OCTOBER 19TH 1979 WAS A SPECIAL DAY FOR ME

AUTUMN LEAVES REFLECTING IN A BLUE SKY CREEK WITH FLOATING  WILLOW LEAVES ON THE SURFACE

Another gorgeous Autumn morning found Pheebs and I cruising a few country roads keeping a sharp eye out for any corn spills or corn cobs.  The corn harvest has begun but it isn't in full swing quite yet so I'm hopeful we'll find enough corn for the Squirrels, Birds, and Bunnies before the cold nasty winter weather sets in.  Our travels this morning took us southeast of Bayfield to the Kerr Campground area where we have a favorite walking spot.

 EARLY MORNING SUNSHINE TICKLES THE TOPS OF A FOREST'S TREES

 FARM WAGONS AWAIT THE DAY'S CORN HARVEST

 A COMBINE HEADS FOR THE CORNFIELD

 CAUGHT THIS FARM WAGON BEING TOWED BY A TRACTOR IN MY SIDEVIEW MIRROR

 A COMBINE WAITS FOR ITS OPERATOR TO GET ANOTHER DAY'S WORK UNDERWAY

 I STOPPED AND WALKED OUT INTO THIS CORNFIELD LOOKING FOR CORN COBS BUT NO LUCK

 A FARM LANE

With such a nice morning going on it was ideal for a walk, so Pheebs headed to the southernmost end of the Bannockburn Line and parked the car.  We were just here a few weeks ago and oh my how the leaves have changed.  We were surrounded with yellows, golds, burgundy, red, green, and orange colors.  And the Autumn smell in the air was priceless.  Despite some aging medical things, Pheebs was bouncing around like a little puppy dog.  Beyond a doubt, the most beautiful time of the year.  

 PARKED THE CAR AND AWAY WE WENT OFF DOWN THAT FARM LANE

 A LOOK BACK AT THE CAR

 I COULD TELL PHEEBS WAS HAPPY TO BE OUT WALKING AND EXPLORING

Although I haven't heard the words 'Indian Summer' used yet, I'm thinking this warmer weather we are experiencing now just might be it.  I've heard it said that an Indian Summer doesn't occur until after a frost.  Well, the ground sure looked frosty to me Thursday morning. But, what do I know eh, I'm just another Canadian weather complainer.

 HEADING HOME ON A BEAUTIFUL OCTOBER MORN

Back in our RV Travel years (2006-2019) this is the week-end we would often leave for the Great American Southwest.  By this time on a Friday we would have the RV loaded up and pretty much ready to go.  Friday afternoon I would move our rig from its spot near the carport, park it on the road out front, and proceed to hitch up the Jeep.  I would then take the rig with the Jeep behind for a short test run to make sure the Jeep didn't fall off.  It was also a double-check to make sure I all lights and signals were working.  Saturday morning we would be up early and the Bayfield Bunch would all pile into the rig.  I always liked to leave on a Saturday to avoid big city morning and afternoon rushes for the next two days.  I could never figure out why anyone would leave on a weekday and slam right into the heavy commuter traffic.  We generally reached the Sarnia/Port Huron border crossing around 9 a.m. and if there were no hassles (yes we did have hassles sometimes) we would well be on our way on I-69 with our first stop of the day at a Cracker Barrel in either Flint or Lansing Michigan.  We had the choice of two routes each year and depending on our destination or weather we would have already predetermined which route to take.  At the end of that first long driving day we would either be just east of Chicago Illinois or north of Indianapolis Indiana with the plan that we could blow through either of those cities early Sunday morning when everyone was in bed.  Well, sometimes they were and sometimes they weren't!!  And, sometimes we would slip problem-free right through the cities like a hot knife through butter and a few times we got lost and ended up in the suburbs:((

 THIS IS AN EXPANDED VIEW OF THIS POST'S FIRST PHOTO AND YOU CAN SEE TREE BRANCHES BACKING UP THE WATER WITH A BUNCH OF WILLOW LEAVES FLOATING ON THE SURFACE

 WHENEVER I STEP OUT OF THE CAR TO TAKE A PHOTO PHEEBS CLIMBS INTO THE DRIVER'S SEAT TO SECURE THE CAR FROM ANY ROBBERS

Spent some very enjoyable time outside this afternoon raking pine needles and chopping away at a couple old stumps with an axe.  The Subaru also needed a good vacuuming and interior cleanup. I also put a few more things into storage for the winter.  I am already looking forward to those first nice Spring days when I can get myself out there and haul everything back out again in the crisp fresh air and April sunshine.

