TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

A MIGHTY FINE WAY TO END THE WEEK I'D SAY

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 23:17:17 +0000

A FEW MORE PHOTOS AROUND THE FRONT YARD TODAY
With Saturday's high wind gusts ripping through the Park, I do remember hearing a slight crackling sound outside somewhere. I later saw a branch in the Redbud tree hanging low to the ground. Oh-oh, a busted limb. So, skipping my morning walk, I got my tall ladder out and with saw and shears in hand, proceeded to get that branch down before the day heated up. It was 59F when I got up this morning around 8, and that was great for me to be outside dealing with this problem. Half an hour later, I had the branch down and loaded into the utility trailer. Cleaned up the twigs and leaves and hauled the load down to the Park's recycling area. For me, a successful accomplishment is always a nice way to start the day.

A BROKEN REDBUD TREE BRANCH

ALL LOADED UP IN THE UTILITY TRAILER AND OFF I GO

THE TWO FROGGY BUDDIES WERE BACK ON THEIR FAVORITE ROCK AGAIN TODAY

THERE ARE THREE FROGS IN THIS PHOTO

Spent some relaxing time on the front porch with my camera in hand this afternoon, and that is pretty much where tonight's blog photos came from.

A CROW ON THE BIRD STATION ROOF

ANOTHER CROW SAT FOR THE LONGEST TIME ON A DEAD BRANCH NOT TOO FAR IN FRONT OF ME....IT WAS QUITE A CHAT WE HAD

WHEN I FIRST SAW THIS LITTLE CHAP WALKING ALONG THE STONES AT THE EDGE OF THE FROG POND, I THOUGHT IT WAS A CHIPMUNK, BUT NO IT WASN'T.....

IT WAS A LITTLE RED SQUIRREL OUT FOR A SUNDAY AFTERNOON STROLL

With clear sunny skies today, it is with certainty that I will be out for an evening walk, a pleasant, slow cruise through the rural countryside, and a stop at my spot on Tower Line Road to have a look at the night sky. A mighty fine way to end the week, I'd say:))

A FEW MORE HOSTA BLOOMS

Al's Music Box:: Lonesome Town by Rick Nelson.
I THINK THIS BLACK SQUIRREL HAS BEEN ROOTING AROUND IN THE FLOWERBEDS CEDAR MULCH
GROANER'S CORNER:(( A dietitian was once addressing a large audience in Chicago: "The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks erode your stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG. Vegetables can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long-term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water. "But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have eaten or will eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?" A 75-year-old man in the front row stood up and said, "Wedding cake."

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A Manager of a retail clothing store is reviewing a potential employee’s application and notices that the man has never worked in retail before. He says to the man, “For a man with no experience, you are certainly asking for a high wage.” “Well Sir,” the applicant replies, “the work is so much harder when you don’t know what you’re doing!"

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Mary Clancy goes up to Father McGuire after his Sunday morning service, and she's in tears. He says, "So what's bothering you, Mary, my dear?" She says, "Oh, Father, I've got terrible news. My husband passed away last night." The priest says, "Oh, Mary, that's terrible. Tell me, Mary, did he have any last requests?" She says, "That he did, Father."
The priest says, "What did he ask, Mary? "
She says, "He said, 'Please, Mary, put down that damn gun.' "

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Ten Reasons Why God Created Eve...

10. God worried that Adam would always be lost in the garden because he knew men would never ask directions.

9. God knew that Adam would one day need someone to hand him the TV remote because men don't want to see what's on television, they want to see WHAT ELSE is on television.

8. God knew that Adam would never buy a new fig leaf when the seat wore out and therefore would need Eve to get one for him.

7. God knew that Adam would never make a doctors appointment for himself.

6. God knew that Adam would never remember which night was garbage night.

5. God knew that if the world was to be populated there would have to be someone to bear children, because men would never be able to handle it.

4. As 'Keeper of the Garden' Adam would never remember where he put his tools.

3. The scripture account of creation indicates that Adam needed someone to blame his troubles on when God caught him hiding in the garden.

2. As the Bible says, 'It is not good for man to be alone.' He only ends up getting himself in trouble.

AND the #1 REASON WHY GOD CREATED EVE is ...

