WINDSHIELD WIPERS ON HIGH ALL THE WAY HOME FROM GODERICH THIS AFTERNOON

AT OUR MORNING WALKING SPOT

A cool cloudy day and that was quite alright with me.  Pheebs and I returned to our morning walking spot but we didn't go far.  Pheebs wasn't into a second-morning walk but that was okay because we were serenaded by a chorus of Crickets while we were there.  And, it's those Crickets that put the magic into the air for me.  No sign of the magic Butterflies.

I PICKED KELLY UP 4 COBS OF CORN ON THE WAY HOME

Not feeling too inspired or energetic we came back home after our walk stopping briefly alongside the road where the Huron County Plowing match is happening in a large field.  I took a few long telephoto shots of the distant tractors, horses, and people.  With the exception of a few flowers, it was about the only color I saw on this gray morning.

 I THINK THE GAL ON THE JOHN DEER TRACTOR IN THE BACKGROUND HAS THE PEDAL TO THE METAL FOR THE FINISH LINE

 ISN'T IT NICE IN THIS DAY AND AGE TO SEE A GENUINE SMILING FACE:))

 TALKING OVER THEIR PLOWING PLANS

 NO COWBOY HATS IN THIS CROWD...IT'S ALL BASEBALL CAPS....ME?? I PREFER COWBOY HATS:))

 LOOKS LIKE THOSE HORSES HAVE THEIR BACKS INTO IT AND ARE DOING SOME PULLING

With the threat of rain, I retreated inside, flopped into my recliner, and commenced reading for the rest of the day.  I really didn't have much interest in doing anything else.  I was just having one of my days.

 TURKEY VULTURES ON A BARN ROOF

 BUZZARD # 1

 BUZZARD # 2

I nearly forgot about my 3 p.m. appointment at Goderich's Canadian Tire Store to have the Subaru undercoated and new tires installed.  It is so rare for us to have afternoon appointments for anything.  I took Pheebs for a quick walk around the Park's pond before heading off to Goderich.  Knowing afternoon appointments are often behind, I took my Kindle and planned to settle in for possibly a long wait.  Dropped off a prescription at Walmart's Pharmacy, grabbed a decaf coffee to go at Tim Hortons, and slipped over to Canadian Tire on the early side.  Luckily, they took the Subaru right in.  I spent my time reading in the waiting room with the exception of a leg stretch whereupon I took a walk around the whole store.  It was while on this walk that I noticed through a window that the rain storm had reached us and it was coming down in buckets.  It was 3:30 p.m. and I knew it was probably the end of the Huron County Plowing match. (maybe not because at 6:30 tonight the Sun was shining again and maybe it will be a good day tomorrow)  It was 4:20 p.m. when Subie was ready to go and a considerate young lad parked it right outside the door so I wouldn't get drowned trying to find Subie in the parking lot.  I had to have the windshield wipers on high all the way home.  Kelly said a 'heavy rainfall' advisory had been issued.  And speaking of Kelly.....she's holding her own:))

