I THINK IT WAS ONE OF GEORGE'S FAVORITE PLACES

 IT WAS A DIFFERENT DESTINATION FOR US THIS MORNING

With distant rumbles of thunder north of us and dark clouds out over Lake Huron to the West it was Kelly and I in the Subaru at 9:25 this morning heading down the Bluewater Highway in the direction of Grand Bend.  Our destination was the Pinery Antique Flea Market a few miles south of Grand Bend.  Kelly and I were there once before but I think it was a couple decades ago.  Readers of the late RVing Blogger George Yates may remember he and his wife Suzie coming here a number of times.  I think it was one of George's favorite places.  This market is a smaller version of Quartzsite Arizona in late January and we all remember how George loved strolling the rows of vendors there.  I thought of George and Suzie at times this morning as we made our way through all the people and all the vendors selling everything from soup to nuts.  Kelly was interested in seeing what a place called 'Archies' (Bayfield) was selling.  She was disappointed at what they had.  Undaunted we walked up and down the rows with Kelly pausing here and there looking at things. (mainly clothing) I'm not a flea market person at all but I did my best to keep myself interested.  We had only been there maybe 10 minutes before my right leg (new hip) began giving me trouble and it never let up until I was able to sit down for a few minutes at a picnic table.  Kelly was quickly tiring of the flea market as well and it wasn't long before we began making our way back to the car.  We both agreed that it wasn't likely we would be coming back there again anytime soon.  Great place for most people, but not us.

 THIS REMINDED ME OF QUARTZSITE ARIZONA BUT ON A MUCH SMALLER SCALE

 I KEPT WATCHING FOR A FELLA WITH A BIG SMILE ON HIS FACE, A BIG STRAW COWBOY HAT ON HIS HEAD, AND WEARING A FISHING VEST WITH EVERY POCKET FULL OF EVERYTHING...WE ALL MISS YOU GEORGE

 YEP, THAT'S KELLY UP THERE

AND YES, THIS OLD PUPPET THEATRE ACTUALLY WORKED

 THERE WERE A LOT OF DOGS HERE

 AT THE END OF ONE LONG VENDOR ROW WE CAME UPON THIS FOREST AND I JUST WANTED TO KEEP ON WALKING TOWARD IT, FIND A QUIET STUMP TO SIT ON AND LISTEN TO THE MORNING BREEZE RUSTLING THROUGH THE TALL OAK TREES

 LEAVING THE FLEA MARKET AND HEADING HOME

Due to bridge construction in Grand Bend, there was a traffic tie-up at the main intersection but we waded our way through it and stopped at the Country Girl Cafe' for a couple 'great' carrot muffins and two coffees to go.  From there it was up the road we went and grabbed a couple Egg McMuffins at McDonalds.  We then lit out for home.  With the Sun shining at the Flea Market earlier, we drove into a light rainy drizzle coming into Bayfield later.  Eventually, clouds cleared and we had ourselves a sunny and comfortable 66F afternoon.  

 TWO COFFEES TO GO AND THE CARROT MUFFINS ARE IN A BAG IN KELLY'S PURSE

We have ourselves a couple birthdays at the Bayfield Bunch this week.  Pheebs will be turning 15 and I will be turning 80.  How I ever managed to make it to 80 I will never know.  And I sincerely mean that!!

 SOMEWHERE IN THE GREAT AMERICAN SOUTHWEST

Al's Music Box:)) Autumn Leaves by Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally by his stage name Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and pop vocalist started in the late 1930s and spanned almost three decades where he found success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts.   He was a star, a tremendous success as an entertainer, an institution. But he was an even greater success as a man, as a husband, as a father, as a friend." Nat King Cold died Monday, February 15, 1965, at the age of 45.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A climber fell off a cliff, and as he tumbled down, he caught hold of a small branch wedged in the rock.  "HELP! IS THERE ANYBODY UP THERE?" he shouted.  A majestic voice boomed through the gorge:  "I will help you, my son, but first you must have faith in me."  "Yes, yes, I trust you!" cried the man.  "Let go of the branch," boomed the voice.  There was a long pause, and the man shouted up again, "IS THERE ANYONE ELSE UP THERE I COULD TALK TO?"

