I SIMPLY DIDN'T QUITE SLIDE INTO MY NORMAL WRITING ROUTINE TODAY

It's unusual for me not to have at least two-thirds of my daily post written out in a rough draft by suppertime each day, but here I sit tonight at 7 p.m. writing this first paragraph.  I wasn't in one of my down moods or too tired to write anything, I simply didn't quite slide into my normal writing routine today for some reason.  Pheebs and I did get out for our morning country road drive and upon returning home I continued putting more garden things away as well as cutting some front yard shrubs and trees way back.  Despite watching for them, I didn't see any frogs in our front yard frog pond all day, and later this afternoon Pheebs and I took ourselves for an afternoon walk around the Park's pond.  So, with only one paragraph tonight, I will leave you with a few of this morning's photos.

PHEEBS AND I TOOK A DRIVE DOWN AROUND THE SOUTH END OF OUR PARK

LOTS FOR NEW HOMES ARE BEING CLEARED

 EVEN OUR PARK'S RECYCLE AREA LOOKS GOOD

LEAVING THE PARK WE TOOK A SHORT DRIVE UP PORTER'S HILL LINE WHERE WE SAW THESE SILHOUETTED PIGEONS ON AN OLD CRUMBLING BARN ROOF

 THESE BEANS WILL BE HARVESTED ANY DAY NOW

Al's Music Box:)) Mr. Sandman is a popular song written by Pat Ballard and published in 1954.  The Chordettes' recording of the song was released on the Cadence Records label, on both 78 RPM and 45 RPM formats. Cadence's founder, Archie Bleyer, was the orchestra conductor on the recording, and provided a rhythmic beat on the recording using his knees.  Bleyer's voice is heard in the third verse, when he says the word "Yes?" The piano is played by Moe Wechsler. Liberace's name is mentioned for his "wavy hair".  Pagliacci is mentioned for having a lonely heart, which is a reference to the opera Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo.  In the United States, the Chordettes' single reached No. 1 on all three of Billboard's popular music charts, and was ranked No. 9 in Cash Box's ranking of "1955's Top Pop Records.  In 2002, the 1954 recording of the song by The Chordettes was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man stumbles up to the only other patron in a bar and asks if he could buy him a drink. "Why of course," comes the reply.  The first man then asks: "Where are you from?"  "I'm from Ireland," replies the second man.  The first man responds: "You don't say, I'm from Ireland too! Let's have another round to Ireland."  "Of course," replies the second man.  I'm curious, the first man then asks: "Where in Ireland are you from?"  "Dublin," comes the reply.  "I can't believe it," says the first man. "I'm from Dublin too! Let's have another drink to Dublin."  "Of course," replies the second man.  Curiosity again strikes and the first man asks: "What school did you go to?"  "Saint Mary's," replies the second man, "I graduated in '62."  "This is unbelievable!", the first man says. "I went to Saint Mary's and I graduated in '62, too!"  About that time in comes one of the regulars and sits down at the bar. "What's been going on?" he asks the bartender.  "Nothing much," replies the bartender. "The O'Grady twins are drunk again."

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As the storm raged, the captain realized his ship was sinking fast. He called out, "Anyone here know how to pray?" One man stepped forward. "Aye, Captain, I know how to pray." "Good," said the captain, "You pray while the rest of us put on our life jackets. We're one short."

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The owner of a drug store walks in to find a guy leaning heavily against a wall.  The owner asks the clerk, "What's with that guy over there by the wall?"  The clerk says, "Well, he came in here this morning to get something for his cough. I couldn't find the cough syrup, so I gave him an entire bottle of laxative."  The owner says, "You idiot! You can't treat a cough with a bottle of laxatives!"  The clerk says, "Of course, you can! Look at him; he's afraid to cough!"

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AT THE RISK OF GETTING TOSSED OUT ON MY EAR

 OUR PARK'S ENTRANCEWAY FLOWERBEDS ALWAYS LOOK SO LOVELY

Definitely cooler dryer air this morning at 49F. and that was quite alright with me.  For a change, my chin wasn't uncomfortably sticking to my neck when I woke up.  

