WELL, NO SURPRISE THERE EH!!

DARK EYED JUNCO

The inch of snow on the ground crunched underneath each footstep as Pheebs and I made our way to the Jeep this morning.  Roads were a mixture of ice, snowy slush, and road salt.  Skies were overcast with a few small patches of blue skies here and there.  Temps were hovering around 28F.  No snow in the air with brisk winds coming in off the vast open waters of Lake Huron.

OUR FRONT YARD THIS MORNING

Goderich's Rotary Cove Road is still closed after last Sunday's storm.  I suspect they have a big clean-up going along that road.  Waves bashing the shoreline have been huge.  Saw a large freighter standing offshore.  Couldn't quite figure out if it was coming or going.  No smoke coming out of the stack so it may not have been under power.

NO, THIS WINTER SCENE DID NOT SET OFF ANY CHRISTMAS CAROLS IN MY HEAD

A LOT OF ROAD SALT ON THE ROADS

I WASN'T SURE IF THIS LARGE FREIGHTER WAS LEAVING OR COMING INTO GODERICH'S HARBOR

THIS IS A SECTION OF THE RE-BUILT SHORELINE

THIS TUGBOAT (RIGHT) HEADING OUT OF THE HARBOR MAY BE ON ITS WAY TO ASSIST THAT LARGE FREIGHTER BACK-UP INTO THE HARBOR

Pheebs and I were home shortly after 10 with only one brief cold and windy stop along the way.  Wednesday's temps are predicted to be around 50F.  We'll see.  Skies partially cleared this afternoon and how nice of course to see the Sun again.  Our dusting of overnight snow is slowly melting.

ROADS STILL SLOPPY ON OUR WAY BACK TO BAYFIELD

SOME OF THAT ROAD SURFACE IS ICE

A HEAVY CLOUD COVER FOR MOST OF THE DAY

Since our weather has turned snowy cold, our birdfeeders are working overtime and I am kept busy keeping enough seeds in the feeders for the hungry gang of birds we have flocking in.  Blue Jays, Cardinals, Juncos, Finches, Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Black Cap Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, and a few other Sparrow like birds I don't recognize.

FEMALE CARDINAL

MALE CARDINAL

BLUE JAY

RED BELLIED WOODPECKER

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH

I KEEP FORGETTING WHAT BIRD THIS IS

JUNCO

Here's something kind of interesting for Canadian Snowbirds crossing the border (by air) heading south in the area of Plattsburgh New York.  Snowbirds Crossing the Border.  By the way, the border closure has now been extended to December 21rst.  Well, no surprise there eh!!

DOWNIE WOODPECKER

GROANER'S CORNER:((   It’s my wife’s birthday soon and she’s been leaving jewelry catalogs all over the house.  She'll be happy to know I got the hint.  I got her a magazine rack!

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MAYBE FROM NONSENSE TO SOMESENSE (NO THIS IS NOT POLITICAL)

Thought we might have a substantial accumulation of snow on the ground this morning but that was not the case.  Under a weather advisory, 'Snow Squall Watch' Pheebs and I headed east to Clinton's Tim Hortons for a drive-thru coffee.  The coffee shop is near a high school so of course, on this freezing cold day, there were some of the kids prancing down the street in shorts with icy winds driving our 33F temps down to 25F.  Yes, I well remember my utter foolishness at that age as well. 

THIS IS AN OLD QUANSET HUT STILL STANDING ON THE SITE OF CLINTON ONTARIO'S TOP SECRET RADAR BASE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

AND HERE'S A LINK TO THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE RADAR BASE BACK IN THE 1940s

THE OLD RADAR DOME STILL STANDS

From Clinton, we wandered east a short ways before swinging south and back west again.  Stopped at the Bannockburn Conservation Area but the morning's icy winds made it too freezing cold for a hike.  We did get out for a short walk around the parking lot though.  'Brrrrrr'

BECAUSE OF THE ICY COLD WIND WE DIDN'T CONTINUE ANY FURTHER

PHEEBS FINDS SOME INTERESTING SMELLS

SKIFFS OF SNOW ALONG THE EDGE OF THE FOREST

From Bannockburn, with a few light squalls coming in off the lake we headed for home and once again therein ended another cold and gray day.  Wished I was more optimistic about this upcoming winter.........but I'm not.  If you don't see a post from me every day from here on in just know that I will try again the following day.

