MAKING THE FISHING LINES DISAPPEAR

So disappointed first thing this morning to see our two humming bird feeders totally empty with one lying on the ground.  Our Niger seed feeder lay broken on the ground as well & two wooden bird feeders were emptied of their seeds.  And, one of our two suet feeders was missing.  Found it later in some shrubbery, pried open & totally emptied.  It's the work of raiding raccoons in the night & there is nothing we can do to stop them.  Chipmunks & squirrels can eventually be outfoxed but the coons are a different story.  They are too humanlike in their thinking & they have the strength to lift, break, & pry things open.  Very discouraging!!

Turned out to be another in a series of beautiful warm days & I was fortunate enough to have another mobility van run which took me from one sleepy little village, through the picturesque countryside, to several other small villages & back again.  Noticed some of the farmers have taken off their first cutting of hay already & I'm beginning to see fields of corn sprouting.  Shoots are out of the ground about 4 inches.  Agricultural southern Ontario is off to another fine growing season.

WE HAVE POSTED A SENTRY TO WATCH OUT FOR THAT RASCALLY RACCOON TONIGHT

I've been sitting at the computer for awhile tonight & actually headed off in two different blog post directions only to stop & save what I had written for another time.  One post will need photos to go with it & I will have to head out & do some shooting before posting that one.  The other was another lament about being earthbound for the summer but I figured people have heard enough of that out of me for awhile so I stuck that one back up on the shelf for a rainy day.  Maybe if I let it gather a little dust it might take on a bit of character.

 

NOTICE HOW THE BIRDFEEDERS FISHING LINES SPOIL THE ABOVE PHOTO.            

NORTHERN FLICKER....With the Picasa Photo Program's 'Retouch' tool I took the fishing lines out.  I also used the 'Crop' tool to remove a lot of wasted space around the subject.  And, I used 'I'm Feeling Lucky' & 'Auto Color' plus the 'Sharpen' tool. I left the 'Saturation' tool alone in this case. 

 

(click to enlarge)

GREEN HERON.....I caught this little fellow flying about 8 a.m. this morning & the photos are in sequence from take-off at the pond's near shore to landing in a willow shrub on the far side.  I really do think I need to get myself a longer lens soon:))

HAIRY WOODPECKER >>>>

GROANER'S CORNER:((  And did you know that the nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

NICE DAY & SOME MEXICAN BORDER MEMORIES

POOR MAMA GOOSE....NO BABY GOOSES THIS YEAR:((

Another cooker today but when you don't have to be outside working in the heat it's not too bad.  Nice mobility van run to London & back this morning in air conditioned comfort.  A big plus from the days many years ago when I might have been out in the back of some new housing sub division on my hands & knees in the dirt laying new sod for hours & hours in the heat.  Yep, did that for awhile in Kitchener Ontario back in the late 60's.

OUR LITTLE 'MOUSE'

I have read in the RV NET FORUMS from time to time about RV'ers having their rigs towing assemblies tampered with by kids while they have been away from their rigs or even around the other side gassing up.  I always make it a point to especially check our tow pins whenever we have made a stop somewhere.  Kids have been known to pull them out &  bicycles have been stolen right off the back of some rigs at fuel stops.  Came across a blog last night that ran into what could have been a very dangerous situation when they stopped at a Flying J for diesel fuel.   Check out R SANITY RV ADVENTURES

ALONG THE FOREST FLOOR

While ranch sitting near McNeal Arizona last winter I noticed they had a small photo group meeting every Monday afternoon over in the little town of Elfrida so I threw my cameras in the car & wandered on over.  Met some great folks over the next couple of months before departing the area & heading further west.  Ray, (RAY'S QCC BLOG) from the group still sends me updates & keeps me in the loop as to what the group is up to & what photo shoots they are out on.   He has just put a BLOG SITE together for the group & you can find photos of their last shoot in the rough & tumbly down town of Naco Arizona on the Mexican border.   Kelly & I were in Naco this past January & here is my BLOG & PHOTOS from that day....complete with a bullet hole in a downtown window!!

 

MAIN STREET NACO ARIZONA....THE MEXICAN BORDER IS DEAD AHEAD!!

