UPON THE COMMAND......'HEAVE-HO-PUSH'

A FOREST WALK THIS MORNING

We had Subie's front windows down even before we left the carport.  Although cloudy, it was already 66F and felt totally tropical for November.  Before heading out of the Park we slipped around to see if the second half of the new house had arrived, and it had.  The two halves weren't joined together yet and I'm curious how they do that.  Using my common sense reasoning I figure they get 25 guys lined up on one of the half sizes and 25 guys lined up along the side of the other half.  Upon the command.....'Heave-Ho-Push' and amidst the sounds of grunting and groaning the two halves slowly approach each other, and then 'SNAP' they are joined together.  The next sound one hears is a joyous 50-man shout going up followed by the sounds of 50 beer bottles being opened.  I did say it could be all men doing the pushing, right?  Thought so....that explains the beer eh.  Had it been women doing the pushing it might have been the sound of 25 wine corks popping out of bottles as the ladies shared their apertif with each other.  Oh come on....it could happen:))

 THE SECOND HALF OF THE HOUSE HAS ARRIVED BUT THE HALVES ARE NOT JOINED YET

 NOT QUITE JOINED TOGETHER YET

 WHEN IT'S ALL SET UP FOR AN OPEN HOUSE I WILL TAKE SOME INTERIOR PICTURES

 THIS UNIT LENDS ITSELF TO A FULL-LENGTH COVERED DECK 

 ALL MODEL HOMES COMING INTO THE PARK WILL BE CANADIAN BUILT BY GENERAL COACH IN HENSALL ONTARIO ....A SHORT 25KMS/15 MILES FROM BAYFIELD

Not feeling like going too far again this morning Pheebs and I slipped into Bayfield for a drive down around the harbor and through the town.  Work has already begun at dismantling all the summer boat docks along both sides of the Bayfield River.

 CLOUDY SKIES OVER LAKE HURON

 PULLING THE BOAT DOCK'S STEEL ANCHORING POLES OUT OF THE WATER

IT'S A TWO-MAN CREW THAT DOES ALL THIS WORK

 THESE DOCKS WILL BE LIFTED OUT OF THE WATER AND STACKED ON THE SHORE UNTIL NEXT SPRING

 THOSE TWO WORKERS HAVE THEIR WORK CUT OUT FOR THEM

 I WONDER IF ALL TACOMA TRUCKS COME WITH REAR GUNNERS

 A STONE MASON AT WORK AT A MAJOR HOUSE RENOVATION PROJECT IN BAYFIELD

Taking advantage of the warmer weather we headed off to the Bayfield cemetery for a walk in the forest there.  Heading across an open field area to reach the forest, southern winds were so strong they blew my hat off and set it to tumbling northward.  That in turn set me off tumbling after it.  In the forest itself, the wind roared through the trees overhead trying its best to strip them of every leaf.  This warm wind will be a good thing for drying out wet farm fields in the area.  There is still a lot of corn fields waiting to be harvested and I'm sure farmers are anxious to get their big machines back out into the fields before the snow flies.

 ENTRANCE TO THE CEMETERY FOREST

 PHEEBS SHUFFLES THROUGH THE FOREST LEAVES

 THERE MUST BE WOODPECKERS NEARBY

 BEECH TREE LEAVES

 THERE ARE MANY BEECH TREES IN THIS FOREST

HEADING BACK TO THE CAR

Although feeling on the tired side (Oh Geeezzz what else is new) I was able to reach my right leg far enough around behind me to be able give myself a royal biggly roundhouse of a kick to get me out of the door.  Once outside, the Energy Bunny side of myself kicked in, and with leaf rake, pitchfork, and wheelbarrow, I was off and running around the place like a frenzied fluster of french fries.  A few brief sunsplashes spurred me along.  And yes, it was short sleeve weather too if one was outside working up a sweat.....like me.  We hit 70F today:))))

 JUNCO

 BLUE JAY

 NUTHATCH

I finished my book, The Story Collector by author Evie Woods.  I enjoyed her other book, The Lost Bookshop so I thought I'd give this one a try.  I also enjoyed this book very much despite the word 'romance' in describing the story.  I nearly passed it by because of that word but I'm glad it didn't.  A lite and necessary touch of romance perhaps, but nothing sappy.  The story takes place in two parts in two different eras in Ireland.  It is the old Ireland with its mysteries, legends, and folklore that I loved so much in this story.  Evie Woods is a good storyteller.

 A COUPLE OF AUTUMN MAILBOXES ALONG THE WAY

Al's Music Box:)) Arthur's Theme is a song performed and co-written by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross as the main theme for the 1981 film Arthur, starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. It was recognized as the year's Best Original Song at both the 54th Academy Awards and 39th Golden Globe Awards.  A commercial success in the United States, it reached the top of both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Adult Contemporary charts in October 1981, remaining at the top of the Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks. The song was written in collaboration between Cross, Burt Bacharach, and Bacharach's frequent writing partner and then wife Carole Bayer Sager. A fourth writing credit went to Minnelli's ex-husband, Australian songwriter Peter Allen, a frequent collaborator with Bayer Sager. The line in the chorus "When you get caught between the moon and New York City" was taken from an unreleased song written by Allen and Bayer Sager.  Allen came up with the line while his plane was in a holding pattern during a night arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport.  

