CANADA'S 'WIARTON WILLY' HAS PREDICTED AN EARLY SPRING:))))

 NO, THIS IS NOT WIARTON WILLY...THIS IS ONE OF OUR RASCALLY FRONT YARD SQUIRRELS

Under overcast skies at 8:07 a.m. on this February 2nd Friday morning, Wiarton Willy, Canada's greatest living Prognogtiscator did not see his shadow.  Therefore, it is quite safe to say we are in for an early Spring.  Now how's about that for something positive to look forward to eh:)))))

 ALL PHOTOS TODAY ARE FROM MY FILES  (TUNDRA SWANS)

Kind of another nothing day and I again chucked the few photos I took this morning into the garbage.  With the trail across the road leading to the pond free of snow now, I took Pheebs and my cane for a much-needed walk around the pond and beyond.  I did good most of the way but my hip was sure barking by the time we got back.  Today's hoped-for Sun never happened.  Maybe tomorrow.............  

Fifteen years ago today in Arizona's Huachuca Mountains we took ourselves for a Rough & Tumble Drive In Carr Canyon.  We had a Hyundai Santa Fe at the time.

Al's Music Box:)) Sunny  is a soul jazz standard written by Bobby Hebb in 1963.  Hebb's parents, William and Ovalla Hebb, were both blind musicians. Hebb and his older brother Harold performed as a song-and-dance duo in Nashville, beginning when Bobby was three and Harold was nine. Hebb performed on a TV show hosted by country music record producer Owen Bradley.  Hebb wrote the song after his older brother, Harold, was stabbed to death outside a Nashville nightclub. Hebb was devastated by the event and many critics say it inspired the lyrics and tune. According to Hebb, he merely wrote the song as an expression of a preference for a "sunny" disposition over a "lousy" disposition following the murder of his brother.  Events influenced Hebb's songwriting, but his melody, crossing over into R&B together with the optimistic lyrics, came from the artist's desire to express that one should always "look at the bright side". Hebb has said about "Sunny":  All my intentions were to think of happier times and pay tribute to my brother, basically looking for a brighter day, because times were at a low. After I wrote it, I thought "Sunny" just might be a different approach to what Johnny Bragg was talking about in "Just Walkin' in the Rain".

 GRACKLE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( I was walking past a clothes shop and saw a beautiful dress in the shop window. I went in and asked the shop assistant, “Hi, can I please try on the dress in the shop window?”  “Of course,” nodded the shop assistant, “but you know we also have changing rooms, right?”

Wow, honey, I never thought our son would go that far!  Yeah, the catapult is really amazing. Let's go get our daughter!

Waiter, there’s a fly twitching in my soup!”  And what do you expect for the price? A ballet?!”

A Texan tourist stands under the Eiffel tower in Paris and looks upon it in awe.  “Amazing tower,” he comments to a French guy nearby, “how many barrels does it get out in a day?”

Paul: “I’ve got problems with mathematics.”  Michael: “Me too.”
Eric: “Yeah, that makes four of us.”

Why is women’s soccer so rare?  It’s hard to find enough women willing to wear the same outfit.

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LOOKING FORWARD TO BLUE SKIES IN COMING DAYS

 FOGGY MORNING

With temps slowly on the rise, it was a foggy morning here along the shores of Lake Huron.  Despite that, Pheebs and I made our way to Goderich and back.  While there we hit all the usual places plus a stop at the Canadian Tire Store Auto Department to get a burnt-out rear tail light replaced.  Not much else going on today but I'm bolstered by this thought....one short month from now we will already be into the first week of March.  And, looking ahead at our long-range forecast it tells us we have 10 mostly sunny days coming up beginning tomorrow. (Friday)  Well, I guess we'll believe that when we see it.................  