 SUBIES ON THE HOIST

 IN THE WAITING ROOM

 IF YOU LOOK THROUGH THE WINDOW REFLECTIONS YOU CAN SEE A FELLOW DOING THE UNDERCOATING

 A RAINY AFTERNOON DRIVE HOME

Al's Music Box:)) Hey Good Lookin'is a 1951 song written and recorded by Hank Williams, and his version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.  The Hank Williams song "borrowed heavily" from the 1942 song with the same title written by Cole Porter for the Broadway musical 'Something For The Boys'. The lyrics for the Williams version begin as a come-on using double entendres related to food preparation ("How's about cookin' somethin' up with me?"). By the third and fourth verses, the singer is promising the object of his affection that they can become an exclusive couple ("How's about keepin' steady company?" and "I'm gonna throw my date book over the fence").  Williams was friendly with musician Jimmy Dickens. Having told Dickens that Dickens needed a hit record if he was going to become a star, Williams said he would write it, and penned "Hey Good Lookin'" in only 20 minutes while on a plane with Dickens, Minnie Pearl, and Pearl's husband Henry Cannon.  A week later, Williams recorded it himself, jokingly telling Dickens, "That song's too good for you!"  "Hey, Good Lookin'" was recorded on March 16, 1951, at Castle Studio in Nashville. The same session also produced the single's B-side "My Heart Would Know" as well as another pair of tunes that would be released as singles: "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)" and "Howlin at the Moon", released on April 27, 1951. The "Hey, Good Lookin'" single would follow on June 22. Williams was backed on the session by members of his Drifting Cowboys band, including Jerry Rivers (fiddle), Don Helms (steel guitar), Sammy Pruett (electric guitar), Jack Shook (rhythm guitar), Ernie Newton or "Cedric Rainwater", aka Howard Watts (bass), and either Owen Bradley or producer Fred Rose on piano.  As author Colin Escott observes, "On one level, it seemed to point toward rock 'n' roll (hot rods, dancing sprees, goin' steady, and soda pop), but the rhythm plodded along with a steppity-step piano, and Hank sounded almost dour."  Williams performed the song on the Kate Smith Evening Hour on March 26, 1952; the appearance remains one of the few existing film clips of the singer performing live. He is introduced by Roy Acuff and banters with a young June Carter. He is wearing his famous white cowboy suit adorned in musical notes. He performed "Hey, Good Lookin'" and joined in with the rest of the cast singing his own "I Saw The Light". The rare clip displays the singer's exuberance on stage while performing an up-tempo number, and he appears at ease in the relatively new broadcast medium of television. The kinescope from this show would provide the footage for the Hank Williams Jr. video "There's a Tear in My Beer" some 37 years later.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Groups of Americans were traveling by tour bus through Holland. As they stopped at a cheese farm, a young guide led them through the process of cheese making, explaining that goat's milk was used. She showed the group a lovely hillside where many goats were grazing. 'These' she explained, 'Are the older goats put out to pasture when they no longer produce.' She then asked, 'What do you do in America with your old goats?' A spry old gentleman answered, 'They send us on bus tours!

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- Okay, I personally think I am worth every headache I give.

- Due to the massive increase in deliveries, Fedex and UPS have joined forces and are not called, Fed-UP.

- The best way to get back on your feet....miss two car payments.

- What if billionaires are just visitors from other Planets.

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A couple was delighted when finally their long wait to adopt a baby came to an end.  The adoption center called and told them they had a wonderful Japanese baby boy, and the couple took him without hesitation.  On the way home from the adoption center, they stopped by the local college so they each could enroll in a night course.  After they filled out the form, the registration clerk inquired, "What ever possessed you to study Japanese?"  The couple said proudly, "We just adopted a Japanese baby and in a year or so he'll start to talk. We just want to be able to understand him".
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HEARING CRICKETS ALONGSIDE OUR MORNING WALKING ROAD

Another weather-perfect mid-August morning as Pheebs and I again were escorted on our country road walk by dozens of pretty little yellow Cloudless Sulphur Butterflies.  It was a fairylike scene to have all these tiny butterflies flittering around us and moving with us as we walked along the road.  And I noticed a curious thing about them.  Here and there along the gravel road, I saw a few butterflies that had been struck down by passing vehicles.  I saw groups of fellow butterflies gathered around their unfortunate brother and as I passed they would flutter up into the air and then return to the unfortunate one on the road.   I felt it was yet another sign of the great power in this Universe that despite what people think they know, we really know so little.  

 A BUTTERFLY ALIGHTS ON THE ROAD BESIDE ITS FALLEN  BROTHER

It's this mid-August time of year I generally always blog about the early change of the season with its cooler nights and shortening days.  There is a stillness in the air as Mother Nature begins her slow but steady transition from summer's heat and humidity to Autumn's pleasantly cooler days and nights.  Hearing Crickets alongside our walking road this morning really brought the coming change into focus for me.  It is the early beginnings of my favorite time of year.  It is the coming Autumn which gently flavors the cooling air with a potpourri of magical moments and feelings of cozy well-being.

 ALTHOUGH NOT VISIBLE...THERE WERE CRICKETS IN THERE:))

A GROWN-OVER FORGOTTEN FARM LANE LEADS TO AN OLD FORGOTTEN FARMHOUSE

 WE LIVE IN A RURAL COUNTRYSIDE OF ROLLING FARM LANDS

The Huron County Plowmen's Association is having their 96th annual plowing match just around the corner from our Park over the next few days.  I noticed some activity in the large previously harvested wheat field this morning.  The only fly in the ointment for the plowing match is the weather.  It looks like rainy days are headed our way which could dampen the planned activities.  I wish them well.

