TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

Wednesday, January 08, 2025

CERTAINLY NOT THIS GUY

PHEEBS PLOWING THROUGH THE SNOW THIS MORNING

Parting the curtains this morning I was surprised at the amount of snow that had fallen overnight. Judging by our birdfeeders I'd say we easily had a foot or more of snow. I knew right away the first order of business for the day would not be a car ride for Pheebs and I. It was going to be me on the end of my snow shovel. So, without further ado, out I went and got at it. Luckily, the snow was light and fluffy and easy to move. After shoveling all my paths, I loaded up the Pheebs and off we went into Bayfield.

NO THAT ISN'T A UFO...JUST OVERNIGHT SNOW PILED ON TOP OF THE BIRD FEEDER

Needing a couple new batteries for a diabetes 'One-Touch' monitor, our first and only stop was at Michaels Pharmacy where by golly, they had those batteries. I have my semi-annual appointment with my diabetes lady next week so she will be wanting to know what my blood count numbers are. I only ever do those 'finger-stick' procedures a week prior to my appointments. Not much going on in Bayfield this morning. The river is completely frozen over and the damaged Albion Hotel is now completely draped in plastic as workers carry out the restoration work.

SEEN A LOT OF FOLKS OUT WITH THEIR SHOVELS AND SNOWBLOWERS THIS MORNING

THE ALBION HOTEL IS WRAPPED IN PLASTIC

THE BAYFIELD RIVER IS NOW COMPLETELY FROZEN OVER

THOSE FLOATING CHUNKS OF ICE IN THE WATER WILL SOON JOIN UP TO CREATE A LAYER OF ICE ON THE LAKE ALONG THE SHORELINE

A NICE SPLASH OF COLOR ON A BAYFIELD SIDE STREET

HEADING HOME

Home again about 10:30 I took a cruise around our Park keeping an eye out for a few photos. There are generally always a few to be found and this morning was no exception. Imagine my surprise when I pulled up to our house to find some kind neighbor had blown out our driveway again. Now, how nice was that I thought. It sure saved me a lot of shoveling and at only 19F who wants to be out shoveling snow. Certainly not this guy. Thank you to whoever did that:)) For the rest of the day, I stayed in and puttered around with small stuff. Reading took up some of my time as well.

A FEW PICS FROM AROUND OUR PARK

OWNER ADAM SPREADING SAND ON THE ROADS
NICE SPLASHES OF BLUE
STILL LOOKING KIND OF CHRISTMASY IN OUR PARK
A LONE RESIDENT OUT FOR A WALK AT THE SOUTH END OF TAMARACK DRIVE
A Blast From Our Past:)) Return To Ghost Mountain

Al's Music Box:(( Reflections Of My Life was a 1969/1970 hit single for the Scottish band, Marmalade. It was written by their lead guitarist Junior Campbell and singer Dean Ford (credited to his birth name, Thomas McAleese). Released in late 1969, it was the band's first release on Dean Ford following an earlier spell at. CBS. The song went on to chart worldwide, reaching number three in the UK in 1969, No. 10 in the US in 1970 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 7 on the Cash Box Top 100. Initial sales were significant in both countries, and the one million mark was reported in November 1971, when the group was presented with a gold disc for global sales. The track featured a lead vocal by Ford backed by vocal harmonies, and included a reverse tape guitar solo by Campbell. "Reflections of My Life" has produced sales of over two million units. In 1998 the writers were awarded a Special Citation of Achievement by the BMI for attaining radio broadcast performances in excess of one million in the US alone.The recording took place over three days in October 1969 at Decca Studios 2 and 1 in West Hampstead London with band members Graham Knight on bass, Alan Whitehead on drums, Pat Fairley on acoustic guitar, and Junior Campbell on keyboards and electric guitars. Dean Ford sang lead vocal and Junior Campbell and Graham Knight provided harmony vocals. The added brass and strings were orchestrated by Keith Mansfield. "Reflections of My Life" was released on 14 November 1969 in the UK. The Decca staff recording engineers were Bill Price and Peter Rynston.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( In light of the rising frequency of human - grizzly bear conflicts, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is advising hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert of bears while in the field. They advise that outdoorsmen wear noisy little bells on their clothing so as not to startle bears that aren't expecting them. They also advise outdoorsmen to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear. It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear dung. Black bear dung is smaller and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear dung has little bells in it and smells like pepper.

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Once my dog ate all the Scrabble tiles...
He kept leaving little messages around the house.

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My wife asked me to buy ORGANIC vegetables from the market. I went and looked around and couldn't find any. So I grabbed an old, tired-looking employee and said, "These vegetables are for my wife. Have they been sprayed with any poisonous chemicals?" "The produce guy looked at me and said, "No. You'll have to do that yourself."

