GOT THE OLD SHOVEL IN THE GROUND TODAY:))

ALONG THE MORNING TRAIL

Another energy driven productive day. It is so unbelievable to me how the elimination of a simple cup of coffee each night after supper has made such a difference in my life. A few weeks ago when my Nurse Practitioner suggested no coffee after 12 noon as a solution to my poor sleeping habits I just figured, 'ya right!!' But, I was willing to try anything rather than go the sleeping pill route so I did what I was told for a change. I hadn't had a good night's sleep for many years let alone a whole week but since giving up the later day coffee I have been sleeping like Rip Van Winkle every night. Direct results of this are increased energy levels & today was another good example of that. Never had to take a recliner break all day. Nice:))

FOUND THIS LITTLE CATERPILLAR FELLOW IN A CEDAR SHRUB I MOVED TODAY

Some of our flower beds have become overgrown the last few years & I just didn't have the energy or the interest to maintain them anymore but today it was just like old times as I got my good old shovel in the ground again & busied myself transplanting flowers & shrubs . Landscape gardening was a favorite hobby of mine for years & today it felt nice to have those good old creative thought patterns flowing again.

  

OVERGROWN FLOWERBED-WORK HAS BEGUN-ALMOST FINISHED 

I've heard of goal tenders, ship tenders & business tenders but until this morning I had never heard of battery tenders. Slip on over to RETIRED ROD'S blog & he'll not only tell you about battery tenders but show you a picture of one as well. 

KAREN & AL  wondered what company we purchased our sun screens from that I had pictures of in last night's blog. We bought those visors in Quartzsite a couple of years ago from a vendor outside the big tent on opening day. Can't remember the name of the company but we just gave them the make & model of our rig & their computer told them which visors fit our Motor Home & that was that. Pulled them from stock & away we went. And yes, they are put up with 4 suction cups on each visor. At the same time we also purchased the full windshield screens that we use while parked. Same see through material as the visors & they are suction cupped on as well. We can see out OK but it's hard for anyone to see in.  If anyone knows the name of that company let me know & I'll put the addy in the blog.

YEP, OUR MOTOR HOME SITS ATOP ONE OF THEM THERE WORKHORSE CHASSIS ALRIGHT

Always brightens my day to see new blog supporters so today the Bayfield Bunch welcomes both KYOTESUE & AS TIME GOES.........BYE!  Welcome aboard folks & I hope my sometimes erratic writing while driving doesn't scare you:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Here are some of Murphy's little known laws........................
1). Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
2). He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
3). Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
4). Those who live by the sword, get shot by those who don't.
5). Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
6). The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50 - 50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.
7). If you lined up all the cars in the world end to end, someone would be stupid enough to try to pass them on a hill, in the fog.
8). If the shoe fits, get another one just like it.
9). The things that come to those who wait will be the things left by those who got there first.
10). Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day, drinking beer.
11). Flashlight:  A metal tube used to store dead batteries.
12). The shin bone is a device for finding furniture in a dark room.
13). A fine is a tax for doing wrong.  A tax is a fine for doing well.
14). When you go into court, you are putting yourself in the hands of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an Animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

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

WALK OVER HERE, WALK OVER THERE, TWIST & BEND:))

AUTUMN HAS TOUCHED A FEW TREES

It’s a quiet & cool Sunday morning as I sit here in my recliner beside an opened patio door.  The hush of Autumn is upon the land now & the air outside is still.  Gone are the squeaky cricket sounds, peeping frogs & twittering birds in the pine trees heralding the dawn of a new day.  The Canada Geese aren’t practicing their southern flight patterns yet but soon the air will be filled with honking trial runs as they lift off local ponds & circle overhead through the crisp Autumn air before landing again.  And then one morning they will lift off the still pond waters & make a honking great wide turn to the south & they will be gone.  It is the way of the Canada Geese.

      

As the weeks & days begin to count down to our departure date in just under 5 weeks I am definitely getting myself into the Snow Bird groove.  We generally don’t tell the furry guys about our plans ahead of time & save that for the morning we actually leave.  But, in that final week & few days before leaving I’m sure the little Monkeys know something is up as we hustle about loading things into the rig.  And then one morning comes along that is different than the rest for the gang.  Mom & Dad are up earlier than usual & instead of heading out on our morning walk we all pile into the big white house on wheels & away we go off on another 5 month adventure.  Max assumes his position on the fold down bed in the living room, Checkers sacks out on the floor between & behind the passenger & driver’s seats while the little Motormouse is soon curled up & off to dreamland in Kelly’s lap.  The looooooong wait is over & the long journey ahead has just begun for the Bayfield Bunch:))  Finally!!