Not much going on today.  To hot and humid for me to be outside so I stayed inside.  Kelly also had a slow day just kinda resting up.  And Pheebs was quite content to get caught up on a few old forgotten snoozes.     

 KELLY WORKS ON HER GRIP STRENGTH WITH A HAND STRENGHENER

A Blast From Our Past:))  The American Southwest is notorious for its big winds & we have surely found that out firsthand over these past few years. We were boondocking in the desert about 6 miles south of Quartzite, Arizona back in January of 2008 with continuous winds sweeping in from the north each night. It was really reeking havoc on our sleeping & making me extra irritible.....if that's possible!! I blogged about that big wind & my coyote theory the following night & mentioned that in the morning I had gone outside & totally 'Moose Saluted' that old north wind just to let him know what I thought of his nightly antics. Wasn't long & I had some emails asking what a moose salute was so rather than trying to explain it I took a picture of myself demonstrating the moose salute & put it in next days blog. Here is that blog about the wind and...............the Moose Salute!!  ......  From January 14th, 2008  The big wind gusts finally let up last night around 9:30 only to return around midnight with reinforcements. I don't know if that is what woke me up or if it was our border collie Checkers growling like crazy. Next thing I heard were the coyotes & it sounded like there was a herd of them right outside the door somewhere having some kind of a convention. Yips, hoots, yelps, whines, cries, & barks.......they had it all. I think there is probably an old Indian legend around somewhere that says it is the panting breaths of many howling coyotes that cause the mighty winds to come sweeping across the sleeping desert floor in the dead of night.  When I first went outside this morning I noticed the wind had finally abated so without further ado I proceeded to put our awning down & clipped on the camouflage netting. Then, just to be a smart ass I poked my head around the end of the coach, stuck my thumbs in my ears & gave that big old north wind a good old fashioned Canadian Moose salute. Well, you know what happened!! Within half an hour I was scrambling like nuts to get the awning retracted & ended up chasing our Canadian flag across the desert floor after having it being blown right off the flag pole. That wily old wind had returned my Moose Salute with a vengence & he's been chasing my butt all over the southwest ever since........!!

 HERE I AM NEARLY 17 YEARS AGO MOOSE SALUTING THE OLD NORTH WIND

Al's Music Box:(( Little Darlin'  was written by a 16-year-old Maurice Williams with both melody and doo-wop accompaniment strongly emphasizing a Calypso rhythm. First recorded in January 1957 by Williams' group the Gladiolas.  The Diamonds' successful cover version followed a month later.  The Diamonds were a Canadian pop group that evolved into a doo-wop group. The Diamonds' version reached number two in sales for eight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard ranked this version as the No. 3 song of 1957.  The Diamonds' version is generally considered superior. Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine argues that the Diamonds "Little Darlin'" is an unusual example of a cover being better than the original.  The Diamonds' take remained the bigger hit, and over the years, the better-known version. Normally, this would have been an outrage, but there's a reason why the Diamonds' version has sustained its popularity over the years: it's a better, fiercer recording. Both versions are good, even if they're a little silly, because it's a good doo-wop song, giving each member of the quartet a lot to do. At times, the vocal phrases verge on self-parody -- the "ai-ya-yi-yai-yai-ya"'s or the "wella-wella"'s -- which may be why The Diamonds' version is superior.  On the Pop Chronicles, host John Gilliland claimed that their version was in fact a parody of the genre.  Nonetheless, "Little Darlin'" (primarily the Diamonds' version, but to some extent the Gladiolas' version) remains an all-time rock 'n roll R&B classic.

OUR PARK'S LOG PILES CONTINUE TO GROW

GROANER'S CORNER:(( I want to be 18 again and ruin my life differently. I have new ideas.

- I'm on two diets. I wasn't getting enough food on one.

-  It's not how you win or lose, it's how you place the blame!!

- I put my scale in the bathroom corner and that's where the little liar will stay until it apologizes.

- My mind is like an internet browser. At least 19 open tabs, 3 of them are frozen, and I have no clue where the music is coming from.

- Hard to believe I once had a phone attached to a wall, and when it rang, I picked it up without knowing who was calling.

- Apparently RSVPing to a wedding invitation "Maybe next time" isn't the correct response.

- She says I keep pushing her buttons.  If that were true, I would have found mute by now.
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