We are sometimes asked if we feel threatened at any time while near the border in the Southwest & my answer to that is...no!!  I would feel much safer there by the Mexican border than I would in most large cities I have been too in Canada or the States.  We only had one incident & that was when we crossed into Mexico one time south of Why, Arizona at Lukeville.  You can read about our little scrape here...SONOYTA 

LOOKING DEEP INTO THE HEART OF MEXICO FROM ATOP CORONADO PEAK SOUTH OF SIERRA VISTA, ARIZONA

For the most part it is life as usual just as it is here.  It's when something happens along the border & the media gets a hold of it that makes things seem much worse than they sometimes really are.  We have met many locals in the last couple of years & they all seem less concerned with the problems than people living far to the north.  We have seen people in the desert & we have found pieces of clothing, back packs, etc.  We have heard the ambulances wailing by in the cold nights heading out into the desert to pick up people in distress & we have been buzzed by border patrol helicopters. 

WHENEVER WE HEAR A BORDER PATROL CHOPPER COMING OVER THE RIDGE WE  JUST STAND VERY STILL & PRETEND WE ARE JUST A COUPLE OF SAGUARO CACTUS SHADOWS IN THE DESERT

We have seen the bright yellow flares floating out of the night sky lighting the ground below & one morning we came across about a dozen Mexican folks sitting in single file along a ditch with 2 border patrol guys standing over them.  The group looked to be handcuffed, weary, & worn.  Unfortunately it is the way of life along the border & would we ever consider not going there because of those problems.  No, not a chance.  The American southwest is too special a place not to go & besides, it is just another great chapter in the exciting saga of the daily liveliness & charm of the old wild west..................................:))

    

(click to enlarge)

THERE'S KELLY CRAWLING UNDER THE BORDER WIRE INTO MEXICO EAST OF DOUGLAS ARIZONA - 'ADIOS KELLY'- OH OH SHE'S HEADING BACK TO THE CAR....DIDN'T FIND ANY BARGOOOONS IN THE DESERT I GUESS!!

 

MORNING PHLOX

GROANER'S CORNER:((  I don't know why I consider myself over the hill when I don't even remember ever getting to the top.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

NO FLOWER PICS TONIGHT....I PROMISE!!

1956 FORD FAIRLANE

At the risk of totally OD'ing on flower photos I've decided to dig into the files & pull out some old memory photos from last summer's car show in Goderich.  You can see all the cars here......CRUISE DAY IN GODERICH

1930 FORD HOT ROD

Another scorcher today & from what I read on other people's blogs it's a scorcher pretty much all over the place.  Hot summer weather like this can trap you inside just as easily as those cold winter days can but if I had a choice I would take the summer heat over the winter cold.  Don't have to shovel the results of hot weather.

1946 CHEVROLET TRUCK

Hadn't erased my brain software from the mobility van run Tuesday so when I plugged myself into the van this morning my brain computer programmed in my Tuesday run & headed me off in the wrong direction.  About half way to town A  the brain recalibrated itself & flashed me a message saying, "hey dummy, your supposed to be heading for Town B.

1960 CHEVROLET IMPALA

As I said in yesterday's blog I always head out on the early side & that served me well this morning as I was able to cut across country on some back roads & still arrive on time for my pick up.  Thursday morning I am heading for London Ontario which is totally in the opposite direction so hopefully I will have my brain software correctly re-programmed for that.  I don't ever recall heading for a wrong town before!!  But then again, I probably don't recall a whole lotta things:((

1952 DODGE TRUCK

I've noticed a lot less bird activity these past few days with the hotter weather so I guess their appetites are down too.  That's OK because it will give us a financial break from having to buy so much birdseed.

1956 CHEVY BEL-AIR

In keeping with today's car theme pics I figured I'd throw in a link to a post I wrote a couple years ago.  It's about the days when you could buy & sell cars for just a few hundred bucks sometimes.  And, I sure had my share of cars back in those days.  Check them all out here at, LOTS OF OLD CLUNKERS.

1959 CADILLAC

GROANER'S CORNER:((   As we get older we sometimes begin to doubt our ability to "make a difference" in the world. It is at these times that our hopes are boosted by the remarkable achievements of other "Seniors" who have found the courage to take on challenges that would make many of us wither. Harold Schlumberg is such a person.
Q. "What do you old folks do now that you're retired Harold?"
A. "Well...I'm fortunate to have a chemical engineering background and one of the things I enjoy most is converting beer, wine and whiskey into urine. I do it everyday and I really enjoy it. "  Atta boy Harold, you go guy!!

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.