When God had finished the creation of Adam, He stepped back, scratched his head and said, 'I KNOW I can do better than THIS!!'

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AND, I FOUND THAT OUT THE HARD WAY

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 23:46:32 +0000

HOSTA BLOOMS IN THE FRONT YARD

Had it not been for the smoke obscuring the night sky these past few nights I would have been out to my night viewing spot to look for a Planet line-up. Maybe tonight if skies remain clear. (They didn't)

RIPPLES ON THE FROG POND

A COUPLE OF BUDDIES HANGING OUT BY THE POOL

SITTING BY THE WATERFALL

Looking out the living room window at first light, I was heartened when looking up through the tall pine trees to see patterned clouds in the morning sky. That meant one thing.....the wildfire smoke was finally clearing out. A touch of slightly diffused sunlight tumbled through the window and didn't appear to be as yellow as the past few days.

HOSTAS

With my early 5:30 a.m. awakening and arising this morning, I was out the door for my walk earlier than usual. It was a strong but pleasantly warm southwest wind blowing the wildflowers and long grass around in the ditches alongside my walking road. I had to hold onto my hat, and that was okay, because I could feel the heavy humidity in the air. Without that cooling wind, I probably would not have done the walk.

NOTHING LEFT IN THIS HARVESTED WHEAT FIELD EXCEPT STUBBLE AND FARM VEHICLE TRACKS

A WHEAT HARVEST UNDERWAY ABOUT HALF A MILE FROM MY WALKING ROAD

A THISTLE ALONGSIDE WHERE I WALK

I BELIEVE THESE ROADSIDE FLOWERS TO BE SWEET PEA

It was coffee on the front porch mid-morning, and with a pocketful of peanuts, I soon had a lot of company. Even a Blue Jay dropped in looking for a peanut.

THIS BLUE JAY HAS ITS EYE ON THE PEANUT AT BOTTOM RIGHT

THIS LITTLE GUY WENT RIGHT INTO MY PANTS POCKET AND GOT THE PEANUT....SAID HE DIDN'T WANT TO BOTHER ME WHILE I WAS NODDING OFF

Over the years, some readers have referred to my blog as a fireside chat, and I like that analogy because I feel the same way. I'm pleased that it has morphed into a gentler version of my early blogging years when I, at times, was sharply opinionated and critical of a number of things. I welcome the change and I guess it came with age, and a lot of blog writing experience. I am comfortable now at the end of each day that I have not gone and deliberately offended anyone. Groaner's Corner sometimes gets a little dodgy, but I hope people know and understand it's just a joke, and we all certainly need a little humor in our lives during these difficult days. Sometimes, I partially rewrite the jokes so as not to make them hurtful to some folks. And, as I've said several times before, I stay away from politics and religion. In the past, I have got myself into hot water with both those topics, so I now make a special effort to stay clear of them. Not easy at times, but I would sooner have readers wrap up their days with a chuckle and a smile on their face, and not mad all over the place with steam coming out of their ears. There's too much of that in the world already, so I'll leave that kind of writing and opining for others. Besides, I'm too thin-skinned to write like that anyway. And, I found that out the hard way.

THIS BLUE JAY PERCHED ON A CORNER OF THE SUNROOM DID MANAGE TO SWOOP DOWN AND NAB A FEW PEANUTS FOR HIMSELF

ROSE BREASTED MALE GROSBEAK

ANOTHER ROBIN ON THE BIRDBATH

WELL, AT LEAST I KNOW THIS LITTLE FELLOW ISN'T A CROW

Al's Music Box:(( Up On The Roof by The Drifters.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Two drunks are walking along. One drunk says to the other, "What a beautiful night. Look at that moon!" The other drunk stops and looks at his drunk friend. "You are wrong. That's not the moon; that's the sun!" Both continued arguing for a while when they came upon another drunk walking along. So they stopped him and said, "Sir, could you please help settle our argument? Tell us what that thing is up in the sky that's shining. Is it the moon or the sun?" The third drunk look at the sky and then looked at them and said, "Sorry, I don't live around here."

