WE HAD OURSELVES A WINTER WONDERLAND KIND OF DAY

NICE TO SEE PEOPLE IN OUR PARK OUT WALKING EARLIER TODAY

Snow came in the night leaving us once again with a winter wonderland upon awakening.  A welcome change from dull, gray, and wet.  Winter can sure be pretty when it wants to be.

OUR WINTER VIEW THIS MORNING

HEY THERE'S A SNOWY LITTLE DOGGY AT THE DOOR

PHEEBS AND I ROLL OUT THE DRIVEWAY

SLIPPED THE JEEP INTO 4-WHEEL DRIVE AND AWAY WE WENT

With snow-covered roads, I slipped the Jeep into 4-wheel drive and we were off to Goderich with the slippery roads being no problem at all.

Coffee to go at McDonalds and it was down to the harbor with us.  A few big machines working but no sign of the boardwalk crew.  With snow in the air and wind-driven waves breaking over the new boulder breakwater it was not the best outside working conditions and I don't blame the crew for not working today.

HEADING DOWN TO GODERICH'S HARBOR

THAT'S THE BEACH STREET STATION RESTAURANT STRAIGHT AHEAD BY THE LAKE

WORK CONTINUES ON THE BEACH RESTORATION

LAKE HURON WAS ANGRY TODAY

A FEW PHOTOS MOTORING THROUGH GODERICH

Picked up a few things at Food Basics and we were soon on our way home again.  Taking the Jeep out of 4 wheel drive I could sure notice the unstable difference so we soon had all 4 wheels back into gear churning in unison again.

HEADING HOME

Home by 10:30 Kelly whooped up some bacon and eggs.  A nice touch on a snowy winter morning.  Yesterday she brewed up some Dutch hot chocolate.  Ahhh yes, its wintertime alright.

IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY COMING INTO OUR PARK YOU JUST MIGHT SEE SANTA:))

THESE ARE THE FOUR PEOPLE YOU SEE WALKING FAR DOWN THE ROAD IN MY POST'S FIRST PHOTO 

Nothing like a dump of snow to attract lots of birds to the feeders.  Woodpeckers, Cardinals, Juncos, Goldfinches, Blue Jays, Mourning Doves,  and Chickadees were in abundance flitting about through the snow-laden trees to the birdfeeders and back.  How nice to sit quietly watching all the feathered antics going on.  A few furry Black Squirrels in the mix as well but of course they weren't flying.

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE

DARK-EYED JUNCO

BLUE JAY

I THINK THIS IS A RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

TUFTED TITMOUSE

I'm hoping to get out for a walk after dark one of these nights soon and take a few photos of Christmas lights around our Park.

AND BY GOLLY THIS LOOKS LIKE ONE OF OUR VERY OWN CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Two archeologists, exploring a remote mountain in Tibet came across a huge granite statue which resembled a sitting man. It stood almost 400 feet tall, and its bodily details were accurate down to the fingernails and teeth.  "It looks real enough to talk," says one.  "Let's try," says the other, and turning to the statue he asks it its name.  No answer.  "How old are you?"  No answer.  Finally. one shouts out, "What is the square root of 64?"  Suddenly, the mountain shakes as the giant statue rises onto its feet and puts its hand on its chin. Then after about ten seconds, the statue answers in a roaring voice, "Eight."  "Of course!" says the scientist, "... It only stands to reason."

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I LOVE FLYING AROUND ON GOOGLE MAPS AND TOUCHING DOWN IN OLD FAMILIAR PLACES

It was a cold wet rain a fallin this morning as Pheebs and I made our way into and around Bayfield for a short Jeep ride.  Having just washed the Jeep a few days ago I didn't really want to head out into the countryside and gob it all up with mud again.  We checked out our usual Bayfield spots and headed home without taking any photos.  I had forgotten a few photos I had taken Sunday so will add them below.  We took the rig for a short drive down the road and back Sunday afternoon just to give it a run and round out the flat spots on the tires after sitting for a while.

WISH I WAS SEEING SAGUARO CACTUS GOING BY OUT THAT WINDSHIELD

Rained all afternoon so Pheebs and I didn't get out for a walk.  More snoozing and reading but I did manage a few more front yard bird photos mid-afternoon.  Had a few settings wrong so some of the colors are a bit wonky.