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At a divorce court a family of bears is waiting for the judge to grant custody of little bear.  The judge asks the baby bear; “do you want to live with papa bear?” The baby bear replied; "No he beats me. " The judge asked, so do you want to live with mommy bear! The baby bear said, "No she beats me too." The judge asked, "Then whom do you want to live with?" The baby bear says, "The Chicago bears, they don't beat anyone!"

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- Why did Dorothy get lost in Oz?
She had three men giving her directions.

- A man walks into a pub and sees Van Gogh at the bar. "Hi Van, can I get you a drink?" "No thanks, I got one ear."

- Having plans sounds like a good idea until you have to put on clothes and leave the house.

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I'm sitting in a cafeteria next to a woman who was engrossed in her newspaper. One of the headlines blared: "12 Brazilian Soldiers Killed."  She shook her head at the sad news. Then, turning to me, she asked, "How many is a Brazilian?"

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{Quote} The soul is our consciousness filled with all our experiences, memories, and emotions.  It's where our bodily instincts interact with our innate thoughts.

AND MAYBE EVEN A FEW NEIGHBORS IF TIMES GET TOUGH

WE TOOK A SWING DOWN AROUND THE SOUTH END OF OUR PARK THIS MORNING

Another fine sunny early Autumn day with temps a little nippy earlier this morning at 44F.  No problem for us guys though.  Pheebs has her furry coat, I have my warm winter jacket, Subie has a heater, and our house has a gas furnace and fireplace.  And, Kelly has a whole wardrobe of warm toasty outfits:))

Pheebs and I slipped out to our country road spot for a short walk.  Nice to see the little yellow Butterflies flitting about along the roadside.  By the looks of the corn, I'd say the corn harvest can't be too far off so I had better get my cornbucket and shovel loaded into the car soon.  Pheebs and I will then be on the hunt for corn roadside spills and any corncobs left behind.  We'll use the corn during the winter to feed the Squirrels and Blue Jays, and any other stragglers that come along with beaks and tummies big enough to injest the corn kernels.  With the number of crows flying in lately, we might be able to help a few of those fellows through the winter too.  And maybe even a few neighbors if times get tough.

 CLEAR BLUE SATURDAY MORNING SKIES AT OUR WALKING SPOT

 THIS CORN IS ABOUT READY TO BE HARVESTED

A YELLOW BUTTERFLY AND A GREEN BUG ON A DANDELION 

 THERE ARE STILL HICKORY FLOWERS BLOOMING ALONG THE ROADSIDE

Our front yard bird traffic is picking up so I hung up a couple more bird feeders this afternoon.  Raked up some more pine needles as well.  Still no frogs in the pond.  Pheebs and I made it out for an afternoon walk around the Park's pond late this afternoon.

Talked to Aunt Jean Friday night and she said all the Dementia and Alzheimer's folks from the hurricane-damaged Plymouth Harbor Retirement Center west of Sarasota's downtown have been returned home.  A big sigh of relief from all the residents and staff at Sunnyside Village.  And no doubt an even bigger sigh of relief from the patients and staff of Plymouth Harbor to be back in their own residence again out there near St. Armands Circle on Lido Key.

IN A FARMER'S FIELD WE SAW THIS PUSSYCAT STALKING A MOUSE 

Al's Music Box:)) Poor Little Fool is a song written by Sharon Sheeley and first recorded by Ricky Nelson.  Sheeley wrote the song when she was 15 years old. She had met Elvis Presley, and he encouraged her to write. It was based on her disappointment following a short-lived relationship with Don Everly of The Everly Brothers.  Sheeley sought out Ricky Nelson to record the tune. She drove to his house, and claimed her car had broken down. He came to her aid, and she sprang the song on him. Her version was at a much faster tempo than his recording.  The song was recorded by Ricky Nelson on April 17, 1958. The recording features the background vocals of the Jordanaires. On August 4, 1958, it became the first number-one song on Billboard Magazine's then-new Hot 100 chart, replacing the magazine's Jockeys and Top 100 charts. It spent two weeks at the number-one spot.  "Poor Little Fool" became a radio hit when it was released as part of a four-song extended-play 45 rpm disc, which was excerpted from the artist's second LP, Ricky Nelson. Responding to the buzz, Lew Chudd, the founder and head of Imperial Records, rushed out a single version (on both 45 and 78 rpm). Nelson objected, however, believing that the move would hurt sales of the EP. Under his contract with Imperial, the singer had approval rights for all picture-sleeve art, so to express his displeasure with Chudd's decision, he chose not to select a photograph for the "Poor Little Fool" single. As a result, "Poor Little Fool" was the only Ricky Nelson single released by Imperial to be issued in the United States without a photo in a plain-label, cut-out sleeve.

