A MORNING STOP AT THE ZURICH BEAN FESTIVAL

 WE HAD LUNCH AT JERRY RADER'S IN ZURICH ONTARIO LATE THIS MORNING

The annual Zurich Bean Fest is on this weekend in our area.  Not something we usually attend but Kelly suggested Friday we could maybe take a drive down to Zurich this morning and grab a bite at Jerry Raders Homestyle Country Market.  I figured that would be a good exercise run for Scooter, but thinking more about it this morning I decided to take the Jeep instead.  Glad we did because of all the people there for Bean Fest.  We would have had to do some wiggling and squiggling with the RV.

NO SEATING INSIDE SO WE ATE OUTSIDE

 DOGGY ATE OUTSIDE TOO

 KELLY PICKS UP A FEW EXTRA GOODIES BEFORE WE LEAVE

I was glad to see all the hubbub of Zurich's Bean Fest fading in the Jeep's rear-view mirror as we headed west out of town to a little roadside veggie market Kelly wanted to stop at.  From there we were homeward bound with a basket of peaches.  And there went another day............

TOOK THIS PIC IN THE JEEP'S  PASSENGER SIDE MIRROR.....KELLY'S SOMEWHERE IN THAT CROWD BEHIND THE JEEP LOOKING FOR SOME BEANS TO TAKE HOME

 GLAD TO BE HEADING OUT OF TOWN

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A large two-engine train was crossing America. After they had gone some distance one of the engines broke down. "No problem," the engineer thought, and carried on at half power.  Farther on down the line, the other engine broke down, and the train came to a standstill. The engineer decided he should inform the passengers about why the train had stopped, and made the following announcement:  "Ladies and gentlemen, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that both engines have failed, and we will be stuck here for some time. The good news is that you decided to take the train and not fly."

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Q: What do you call two men hanging from a window?
A: Curt and Rod.

- Why can't a bankrupt farmer complain?He's got no beef.

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RAIN CAME IN THE NIGHT

Rain came in the night and hung around for most of the morning.  Rains okay, it's the snow I don't like.  Pheebs and I followed Libby's windshield wipers into Bayfield and back and that was about it for the day.  Skies began clearing around noon but by then our pleasant cooler temps were rapidly replaced by humidity.  I retreated inside and stayed there.  Maybe all three of us will take Scooter for a spin in the morning......................... 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( This guy goes to a costume party with a girl on his back.  "What the heck are you?" asks the host.  "I'm a snail," says the guy.  "But... you have a girl on your back" replies the host.  "Yeah," he says, "that's Michelle!"

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I AM SENSING EARLY AUTUMN IN THE AIR

It was this early morning's cooler air that perked me up and inspired Pheebs and I to head ourselves over to the Hullett Marsh.  It is always peaceful there as Mother Nature gently opens her arms and welcomes anyone in to slowly wander along her pathways or paddle her waterways and enjoy all her natural wonders.

 DID YOU SEE THE PHEEBS?

I could definitely sense early Autumn in the air.  In Spring the Hullett Marsh is actively alive with many exciting sounds in the air.  It's a busy time for wildlife and birds with both flora and fauna eagerly springing to life.  This morning I was aware of the quietness that has settled over the Marsh.  The only sound I heard was the raspy dinosaur gretching of a lone Blue Heron somewhere far off in the tall reeds across one of the large ponds.  In the Marsh those ponds have names like Whistler Pool, Pintail Pool, Mallard Pool, Bluebill Pool, Butterball Pool, and Bluewing Pool,  I definitely felt I was in the right place this morning and made a mental note to myself that I must try harder to break this morning routine slump I have stumbled into these past bunch of months and get myself back out into these nature areas where I always feel at my best.  Pheebs too:))

 MILKWEED PODS

 THISTLES HAVE GONE TO SEED

 TEAZEL

 THE THREE TEAZEL AMIGOS

Kelly's doing okay these days and feeling a touch better now that she has her many meds figured out.  Her auto-immune liver disease has kind of backed off for the moment which is probably the result of those medications.  She is doing much better than she was four or five months ago when she was hospitalized and had to undergo those blood transfusions, etc.