 A FEW PICS AROUND OUR PARK THIS MORNING

Checking ahead to the 14-day weather forecast I can see we are finally turning the corner from Summer's heat to Autumn's cool.  And that also means the slow transition of wardrobe.  On and off I will begin slipping into T-shirts and long sleeve shirts.  Pants, socks, and footwear will remain the same for a while yet until Winter's cold sets in.  At that time it will be lined pants, warmer socks, heavier winter footwear and winter coats.  The transition back from all that will not begin until maybe mid-April of next year.  I'm already looking forward to those early Spring days:))

 A SMALL GROUP OF HARD-WORKING CREATIVE LADY VOLUNTEERS IN OUR PARK GO OUT OF THEIR WAY  TO KEEP OUR PARK LOOKING NICE

A short drive down Bayfield River Road and back for Pheebs and I this morning.  With a few more prescriptions to pick up, Kelly needed the car to head for the Walmart Pharmacy in Goderich.

AN ALREADY HARVESTED BEANFIELD

 A DOZEN BUZZARDS ON A BARN ROOM

 ON ANOTHER ROOF WORKERS BRICK UP A CHIMNEY ON A NEW HOUSE

 A LONG FARM LANE

With the cool air and sunshine, it was the perfectly perfect morning to be outside doing something, anything.  Now, had I been in a perfectly perfect mood it would have made for a perfectly matching day.  However, it took a while to get myself outside because I just didn't feel like going outside.  Oh my, I thought....what a waste of a perfectly good day.  I dozed out in my recliner while reading but after that, my mind re-booted itself and I was out the door scanning our frog pond for frogs.  I spotted and caught the little feller first and then sure enough, there was the big jolly green frog back again.  It took me three tries but I finally had him in the big white pail and off to the Park's pond I went with both the little guy and the big guy.  I don't expect the little frog to hop back but I'm sure that big jolly green will be back in our pond by morning.  'Ho-Hum'. I also began gathering up a few outside garden ornaments to put away for winter.  Not all of them but I like to make an early start and not leave it until the weather suddenly turns nasty.  With emphasis on the word 'suddenly'.  Nasty wet and cold weather and me being outside doing anything is a 'No-No'!!

 MY FROG CATCHING BUCKET AND NET ARE NEVER TOO FAR AWAY THESE DAYS

 GATHERING UP A FEW OUTSIDE THINGS TO PUT AWAY FOR THE WINTER

 I MOVED OUR BLUE GAZING BALL OVER TO THE FAIRY PATH YESTEERDAY

At the risk of getting tossed out on my ear, I took a chance late this afternoon and switched our thermostat from 'cool' to 'heat'.  Yup, I turned our furnace on.  Kelly, who was in her room having a snooze is the one here who generally controls our inside climate and she likes things 'cooler' than I do.  I was hoping she wouldn't notice the change in temperature when she woke up, but she did.  In my defense, I told her I was just testing the furnace to make sure it was in good working order before the snow is upon us.  Surprisingly, in her room resting, she was feeling cold too and was glad when all of a sudden the heat came on.  Who would have ever thunk it.  Hey, chalk one up for my side:))))

 A FEW MORE PICS IN OUR PARK

 THIS IS OUR FRONT YARD AND YOU CAN SEE HOW HARD IT IS FOR ME TO CATCH THE FROGGIES WHEN THEY GET OUT OF THE NET AND QUICKLY LEAP INTO THE JUNGLE

There was a time when Kelly would begin taking her 'itching' pills in the evening an hour or so before going to bed.  Now, she has to begin taking those pills not long after getting up in the morning and the itching goes on all day.  She came home from the Pharmacy this afternoon with 270 anti-itching pills with an 810 refill pending..........

 CROWS AND A BUNNY IN OUR YARD THIS AFTERNOON

Al's Music Box:)) Rock Me Baby is the debut single by American singer George McCrae. Written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band, "Rock Your Baby" became an early landmark recording of disco. The song spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1974.  The single has sold over 11 million copies, making it one of fewer than forty singles to have sold 10 million physical copies worldwide.  The backing track was recorded in 45 minutes as a demo, with Casey on keyboards, Finch on bass guitar and drums, and their fellow Sunshine Band member Jerome Smith on electric guitar. The song became one of the first pop hits to use a drum machine.  The track was not originally intended for McCrae, but he happened to be in the studio at the time and added his distinct falsetto vocals. Music critic Rovert Christgau has described the result as "irresistibly Memphis-cum-disco-with-a-hook."  "Rock Your Baby" influenced John Lennon's "Whatever Gets You thru the Night", released a few months later.  In a 1975 interview, Lennon said of "Rock Your Baby" that "I'd give my eyetooth to have written that."  Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus have also cited the song as an inspiration for ABBA's 1976 song "Dancing Queen".

