NICE MORNING FOR A WALK IN THE BANNOCKBURN CONSERVATION AREA

 LOOKS LIKE PHEEBS IS WORKING ON SOME MUDDY PAWS DOWN THERE

A partial cloud cover on this cool morning so I tossed on a long sleeve shirt before Pheebs and I headed out at the start of another day. Following our walk, we slipped into Clinton and picked up a Tim Horton coffee to go.  Rolling east out of Clinton I snapped a few photos along the way.

 ON BOTH SIDES OF OUR WALKING ROAD THE DITCHES HAVE BEEN MOWED

 LAZY MORNING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

 THE ANNUAL BEAN HARVEST MAY BE ONLY WEEKS AWAY

We hadn't been over to the Bannockburn Conservation Area for a while and I knew with this cooler air upon us now there wouldn't be any bugs in the air there.  We swung south, then headed west for Bannockburn hoping there wouldn't be any cars in the parking lot.  There wasn't, so off we went for a walk on the boardwalk.

 ON THE ROAD TO BANNOCKBURN

 WATER SPIDERS

With summer sliding gracefully into autumn, I could hear a few Crows along with a Blue Jay or two.  Other than those few birds the forest was quietly in its earliest stages of buttoning itself down for the coming winter.  The only other sound along the way was that of trickling water as one of several shallow creeks twisted its way through the heavy vegetation along its banks. 

 SEVERAL SMALL RIVERS MEET HERE AT BANNOCKBURN

 A LOT OF CEDAR TREES IN THE SWAMPIER AREAS

 LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY BLEW A SOCK ALONG THE TRAIL

I noticed new planking had been laid down for about half of the boardwalk.  The last few times here, I noticed some of the old boards were getting a little worse for wear.  It's nice to see these conservation areas being well looked after by an obviously great bunch of environmental people.

 ALL NEW PLANKING ALONG THIS SECTION OF THE BOARDWALK

 QUITE A COLLECTION OF ROOTS

Pheebs loves these kinds of outings as she races around checking everything out.  Lots of smells to be had wherever she goes.  She always stays within about a hundred yards of me and always keeps me in sight, as I do her.  We're a team:))

 HEADING BACK

 PHEEBS ALWAYS STOPS TO CHECK AND MAKE SURE I'M STILL COMING

On the way back we met up with a lady walking her 12 week-old-puppy.  Pheebs and the puppy had a blast for about 30 seconds before we moved on.  Back to the car, we were home about a dozen minutes later.

 AFTER A BIG WALK IT'S ALWAYS TIME FOR A BIG DRINK

 I THINK SOMEBODY IS READY FOR A BIG SNOOZE

I hadn't had Scooter out for a maintenance drive for a while so I fired it up and off we went.  Pheebs, having a big snooze after her outing, didn't even hear Scooter and I slip out the driveway.  The rig ran fine as I followed our usual loop route over to Holmsville and back.  And that was about it for the day.  I was kind of needing a little snooze myself by then.   

With the official start of Autumn fast approaching our nights are already remaining consistently cooler.  Early morning temps are starting out in the low to mid 50sF now.  I will soon be into my warm T-shirts and flannel long sleeve shirts until probably next May sometime and that is quite okay.  Just as I look forward to Autumn I am already looking forward to Spring.

 OH-OH I THINK I SEE SOME MUDDY PAWS COMING UP

Ellen's Groove:)) In this clip, Ellen is having a blast working on her new 'slap bass' guitar exercises.    

GROANER'S CORNER:((   “Today,” said the professor, “I will be lecturing about the kidneys, intestines, pancreas, and the liver.”  One med student leaned toward his friend sitting next to him, “Great, we have to sit through another organ recital.”

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A Mormon acquaintance once pushed Mark Twain into an argument on the issue of polygamy. After long and tedious expositions justifying the practice, the Mormon demanded that Twain cite any passage of scripture expressly forbidding polygamy.  "Nothing easier," Twain replied. "No man can serve two masters."

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A VERY NICE FELLOW INDEED

Pheebs and I didn't let a solid cloud cover Sunday night deter us from our 20 mph moonlight evening cruise 3 miles down to the end of Bayfield River Road and back.  With our windows down, moonroof open, and the 'Chill Lounge cranked up on XM Sirius satellite radio channel at 053, we once again enjoyed our half-hour outing.  I sure hope the novelty of having this newer vehicle doesn't wear off any time soon.  And with the great sound system in this car, I'm contemplating fixing myself up a big stack of peanut butter sandwiches and moving into the Subaru permanently.  Yes, I do love my music:))

It was a cloudy start to our day with a bit of drizzle in the air.  I knew our country walking road would be a tad muddy so Pheebs and I took a short drive into and around Bayfield.  Revitalization work is still ongoing along Bayfield's wide Main street.

 LOOKS LIKE A WEEKEND VISITOR TO BAYFIELD'S BEACH HAS LEFT A  SWEATER BEHIND

 AND TO THINK THAT THESE TWO LONG-ARMED METAL MONSTERS ONCE LIVED IN OUR PARK

Home again I was finally able to figure out and nail down the heating, A/C, and vent system in the Suburu.  There are two separate controls for each front seat and that was throwing me off.  So, in effect, I can set my side of the car to be warmer or cooler than Pheeb's side.  I then tackled the clock and date settings but had to finally throw in the towel and call for 'back-up'.  Kelly quickly rolled in and straightened that one out for me.  But, I was close.  Now, if I could only figure out how to turn the steering wheel when I want to go around a corner.  

 IN A FEW WEEKS I WILL BEGIN ROUNDING UP THE FROGS IN OUR FRONT YARD POND AND TRANSPORTING THEM OVER TO THE PARK'S POND FOR THE WINTER

 ACROSS THE ROAD FROM OUR HOUSE THIS PATH LEADS TO THE PARK'S POND AND BEYOND

Up until later this afternoon, I didn't have any photos for today so I had to slip out into our front yard to see what I could scare up.  With cooler temperatures upon us, Pheebs and I were also able to get out for a walk by the Park's pond and around what's left of the old Pine Tree Trail.  And, along the way, I met our Park's hard-working new owner for the first time.  A very nice fellow indeed:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  An Air Force cargo plane was preparing for departure from Thule Air Base in Greenland. They were waiting for the truck to arrive to pump out the aircraft's sewage holding tank.  The Aircraft Commander was in a hurry, the truck was late in arriving, and the Airman performing the job was extremely slow in getting the tank pumped out.  When the commander berated the Airman for his slowness and promised punishment, the Airman responded: “Sir, I have no stripes, it is 20 below zero, I'm stationed in Greenland, and I am pumping sewage out of airplanes. Just what are you going to do to punish me?”

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- "You know you are getting old when you stoop to tie your shoes and wonder what else you can do while you're down there."

- A Sunday School teacher asked, "Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?"  "No," replied Johnny. "How could he with just two worms?"

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