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kellys Corner
SIGNING THE FINAL PAPERS IN WICKENBURG ARIZONA FOR THE SALE OF OUR CONGRESS HOUSE

OUR HOUSE ON GHOST TOWN ROAD IN CONGRESS ARIZONA

IN OUR CONGRESS HOUSE ON A LAZY AFTERNOON

LOOKING FOR GOLD NUGGETS IN CALIFORNIA CARGO MUCHACHO MOUNTAINS WEST OF YUMA ARIZONA

Al's Art Gallery

Tuesday, January 07, 2025

THIS OH-SO-THIN LAYER OF ICE THAT I SO PRECARIOUSLY NOW WALK

DARK SNOW-LADEN CLOUDS OVER LAKE HURON AT GODERICH'S ROTARY COVE

Another cold grey day but hey, its January in southern Ontario, Canada. Having more 'paperwork' stuff to do in Goderich I loaded up the Pheebs and off we went with a few snow flurries in the air. Coffee to go at McDonalds, down to the harbor, 'snap-snap' went the camera, and back up the hill into town to attend to the paperwork stuff. The Subaru was in both Kelly's and my name and in order to get the auto insurance info adjusted I first had to go to 'Service Ontario' and have the car ownership changed showing me as the sole owner of the car. Expecting a line-up, imagine my surprise and delight when I walked in and went straightaway to the counter. Yes it's true...small miracles can happen. The nice lady there had everything wrapped up in less than ten minutes. With the new amended ownership in hand, I drove a couple blocks to our Auto/Home Insurance place whereupon another nice lady did all the necessary insurance paperwork and sent me on my way. A stop at Walmart for some celery and a green banana and Pheebs and I headed for home. Roads were semi-snow-covered with a bit of ground drifting, but no problem.

ON NARROWER SECONDARY ROADS I ALWAYS PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND STOP WHEN I SEE A SNOWPLOW COMING....IT MAKES IT MUCH EASIER ON THE SNOWPLOW DRIVERS' ALREADY FRAZZLED NERVES

THE SPRUCEGLEN AND THE TIM S DOOL ARE TIED UP STERN TO STERN IN GODERICH'S HARBOR FOR THE WINTER

THE SUPERSTRUCTURE OF THE ALGOMA INTREPID CAN BE SEEN BEHIND THE BEACH HOUSE AT ST. CHRISTOPHERS BEACH

ALWAYS NICE TO SEE A SPLASH OF COLOR ALONG THE WAY

I had not clicked on our 'online' bank account since last week's bank nightmare and the reason I hadn't was simply that I was afraid to click on the site and be confronted with another white security sign again meaning I was locked out of the site. I would then be head first into another screaming nightmare situation. Well, knowing I had to take the plunge sooner or later I steeled my nerves as best I could and 'click'. An immediate big sigh of relief when no white screen security issue popped up. But there was that darn 'verification code' thing again and that is what had started the nightmare off last week when I didn't know how to find that code on the iPhone. However, luck was on my side when I remembered a lady at the bank last week showing me where to find that code number. In fact, I already had the iPhone turned on and the page open where it should land. And, land it did and I was nervously able to punch the right numbers in using my computer's keyboard. 'Walla' there was the open bank account for me to see. If I would have had tears they would have been tears of joy, unlike last week's tears of utter frustration. Now, this 80-year-old is not naive enough to think that everything will be honky dory and clear sailing from here because my wise old 80 year old self with its decades of experience knows for certain that it will not!! But, at least for today, I was able to take one small baby step forward on this oh-so-thin layer of ice that I so precariously now walk.

A WEE BIT OF GROUND DRIFTING ON THE WAY HOME

IT'S NOT OFTEN ONE SEES A TRAIN CROSSING PORTERS HILL ROAD

THE SNOW-COVERED ROADS WERE SANDED AND SALTED

THE ROAD LOOKS LIKE A MERE TRAIL THROUGH THE FOREST

A Blast From Our Past:)) Fifteen years ago on January 8th while boondocked near Borrego Springs, California we decided to head out in the direction of San Diego for a morning hike (we always did our hikes in the morning) at a place called Mountain Canyon Campground 40 miles short of San Diego. By the end of the day, one of us had an injury....and it wasn't me. Mountain Palm Canyon Hike

Al's Music Box:)) Puttin' On The Ritz by Taco is a song written by Irving Berlin. He wrote it in May 1927 and first published it on December 2, 1929. In 1982, singer Taco released a synth-pop cover version of "Puttin' On the Ritz" as a single from his album After Eight, released in Europe on Polydor and by RCA in the US. The single was a global hit, reaching No. 1 on Cash Box as well as No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Irving Berlin, then 95, the oldest ever living songwriter to have one of his compositions enter the top ten. It was certified gold by the RIAA for selling over one million copies. It was Taco's only hit in the United States. This version of the song was ranked No. 53 in VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man was driving down the road. He passed a traffic camera and saw it flash. Astounded that he had been caught speeding when he was under the speed limit, he turned around and, going even slower, he passed by the camera. Again, he saw it flash. He couldn't believe it! So he turned and, going at a snail's pace, he passed the camera. AGAIN, he saw the camera flash. He guessed it must have a fault, and home he went. Four weeks later he received 3 traffic fines in the mail, all for not wearing a seatbelt.

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Q. Did you hear about the new sushi bar that caters exclusively to lawyers?

A. It's called, Sosumi.

- I saw an Apple store get robbed. I was an iWitness

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An old man goes to the Wizard to ask him if he can remove a "Curse" he has been living with for the last 40 years. The Wizard says "maybe, but you will have to tell me the exact words that were used to put the curse on you." The old man says without hesitation "'I now pronounce you man and wife'".

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A little boy was attending his first wedding. After the service, his cousin asked him, "How many women can a man marry?" "Sixteen," the boy responded. His cousin was amazed that he knew the answer so quickly. "How do you know that?" "Easy," the little boy said.
"All you have to do is add it up like the Preacher said: 4 better, 4 worse, 4 richer, 4 poorer."

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