OKAY, SO NOW I'M NERVOUS!!

Just me in the Subaru under sunny skies this morning heading to the Canadian Tire Store in Goderich.  I had a 9:30 appointment to have a trailer hitch installed.  Figuring it would probably be an hour or more I took along my Kindle.  Before sitting down in the waiting room to read I decided it would be an excellent opportunity to get myself some much-needed leg exercise.  So, without further ado, I headed out the door into the parking lot and proceeded to walk around the perimeter of the whole Mall complex.  It's a fair-sized property that has a Canadian Tire Store, Walmart, Zehr's Supermark, Pet Value, Dollarama, two gas stations, a Harveys, and a Tim Hortons coffee shop.  The coffee shop was on the perimeter along the way so I stopped in for a sit-down coffee.  It had been many years since I had last been in this Tim Hortons facility.  With coffee in hand, I found a comfy little soft seated tub chair right next to an in-wall gas fireplace.  Reading, I wiled away about 20 minutes here sipping away at my hot coffee.  Resuming my perimeter walk I was finally back to Canadian Tire about 15 minutes later.  Subie was on a hoist with a young fella standing underneath with outstretched arms doing something under the car's rear end.  I plunked myself down in a soft chair in the waiting room, opened my Kindle book, and waited.  It was about 10:15.  Twice in the next hour I took myself for a walk around the Canadian Tire store as well as a walk over to Walmart to pick up a few groceries and a prescription for Kelly.  I looked into the garage a couple times and one of those times I saw they had Subie's rear bumper off with three guys standing around looking at it.  Okay, so now I'm nervous!!  It was about 11:30 when I finally got the tap on the shoulder to say the Subaru was ready to go.  So, with that, I made a bee-line for home.  But, not before I double-checked to make sure they had put the rear bumper back on.  They had, and by golly, there was actually even a real official-looking trailer hitch installed snugly under the bumper:))

 THIS PHOTO SHOWS ABOUT HALF OF THE MALL PARKING LOT

 I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER BEEN IN A TIM HORTONS WITH A FIREPLACE BEFORE

 HEY AND I EVEN HAD MY OWN TABLE

 AND THERE'S THE GUY WITH HIS HANDS ON SUBIE'S REAR END

'OH-OH' NOW I'M NERVOUS!!

 SNAPPED THIS PHOTO ON MY WAY OVER TO WALMART

 SNAPPED THIS PHOTO ON MY WAY BACK FROM WALMART.....I'M LESS NERVOUS NOW

 AND THIS IS HOW THE HITCH ASSEMBLY IS BOLTED ON

Not much going on this afternoon.  Kelly's nurse practitioner phoned her this morning and after more test results were in, switched her antibiotics and that is the prescription I picked up this morning.  The problem Kelly is having at the moment is a urinary tract infection.  UTI       

 PICKED UP A FEW SMALL CORN COBS ON THE GROUND AT THE LINWOOD WILDLIFE AREA WEDNESDAY THAT DEER HAD BEEN CHEWING ON

 BROUGHT THEM HOME FOR OUR FRONT YARD CRITTERS AND WAS GLAD TO SEE THIS LITTLE BUNNY EATING ONE OF THEM BEFORE THE SQUIRRELS CARRIED THEM OFF

Al's Music Box:)) September is a song by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire released as a single on November 18, 1978.  Initially included as a track for The Best of Earth, Wind & fire, Volume 1.  "September" was very successful commercially and reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart.  The song remains a staple of the band's body of work and has been sampled, covered, remixed, and re-recorded numerous times.  It was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry.  Using a chord progression written by Earth, Wind & Fire guitarist Al McKay, vocalist Maurice White and songwriter Allee Willis wrote the song over one month. Willis was initially bothered by the gibberish "ba-dee-ya" lyric White used throughout the song, and begged him to rewrite it: "I just said, 'What the hell does 'ba-dee-ya' mean?' And he essentially said, "I learned my greatest lesson ever in songwriting from him, which was never let the lyric get in the way of the groove."  