 I CHECKED OUT A SECOND CORNFIELD ON THE WAY HOME....NOTHING

Kelly had a bone density test at the Clinton Hospital this afternoon.  She had trouble getting up off the stone-hard flat table and now her back is bothering her.  A few hours after she got home this afternoon the phone rang and it was her Nurse Practitioner calling with the bone density results.  It showed continuing bone density loss.  Kelly just can't seem to win for losing some days.........  

WHEN I HEARD THE SOUND OF A JET THIS MORNING I LOOKED UP AND COULDN'T SEE ANYTHING BUT THEN I HEARD A SECOND JET ENGINE

 I CAUGHT A FLASH HIGH UP AND THEN ANOTHER FLASH AND REALI IT WAS TWO JETS IN A WIDE TURNING CIRCLE...I COULD ONLY SEE ONE JET AT A TIME AND ONLY A FEW SECONDS WHEN THE MORNING SUN REFLECTED OFF THEM IN THE TURN

 MY PHOTOS AREN'T THE BEST BUT I WAS HAND HOLDING AT 2000mm AND TRYING TO PAN WITH THE PLANE WHICH I COULD HARDLY SEE WITH THE NAKED EYE....I THINK THESE TWO PLANES ARE BASED IN LONDON ONTARIO AND HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH PILOT TRAINING

Every year on this date I try to remember to post something I wrote years ago about a day that changed my life.  Many readers have read this before but maybe there are a few out there who haven't and maybe there is someone it could possibly help.  It is entitled, One Day At A Time.  Keep in mind I wrote this post in October of 2009 so to bring my sobriety up to date I have now been happily sober for 45 years.  And, as I always like to add, I've been free of cigarettes for about 43 years.  I was never into drugs so that never presented a problem for me.

Al's Music Box:)) The Wah Wahtusi by the Orlons is a solo dance that enjoyed brief popularity during the early 1960s.  It was one of the most popular dance crazes of the 1960s in the United States.  "Watusi" is a former name for the Tutsi people of Africa, whose traditions include spectacular dances.  The naming of the American dance may have been inspired, in particular, by a scene in the 1950 film King Solomon's Mines which featured Tutsi dancers, or by its sequel Watusi.  The Orlons, a vocal quartet from Philadelphia, had the biggest hit of their career as recording artists with their recording of "The Wah-Watusi", which debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on June 9, 1962, and remained on the Hot 100 for 14 weeks; it peaked at #2 and held the position for two weeks. 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The telephone rings in the principal's office at a school.  "Hello, this is Dunn Elementary," answers the principal.  "Hi. Jimmy won't be able to come to school all next week," replies the voice.  "Well, what seems to be the problem with him?"  "We are all going on a family vacation," says the voice. "I hope it is alright."  "I guess that would be fine," says the principal. "May I ask who is calling?"  "Sure. This is my father!"

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- What invention was more popular than the first telephone??  The second telephone.

- A man rushed into the doctor's office and shouted, "Doctor! I think I'm shrinking!"
The doctor calmly responded, "Now, settle down. You'll just have to be a little patient."

Q: What do you call a dog wearing ear muffs?
A: Anything you want -- he can't hear you.

- I don't believe in astrology...I'm a Sagittarian and we're skeptical.

Doctor: You're in good health. You'll live to be eighty.
Patient: But, doctor, I am 80 right now.
Doctor: See, what did I tell you.
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Two nudists were discussing politics.
One says, “Have you read Marx?”
The other nods, “It’s these blasted wicker chairs."
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Al's Art Gallery:))

NO EXCUSES STANDING IN MY WAY TODAY

Pheebs and I headed straight off this morning to our country road walking spot to check if the cornfield on the west side of the road had been harvested.  It had, and try as we did, we couldn't find one single corn cob on the ground nor any sign of a corn spill along the road.  Nuts, foiled again!!  

