KEEPS ME FROM GOING BONKERS

I'm afraid there really wasn't much for me to write about today.  It was a short morning drive halfway down the road and back for Pheebs and I.  Kelly had some errands to run in Goderich and with only one car for now she was needin' it to be gettin' on her way.  With clear blue skies overhead the sunshine really heated up all the moisture in the air so neither Pheebs nor I set foot out the door again.  Our 84F with the oppressive muggy humidity felt like 95F.  To say it was a lazy day for the furry Kid and I would be putting it quite mildly.  Thank heavens I have a reading hobby that keeps me from going bonkers on days like this.  I never got around to taking any photos today but I did have a few left over from previous days.

 A SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO MOUNTAIN RANGE??  NOPE, JUST A LOCAL GRAVEL PIT

 A GOLDEN WHEAT FIELD

 A VERY RECENTLY HARVESTED WHEAT FIELD

 AND, THIS WHEAT FIELD IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING HARVESTED

 'MARSHMALLOW FIELDS FOREVER'

 THAT'S A LOT OF TIRES COMING DOWN THE ROAD

 ONE OF OUR FRONT YARD BUNNIES PAUSES FOR A QUICK CLEAN UP

Al's Music Box:)) In Dreams is a song composed and sung by singer Roy Orbison.  It is an operatic rock ballad of lost love and it was recorded at RCA Studio B in Nashville on January 4, 1963.  It became the title track of the album 'In Dreams', released in July of the same year. The song has a uniquely composed structure in seven movements in which Orbison sings through two octaves, beyond the range of most rock singers.  The song peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 charts at number 7, and charted in the United Kingdom for five months while Orbison toured with the Beatless.  During the five months the song was on the charts, Orbison replaced guitarist Duane Eddy on a tour of the UK alongside the Beatles, whom he was not aware of at the time. British promoters were wary of Orbison as a draw, not considering him conventionally attractive and noting his stillness while performing.  The tour sold out in one afternoon, however.   Orbison's first meeting with John Lennon was awkward, as Orbison was overwhelmed by the amount of advertising devoted to the Beatles when it was he who was supposed to headline the show. Beatlemania, however, was taking hold, and Orbison accepted that he was not the main draw of the tour, so he decided to go first on stage.  On opening night, the audience reacted intensely toward Orbison's ballads, as he finished with "In Dreams". Philip Norman, a Beatles biographer, later wrote "As Orbison performed, chinless and tragic, the Beatles stood in the wings, wondering how they would dare to follow him". After demanding Orbison play for double the time he was scheduled, the audience then screamed for a fifteenth encore, which Lennon and Paul McCartney refused to allow. The two held Orbison back from returning to the stage.  Rolling Stone listed "In Dreams" at number 319 of their "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2012.  Orbison claimed that "In Dreams" came to him while he was sleeping, as many of his songs did. He often heard music while asleep.  Orbison was half-awake when he imagined "In Dreams", and thought, "Boy that's good. I need to finish that. Too bad things don't happen in my dreams." When he woke up the next morning, he wrote the song in twenty minutes.  Like many of Orbison's songs, "In Dreams" rejects the typical song structure of rock music.  It begins like a lullaby with minimal acoustic guitar strums, with Orbison introducing the listener to "a candy-colored clown they call the sandman" half-spoken and half-sung. The sandman puts him to sleep, and Orbison begins singing about dreams of his lover. Drums pick up the rhythm to follow the lyrics further into his subconscious, and a piano joins as the lyrics recount how Orbison spends time with her in his dreams, accompanied by breathy backup singers. Orchestra strings counter his melody, with the effect of representing a singing voice in themselves.  Orbison's voice rises as he wakes up to find his lover gone. The climax is a powerful crescendo, as he cries "It's too bad that all these things "Can only happen in my dreams", and the resolution follows his voice from falsetto to the final note an octave below as he sings "Only in dreams-In beautiful dreams", as the other performers conclude with him abruptly.  The song never repeats a section in the two minutes and forty-eight seconds it runs.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Marriage Quotes::

- There was a man who said, "I never knew what happiness was until I got married...and then it was too late!"
- Love is one long sweet dream, and marriage is the alarm clock.
-They say when a man holds a woman's hand before marriage, it is love; after marriage, it is self-defense.
- When a newly married man looks happy, we know why. But when a ten-year married man looks happy, we wonder why.
- A coward is a hero with a wife, kids, and a mortgage. -

- A gentleman is one who never swears at his wife while ladies are present.
- A husband is living proof that a wife can take a joke.

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- Dolphins are so intelligent that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train a man to stand on the edge of their pool and throw fish to them three times a day.

- “I'm really good at being lazy. In fact, my doctor even said that if I continue being this lazy I should expect atrophy.”