 FIND THE DRAGONFLY

 OH THERE IT IS

Pheebs will be turning 13 soon and she is doing well also since those problems she had getting into and out of the Jeep back in the Spring.  The Subaru is slightly lower than the Jeep so when we get it I'm thinking she will find it easier to get into and out of.

Improvements continue here at our Park with the new owner working hard at cleaning things up and bringing the Park up to par from where it was.  However, there is a bit of a sticky problem going on because the old owner still lives here and is causing problems for the new owner.  We all have our fingers tightly crossed that this problem will be resolved soon.

 

 WHEN GOLDENROD BEGINS TO GLOW AUTUMN DAYS BEGIN TO SHOW

One of the reasons we do not want to be in a big hurry to get rid of our Jeep Liberty just yet is that it has a tow plate on it and that tow plate allows it to be towed behind our RV.  We both know our chances are slim of ever getting across the border to travel in the south again for the winters but we are 'clinging' to that slight chance just in case. (and at this age slight chances count)  Those tow plates are very expensive to have installed on a vehicle and I'm pretty sure the Subaru Forester is not towable with all four wheels down.  If we went south for a month or two we would either not tow anything or tow the Jeep despite its few current problems.

 CRITTER PATHS ACROSS THE POND

 OLD STUMPS, A DISTANT MOUNTAIN RANGE, OR AN ANGELFISH SILHOUETTE ON THE RIGHT

 WE ARE FINALLY BACK AT THE JEEP

I have plowed through a couple more books in these past few weeks.  First, What It's Really Like: Flying the Alaska Bush by Mort Mason.  It never ceases to amaze me what these Alaskan bush pilots put themselves through.  This is another book of harrowing tales made even more interesting by the author not shying away from admitting to crazy mistakes, dumb things, and a few poor decisions he has made.  I also just finished Life After Life by Dr. Raymond A Moody.  This is another mind-stretching and eye-opening book that deals with near-death experiences. (NDE)  At my age now I find these topics fascinating and this fellow explains things very well from different perspectives including scientific and religious viewpoints.  If you are on the fence like I was and wondering about this sort of thing I suggest you read this book and at least educate and bring yourself up to speed with what is known and what is still unknown about this controversial and not often talked about subject.  Personally, I was encouraged by what I read. 

 ALSO AT THE MARSH THIS MORNING WE SPOTTED THIS BIG LONG ARMED ORANGE HITACHI MONSTER

Ellen's Groove:)) Here's Ellen with a really short Funky Doodle riff.

GROANER'S CORNER:((   An Anagram, as you know, is a word or phrase made by transposing or rearranging the letters of another word or phrase. The following are exceptionally clever.

- Dormitory:   Dirty Room
- Evangelist:   Evil's Agent
- Desperation:   A Rope Ends It
- The Morse Code:   Here Come Dots
- Slot Machines:   Cash Lost in 'em
- Animosity:   Is No Amity
- Mother-in-law:   Woman Hitler
- Snooze Alarms:   Alas! No More Z's
- Alec Guinness:   Genuine Class
- Semolina:   Is No Meal
- The Public Art Galleries:   Large Picture Halls, I Bet
- A Decimal Point:   I'm a Dot in Place
- The Earthquakes:   That Queer Shake
- Eleven plus two:   Twelve plus one
- Contradiction:   Accord not in it

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There's a Labrador by my front door shouting 'Buy!' and 'Sell!' into a mobile phone...I'm getting mighty sick of dogs doing their business outside my house.

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AND IT EVEN HAS A BIG SQUARE HOLE IN THE ROOF

The 2 photos below show how we spent an hour of our time Tuesday morning in Exeter, Ontario.

 A 2018 GMC TERRAIN SLT

I first noticed our Jeep Liberty was leaking engine oil 3 or 4 months ago.  Didn't know which part of the engine was leaking oil but did know it was likely going to be a very costly fix.  So, instead of the 'fix' idea, I have simply been adding oil every couple of weeks.  It could go on indefinitely or something bad could suddenly happen to the engine because the oil leak problem will certainly not fix itself.  That engine oil leak coupled with advancing rust on the Jeep along with a tailgate that hasn't worked properly for a couple years (a Jeep garage wanted over $200 to replace a micro-chip) plus the Jeep's climbing mileage and very poor gas mileage......the writing was on the wall.  The transmission had been getting clunkier and a week ago it developed some kind of rattling/rasping sound underneath every time I put it into gear.  Not wanting to sink any more money into an aging vehicle, it was time to turn our thoughts into action and make a decision.  

