FROG POND DILEMMA & A SUCCESSFUL LIVE WRITER 'BETA' DOWNLOAD

SOUTHWEST LANDSCAPING....I was short of pics tonight so included a few from outside the Borrego Springs Medical Center in Borrego Springs, California which I took last Feb. 24th 2010

Wednesday's late afternoon thunderstorms brought in a cooler weather front overnight & chased all that miserable humidity out of the air....again.  What a pleasant relief it was this morning to feel cool air on my skin as I took Max & Checker's for a walk through the pine forest.

Upon returning from our walk I noticed my waterfall pump in the pond had was not pumping water.  A recently added second pump was sputtering as well so I quickly pulled the electrical plugs.  A closer look told me the pond had lost most of it's water.  I immediately assumed a tree root in search of water had finally made it's way underground over to the pond & punctured the plastic liner from beneath.  Figured I only had 2 options.  Fill in the pond with earth & re-landscape the area or pull the whole pond & flowerbed apart & try to find the leak.  Decided on the first option because it was the lesser of the 2 big work & reconstruction evils. 

 

WE WERE HIKING WITH SOCKY JEEPERS THIS DAY (that's him lying on the back pack:))  And, I think somebody was not too happy about carrying around a sock puppet!!

YEP, THERE'S THE LITTLE SOCK BOY NOW:))

I knew there were a lot of poly-wogs & small frogs in the pond so figured I had better get some water back in there to help the guys out.  Filled the near empty pond with the hose fully expecting it to be drained again in an hour or so but would deal with that when we came home later.

THE POND WAS NEARLY DRAINED THIS MORNING:((

We Jeeped ourselves over to Mitchell & visited with Uncle Harry for awhile.  He's doing well & really likes the new music channels we were able to have set up for him.  Glen Miller was playing Moonlight Serenade when we walked into his room & how nice is that:))

BORREGO SPRINGS MEDICAL CENTER

Arriving home a couple hours later I was surprised to find the small frog pond still full of water.  Took me another minute or so to finally figure out what the problem was.  I have a pump in the pond that pumps water over a small waterfall.  Wednesday morning I had added a second, more powerful pump in the middle of the pond & that one had a fountain attachment shooting water up through a plastic fountain nozzle.  Sometime in the night the pump had gradually tipped itself over to one side a bit therefore pumping all the pond's water out of the pond into the flowerbed beside it.  What a pleasant relief knowing it was not going to be the demise of our little frog pond after all.  Plugged the pumps in again & soon water cheerfully gurgled up & out over a bunch of stressed out but relieved tiny green frogs & their wee offspring wogs.  There was much rejoicing all around the water's edge as I heard a rousing croak filled cheer rise from the duckweed filled water into the afternoon garden air:)) "Yaaaay AL:))"

JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THOSE MOUNTAINS LIES OCEANSIDE & SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

My work place called today & said they had an early pick up for me in the morning, plus a couple of drivers in Goderich are going to be away for a few weeks so looks like I am going to be a very busy boy filling in for them.  I welcome that in more ways than one & look forward to having something constructive & useful to do for the next 3 weeks. 

 

THIS TYPE OF LANDSCAPING IS VERY TYPICAL OF MANY NICE HOMES IN BORREGO

Along with a few other bloggers I decided to remove that word verification security thingy in the comment section a few days ago.  I have already been hit 5 times by spammers & if that continues over the next few days I will have to put that annoying tricky word verification back on.  Still wish there was some kind of electronic way to send a 'charge' back through the internet lines to the very source of those miserable low life slime ball spammers & 'fry' their computers!!!!  What a scammy lot they are.