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Bill: Where did you get that gold watch Joe?
Joe: I won it in a race.
Bill: How many people participated in it?
Joe: Three, a policeman, the owner of the watch, and me!

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I COULD TELL SHE WAS WANTING TO HEAD BACK TO THE CAR

 A REAL NICE LOOKING SUNDAY MORNING

A beautiful summer's morning with deep blue skies and big white puffy clouds.  And a refreshing breeze to gently move the overnight's cooler air around.

 A FARM LANE BETWEEN A WHEAT FIELD AND A CORN FIELD

 PHEEBS LIKES WHEN WE HAVE SUBIE'S MOONROOF OPEN AND THE AIR RUSHES IN AND RUFFLES HER FUR

It was out to our country road walking spot Pheebs and I went to see if we could get our half-mile walk in.  We did pretty good but I could tell she was wanting to head back to the car.

 A RECENTLY HARVESTED HAY FIELD ALONGSIDE OUR WALKING ROAD

 'COME ON DAD LET'S GO HOME AND HAVE A HOT DOG'

From our walking spot, we doodled around half a dozen country roads stopping here and there for a few photos.  Being a quiet Sunday morning, we pretty much had the roads and countryside all to ourselves.  For us quiet guys, that is always the best:))

 THESE TWO WERE DOING A LOT OF NUZZLING

We were home well before noon, and of course, sounding like an old broken record again, I stayed in out of the heat with the exception of a short walk with Pheebs over to the Park's pond and back.       

 BUTTERFLY IN FLIGHT

 OUR HOSTA'S ARE IN BLOOM

Al's Music Box:)) Blue On Blue is a popular song composed by Burt Bacharach with lyrics by Hal David, first recorded and released by Bobby Vinton in April 1963, backed by Burt Bacharach and his Orchestra.  The success of "Blue on Blue" prompted Bobby Vinton to record an entire album of blue-themed songs, also titled Blue on Blue, which produced an even bigger hit in the No. 1 "Blue Velvet".

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man walked into a doctor's office and the receptionist asked him what he had. He replied, "I got shingles."  She said, "Fill out this form and supply your name, address, medical insurance number. When you're done, please take a seat."  Fifteen minutes later a nurse's aide came out and asked him what he had. He said, "I got shingles."  So she took down his height, weight, and complete medical history, then said, "Change into this gown and wait in the examining room."  A half hour later a nurse came in and asked him what he had. He said, "I got shingles."  So she gave him a blood test, a blood pressure test, an electrocardiogram, and told him to wait for the doctor.  An hour later the doctor came in and asked him what he had. He said, "Shingles."  The doctor gave him a full-cavity examination, and then said, "I just checked you out thoroughly, and I can't find shingles anywhere. " The man replied, "They're outside in the truck. Where do you want them?"

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A man walks into his doctor’s office and says, “Doctor, I think I’m addicted to Twitter.”
The doctor looks at him and says, “Sorry, I don’t follow you."

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Patient: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life........is this true?  Doctor: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer.  That's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

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I'VE BEEN THINKING THE SAME THING FOR YEARS

CHEVY CORVETTES DESCEND UPON BAYFIELD....AND A SNOW MEMORY

Despite a dark overcast morning threatening rain, Bayfield's annual Vettefest in Clan Gregor Square was well underway by the time Pheebs and I took a drive through the Village earlier today. Last year they had over 400 Corvettes in attendance and with nearly a Chevy Corvette on every corner this morning, I wouldn't be surprised if they had another great turnout this time again.  Pheebs and I cruised through the festivities and contented ourselves with a few drive-by pics before heading to the Bayfield Cemetery for a quiet walk away from the bustling Vettefest crowds of people in Bayfield.  

 THE TAIL END OF A LONG LINE-UP FOR THE 'FIREMAN'S BREAKFAST' NEAR CLAN GREGOR SQUARE

Our walk was unfortunately cut short by swarms of biting Deer flies.  An hour earlier, Kelly had to cut her morning walk with Pheebs short for the very same reason.  Rotten miserable things those #%!!*!!*# useless good-for-nothing abominations of nature are!!  I wished Deer Flies and Mosquitos would declare an all-out war on each other with each side totally annihilating the other side forever!!

WIPING THE DUST OF THE WHEELS

 JOGGERS STOPPING FOR A BREAK NEAR CLAN GREGOR SQUARE

 ALONG BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET

Despite the humidity, the day's air remained cool so Pheebs and I had ourselves a slow walk over to the Park's pond and back.  Didn't see any critters and thankfully the Deer Flies didn't bug us.