SEEN IN OUR PARK THIS MORNING

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man takes his place in the theater, but his seat is too far from the stage.  He whispers to the usher, "This is a mystery, and I have to watch a mystery close up. Get me a better seat, and I'll give you a handsome tip."  The usher moves him into the second row, and the man hands the usher a quarter.  The usher looks at the quarter, leans over and whispers, "The wife did it."

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- I said to my wife “There’s only one thing that scares me during Halloween.”  She said: "Which is?"  I said: "Exactly"

- It may be bad manners to talk with your mouth full, but it isn't too good either if you speak when your head is empty.

- Instead of calling in sick, call in well. Tell them how great you feel not having to go to work today.

- Got home from work today to find my kids have been on ebay all day.  If they are still there tomorrow I will lower the price.

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A pastor who was badly overworked went to the local medical center and was able to have a clone made. The clone was like the pastor in every respect--except that the clone used extraordinarily foul language. The cloned pastor was exceptionally gifted in many other areas of pastoral work, but finally the complaints about the dirty language were too much.The pastor was not too sure how to get rid of the clone so that it wouldn't look like murder. The best thing, he decided, was to make the clone's death look like an accident. So the pastor lured the clone onto a bridge in the middle of the night and pushed the clone off the bridge.
Unfortunately, there was a police officer who happened by at that very moment and arrested the pastor for making an obscene clone fall.

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I DIDN'T FEEL THE CLOSENESS I USUALLY DO.....SO I CAME HOME

Knowing there would be no Moon in the dark night sky, I hopped into the Subaru about 9 o'clock Thursday night and headed off out into the countryside to have a look at the night sky.  I was hoping to see a lot of stars and although the stars were up there I was disappointed in my vision to see them clearly.  I remember when on clear nights like last night I could look up years ago and clearly see multitudes of diamond-like stars as clear as a bell.  Especially in the dark desert skies of Arizona in our RVing days.  My vision has deteriorated over the years (minor cataracts) and even with glasses, I can't see near the number of stars I once could.  So disappointing.  Even more disappointing now is my inability to pick out and know by name so many of the constellations I once knew so well.  I always thought of the constellations as old friends and always looked forward to seeing them on clear dark nights.  The only ones recognizable to me were Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) and Cassiopeia.  I knew others were up there but I just couldn't see them or remember where they were.  I didn't feel the closeness I usually do.......so I came home:((   

 THIS IS A FIELD OF 'SOMETHING' BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT...MAYBE IT IS WHAT FARMER'S CALL A 'COVER CROP'

 THIS JOHN DEERE COMBINE CATCHES A BREAK FROM THE BUSY BEAN HARVEST

 AN OLD DERELICT BARN TOWERS OVER A RIPENING CORN FIELD

Under overcast skies, Pheebs and I slipped up to Goderich this morning.  I was out of Whey powder for my morning veggie shakes.  Topped up Subies gas tank, grabbed a coffee to go at Tim Hortons and down to the harbor we went.  Not much going on an it wasn't long before we were on our way home.

I'VE ALWAYS LIKED THIS ORIENTAL-LOOKING HOUSE AND IT'S LANDSCAPING IN GODERICH

 AND I THINK THIS FELLOW MAY HAVE MOST OF HIS HOUSE ON HIS BACK AND BICYCLE

Hitched up the utility trailer, and loaded up all the branches I had cut off a couple small trees yesterday and took the load down to the Park's recycle area.  And, that pretty much wound up the day.  Still no frogs in the front yard frog pond but I know those wily little green amphibians with the bulging eyes and I'm not counting them out yet.