REAL MEXICAN GARDENERS

And........I successfully downloaded the new Live Writer Beta into our new laptop Win 7 computer this afternoon.  The download went off without a hitch so I guess the problem I had before was due to the fact I was trying to install the new LW on the XP platform.  I can see another learning curve coming up & I'm sure I will be fine with it after awhile but right off the bat I did not like what I saw.  One of the main difficulties I have with all new technology centers around the 'smallness' of everything.  Cell phones, I-pods TV remotes, etc are hard for me to see because everything is sooooo small & the same goes for computer programs.  With so many options, add ons, plug-ins, wizmo's & gizmos, everything has been miniaturized.  And, that's what I saw when I opened the new Live Writer.  They have crammed the whole LW work area into a narrow band across the top & all the tools are now smaller, crammed together, & harder for me to see.  I was happy with the larger bar down the right side where I could easily read everything.  No, I do not need everything the size of kindergarten printing but what is with this big techie fad to compact & diminish everything down to the size befitting the eye of a needle!!

HAD TO POSITION A PALM TREE JUST SO BECAUSE ONE OF THE 'E's WAS MISSING IN THE WORD...'CENTER'         :))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Most folks believe that Ben Franklin discovered electricity with his famous kite experiment.  Actually, a women made that discovery possible. The real story was that Ben Franklin was laying in bed with his wife one night, leaned over and whispered something in her ear.  She told him to go fly a kite. The rest is history.

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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/ (a work in progress)

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

DO NOT ROLL DOWN THE JEEP WINDOWS!!!!

THIS LITTLE GOLDFINCH IS HAVING HIMSELF QUITE A SPLASHY BATH

Now, before I get any further into today's post let me just quickly say this.  "Will somebody please be kind enough to email me a good swift kick in the ASSparagus if I blog about this 'blogging thing' one more time!!"  Thank you in advance:))

PUTTING THE FINAL FEW SPLOOTCHES OF PAINT ON THE UTILITY TRAILER

Over at Deer Park Lodge where Kelly works, people often have a habit of leaving things in the cabins after they check out & go home.  Guess one of the kids left his big super soaker water canon there a few days ago so Kelly brought it home for me to play with because she knew it would amuse & keep me busy for a few hours.  Well, of course she was right & I found it mighty handy for hunting down pesky varmints in the flower garden. (now you really didn't think I would harm a pesky varmint did you)

COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE

I came across a line on Facebook this morning that jumped off the screen at me because of it's simple logic.  'It's not God I have a problem with...it's his fan club!!'  Ohhhhhhhh, ain't that the truth!!  (Thanks Red:))

             

THIS IS WHAT THE UTILITY TRAILER LOOKED LIKE BEFORE

Carol over at CAROL K's JOURNEY has just started using the Picasa Photo Editing program & is already making noticeable improvements to her photos.  You might want to drop by & see how she is making good photos......better:))  And, while on the subject of Picasa, stop by RICK'S BLOG & check out his handy use of the Picasa 'Retouch' tool with additional help from the Microsoft Paint program.

A DOWNY WOODPECKER DINES ON SOME TASTY GRUBS (ya ya, how do I know they are tasty)

Helloooooo JESSICA & HARRY from upstate New York.  My wife Kelly is an American girl from Spencerport near Rochester.  Thanks for hopping aboard our Follower's List guys, much appreciated indeed & keep those RV dreams alive for 2013:))

KELLY IS THE BOOKWORM IN THE FAMILY

So nice to have our satellite radio in the Jeep now & the channel I always listen to whether in the Jeep or the Motor Home is 073 'The Spa.' (Hey DI:))  It's all Instrumental easy listening music with many of my favorite artists like, Michael Hedges, Will Ackerman, George Winston, Andreas Vollenweider, etc.  If I feel the need for speed there are many other channels to choose from with the likes of  Black Sabbath, Hank Williams, Benny Goodman, Beatles, Santana, Marty Robbins or Metallica.  All kinds of channels to choose from plus news channels like CNN etc.

Soooo glad to be rid of the repetitive 'generic sappy singer' radio stations that nauseatingly dominate the commercial airwaves these days.  Best thing I like about the music channels is no blabbering announcers, no stupid commercials & just no human voice interference whatsoever.  I like dat part da most best:)) Oh ya & Howard Stern is even on there but I wish somebody would hold his big mouth underwater for about half an hour sometime!!

 

YEP, KELLY SAYS, 'WINDOWS ARE DARK ENOUGH NOW FOR ME TO NOT SCARE PEDESTRIANS ANYMORE.'