 GODERICH'S ROTARY COVE

 DESPITE ALL THE REFLECTIONS YOU CAN SEE A FELLA FIXING THE LIGHT AT THE REAR OF THE JEEP

 PHEEBS IN THE CANADIAN TIRE STORE

 HEADING HOME IN THE FOG

Back we go with our time machine once again to ten years ago on this February 2nd day in 2014 for another adventuress day in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.  It was days like this that always made our travels memorable for us. Remember to click on the smaller photos to enlarge them.  We Found Sleeping Man Cave, Grinding Stone Cave, and More 

Al's Music Box:)) Bye Bye Love is a popular song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and published in 1957. It is best known in a debut recording by the Everly Brothers,  The Everlys' "Bye Bye Love" is ranked 210th on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Sons of All Time.  In 1998, The Everly Brothers version of "Bye Bye Love" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.  The guitar intro was not originally part of the song, but was something that Don Everly had come up with and was tacked on to the beginning.  Chet Atkins was the lead guitar player on the session.  Floyd Chance was the upright bassist and Buddy Haran was the drummer.

 OUR SNOW IS SLOWLY DWINDLING AWAY.....AGAIN

GROANER'S CORNER:(( In the men's room at work, the boss placed a sign directly above the sink. It had a single word on it: "Think!"  The next day, when he went to the men's room, he looked at the sign, and right below it, immediately above the soap dispenser, someone had carefully lettered another sign which read, "Thoap!"

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“You are only young once. After that you have to think up some other excuse.” 

 “By the time you’re 80 years old you’ve learned everything but now you can't remember it.” 

 “You can’t believe everything you hear—but you can repeat it.” 

For her birthday present, I took my wife to an apple orchard, and we stood there looking at the trees for half an hour.  Not the Apple Watch she was expecting apparently.

“A gossip is a person who creates the smoke in which other people assume there’s fire.” 

“It’s so much easier to suggest solutions when you don’t know too much about the problem.” 

“People can’t drive you crazy if you don’t give them the keys.”

 “Never eat more than you can lift.” 

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SHE WANTED ME HALF NAKED AND THEN TOLD ME TO LAY ON THE BED

 SARNIA HOSPITAL'S FOOD COURT AS VIEWED FROM AN OVERHEAD WALKWAY AND KELLY CAN BE SEEN IN THIS PHOTO TOP RIGHT OF CENTER AT THE MO'CHA CAFE CHECKING OUT THE FOOD MENU  

Luckily, the weather did not throw us a curve this morning,  Under cloudy skies we rolled out of our driveway at 9:10 a.m. heading for Sarnia Ontario on bare and dry snow-free roads.  A bonus for this time of year.  It was an easy country drive all the way there with very light traffic, even in Sarnia.  We did make a quick stop at Tim Hortons in Forest Ontario for a couple coffees to go.  No problem finding the Sarnia Blue Water hospital and I was at the registration desk at 10:55.  My appointment was at 11.

 HOW LUCKY WE WERE TO HAVE DRY AND BARE ROADS ALL THE WAY TO SARNIA AND BACK....HEADING WEST ON THE 402

 WALKING PAST THE MO'CHA CAFE ON OUR WAY TO REGISTRATION

 PASSED THROUGH THE FOOD COURT

Everything went smoothly today as we first made our way to the third floor for a meeting with a nurse to go over my meds and do some extra instructional paperwork.  Next was a meeting with an anesthesiologist person to go over more stuff.  Nice lady.  Next, it was down to the 2nd floor for blood work.  I don't think the lady there left me with a whole lot of blood.  Now down to the hospital's main floor for an EKG where a lady there told me I needed to be bare-chested and lying on the bed.  I took it to mean, 'get yourself half naked and lay on your back on the bed and don't move or else'!!  From there, it was off to the X-ray department for X-rays of my right hip.  At least that lady didn't make me take half my clothes off but I forgot to tell her I had a metal jackknife in my pocket and when she turned on her X-ray machine, it nearly blew her out of the little lead-lined control booth.  And that was it, I was done.  And, at no time today did anyone have to give me a slap upside the head except for maybe the X-ray lady.  I found all the medical staff I encountered were very friendly.  Before leaving the hospital, Kelly ordered us up a couple of sandwiches to go from the Mo'Cha Cafe.  It was 1:15 when we left the hospital, walked to the car, and wolfed down our sandwiches.  From there we drove half a dozen blocks to an Orthopedic Store where we picked up a special pillow and one pair of pressure stockings.  The stockings are to prevent blood clots following surgery.  Two minutes after leaving the Orthopedic Store we were eastbound on the 402 making fast tracks out of Sarnia.  We never made any stops on the way home and rolled into our driveway shortly before 3 p.m.  Although we hadn't gone far like in our RVing days, we were both sure tired and glad to be home.  With today's medical tests behind me, the only thing that could sink my hip surgery now is if my diabetes number from today's blood test comes in too high.  We'll know in a couple days.  

