if you know what I mean!" The doctor replied, "Well, Sally, your brother named your daughter Denise."
"Whew, that's not so bad," she replied, looking very relieved. Then, hesitantly, she asked, "What's the boy's name?"
"Denephew," he said.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UN-AWAKENED"

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.

UNCLE HARRY ENTERED THE DVR & HD-TV WORLD TODAY

It was the distant rumble of thunder that had me out of bed at 4 a.m. & outside closing garden shed doors, checking car windows & covering up the motorcycle.  The computer weather radar map later showed that band of storms came in across the lake & went to the north of us.  No matter, I was up, I was on my feet, & my day had again started early.

A RELAXING PLACE IN OUR FRONT YARD

The cable guy had an appointment between ten & noon this morning to hook up HD (high definition) TV & a brace of music channels for my Uncle Harry in Mitchell so Kelly & I were there by ten.   The fellow was late & didn't make it until Harry headed off for lunch.  It was after 2 by the time we left but Kelly was very thorough in explaining the new DVR set-up to Harry.  It's a big leap in technology for him coming from his old VCR machine.  I have a feeling we'll be going back shortly to help him out again.

There has always been background music in our family & my Mother had the same music channels during her 4 year stay in a local nursing that Harry has now.  He is looking forward to his channels of Big Band, Ambient, Oldies & Memories of Yesteryear & the music will help him pass the time while at the Ritz Villa.  I have always had music playing throughout the years no matter where I lived & my Aunt Jean in Florida is the same.  We are a family that has always loved it's music.  My Mother played piano by ear but she was the only one outside my Grandfather with his 'screechy fiddle' that actually played any instruments.  The rest of us were were just great music appreciators.

 

RETIRED ROD  may have shed a little light on my failed Live Writer download Tuesday morning.  I tried downloading the new version onto an XP platform & he suggested maybe that was the problem.  I am now debating whether to try the upgrade on our newer Win 7 Toshiba laptop.  I was a little unnerved by a fellow blogger who said the upgrade wiped out his existing Live Writer & he had to do some fancy footwork to get it back.  I'm really not in the mood for having to do fancy footwork these hot & humid summer days!!

 

QUEEN ANNE'S LACE

Didn't mean to shake up the RV troops with yesterday's post about 'downsizing or dropping out of the RV lifestyle.'  I sometimes like to flip the coin over & talk about what is on the other side.  No, we won't be getting rid of our Motor Home, car, television, cell phone, dust bin, or extra broom handle.  I just have a habit of blogging about things that pop into my mind from time to time & sometimes when I have a frustrating day it just shows up in the blog.  As I have said before, I blog about how I feel, & sometimes I have a tendency to stir up the pot a bit:)) 

 

OUR LITTLE FROG POND

I particularly liked Thom's comment in Tuesday night's blog that said, "Al;
maybe the bike, cameras, computers, the blog, etc. give us more than something to do. They give us the closest thing to a purpose that we've got... and everyone must have a purpose.  Without a purpose what are we good for?"  Thom is right on with that comment about 'purpose!!'  My blog dealt with the sometimes frustrations of having too much stress related stuff & becoming discouraged about things.  We all have those moments or days when we temporarily lose site of where we are, where we're going or what the purpose is of everything!!  Our Snow Bird RV lifestyle definitely gives us a focused purpose & we won't be giving that up any time soon.   In fact, as you all know, I would much prefer to be out there on the road going places & doing things than sitting here at home all summer!!  But, that's another blog for another day!!

GROANER'S CORNER:((   A group of Americans were traveling by tour bus through  Holland.  As they stopped at a cheese farm, a young guide led them through the process of cheese making, explaining that goat's milk was used.  She showed the group a lovely hillside where many goats were grazing.  'These' she explained, 'are the older goats put out to pasture when they no longer produce.'  She then asked, 'What do you do in America with your old goats?'  
A spry old gentleman answered, 'They send us on bus tours!

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UN-AWAKENED"

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.