              

FIRST BIG MOSSMAGATOR LOAD OF YARD WASTE TO THE PARK'S RE-CYCLE AREA WITH THE REFURBISHED TRAILER THIS MORNING............

The fellow who tinted our Jeep windows yesterday said not to roll the windows down for at least 3 days.  Kelly knew I would have trouble remembering that so I before I headed out with the Jeep this morning she wrote out & taped a note to my hat!!  Luckily I remembered to remove it when I got to Wal-Mart or else I might have ended up in one of those 'Wal-Mart Photos' you see going around on the internet these days.  Actually, by the looks of my old running shoes, sleeves ripped off my shirt, grubby old baseball cap & pants with half a dozen & a half holes & paint stains on them I'm liable to find myself in those files anyway.  Seems the older I'm getting, the more I'm starting to look like one of them there Redneck characters which of course reminded me of................GROANERS CORNER:(( 

             

NO WONDER I THOUGHT IT WAS FOGGY OUT THIS MORNING!!

"You know you're a redneck when......
1. You take your dog for a walk and you both use the same tree.
2. You can entertain yourself for more than 15 minutes with a fly swatter.
3. Your boat has not left the driveway in 15 years.
4. You burn your yard rather than mow it.
5. You think "The Nutcracker" is a vice on the work bench
6. The Salvation Army declines your furniture.
7. You offer to give someone the shirt off your back and they don't want it.
8. You have the local taxidermist on speed dial.
9. You come back from the dump with more than you took.
10. You keep a can of Raid on the kitchen table.
11. Your wife can climb a tree faster than your cat.
12. Your grandmother has "ammo" on her Christmas list.
13. You keep flea and tick soap in the shower.
14. You've been involved in a custody fight over a hunting dog.
15. You go to the stock car races and don't need a program.
16. You know how many bales of hay your car will hold.
17. You have a rag for a gas cap.
18. Your house doesn't have curtains, but your truck does.
19. You wonder how service stations keep their restrooms so clean ?
20. You can spit without opening your mouth.
21. You consider your license plate personalized because your father made it.
22. Your lifetime goal is to own a fireworks stand.
23. You have a complete set of salad bowls and they all say "Cool Whip" on the side.
24. The biggest city you've ever been to is Wal*Mart.
25. Your working TV sits on top of your non-working TV
26. You've used your ironing board as a buffet table.
27. A tornado hits your neighborhood and does $100,000 worth of improvements.
28. You've used a toilet brush to scratch your back.
29. You missed your 5th grade graduation because you were on jury duty.
30. You think fast food is hitting a deer at 65 MPH.

And did you know that Kelly told the 'window tint' guy yesterday the real reason for getting our Jeep windows darkened was to prevent her husband from scaring people. 

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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/ (a work in progress)

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

MAYBE WE'LL MEET AROUND A DESERT CAMPFIRE ONE DAY

SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS EAST OF US

We had another hot & humid steam bath of a day going on & by noon I was in my recliner with a direct intravenous line hooked up straight into the air conditioner.  75% of my allotted energy units for the day were already used up & I still had about 11 hours to, 'hang in there!!'  Waited for awhile this afternoon for a 'window tint' guy to come & do the driver's & passenger side windows in the Jeep.  He did the Santa Fe for us back in late 08.  We don't have A/C in the Jeep so tinted windows help a bit with the sun's heated rays.  Sure didn't take this young fellow long to do the job.  Said he's being doing it for 12 years.  I can't remember ever doing anything that long, let alone a job!!

  

NOTICE THE 'TWIN KELLY'S' SUPERVISING THE TINT JOB:))

Because of the hot weather I figured it might be a good opportunity to cool things down in the blog with a few snowy mountain photos.  The ranch we have spent time on the past couple of winter's near Douglas Arizona is surrounded by mountains.  We have had snow on the ground a couple times while there but this particular morning the snow stayed at the higher elevations & didn't make it to the valley floor.  Quite often the clouds will come & sit on the mountain tops all around us.  When they lift, a bright white deposit of snow can be seen from miles around.