OUR TEMPS DIPPED SLIGHTLY BELOW THE FREEZING MARK OVERNIGHT AND CLEAR SKIES LEFT US WITH A HEAVY FROST ON THE GROUND THIS MORNING

 TINY ICE CRYSTALS ON THIS TUFT OF YELLOWED GRASS

AS PLANTS EMERGE FROM THE COLD SHADOWS THE MORNING SUN'S WARM RAYS CAUSES A SLIGHT STEAMY MIST AS THE FROST DISSAPATES

 ICE CRYSTALS ON THE PINE NEEDLES

THE EAST SIDE OF THE BRIDGE I AM STANDING ON IS STILL IN MORNING SHADOW

THE WEST SIDE OF THE BRIDGE EMERGES IN SUNLIGHT

 THIS CREEK BED FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD IS COMPLETELY DRIED UP

From our walking road, we headed further east to the Bannockburn Line and turned south.  Under sunny skies I knew a few miles down the road we would enter a colorful forest wearing its Autumn finery.  We weren't disappointed.

 OUR FORESTS ARE FINALLY ABLAZE IN THEIR AUTUMN COLORS

 STILL IN SHADOW, FROST CAN STILL BE SEEN IN THIS RECENTLY WORKED FIELD

 'HEY DAD THERE'S A NICE FARM LANE OVER HERE'

 THIS FARM LANE WAS RIGHT ACROSS THE ROAD FROM THE LANE PHEEBS SAW

It wasn't just today's temperatures coming up, it was my energy levels as well and after returning home, and with no excuses standing in my way, it didn't take me long to head outside and get myself busy raking up a few wheelbarrow loads of pine needles.  Pheebs and I also took a pleasant afternoon walk around the Park's pond.

 LOOKING SOUTH ALONG THE BANNOCKBURN LINE

 LOOKING NORTH ALONG THE BANNOCKBURN LINE

 LOOKING UP THROUGH THE TREES

I'm currently reading Ten Days To D-Day by author David Stafford.  This is an interesting and well-written book with a behind-the-scenes look from many perspectives on both sides of the English Channel and far beyond. 

    HEY, IS THAT A MOOSE OVER THERE??

                                    YUP, IT'S A MOOSE ALRIGHT:))
Al's Music Box:)) Sukiyaki  上を向いて歩こう, "I Look Up as I Walk"), alternatively titled "Sukiyaki", is a song by Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto, first released in Japan in 1961. The song topped the charts in a number of countries, including the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1963. The song grew to become one of the world's best-selling singles of all time, selling over 13 million copies worldwide.  In Anglophone countries, the song is best known under the alternative title "Sukiyaki", the name of a Japanese hot-pot dish with cooked beef. The word sukiyaki does not appear in the song's lyrics, nor does it have any connection to them; it was used only because it was short, catchy, recognizably Japanese, and more familiar to English speakers. A Newsweek columnist compared this re-titling to issuing "Moon River" in Japan under the title "Beef Stew".  Kyu Sakamoto died on 12 August 1985 in the crash of Japan Air Lines Flight 123, along with 519 others on board the flight, making him a casualty of the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( An auditor is checking the books of an airline. He is puzzled by the excess use of fuel on a Melbourne to Canberra flight. He rings up the pilot and asks for an explanation.  "It was late at night'" says the pilot, "Canberra was covered in fog and I lost my bearings."  "I'm sorry," says the auditor, "but you'll have to bear the cost yourself."  "The cost of what?" asks the pilot. "Of the bearings you lost."

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- Monsters are not good at math.... Unless you Count Dracula.
- I would tell a joke about pzza, but its too cheesy
- I gave away all my batteries today ... free of charge
- Dracula doesnt have many friends because he's a pain in the neck.
- I stayed up all night wondering where the Sun had gone. Then it dawned on me.

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Q: Is it common for 50+ year olds to have problems with short term memory storage?

A: Storing memory is not a problem, retrieving it is a problem.

Q: As people age, do they sleep more soundly?

A: Yes, but usually in the afternoon.

Q: Where do 50+ year olds look for fashionable glasses?
A: Their foreheads.

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An elderly couple were in church. The wife leaned over and whispered to her husband, "I just silently passed a lot of gas... what should I do?" The husband replied, "Replace the batteries in your hearing aid." -

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Al's Art Gallery:))