GROANER'S CORNER:(( If Women ruled the world...

- Men would sit around and wonder what WE are thinking.
- Singles bars would have metal detectors to weed out men hiding wedding rings in their pockets.

- A man would no longer be considered a 'good catch' simply because he is breathing.

- Fewer women would be dieting because their ideal weight standard would increase by 40 pounds.
- Shopping would be considered an aerobic activity.
- Men would not be allowed to eat gas-producing foods within two hours of bedtime.
- Men would be secretaries for female bosses, working twice as hard for none of the credit.
- Men would bring drinks, chips and dip to women watching soap operas.
- Men would learn phrases like:'I'm sorry,' 'I love you,' 'You're beautiful,' 'Of course you don't look fat in that outfit.'
- Men would be judged entirely by their looks, women by their accomplishments.
- Men would pay as much attention to their woman as to their car.
- All toilet seats would be nailed down.
- Men would work on relationships as much as they work on their careers.
- TV news segments on sports would never run longer than 1 minute.
- All men would be forced to spend one month in a PMS simulator.
- Overweight men would have their weight brought to their attention constantly.
- After a baby is born, men would take a six-week paternity leave to wait on their wives hand and foot.
- For basic training, soldiers would have to take care of a two-year old for six weeks.

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- Animals are such agreeable friends.  They ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.

 

I FIGURE I STILL HAVE A FEW GOOD PROJECTS LEFT IN ME

 LAST NIGHT'S FULL MOON

Just me in the Subaru last night at 8:45 slowly cruising along with the front windows down and the Moonroof open.  Soothing ambient music wafting out of the stereo and vanishing into the darkness around me.  Looking straight up I could see a few stars in the bright Moonlit sky.  I was on my way to the spot in the countryside where Pheebs and I sometimes do our morning walks.  I had heard there was to be a partial lunar eclipse so I was off to have myself a look.  The Moon was full but my timing was off.  I was early by one hour.  No problem, I set up my camera and reclining lawn chair on the road, hauled out my Celestron 15x70 binoculars and flew my eyeballs up to the Moon for a while.  About 9:45 I began to see a darkening on the top left corner of the Moon and cracked off a few more shots.  The eclipse wasn't a biggy but like they said, it was just a partial one.  But that's okay because it was so nice to be stretched out in the gravity chair staring straight up to the few faint stars I could see.  Many thoughts ran through my mind with one of them being maybe I should trade in my days for nights.  You know, sleep all day and wander around all night.  Not too realistic of course, but who knows.....maybe someday.  At this time of year, the nights cool right down just like a desert night, and the air at this latitude is heavy with moisture.  Despite being dressed warm it wasn't long before I could feel the cool damp night air settling in on me.  Packed up my stuff including me, and headed for home. Unlike my windows down drive out into the countryside earlier, I had to have the windows up with a touch of heat keeping me toasty on the way home.  I had been out there in the moonlight an hour and a half.  I like when that happens.

 I USED MY NIKON CP900 WITH ITS BUILT IN 2000mm LENS FOR ALL THESE NIGHT PHOTOS

 THE ONLY SCARY THING I SAW WAS ME....NOTHING NEW THERE EH

 AN OUT OF FOCUS PHOTO BUT IT GIVES YOU THE IDEA

 IN THIS PHOTO YOU CAN SEE THE PARTIAL ECLIPSE TAKING PLACE AT THE TOP LEFT SIDE OF THE MOON

On yet another fine September morning, Pheebs and I headed off to dust up a few more country roads southeast of Bayfield.  We repeated a route that we had taken last week, with a stop at the Linwood Wildlife area again.  It's a favorite short walk of ours alongside a hedgerow.  Pheebs lagged behind a wee bit but that was okay because she was busy smelling all the new and exciting spots along the way.