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A famous art collector is walking through the city when he notices a mangy cat lapping milk from a saucer in the doorway of a store and he does a double take. He recognizes that the saucer is extremely old and very valuable, so he walks casually into the store and offers to buy the cat for two dollars.  The storeowner replies "I'm sorry, but the cat isn't for sale.  The collector says, "Please, I need a hungry cat around the house to catch mice. I'll pay you twenty dollars for that cat."  And the owner says "Sold," and hands over the cat.  The collector continues, "Hey, for the twenty bucks I wonder if you could throw in that old saucer. The cat's used to it and it'll save me from having to get a dish."  And the owner says, "Sorry buddy, but that's my lucky saucer. So far this week I've sold sixty-eight cats."

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Wife: Okay, today's Friday. Where's your pay envelope?

Man: I already spent all my pay. I bought something for the house.
Wife: What? What could you buy for the house that cost $480?
Man: Eight rounds of drinks.

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An airline stewardess was giving the standard safety briefing to the passengers. She had just finished saying 'In the event of a water landing, your seat cushion may be used as a flotation device,' when a man remarked, "Hey! If the plane can't fly, why should I believe the seat can float?"

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'WEENIE SNACKS' - STAY FOCUSED DAD!!! - 'WEENIE SNACKS!

Knowing the overnight cloud cover would have prevented a heavy dew from settling on the ground I figured the grass at the Bayfield Cemetery would be reasonably dry.  I figured correctly so Pheebs and I took ourselves for a walk around the large grassy area on the east side.  At some point, the cemetery will expand its burials into this area but probably not for a few years yet.

A DRIVE DOWN AROUND BAYFIELD'S HARBOR AND BEACH AREA THIS MORNING

 I LIKE THIS BOAT'S OLDER DESIGN AND IN THE PHOTO BELOW SITS THE CAPTAIN AT A PICNIC TABLE CONTEMPLATING WHAT'S IN THE WHITE BUCKET FOR BREAKFAST

 THIS SAILBOAT'S MAST IS LASHED DOWN WHICH MEANS IT IS READY TO BE TAKEN OUT OF THE WATER AND PLACED INTO STORAGE SHORTLY

 COLORS

FOUR FISHERMAN ON BAYFIELD'S SOUTH PIER

Home again, I raked up a couple more wheelbarrow loads of pine needles and caught or re-caught another or the same adult frog in our front yard pond and took him in my big white frog-catching bucket over to the Park's pond.  I know there is another small frog in our pond for sure but I haven't caught the little feller yet.

 RAKING UP PINE NEEDLES IN OUR BACKYARD CAMPFIRE AREA

 ANOTHER WHEELBARROW LOAD OF PINE NEEDLES FOR THE UTILITY TRAILER

It was around 2 p.m. when the cloud cover broke and we were in full sunshine for a while.  By late afternoon it clouded over and a big wind brought in a cold front dropping the temps considerably.  Rain followed and at the time of posting this tonight, it's 57F and still raining.  

OUR MORNING WALK AT THE CEMETERY AND IF YOU LOOK CLOSE YOU CAN SEE PHEEBS WAY OVER THERE ALONG THE TREE LINE ON THE LEFT

DECIDING WHETHER TO HEAD INTO THE DARK FOREST

 PHEEBS SAID 'NOPE', LET'S HEAD HOME AND GET SOME WEENINE SNACKS GOING

'WEENIE SNACKS' -  STAY FOCUSED DAD!!! -  'WEENIE SNACKS'

Thanks for the reassurance folks.  You are all a big part of my strength.

Al's Music Box:)) Grazing In The Grass is an instrumental composed by Philemon Hou and first recorded by the South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was released in the United States as a single in 1968. The session was held at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood.  It was ranked as the 18th biggest hit of the year.  Masekela's recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018. 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( “I’ve just had the most awful time”, said a boy to his friends. “First, I got angina pectoris, then arteriosclerosis. Just as I was recovering, I got psoriasis. They gave me hypodermics, and to top it all, tonsillitis was followed by appendectomy”.“Wow! How did you pull through?”, sympathized his friends.“I don’t know”, the boy replied, “toughest spelling test I ever had”.

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- What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary?  A thesaurus!

- The geography teacher asked if I could name a country with no 'R' in it.  I said, "No way!"

- What is the longest word in the English language?  “Smiles”, because there is a mile between its first and last letters.

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Bumper Stickers::
- Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.
- I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
- He's not dead, he's electroencephalographically challenged.
- She's always late. Her ancestors arrived on the Juneflower.
- You have the right to remain silent....Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.
- I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges.
- - Honk if you love peace and quiet.
Nothing is fool-proof to a sufficiently talented fool.
- Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
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