DRAGOON MOUNTAINS TO OUR NORTHWEST

In last night's blog photo of the stormy Arizona sky, SUE & DOUG  wondered about the little Motormouse outside the rig.  Well, the camera guy (me) was right behind her heading for the rig & the 2 big furry guys were, in turn, right behind me:))

MULE MOUNTAINS TO OUR WEST

And thank you to John & Carol who have just joined us on our Follower's list.  It's folks like you who give blogger folks like myself & others that great inspirational feeling to keep our travels, adventures, & blogging styles going:)) 

A LOOK SOUTH TOWARDS  & INTO MEXICO

While on the road traveling, Sirius satellite radio is our # 1 music source whether we are driving or boondocked somewhere.  We have had Sirius since the summer of 06 & we just love it.  When home for the summer our main music source comes from our cable TV music package & our Sirius radio sits silently in the Motor Home for months on end.  For whatever reason it always had static on it when I tried it in the Mini Van so gave up using it for the past few summers.  Today I took the Sirius radio out of the rig & hooked it up in the Jeep......& it work's great:)))))))  That immediately solved a crowding problem because anything more than 3 music CD,s in the Jeep at one time constitutes a severe overcrowding situation.

 

TOMBSTONE ARIZONA IS WAY OVER THERE

A few blogs ago I mentioned about how much nicer it would be if a person had something other than their mouse for drawing graphics in Microsoft's Paint program or other applications.  A long time reader in the graphic's business sent in this website with a product that does just that.  Just in case anyone is interested.    PEN TABLET

 

THE GLEASON HILLS TO OUR NORTHWEST

I have received a few more 'constructive criticisms' on my post a few day's ago entitled, 'Blogging....Just My Opinion.'  Seems I stepped on most toes when I suggested keeping posts relevant to the topic of RVing.  Feedback coming in basically said, "It's my blog & I will say what I want!!"  Well, I agree & if you have read my blog you will see that I am rather all over the place on blog topics myself, but you will also notice I try to keep my blog within not only my own interests but within the interests of people reading my blog.  There is a reason people come here.  They are interested in my interests.  There is a reason I read other people's blogs & that is simply because I am interested in what they are interested in.  That little piece of double edged logic just makes sense to me. 

THE SWISS HELMS

If I am to be faulted it is probably in the way I worded my post in the manner I did because I obviously did not do well in getting my point across.   Of course you can write about whatever you want to write about, I'm just saying that if your readership numbers are not there & nobody is commenting on your posts, maybe it is your content that needs a bit of tweaking.  (Ohhhhh, here we go again) My post only meant to suggest some thoughts & opinions on how to do that.  The majority of folks understood & took the post as I hoped they would, a few folks disagreed on some things which I'm glad they did, & an even fewer folks were really upset with me for....stepping on their toes. 

IF THE SNOW REACHES THE VALLEY FLOOR IT CAN MAKE FOR SOME MIGHTY MUDDY MORNING WALKS

I was glad RICK & RANDY climbed into the bear pit with me (Rick calls it a bear pit:)) & expressed their honest opinions as well.  They didn't agree with everything I said of course but they understood what my intentions were.  Help, not hinder!!  One commenter suggested that I crossed a line on 'subject matter' & my short answer to that is...........I absolutely did not!!!!

SNOW??  WE DON'T NEED NO DARN SNOW!!

Maybe one day out there on the long dusty road we will meet some of these fine folks & have us a sit down around a quiet desert campfire over hot coffee throwing nothing more at each other than yummy tasting smorr's........& in the process, become good friends.  Hey, it has happened before.  Anyone remember the dust-up Rick & I had last winter??  Don't ask.....I'm still reeling from that one....................10-4:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Ok, wrap your tongue around this one.....

Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said "this butter's bitter! But a bit
of better butter will but make my butter better" So she bought some better
butter, better than the bitter butter, and it made her butter better so 'twas
better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter! 