 KELLY PATIENTLY WAITS WHILE A NURSE GOES OVER MY MEDS WITH ME

 I'M BACK

ANOTHER WAITING ROOM FOR THE BLOODWORK

 WAITING FOR MY EKG

 SHE WANTS TO WHAT!! AND THEN LAY ON MY BACK THERE

 HIP X-RAYS WERE LAST ON THE LIST

 BEFORE LEAVING THE HOSPITAL KELLY ORDERED US UP A COUPLE TOASTED SANDWICHES

I don't know how it crept up on me so quickly but it did.   It seems that only a short while ago it was Christmas and 'poof' here it is only a few days before Groundhog Day already.  How the heck did that happen so fast.  Had it not popped up on the news, the big day might have blown right past me.  Ground Hog day this Friday is going to be a real nail-biter because the weather forecast is for Sun and clouds.  I hope those folks in Wiarton Ontario will know enough not to bring Willy out during a sunny stretch because that will mean 6 more weeks of Winter when he sees his shadow.  Not good!!!!  And, just think, in two short weeks it will be Valentine's Day.  Can St. Patrick's Day be in the not-too-distant future following this, the shortest month of the year??  I think not:))  

In our RVing days not long ago, one of our favorite things to do was to get out and explore whatever area we happened to be in.  Ten years ago today is a good example of that.  Boondocked on the west side of the Kofa Mountains south of Quartzsite, Arizona for a few days we set off in the morning to find something called, Ladder Tank.  We Found What We Set Out To Find Today  We had many days like this over the years and those great days live forever in my memory now thanks to my blog.  Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

Al's Music Box:)) Uncle Albert  is a song by Paul and Linda McCartney from the album Ram and was released in the United States as a single on 2 August 1971.   It became McCartney's first gold record after the breakup of the Beatles.  "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is composed of several unfinished song fragments that Norwegian engineer Eirik Wangberg stitched together in a similar manner to the medleys from the 'Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road. The orchestral arrangements by George Martin were recorded in New York at A & R Recording, along with other instruments by McCartney and his new band. The project was moved to Los Angeles where vocals were added by Paul and Linda McCartney—her first experience of recording in a professional studio. The song is notable for its thunderstorm and environmental sound effects added by Wangberg in Los Angeles; he had been invited by McCartney to mix and sequence the Ram album in any way he saw fit, and he copied the thunder from a monaural film soundtrack, then fashioned an artificial stereo version of it for the song.  McCartney stated that "Uncle Albert" was based on his uncle: "He's someone I recall fondly, and when the song was coming it was like a nostalgia thing." He also stated: "I had an uncle – Albert Kendall – who was a lot of fun, and when I came to write 'Uncle Albert'/'Admiral Halsey' it was loosely about addressing that older generation, half thinking, what would they think of the way my generation does things? That's why I wrote the line 'We're so sorry, Uncle Albert.'  McCartney also told an American journalist, "As for Admiral Halsey, he's one of yours, an American admiral", referring to Fleet Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey (1882–1959).  McCartney has described the "Uncle Albert" section of the song as an apology from his generation to the older generation, and Admiral Halsey as an authoritarian figure who ought to be ignored.  McCartney additionally explained: "'Hands across the water/Heads across the sky' refers to Linda and me being American and British."

 SORRY.....I DIDN'T MEAN TO SCARE YOU

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A Polish immigrant went to the DMV to apply for a driver's license.  First, of course, he had to take an eyesight test. The optician showed him a card with the letters: 'C Z W I X N O S T A C Z.'  "Can you read this?" the optician asked.  "Read it?" the Polish guy replied, "I know the guy."