But, I’m getting a bit ahead of myself here so it’s back to the business of the day.  A quick blog check this morning tells me JB & BRENDA are also planning on a late October departure if the cold Alberta weather doesn’t drive them south sooner.  RETIRED ROD over there in Kansas is winterizing his Motor Home & hoping for a December take-off.  JUDY & EMMA are packing their bags for a cross country trip from Princeton Oregon to near Houston Texas & GYPSY is still deciding on her upcoming winter plans. BRUCE & MARGIE have already made the trip from Tumwater, Washington to San Luis Obispo, which is about 10 miles north of Pismo Beach in California.  RICK & PAULETTE out there on Canada’s Vancouver Island are patiently counting down the days to a late December departure for California.  Yep, some of the RV Snow Birds are beginning to stir & flex their wings a bit alright.

 

DRIVER'S SIDE SUN SHADE IS UP....GOT THESE IN QUARTZSITE A COUPLE YEARS AGO & THEY SURE BEAT THOSE SMALL PLASTIC VISORS

 

PASSENGER SIDE READY TO GO UP

Happy to say I am finally making some progress with Win7 as I’m gradually familiarizing myself with things.  I had been avoiding Live Writer’s new updated version on our newer laptop but yesterday I decided I had better ‘make nice’ with it before we get on the road next month.  I’m still not impressed with the new format but surprisingly enough things are beginning to fall into place as I finally began to make some sense of where they had moved everything.  Kind of like going into a familiar grocery store only to find out they did a renovation overnight & moved everything.  Same products on the shelves but it just takes time to find everything again & become familiar with the new layout.  That is until the store decides on changing everything again!!

KAREN commented on one of my RV roof photos a couple days ago & suggested a good waterproof roof product for sealing along the cap ends called ETERNABOND.  Just wondered if anyone else out there has used this.  A bit pricey but if it's as good as it says it is for stopping leaks then it might be a handy product for RV'ers to have on board.  And RICK had a post last Tuesday about a new feature in Picasa 3.8 called Picnik.  This will take photo buffs like myself a little further into the mysterious & magical world of photo editing.  I had a look at it, found it a bit confusing of course but then again I find a plate of spaghetti confusing these days so that's nothing new for me.   I went ahead & ordered the Premium version just like Rick did so now that I have a few dollars invested (less than $25) I'm sure I will overcome my confusion right quick!!

 

STARTED GATHERING UP SUMMER'S LAWN ORNAMENTS TODAY

The majority of my day was spent cleaning the Motor Home.  All exterior windows washed plus the bottom half of the rig all way round.  Didn't see dirt guys on the top half so I left it alone.  What a great feeling it is to be getting some physical exercise again.  My tired legs today again tell me they are getting stronger.  Up & down the ladder, walk over here, walk over there, twist & bend.  Got to get those legs in shape if I'm going to run up & down them there Chiricahua Mountains in southeast Arizona in a couple months...............:))

SUMAC SHADOWS ON THE MOTOR HOME

GROANER'S CORNER:((  And now for a few words from the classroom.....................

TEACHER:  Maria, go to the map and find North America .
MARIA:   Here it is.
TEACHER:  Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS:  Maria.
______________________________ ______

TEACHER:   John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN:  You told me to do it without using tables.
______________________________ ____________
TEACHER:  Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN:  K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER:  No, that's wrong
GLENN:  Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
______________________________ ______________
TEACHER:  Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD:  H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD:  Yesterday you said it's H to O.
______________________________
TEACHER:   Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE:   Me!
________________ ______________ ____________

TEACHER:   Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
Glen:   Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
______________________________ _________
TEACHER:   Millie, give me a sentence starting with 'I.'
MILLIE:   I is...
TEACHER:   No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE:   All right...  'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
_______________________________
TEACHER:   George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry   tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS:   Because George still had the ax in his hand.
______________________________ ________
TEACHER:  Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON:   No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
______________________________
TEACHER:   Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's.   Did you copy his?
CLYDE :   No, teacher, it's the same dog.
______________________________ _____

TEACHER:  Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD:   A teacher

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an Animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

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

ANY EXCUSE WILL DO:))

SEPTEMBER BIKE RIDE

First, let me say that it was my fault the CTR+ enlarging feature on my Win 7 didn't appear to work early Friday morning.  It was 6 a.m. & in the dim light I was missing the CTR button. & probably pressing the one next to it.  I'm adjusting to our new Toshiba laptop & although the keys are basically in the same place as other keyboards I was confused with the layout I guess, plus I was in a huff over that Win 7 magnifier annoyance.  Thanks for people's Win 7 comments saying their CTR+ worked fine or I might not have gone back for a second look-see.