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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/ (a work in progress)

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

ENERGIZED MORNINGS

I have always been a morning person & regardless of things I have to do, places I have to be, or appointment's I have to be at, I prefer to get everything taken care of in the morning.  I think this becomes more important as we age because our internal battery does not retain it's overnight charge as well as it did when newer many years ago.  The fullest charge that battery will ever have in a 24 hour period is in those precious morning hours.  Cooler weather extends the charge & hotter humid weather depletes the charge.  Therefore, in my little world of logic & reason it is imperative that I get as much done in the morning hours as possible before the battery drain begins it's afternoon spiral into a state that does not have enough juice left at the end of the day to even light a plastic candle!!

NO, THIS IS NOT THE TOAD WE TOW BEHIND THE MOTOR HOME

I think the most common mistake I see people making with their photos happens to be the easiest one to correct.  It is the same mistake I continually make just about every time I pick up the camera & one which I am forever having to correct in the Picasa photo editing program.  'Tilted Horizons!!'  There doesn't even have to be a horizon for me to still tilt the photo down at the left side.  It's my biggest photo bugaboo!!  Fortunately Picasa has a 'Straighten' tool & a photo can be straightened up in mere seconds.  Because I have the 'tilt' problem I always notice tilted horizons in people's photos right away.  The fix is as easy as sliding a little horizontal bar left or right.  I suggest taking an extra few seconds of time to make sure your pics are straight before uploading them to your blog....I do:))

MAPLE LEAF BEGONIA ... This is a good example of 'backlighting.'  The light source shines through your subject instead of on it.

Randy over at THE ROAD RUNNER CHRONICLES blogged about his reflections on blogging today & I think a few fellow bloggers might pick up some more helpful tips there.  Between Randy, Rick & myself we sure have managed to open up a nice pleasant can of worms to keep the blogging circles a-buzz for a bit:))  By the way, check out RICK'S NEW INFORMATION CARD.  Cool:))

BLUE JAY

Hey Vic, thanks for helping restart our Blog Follower's list & welcome aboard our blogsite.  I hope 'Travels With The Bayfield Bunch will keep you interested & entertained from time to time.

For about 5 months of the year our 3 dogs eat, live & sleep in a 12 x 33 foot box & they are nice enough to share that box space with 2 humanoids which of course would be Kelly & I.  We are in & out of this box dozens & dozens of times a day 7 days a week for months at a time.  It is the heart & hub of our lifestyle on the road & whenever this big box heart moves, it takes us with it.  Keeps us warm on cold days & cool on the scorchers.  Protects us from the walloping southwest winds & keeps us dry on rainy days.   We are off the ground & safe from predators including the two legged type.  This large rectangular fiberglass Mossmagator delivers us in relative safety & comfort between points of travel & is large & strong enough to carry the whole Bayfield Bunch & all their mobile possessions.  It even tows our car & can gather several types of satellite signals plus radio waves, cell phone signals & towered internet connections.  And it can do all this whether we are moving or not.  With it's roof top solar panels & 4 bank battery system it delivers power for all our boondocking needs without having to be tethered to one of those electrical box thingys.  It handles our drinking water, showers, bathroom facilities & cooking needs with little effort.  Our rig is like a large Mother Hen tending to her flock & it seems the busier she is, the happier she is.

 

PROVIDING SHELTER ON A STORMY ARIZONA DAY

So, if we love our Motor Home so much, how can we just abandon her each spring & pay little or no attention to her all summer long.  How can we be so heartless in our abandonment because there she sits in our driveway now all sad, forlorn, & downright depressed!!  Oh Dear:((

WELL OK, MAYBE SHE'S NOT THAT DEPRESSED (File photo from last October)

I took the tri-poded header photo (Moon) picture from our front yard through the pine trees.  Nikon D40 with my 700MM Telescope lens. 1/100th of a second shutter speed & ISO 800.  With the help of Picasa I gave the moon a cheesy orange look:)) 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( 

A newly retired couple from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Mildred and Art Stutmeyer, were wrapping up their third month of full-time RVing, driving down a lonely two-lane back road near Yuba City, California. But it wasn't a happy day, because they were steaming mad at each other. Their nerves were really on edge, probably because they had opted for a 24-foot fifth wheel trailer instead of one with more space, and the close quarters were driving them both batty! For example, Art kept getting mad at Mildred for leaving her socks on the dresser. And Mildred was equally bothered by Art's constant belching and the fact that he never even apologized for being so disgusting.