SOON ALL THIS WILL BE COVERED IN A BLANKET OF WHITE SNOW

With my reading still in the mainstream of UFOs and Extraterrestrials, I just finished 'Unknown Skies' by Leslie Kean along with 'A New World' by Leslie Streiber as well as 'The Dual Soul Connection' by Suzy Hansen and Dr. Rudy Schilde.  I am currently reading 'The Communion Letters' by Whitley Streiber and the late Ann Streiber.  These books go far beyond the frivolous little green men from Mars theories.   Along the way I stumbled across an interesting video about an Anti-Gravity Theory regarding the propulsion of UFOs.  In this current era of so much nonsense, maybe this actually makes somesense.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Two tons of human hair was stolen from a wig factory.  The police said they were combing the area.

I can't stop talking about the apocalypse. Armagedodon too old for that!

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NOT MUCH

Not much going on today folks.  Even the Canada Geese were grounded this morning and below the aftermath of Sunday's strong winds.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A Few Country and Western Song Titles::

If The Phone Don't Ring, You'll Know It's Me

I'm So Miserable Without You It's Like You're Still Here

My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend And I Miss Him

She Took My Ring and Gave Me the Finger

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WE HAD US A WICKED WEATHER DAY

Cold, windy, and pouring rain so it was a short drive into and around Bayfield this morning.  Took a few photos and came home. 

A DRIVE DOWN AROUND BAYFIELD'S MARINA AREA 

We had us a wicked weather day but we knew it was on its way with yesterday's wind warnings.  Pretty much rained all day and the first big winds roared in shortly after 1 p.m. knocking power out to parts if not all of Bayfield.  Amazingly enough, we were fine except for a snap power off and on around 4:30 p.m.  Just enough to knock all our clocks and timers out of whack.  The winds were also accompanied by lightning and thunder, sunshine, blue skies, and more dark clouds bringing in even more high wind gusts.  Reports on our 6 o'clock news talked of damage along the Lake Erie shoreline with some people being evacuated.  Goderich had already pre-closed its Rotary Cove road knowing there was a good possibility of more damage and flooding.  Bad November storms are notorious here around the Great Lakes for sinking a number of ships over the years.  Some may remember the Edmund Fitzgerald sunk on November 10th, 1975.

BAYFIELD'S HIGHWAY 21 BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION IS MOVING RIGHT ALONG AS STEEL GIRDERS FOR THE UPPER FRAME HAVE ARRIVED

GIRDER SECTIONS AND NOTICE ALL THE LONG BOLTS ON THE TOP OF THEM

THESE GIRDERS SURE HAVE A LOT OF 'JOINING BOLTS' IN THEM

TIM HORTONS COFFEE SHIP/CONVENIENCE STORE/GAS BAR COMPLEX IS FORGING AHEAD

PARKING LOT IS PAVED COMPLETE WITH PARKING LINES AND ALL THE LANDSCAPING IS DONE

TODAY'S RAIN WILL BE GREAT FOR ALL THAT NEW SOD

MOST WORK NOW SEEMS TO BE FOCUSING ON THE COFFEE SHOP INTERIOR WHICH IS THE LEFT SIDE OF THIS BUILDING

GROANER'S CORNER:((  As I was trying to pack for vacation, my 3-year-old daughter was having a wonderful time playing on the bed. At one point, she said, "Mommy, look at this," and stuck out two of her fingers.  Trying to keep her entertained, I reached out and stuck her fingers in my mouth and said, "Mommy gonna eat your fingers!" pretending to eat them before I rushed out of the room again.  When I returned, my daughter was standing on the bed staring at her fingers with a devastated look on her face.  I said, "What's wrong honey?"  "Mommy, where's my booger?"

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