 ALL LOADED UP AND READY TO HEAD TO THE PARK'S YARD WASTE AREA

A Blast From Our Past:)) In our RV days back in late February of 2008 on our way west we rolled into the town of Truth Or Consequences in New Mexico.  I had always thought the name of the town odd so in my February 25th post I said this,' To-morrow we will have us a look around in the colorful & artsy little town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.  Geeeeezzzzz, can't they do something about that name!!!!' (I went on in another post  to further disparage the town's name) Well, to my great surprise, it wasn't long before I received an email from the town of Truth Or Consequences.  This is the first time something like this happened regarding my blog and it wasn't the last time.  Here's the email I received........Greetings from Truth or Consequences! Love your blog & your photos of Sierra County but I feel obligated to comment on the name of our community.  It was never named "Geronimo Springs". The Spanish named it "Ojo Caliente de Las Palomas", which morphed into "Palomas Hot Springs". In 1914 we officially became "Hot Springs". It was a premier destination for the healing arts until pharmaceuticals came along after WWII - and the town's economy died. In 1950 Ralph Edwards of the RADIO show "Truth or Consequences" issued a challenge for a town to change its name for a day to celebrate the show's 10th anniversary & the town took him up on it. "T or C" earned so much free publicity over this that it saw a renewed burst of tourism, so they voted to change the name permanently. There have been votes to change the name back to "Hot Springs" that have failed.  Many towns in America are called "Hot Springs" but there is only one "T or C". People seek us out because of our quirky name. They get here & fall in love with the even quirkier town! Thanks again! Great blog!!! Gina Kelley Director of Tourism Sierra County Tourism BoardT or C, NM  My personal thanks to Gina for her nice email & letting me down easy.  With inaccurate facts & mistakes like that I just might be very qualified for a job at the National Enquirer.   And a word to my fellow bloggers........better get it right guys because you never know who the heck is out here reading our blogs!!

I LIKED THE STYLE AND COLOR OF THIS CLASS A MOTORHOME IN THE WALMART PARKING LOT THIS MORNING....IT SET MY TRAVELING HEART A FLUTTER

Al's Music Box:)) I Say A Little Prayer is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick.  Intended by lyricist Hal David to convey a woman's concern for her man who's serving in the Vietnam War, "I Say a Little Prayer" was recorded by Dionne Warwick in an April 9th 1966 session. Although Bacharach's recordings with Warwick typically took no more than three takes (often only taking one), Bacharach did ten takes on "I Say a Little Prayer" and still disliked the completed track, feeling it was rushed.  The track went unreleased until September 1967, when it was introduced on the album The Windows of the World and it was Scepter Records owner Florence Greenberg rather than Bacharach who wanted "I Say a Little Prayer" added to that album.  When disc jockeys from the United States began playing the album track in October 1967, significant airplay led Scepter Records to release the track as a single. The brisk sound of "I Say a Little Prayer" that Bacharach disliked proved to be a million-selling hit for Warwick, as "I Say a Little Prayer" reached No. 4 that December on the Billboard Hot 100. "(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls", the B-side would become another hit for Warwick reaching No. 2 in February 1968 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Record World chart. Warwick's "I Say a Little Prayer" single would receive gold certification from the RIAA for sales of a million units in January 1968. "I Say a Little Prayer" b/w "(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls" became one of the most successful double-sided hits of the rock era.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( During a Papal audience, a businessman approached the Pope and made this offer: Change the last line of the Lord's prayer from "Give us this day our daily bread" to "Give us this day our daily chicken," and Kentucky Fried Chicken will donate $10,000,000 to Catholic charities. The Pope declined.  Two weeks later, the man approached the Pope again - this time with a $50,000,000 offer. Again, the Pope declined. A month later, the man upped the price to $100,000,000, and this time the Pope accepted.  At a meeting of the Cardinals, the Pope announced his decision in the good news/bad news format. "The good news is: We have $100,000,000 for charities. The bad news: We lost the Wonder Bread account."

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Confucius Proverbs::

- Man who run in front of car get tired.
Man who run behind car get exhausted.
- Man with one chopstick go hungry.
- War doesn't determine who is right, war determines who is left.
- Man who drive like hell bound to get there.
- Man who lives in glass house should change clothes in basement.
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Two drunks are walking along. One drunk says to the other, "What a beautiful night. Look at that moon!"  The other drunk stops and looks at his drunk friend. "You are wrong. That's not the moon; that's the sun!"

Both continued arguing for a while when they came upon another drunk walking along. So they stopped him and said, "Sir, could you please help settle our argument? Tell us what that thing is up in the sky that's shining. Is it the moon or the sun?"  The third drunk looks at the sky and then looked at them and said, "Sorry, I don't live around here."
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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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