The silence in their Ford pickup truck was deafening. It seemed they had argued for an hour. But now, only silence. "It wasn't supposed to be like this," Mildred said to herself, holding back tears. Art, frowning, was also deep in thought, thinking, "If only we had bought that 38-footer." Yes, it was a very tense time.
As they drove past a huge barnyard packed fence-to-fence with big, fat, ugly pigs includiing one with tucks, Mildred, who was now about to pop with pent up frustration, just couldn't resist making a sarcastic comment .Pointing to the pigs, she said slyly, "Relatives of yours?"

Art, equally frustrated, stared back at her. "Yeh, they're relatives," he said, "In-laws!"

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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/ (a work in progress)

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

DAILY BLOGGING ROUTINES

 

ALL OF TONIGHT'S PHOTOS WERE TAKEN IN OUR FRONT YARD THIS AFTERNOON.  ORANGE ONE'S ARE TIGER LILY'S & THE WHITE ONE'S ARE HOSTA FLOWERS

As soon as I stepped out the door into the cooler air this morning I could feel my humidity depleted energy levels begin to rise.  After having dragged my butt around for weeks on end I found myself outside with the hedge trimmer & weed whacker taking care of some much needed & long neglected yard work.  Another coat of paint on the utility trailer panels & then if was over to the neighbor's to trim up a Magnolia tree & other shrubs.  If it hadn't been Sunday I would have fired up the mower & did some grass cutting as well.  It was a productive morning & I never hit my recliner for a snooze until 12:42 P.M. & that's about the time some humidity began to creep back in.

A very special thank you to our latest blog followers, Kathy & Robert from SEASHELLS & OVERALLS & Carol from CAROL K's JOURNEY.  Just when I had all but given up on our Follower's list, you folks rode into town & perked up my day:))  And thanks to Janna & Mike from TIN TEEPEE/LOG CABIN for pointing out my geographical error in yesterday's post.  The Kofa Mountains are indeed in Arizona & not California.

Well, in keeping with the latest 'Blogger Buzz' I figured I'd do one final blog on it with a slightly different perspective & tell you how a typical blog day goes for me.  I often wonder how & when other folks put their blogs together, where they get their ideas, favorite times of day for reading or writing blogs, what formats they use & in what sequence do they put things together like pics & text.  Do they use more than one computer & do they do their blogs all in one sitting or stretch it out though the day.  I used to do the whole thing after supper but I've kinda gotten away from that now.

My day begins in the dark because I am generally up around 5 a.m.  Beside my recliner on a small table sit's our older Toshiba laptop.  I have a cushioned Ikea laptop pad which the computer sits on.  I lean back in my cushy recliner as a floor lamp dimly lights the keyboard.  I sometimes have a little laptop Motormouse asleep on my lap as well.  (I got a big lap) Soft ambient music floats quietly out of the stereo while Kelly & the dogs are all sound asleep in various parts of the house.  I have the patio door beside me slightly open so I can hear the birds waking up.  Quite often it is a Cardinal who starts the day.

First site I always check on is my Hotmail account to have a look at what 'comments' have come in overnight & how much trouble I have gotten myself into.  Next, I check our Outlook Express email account & that is followed by Sitemeter where I see which way the previous day's  'visit' numbers have went.  Up or down.  This is followed by a look at our 'Feedjit site because that tells me which photo's people find interesting enough to look at.  From there it is off to check my Gmail account which in turn springboards me on to have a look at what's going on in my Facebook world & see who's doing what to whom.  My last stop is our own blog site to check my 'Shout' box & 'Follower's' section on the way to our blog list of fellow bloggers.  This is where I begin my blog reading for the day.  I try to read each blog as I go down the list & comment accordingly.  It is also at this time where I may or may not pick up an idea for the day's blog & as often as not I will begin the day's post at this time.  My whole morning blog routine generally averages about two & half hours.  In this time period I may also check some weather sites.  Might do some Google searches & web browsing as well.