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE ON THE LEFT AND A RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH ON THE RIGHT

LOOKS LIKE AN AMERICAN GOLDFINCH TO ME

APPEARS TO BE A WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH

I sure like bonking around on the internet's Google Maps traveling to places we have traveled over the years.  So many great memories and some not so good ones too.  I sometimes zoom down to areas we frequented and look for specific things I remember.  Could be a building, a road, a certain group of rocks, a fenceline, an old cemetery, a favorite Saguaro cactus, etc.  Found myself just west of Albuquerque New Mexico this afternoon looking around for a while.  Dropped in on Tucumcari and Demming.  From there I flew over to Ajo Arizona and scuffled around the town for a while ending up on a couple of our choice boondocking spots out on Darby Well Road.  Buzzed Borrego Springs and flew over Marshall South's Ghost Mountain.  Oh, the wonderful memories which almost bring tears to my eyes at times.

DARK-EYED JUNCO

TUFTED TITMOUSE

CAMERA SHY

The weather folks say we have a big winter storm event headed our way so I imagine I will once again be spending my time on the end of a snow shovel once all this rain turns to snow.  Guess I have to look at it positively and think of the much-needed exercise.  Better for my mind to focus on shoveling snow rather than starring blankly out the window remembering more better funner days.

ALL BIRD PHOTOS TAKEN THROUGH OUR SUNROOM WINDOW WITH MY NIKON COOLPIX P900

A long time blog reader and friend of ours, Doug Laning, and his faithful dog Yuma, just left his summer digs near Bloomington Illinois a couple days ago and is at this moment making his way West in his big 41' Class A Safari Motorhome.  I'll be following Doug this winter again because he is headed for the very same beloved areas and adventures that we here at the Bayfield Bunch had traveled to over the years.  Doug sorta has a knack for occasionally getting himself into various situations so you might find his travels interesting.  You can find him at Miss Adventure Travels.  Aptly named:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((   My wife said to me, "How on earth are we going to use 9% less gas this winter?"  "You can stop burning my dinner for a start," I replied.

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Magician's assistants are highly sawed after.

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Ask anybody over 30 -- if they tell you they have more than 10 friends, you know they're counting co-workers.

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LOOKING WITHOUT SEEING

Guess I must have been looking without seeing again this morning.  Only came home with a couple photos on this otherwise fine sunny Sunday morning.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  This morning I saw a neighbor talking to her cat. It was obvious she thought her cat understood her.  I came into my house and told my dog... we laughed a lot.

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WE DIDN'T GET FAR BEFORE RETREATING BACK TO THE WARMTH OF THE JEEP

With my mind feeling like a tempest in a teapot on this fine sunny Saturday morning Pheebs and I headed south through Bayfield out into the quiet Huron County countryside.  Hoping to get a walk in we stopped at the end of a dead-end road.  With an icy west wind blowing across the cold waters of Lake Huron we didn't get far before retreating back to the warmth of the Jeep.  I only took a couple photos this morning before we headed home.  Soaking up the sun's rays beaming through our sunroom windows I slept a big part of the afternoon away interrupted only by a short brisk forest walk with Pheebs.  I'll try again Sunday morning to see if my very much most bestest furry little Pal and I can track down a few more photos somewhere.  

Facebook threw me a flashback memory to November 27th, 2010 today.  A Return To The Chiricahua Monument  

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A farmer and his wife decided to hold a talent show for their animals in which each contestant would recite a passage from Shakespeare. The prize would be a big marquee with a glitter ball inside. The pig performed a piece from Hamlet; the cow chose Richard III and the sheep picked Macbeth. After much deliberation the farmer and his wife picked the best entry, announcing: "Cow is the winner of our disco tent."  (You might have to think of this last line a bit and the key is a line from William Shakespeare's play, Richard the Third :))

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 I pulled up to the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant and ordered coffee. I asked the clerk to put some ice cubes into the cup so that I could drink the cool coffee quickly. At the window, there was a delay.  Finally, a teen-aged girl came to the window looking frustrated. "I'm having a problem," she announced. "The ice keeps melting."

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AND THAT'S ABOUT IT

EVENING GROSBEAK

A very routine day in late November leaves me with little to say. A morning run up to Goderich and back for Pheebs and I and an afternoon spent in my recliner reading and snoozing.  A short afternoon walk under cold damp skies and that's about it for post number 4,573:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((   A man, his head seriously misshapen, stood drinking in a bar in Johannesburg. A youngster started to laugh and point at the man.  The barman said "Don't you EVER laugh at that man. He is a national hero. There was a mining disaster, and that man stood with a wooden beam on his head for 4 hours whilst rescue workers rescued 34 other miners. That is why is head is flat".  "Wow", said the youngster, "that is really impressive. But what about his cauliflower ears?"  Oh, that is where they hammered him into place under the beam."

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