BESIDES OUR 2 LOUNGERS WE DO CARRY A COUPLE EXTRA CHAIRS JUST IN CASE WE HAVE................'VISITORS'

I am one of those people who do not voluntarily go back & read any of my previous posts.  I have done that in the past & it serves no purpose but to leave me with beet red skin over some of the posts I have embarrassed myself with.  My head begins to sway back & forth as the words, "why did I write that" echo through my brain chambers.  Yes, I know there are bloggers out there who will not be able to identify with this of course because in their minds they are convinced they always write 'perfectly positive posts.'  All nicey nicey stuff & I'm sure they are the type of people who see themselves as of course.....making no mistakes.  Well, you will not find any of those people on my blog list!!  And, if you are one of those people & you are on my blog list, just let me know I will be more than happy to take you off:))

WORKING AT CLEANING OFF SOME BLACK STREAKS

Now, having said all that about my, "why did I write that," I will admit I do regret my wording & phraseology at times, but generally I am usually pretty darn close with my opinions despite my clumsy way of getting them across.  I may not say it as well as others but the gist of what I am trying to say is there.  

But, sometimes I just have to go back into my post's & change things I am not comfortable with.   Maybe a few words here or a whole paragraph there.  I've never scrapped a whole blog yet.  A simple example of going back to change things is a post I did a couple weeks ago about boondocking in the Ajo Highlands of Arizona.  Under one of our solitary boondocking pics I kind of made fun of RV Parks & all their social perks.  That caption was in direct response to a comment on my blog by a good blogging buddy of mine.  We sometimes take good natured shots at each other in regards to the RV Park lifestyle vs the Boon Docking lifestyle.  He had sent a little well intentioned zinger my way in the form of a comment so I sent one back in the form of a caption.  Well, my caption under the photo bothered me so much I finally had to go back & change it.  Not that I said anything wrong but sometimes the line between good natured humor & sarcastic humor gets a little blurred.  I prefer to stick with the good natured stuff so on occasion I have had to back up, rethink & redo things.  My feathers get a little ruffled sometimes too ya know:))

GUESS WHERE I FOUND YESTERDAY'S MISPLACED BUCKET OF SOAPY WATER TODAY

What the heck is everybody yabbling about anyway!!  JERRY left a comment on yesterday's blog about people texting on their cell phones.  Coincidentally this morning I sat in a Wal-Mart McDonalds (egg McMuffin & small coffee) & watched as 3 separate people in the counter line up had their cell phones in hand furiously texting, schmexting or ka-blexting their brains out.  First fella was a middle aged Wal-Mart employee manager looking guy.  Took the young girl three "Excuse me's" to get his attention to order while he held up everyone behind him.  Second person was a young Mother & small child.  The child could have wondered off to Africa's deepest darkest Swahili Land & the totally tunnel visioned text head Mother would never even have known the kid was gone.  The third Yabbler must have had two broken thumbs because he was yapping away into the cell phone about last night's booze party & I don't think he was talking to the local Sherriff either!!  Made me want to go over to the Toy department & get myself one of those loud Oooga Oooga horns & just come up behind these people & give em a big blast....Aaa-Oooooooga!!!!

CAN'T FORGET TO LOAD UP MY CUSTOM MADE DUCT TAPE ENABLED FLAG POLE

I'm always looking for a good excuse to take the Jeep out for a spin & if I can't find a good excuse I take it out for a spin anyway.  I was into the town of Goderich Friday to pick up some things but of course forgot some stuff which in turn gave me another excuse to go back to town today.  Not too smart on my part but then again driving a tiny little bumpity vehicle that's awkward to get in & out of,(definitely not for ladies with tight skirts) has limited interior space & less than steller gas mileage due in part to it's un-aerodynamical shape isn't too smart either.  But, sometimes ya just got to up & throw your smarts right out the door.  I often get tired of trying to put a logical sticker on everything I do & say.  Sometimes I gots to go do something that is just totally illogical......& fun to boot:))  And you know what.....that just seems to make a whole lot more darn sense to me these days now that I am about to enter the latter half of my aging 60's thing.

<<< I THINK THIS OLD SALT'S HAT IS IN NEED OF REPAIR

GROANER'S CORNER  Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.  Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital.  One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Ralph suddenly jumped into the deep end.
He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there.
Edna promptly jumped in to save him.  She swam to the bottom and pulled him out.  When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered her to be mentally stable.
When she went to tell Edna the news she said, 'Edna, I have good news and bad news.  The good news is you're being discharged, since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of the person you love.  I have concluded that your act displays sound mindedness.
'The bad news is, Ralph hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him.  I am so sorry, but he's dead.'
Edna replied, 'He didn't hang himself. I put him there to dry....  How soon can I go home?'

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an Animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

It is not the concept of God I have a problem with.....it's his fan club that causes me grievous concern:((

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