At different periods during the day I check our desktop computer for any updates in our Hotmail or Outlook Express accounts.  Short snoozes in my recliner during the day may be coupled with adding a bit more to the upcoming blog via my laptop.  Generally around 5 in the afternoon I may have most of the blog roughly thought out & assembled.  I do it all in an Outlook Express email format on the laptop & after supper around 7 I email that copy to my Gmail account & then slip into the sunroom & pick it up on our desktop computer there.  I then copy & paste it into Live Writer on the desktop & make any changes where necessary & often add further content.  It is also at this time when I unload all the photos from the cameras into the Picasa program on the computer & begin the process of editing each & every photo.  Depending on the number of photos, this can take awhile.   When finished I add all the photos to the blog, re-read it a couple times looking for mistakes & decide if there is anything I should edit out.  If everything is OK I hit the 'Publish' button & away it goes.  Total time invested in putting the blog together from start to finish would probably add up to about 4 hours each day.  Sometimes longer if I have publishing problems.  My home blogging routine is much the same as my routine while we are traveling because I do everything basically the same way.  Only difference is different place, different time zone, & different comfy chair:))

I never ask Kelly to read the blog & see what she thinks because she's liable to tell me & that could alter my content.  She never asks what I am going to write about either which is just as well because I don't always know myself what I am going to write about.   I do my own editing & spell checks & keep my fingers crossed that I haven't messed anything up too bad.  Some mornings Kelly might point out a spelling error if she reads the blog & that's about it.   I don't know really know if she reads it or not all the time & I am just too darned afraid to ask.  It's just one of those things we don't talk about. 

Well, I just received a blunt comment in my Hotmail account on this past Friday's Do's & Don'ts post.  I knew when I wrote that post I would be walking a thin line on how it was going to be interpreted.  My intent was to help, not to hinder.   In hindsight I should probably not have used the word's 'do's & don'ts' because that just rattles people.  My mistake there & I have since gone back to the post & changed the title.  Yes, blogs are about anything you want to write about & what content you want to put in your blog, etc.  I was only suggesting that if you are interested in, & like to write about the NASCAR racing circuit , the Masters Golfing Classic, Motocross, wind surfing, basket weaving, or parental guidance seminars it might be better for your blog if you post it where people with like minded interests can read & comment on it.   And with the huge number of growing blogs it is just humanly impossible to keep up with everyone's blogs.  Wished I could, but I can't.  I have blogged about my feelings on this many times before & expressed my regrets about blogs slipping through the cracks but it's just the way it unfortunately is & until there is a way to replace the fallible human brain's memory cells with a state of the art mega memory computer chip I'm afraid people's feelings are going to be hurt & feather's ruffled.  I wish the commenter well & I do understand her hurt feelings.

GROANER'S CORNER:))  Three old guys are out walking.  First one says, 'Windy, isn't it?'
Second one says, 'No, it's Thursday!'
Third one says, 'So am I.......... let's go get a beer..'

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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/ (a work in progress)

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

RV BLOGGERS WE HAVE MET

THIS MORNING'S WALK THROUGH A FIELD OF CLOVER

In his Friday blog RICK talked about Microsoft's Paint program & included an example of the Bayfield Bunch logo I made up nearly a year ago using that program.  We had that logo implemented into a business card format thanks to Kelly's son & his graphic business.  We have found the cards an easy way for people we meet to access our site.  I will sometimes leave a card in a restaurant, visitor's center, a bulletin board, or under a rock cairn along the trail.  Always nice to receive an email from someone if & when they find one of our cards.  And thanks to Rick for using our card as an example of Microsoft's Paint program.  By the way, drawing this card out was no easy feat using just the mouse.  Wished they had something like a USB 'plug-in-pencil' for drawing things!! (Drawing was another hobby of mine as a kid)

Judy, over at TRAVELS WITH EMMA has taken the Picasa photo editing program plunge & is doing quite well with it right off the bat.  She is currently in the Yellowstone Park area & having a great time touring all the scenic sites.