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She: "Sweetheart, what's your gift for our 25th anniversary?"
He: "A trip to Thailand."
She: "That's amazing! And what about when we hit our 50th anniversary?" she asked.
He: "That's when I come back to get you."

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A customer walks into a coffee shop. She asks the barista, “How much for a cup of coffee?”  The barista points to the menu and says, “Five dollars for a cup of coffee and refills are free.”  The customer responds, “Thanks. I’ll have a refill.”

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Q: What do you call a sad cup of coffee?
A: A depresso.

- If you replace your morning coffee with green tea ….You can lose up to 87% of what little joy you feel in the morning.

- Don’t ever let anyone tell you fairy tales aren’t real. I wake up every morning to drink a potion made from magic beans that brings me back to life.
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HEADING TO SARNIA'S BLUEWATER HOSPITAL IN THE MORNING

Slipping the Jeep into four-wheel drive, Pheebs and I rolled out of the Park and headed East down to the end of Bayfield River Road and back.  With temps at 33F, the falling snow had a lot of moisture in it making roads a bit squoozy.

 A SNOWPLOW GOING BY OUR PARK HEADING WEST

 THAT SNOWPLOW IS PROBABLY CARRYING A HEAVY MIXTURE OF SAND AND ROAD SALT

AND SOON THE PLOW DISAPPEARED IN A SWIRL OF SNOW

It is that time of year now when I begin checking the long-range weather forecast daily for any early signs of a warming trend.  I look for dominant weather patterns bringing sunshine and steady above-freezing temperatures.  And, that is what I am seeing for the next couple of weeks which will get us halfway through February.  I hang on to every positive weather forecast I can find in these gray and dreary winter days.  If I were an 'inside' person I probably wouldn't give a hoot about what the weather is doing but being an outside person the weather is a big deal to me.  Hey, I'm Canadian eh:)) 

 HEADING EAST ON BAYFIELD RIVER ROAD

In the morning we will head to Sarnia Ontario's Bluewater Hospital for an 11 a.m. orientation appointment regarding my upcoming hip surgery in two weeks.  It looks like I will undergo bloodwork, a hip X-ray, and possibly an EKG, etc.  Well hey, at least we're going somewhere and doing something different when we get there.  I'm hoping this current drizzle doesn't turn into freezing rain overnight.

 IF SOME OF THESE PHOTOS LOOK A LITTLE FADED, WASHED OUT, MOTTLED, OR GRAINY, IT IS BECAUSE I AM LITERALLY SHOOTING THROUGH THOUSANDS OF SNOWFLAKES 

Back at our Park this morning, I drove around a bit taking a few more pics and after backing the Jeep into the carport I proceeded to move some wet snow around and top up the birdfeeders.  By this time it was kind of a fine drizzle coming down and that continued for the rest of the day.

Al's Music Box:)) For The Good Times is a studio album by country music artist Ray Price. It was released in 1970 by Columbia Records.  For the Good Times was Kris Kristofferson's first No. 1 hit as a songwriter. The album also included another Kristofferson song, "Help Me Make It Through The Night". 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  On a rural road a state trooper pulled this farmer over and said: "Sir, do you realize your wife fell out of the car several miles back?"To which the farmer replied: "Thank God, I thought I had gone deaf!"

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Why did Dorothy get lost in Oz?
She had three men giving her directions.
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Q: Did you hear about the Irishman who was tap dancing?
A: He broke his ankle when he fell into the sink.

Q: What's Irish and sits outside in the summertime?
A: Paddy O'Furniture!

Q: What are the best ten years of an Irishman's life?
A: Third grade.

Q: How do you sink an Irish submarine?
A: Knock on the hatch.

Q: How can you identify an Irish pirate?
A: He's the one with patches over both eyes.
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Doctor: What's wrong with your bother?
Boy: He thinks he is a chicken.
Doctor: really? How long has this been going on?
Boy: Five years.
Doctor: Five years!
Boy: We would have brought him in earlier, but we needed the eggs.

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