I HAVE HAD TO PLACE A PIECE OF CHIPBOARD ON OUR CARPORT'S CEMENT FLOOR TO CATCH THE JEEP'S OIL DRIPPINGS

 ONE OF THE SPREADING RUST AREAS ON THE JEEP

 TESTING OUT A NEW TEMPORARY PARKING SPOT FOR THE JEEP

We had decided a couple months ago it may be time to begin thinking about replacing our 2007 Jeep Liberty with something newer. (we bought it in April 2015)  With that thought in mind, we had been watching our area Marketplace guide checking to see what was for sale out there.  We had also been reading vehicle reviews on different makes and models.  We weren't exactly sure what we were looking for at first but finally narrowed it down to a few 'must-have' things.  Most important for us in another vehicle would be 'All-Wheel Drive' for our winter weather here.  No more single-wheel drive vehicles whether it be front or back.  Better gas mileage was high on the list too so that right away eliminated getting another Jeep.  But we wanted something built with off-road capabilities too.  We looked at a Buick Encore but found it too small and certainly not off-roadable.  Tuesday morning we drove to an Exeter dealership and took a 2018 GMC Terrain out for a spin.  It was a nice vehicle with all the extras but it just wasn't what we were looking for.  It was too big and cost prohibitive.  And waaaaay too many bells and whistles for us simple folks.  However, there was another line of vehicles we had both taken an interest in over the past year or so and had begun keeping an eye out for.  These vehicles were a cut above, well built, solid, and had a good reputation.  After a lot of looking, I finally spotted one Tuesday in on our Marketplace guide and it had everything we were looking for.  It was a 2018, all-wheel drive, great gas mileage, reasonably low mileage, (59,651 miles) had off-road capabilities, and was the size we were looking for.  And it wasn't dark colored or 'black!! This crystal pearl white vehicle was in Wingham Ontario so all three of us piled into the Jeep and headed for Wingham right after supper Tuesday night.  Pulling up to the vehicle's address we liked what we saw right away.  Turns out it's a one-owner car bought new in Stratford, Ontario and we could tell the owner had treated and maintained this vehicle extremely well.  We took the car for a drive and within 3 blocks I knew this was the vehicle for us.  Kelly had the exact same thoughts.  We drove to Bluevale and back and the car drove like a charm.  A price was agreed upon and the deal was done.  Here in Canada, all vehicles sold have to undergo a government safety inspection so it could be a week or two before we take possession.  Garages are booked up solid.  We haven't decided what to do with the Jeep yet so we'll keep it for now and park it under our Red Bud tree.

 THIS IS OUR NEW TO US CAR EMBLEM

 YES, WE BOUGHT OURSELVES A 2018 SUBARU FORESTER TOURING MODEL

 A DEFINITE TECHNOLOGY CURVE COMING UP FOR US

AND IT EVEN HAS A BIG SQUARE HOLE IN THE ROOF

 YESIREEEE IT'S A DONE DEAL

Ellen's Groove:)) Ellen's mom makes her first video appearance as Ellen and her dad are at it again with their guitars. Ellen sings Blackbird.  

The iconic symbol of a Subaru dates back fifty-three years when five Japanese companies merged to form Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. The cluster of six stars was adopted as the logo for one arm of the newly formed company dedicated to the manufacturing of motor vehicles: Subaru. Subaru comes from the Japanese language and means “unite”. It is also a term that is used to identify a cluster of six stars, which the Greeks titled the Pleiades. It is part of the Taurus constellation. 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A doctor is talking to a car mechanic, "Your fee is several times more per hour than we get paid for medical care."  "Yeah, but you see, doc, you always have the same model, it hasn't changed since Adam, but we have to keep up to date with new models coming in every month."

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What is a Pessimist?  The real-world dictionary defines a 'pessimist' as an optimist with no experience.

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