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Advice from An Old Farmer:

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered… not yelled.

Meanness doesn’t just happen overnight.

Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.

Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

It doesn’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Every path has a few puddles.

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.

Don’t judge folks by their relatives.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good, honorable life… then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.

Don't interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with watches you from the mirror every mornin’.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Good judgment comes from experience and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.

If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around..

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Most times, it just gets down to common sense.

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Two little sports-minded boys were talking.....'It's not whether you win or lose, it's how your parents behave at the game'.

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{Quote} "We live in a world where there is more and more information and less meaning."

                        Al's Art Gallery

AND THAT'S WORTH ANOTHER BIG #!!%**!!!!

Because of the #!!%**!! time change overnight my day began at 5 a.m.!!!!  Also because of the time change, the network carrying the show I watch Sunday night, 'Skinwalker Ranch' came on at 11 instead of 10.  Why the network decided to switch their programming time back before midnight I don't know, but needless to say, I fell asleep before Skinwalker was over and didn't see it all.  And that's worth another big #!!%**!!!!

HALF OF A NEW DOUBLE-WIDE UNIT IS BEING SET UP ON ONE OF THE PARK'S LOTS

 I'LL HAVE PICS TOMORROW OF BOTH HALVES JOINED TOGETHER

 WHEN FINISHED, THIS UNIT ON A CONCRETE PAD WILL BE SOLD FULLY FURNISHED

Under overcast and mild drizzly skies, Pheebs and I followed Subie's windshield wipers to Goderich and back this morning.  Coffee, the harbor, Walmart, and home again.  I didn't get around to taking many pics.  With milder 60F temps upon us today I figured it was a good time to clean all the wet pine needles out of our eaves and not freeze my hands off doing it.  So that is what I did.  Afternoon rains precluded any thoughts of a walk for Pheebs and I so it was inside we stayed except to top up the bird feeders.  I love watching the bunnies jump and frolic about in our front yard.  Too many raindrops in the air for a walk this afternoon.

 IT WAS A DRIZZLY MORNING BUT AT LEAST IT WAS ON THE MILD SIDE

THE OBORISHTE IN PORT TODAY AT THE GODERICH GRAIN TERMINAL

Talking to Park owner Adam this afternoon, he confirmed that my assumption a few days ago about a new park trail alongside a little creek was true.  He plans to incorporate that section of trail into a longer forest trail that he has plans for. Good stuff:))

We have a mouse problem.  Well okay, not so much we as me.  But no matter, I found 3 more mouses in a drawer beside my living room recliner.  None of them were moving of course so I gently picked one up and pressed it here and their hoping to see a flicker of light.  Nope, nothing.  I even tried inserting a battery into it.  Nope, nothing, and the same with the other two mouses.  So why would someone keep three dead mouses in a drawer you might ask?  It's a question I don't have an answer for.  No, I'm not a mouse hoarder.  With that said, I threw all four dead mouses into the garbage.  You do know I'm talking about my current and older computer mouses, right?  Oh, and that stop at Walmart this morning.....ya, I got myself a new mouse.  Its name is Logi and it was made by Logitech.   And yes I do know about the word mouses not being grammatically correct but in my world, the term is mouses, not meeces.  Heavens to Murgatroyd!!

 A COLORFUL OUTDOOR LIBRARY AT THE SOUTH END OF ORCHARD LINE

Al's Music Box:(( Pretend by Brenda Lee is a popular song, written in 1952 by Dan Belloc, Lew Douglas, Cliff Parman and Frank Levere.  Having sold over 100 million records globally, Lee is one of the most successful American artists of the 20th century. Her U.S. success in the 1960s earned her recognition as Billboard's Top Female Artist of the Decade and one of the four artists who charted the most singles, behind Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Ray Charles. Her accolades include a Grammy Award, four NARM Awards, three NME Awards, and five Edison Awards.  She is the first woman to be inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  In 2023, she was named by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest singers of all time.

 'HEY DAD, I THINK THERE IS AN ELEPHANT IN THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT'

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A woman meant to call a record store but dialed the wrong number and got a private home instead.  "Do you have 'Eyes of Blue' and 'A Love Supreme'?" she asked.  "Well, no," answered the puzzled homeowner, "But I have a wife and eleven children."  "Is that a record?" she inquired.  "I don't think so," replied the man, "but it's as close as I want to get."

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- What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway).

- A backward poet writes inverse.

- A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

- If you don't pay your exorcist you get repossessed.

- Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat minor.

- When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

- The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

- A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

- You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

- Every calendar's days are numbered.

- A lot of money is tainted. 'Taint yours and 'taint mine.

- He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

- The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

- When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.

- Those who jump off a Paris bridge are in Seine.

- Acupuncture is a jab well done.

- Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat.

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                            Al's Art Gallery

HEY ELLA, WAY OVER THERE IN SPAIN....THIS ONE IS FOR YOU