Today turned out to be a totally rainy Saturday.  Luckily I had backed the utility trailer into the car port  a few days ago so Bruce & I were able to get a few more things done & even stay dry in the process.  Blog reader Wil, in a comment the other day asked, "have you cleaned and repacked the bearings yet, Al?"  Co-incidentally, Bruce had noticed one of the trailer wheel hubs missing last week & said he would clean & repack the bearings because they were probably full of dirt & grime.   That job was one of the things Bruce took care of today complete with putting on a new hub cap.  I spliced all the trailer wiring back together again & actually got the tail lights functioning properly so it was a productive day for both Bruce & I despite the gloomy rain.

NEIGHBOR BRUCE PULLS OFF THE WHEEL BEARING ASSEMBLY

   

A  PRODUCTIVE RAINY DAY SATURDAY IN THE CARPORT 

In MARGIE'S BLOG on Friday she talked about meeting some fellow bloggers (BIG DAWG AND FREEWAY) & that started me to thinking about a few RV blogging folks we have met as well in our travels.  The more I thought about it the more I began to realize we had met more folks than I had first thought.  To the best of my ability this is our list & apologies to anyone I may have temporarily forgotten.  As I list each person I will follow with their blog site name & the place where we met them. 

RICK & PAULETTE ...(Rick & Paulette's RV Travels) BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

JERRY & SUZY...  (Our Life on Wheels) 'THE RANCH' McNEAL, ARIZONA

LAURIE & ODEL...(Semi-True Tales of Our Life on the Road) BISBEE, ARIZONA

FROGGI DONNA & STU... (2 Taking a 5th)KOFA MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA

WANDERING WILLY...Wandering Willy's Travels) BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA  

JIM & RENE... (live. work. dream.) 'THE RANCH' McNEAL, ARIZONA 

JOHN BROWN... (John & Brenda's Incredible Adventure) QUARTZSITE, ARIZONA

MOTTI & PATTY... (TraveLiving Journey - Our Life as Full Time RVers) BISBEE, ARIZONA

DOUG & JOANNE... (Personal Trip Journal - Living Our Dream) YUMA, ARIZONA

RANDY & PAM... (WarnerRVnewS) BAYFIELD, ONTARIO   

JANNA & MIKE... (Tin TeePee/Log Cabin) KOFA MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA

ELLIE & JIM...(Justravelin) KOFA MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA

SANDRA & GORDON... (nightly news) WHY, ARIZONA

PATTY & DAVE... (Adventures of Shadow the RVing Dog) BELLE STARR'S RANCH, DOUGLAS ARIZONA

IVAN... (Roadtrip 2010) 'THE RANCH' McNEAL, ARIZONA 

BOONIE... (the Occupation of Independence)SILVER CITY, NEW MEXICO

WANDERWOLF MIKE... (Meanderings of Wanderwolf) AJO, ARIZONA

MICHAEL J DEPRAIDA...BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

DEBBIE & ROD... (Rocks Off With Debbie Too)BAYFIELD, ONTARIO

MIKE & MAUREEN... (RV Adventures with MnMnM) CANNONVILLE, UTAH

For Kelly & I with our rather hermit like RVing lifestyle, the fact that we have met this many people is nothing short of amazing.  We have met other folks as well but I have only included the RV BIog gang here.  I know there are RVer's out there who could fill up whole hard drives with lists of people they have met but for us I sure never figured we would ever meet many people, let alone this many people.  Eeee-Gads, we are becoming quite the social butterfly's!!  Crazy, huh:))

WE HAVE HATCHED ANOTHER BATCH OF BABY ROBBINS IN THE CARPORT

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Two elderly gentlemen from a retirement center were sitting on a bench under a tree when one turns to the other and says: 'Slim, I'm 83 years old now and I'm just full of aches and pains. I know you're about my age. How do you feel?'
Slim says, 'I feel just like a newborn baby.'
'Really!? Like a newborn baby!?'
'Yep. No hair, no teeth, and I think I just wet my pants.'

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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/ (a work in progress)

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