 NOT ALL FOLKS WERE AT VETTEFEST THIS MORNING

 THIS TRIANGULAR DEER FLY ADMIRES ITSELF IN MY DRIVERS SIDE MIRROR

And, Facebook threw me a memory from back in early 2008 when we were 'ranch sitting' near McNeal, Arizona about 20 minutes north of Douglas Arizona and the Mexican border.  Being RV Newbies at the time we didn't think it snowed in Arizona.  The photo below shows how wrong we were.  And, this wasn't the last time we got snowed on in Arizona either over the next bunch of winter seasons.  And that includes getting snowed on in Columbus New Mexico 3 miles from the Mexican border and Julian, California an hour's drive east of San Diego in the Cuyamaca Mountains.  Also at our former house in Congress Arizona a couple times.

Al's Music Box:)) My Love is a song by the British–American band Paul McCartney and Wings that was first released as the lead single from their 1973 album Red Rose Speedway. It was written by McCartney as a love song to his wife and Wings bandmate Linda. The single marked the first time that McCartney's name appeared in the artist credit for a Wings record, after their previous releases had been credited to Wings alone. The single was viewed as Wings' first significant success in the US and helped Red Rose Speedway achieve commercial success.  Wings recorded "My Love" at Abbey Road Studios in London in January 1973. The song is a piano ballad and features an orchestral arrangement by Richard Hewson that was recorded live with the main track. The recording also includes a guitar solo by Henry McCullough that some commentators view as a highlight of the track. In his improvised playing, McCullough imposed his own style on a Wings song for the first time, countering the more regimented approach favored by McCartney.  Despite its commercial success, "My Love" was given an unfavorable reception by many music critics, some of whom considered it overly sentimental and lyrically inconsequential. A live version of the song was included on Wings' 1976 album Wings Over America, and McCartney has continued to perform it in concert as a tribute to Linda following her death in 1998. He included the song in the musical program for Linda's memorial services in London and New York City, where it was performed by a string quartet. After forming the band Wings with Linda in the summer of 1971, McCartney included "My Love" in the set lists for the group's two concert tours in 1972.  When they performed it at Nottingham University on 9 February for Wings' public debut, the song included Linda singing lines in response to McCartney's lead vocal.  According to Perasi, the performance was otherwise "almost identical" to the version that the band subsequently recorded for official release.  McCartney invited Richard Hewson, with whom he had worked before while with the Beatles, to arrange the orchestral accompaniment for "My Love".  The song was recorded live at Abbey Road Studios in London with a 50-piece orchestra accompanying the band.  The session took place in January 1973.  McCartney played a Fender Rhodes electric piano on the track, while Denny Laine substituted for McCartney on bass guitar. The idea to tape the basic track and the orchestral arrangement simultaneously went against music industry convention, since the session musicians were paid by the hour.  Hewson recalled that he recruited "the best jazz musicians I knew ... They had this particular warm sound" and that the reason for the live recording was because McCartney wanted to capture "a certain feeling".  In music journalist Tom Breihan's description, although the song appears to lack a formal structure, "It chugs and twinkles with the slow confidence of an old torch song, while the orchestra ... swells and contracts."  According to Hewson, around 20 takes were performed over three hours, leaving the musicians tired and having to assure McCartney that their playing could not be improved on.  McCullough later said, "it had got to the point where I achingly wanted to be the guitar player in the band", rather than a sideman playing lines dictated by McCartney.  McCartney recalled in a 2010 interview:  I'd sort of written the solo, as I often did write our solos, and he walked up to me right before the take and said, "Hey, would it be alright if I try something else?" And I said, "Er ... yeah." It was like, "Do I believe in this guy?" And he played the solo on "My Love", which came right out of the blue. And I just thought, Great.  And so there were plenty of moments like that where somebody's skill or feeling would overtake my wishes.  According to McCullough, it was the first time that anyone in Wings had challenged McCartney, and it was an approach that others in the band encouraged, in an effort to make Wings a genuine band and improve McCartney's image.  He described the result on "My Love" as "a stroke of luck, a gift from God really, and you sometimes get that in music".

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Two factory workers were talking. "I know how to get some time off from work." said the man.  "How do you think you will do that?" said the other one. He proceeded to show her...by climbing up to the rafters, and hanging upside down.  The boss walked in, saw the worker hanging from the ceiling, and asked him what on earth he was doing? "I'm a light bulb" answered the guy.  "I think you need some time off," said the boss. So, the man jumped down and walked out of the factory. The second worker began walking out too. The boss asked her where did she think she was going?  "Home. I can't work in the dark." 

The salesman was demonstrating unbreakable combs in the department store. He was impressing the people who stopped by to look by putting the comb through all sorts of torture and stress.  Finally, to impress even the skeptics in the crowd, he bent the comb completely in half, and it snapped with a loud crack. Without missing a beat, he bravely held up both halves of the 'unbreakable' comb for everyone to see and said,  "And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what an unbreakable comb looks like on the inside..."

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