DUSTING UP ANOTHER COUNTRY ROAD

 HANGING OUT UNDER A BIG OLD BROKEN DOWN TREE

 THIS LITTLE CHAP WAS TRYING TO KEEP HIMSELF OUT OF SIGHT

 THIS FELLOW WENT BY US SO FAST HE ALMOST BLEW SUBIE'S DOORS OFF

 I THINK HE'S HEADING FOR A FIELD TO SPREAD A LITTLE 'GOOD CHEER' AROUND

Heading home through Bayfield we stopped at the car wash.  Probably the first time since last Spring.  I was anxious to get all the old dust and grime off the car so that I can load it up with some new dust and grime tomorrow.  From the carwash, we stopped at the Porter's Hill Wild Birdseed Company and picked up three twenty-pound bags of birdseed.  Now that the Grackle gang has flocked off to wherever it is Grackle gangs flock off too, our usual cast of bird characters are flying in once more and our front yard is getting busier.  Plus, I have to keep enough birdseed on hand to keep the squirrels coming back to totally and completely antagonize me over the coming months. 

 AT THE CARWASH

LOTS OF BIRDFEEDERS AT THE PORTER'S HILL WILD BIRDSEED COMPANY

 EVERY TIME I PICK UP BIRDSEED I ALWAYS FORGET TO ASK STEVE WHAT KIND OF TREE THIS IS IN HIS FRONT YARD

Aside from cutting some grass and waiting around to see if yesterday's grass was growing yet, I didn't really get much accomplished today.  Looking forward to next week when cooler weather moves in and cools the air down.  Might be a good time to get started on our front yard pond revamp project.  That one is going to be a toughie with a lot of bending and lifting.  That's okay because I figure I still have a few good projects left in me before my ship finally rolls over and sinks to the bottom.

 THIS MORNING AT THE LINWOOD WILDLIFE AREA

 GOLDENROD IN THE HEDGEROW

 THIS THISTLE HAS GONE TO SEED

A Blast From Our Past:(( Six years ago on September 18th, I wrote this post. We Traveled Farther On Water Today Than We Did On Land

Al's Music Box:)) The Wabash Cannonball by Hank Snow.  "The Great Rock Island Route", popularized as "Wabash Cannonball" and also known by various other titles, is a 19th-century American folk song that describes the scenic beauty and predicaments of a fictional train, the Wabash Cannonball Express, as it travels on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The song has become a country music and marching band staple. The only train to actually bear the name was created in response to the song's popularity with the Wabash Railroad renaming its daytime express service between Detroit and St. Louis the Wabash Cannon Ball from 1949 until its discontinuation in 1971 during the formation of Amtrak.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A 17-year-old boy, who works part-time at Pizza Hut, pulls up to his house in a stunning Porsche.  His parents are immediately suspicious, knowing there's no way his after-school job could have paid for such an expensive car. "Where did you get that car?" they shout, astonished.  "I bought it today," the boy replies calmly.  "With what money?" his mom demands. "We know how much a Porsche costs, and there's no way you can afford it!"  The boy shrugs. "It’s used, and I got a great deal. I only paid $20 for it."  His parents are even more shocked. "Who would sell a Porsche for $20?!"  "The woman up the street," the boy explains. "She just moved in. I delivered a pizza to her, and she offered to sell me the Porsche for $20."  Baffled, his parents rush to the neighbor’s house, ready for an explanation. They find her calmly planting flowers in her yard. "I'm the father of the boy you sold a Porsche to for $20," the dad says. "We need to know why you sold it so cheap!"  The woman, without looking up, responds, "I got a call from my husband this morning. I thought he was on a business trip in Florida, but it turns out he ran off to Hawaii with his secretary and doesn't plan on coming back."  The boy's mom, still confused, asks, "But what does that have to do with selling our son a Porsche for $20?"  With a satisfied smile, the woman replies, "My husband told me to sell his new Porsche and send him the money—so I did."

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- I don't trip, I do random gravity checks. 

- Losing weight doesn't seem to be working for me, so from now I'm going to concentrate on getting taller.

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Patient to his doctor: "I have forgotten so many things lately, and it’s getting worse. What can I do?"
Doctor: "Yes, this is a known illness, unfortunately it has no cure. On that note, I'd like to remind you about the $800  you owe me."
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If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.....Will Rogers