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A man visits his psychiatrist and talks about being haunted by visions of his departed relatives. He says; these ghosts are perched on the tops of fence posts around my garden every night. They sit there and watch me and watch me. What can I do?
The psychiatrist says; that's easy … just sharpen the tops of the posts.

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It was three o'clock in the morning, and the receptionist at a posh hotel was just dozing off, when a little old lady came running towards her, screaming. "Please come quickly," she yelled, "I just saw a naked man outside my window!" The receptionist immediately rushed up to the old lady's room. "Where is he?" asked the receptionist. "He's over there," replied the little old lady, pointing to an apartment building opposite the hotel. The receptionist looked over and could see a man with no shirt on, moving around his apartment. "It's probably a man who's getting ready to go to bed," she said reassuringly. "And how do you know he's naked, you can only see him from the waist up?" "The dresser, honey!" screamed the old lady. "Try standing on the dresser!"
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EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 22:32:44 +0000

RED WING BLACKB IRD

I was hoping the smoke would have dissipated this morning, but it didn't, and it was a smoky walk on my country road earlier today.

SUMMER'S WHEAT HARVEST IS FINALLY UNDERWAY

THESE ARE YESTERDAY'S RECTANGULAR ALFALFA BALES ALL WRAPPED UP

THE NEWLY WRAPPED BALES ARE ON THE LEFT AND THE ROUND WRAPPED BALES ON THE RIGHT HAVE BEEN LYING IN THIS FIELD FOR THE PAST YEAR OR MORE

Following my walk, and with a few errands to run, I headed for Goderich. The smoke hung heavy in the harbor.

A SMOKY MORNING IN BAYFIELD'S HARBOR

FARM MACHINERY SITTING IDLE IN A WHEAT FIELD THIS MORNING

After a quick stop at Walmart, I headed back to Bayfield, where I picked up a 'booster' device at the Tuckersmith office. I noticed earlier Thursday afternoon that both my sunroom computer and TV were having difficulty picking up the Tuckersmith internet/TV signal being transmitted from a router in the living room. I had called Tuckersmith about the problem and they suggested that, with the distance between the living room and the sunroom, I probably needed a signal booster, and that is what I picked up atTuckersmith. Home again, and taking another look at the Tuckersmith hook-up in the sunroom, I noticed a couple of discrepancies, so I gave their service number a call. Now, from here it gets complicated, so I'm not going to try and explain what the service tech had me do over the next half hour or so. Just know that at the end of that time, everything worked perfectly. What I feel is more important and worth mentioning is how nice it was to talk to someone local who spoke perfect English. The tech guy, who I assume might have been in Seaforth, a mere 15 miles away, was so patient with me that not once did I even get close to one of my fluster-bluster meltdowns. He explained things clearly, and his instructions were easy to follow. For an impatient fellow like myself with all this techy stuff, I kept my cool, and I give credit for that to the pleasant clear speaking fellow on the other end of the phone. And, I kinda had a few little chuckles (whoever heard of having a chuckle during a high stress techy call) when I noticed this fellow verbalizing his thoughts between instructions to me. I think we all do it, and it's when you are maybe looking for something online, washing the car, or shining your shoes, and are subconsciously humming a favorite song. You know those times when you're doing a 'dum-de-dum-de-didly dee', or maybe you're talking to yourself out loud while assembling a BBQ or verbalizing yourself through a new and confusing kitchen recipes. I liked when this fellow was doing that because I knew I was talking to, and working along with a real live person. A friend, a neighbor, the guy down the street, someone who might have on the same orange plaid green and purple shirt I did. Yup, despite my trepadations about phoning tech support, I had a pleasant, and educational experience. Two thumbs up for Tuckersmith Communications. As I post this tonight, everything is as it should be:))

I AM GUESSING THIS BIRD IN THE FRONT YARD AS A FEMALE BALTIMORE ORIOLE

A MOURNING DOVE GIVING ME A CURIOUS LOOK

Al's Music Box:: Good Morning Starshine by Oliver.

A MALE ROBIN

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The Laws Of Golf::

LAW 1: No matter how bad your last shot was, the worst is yet to come. This law does not expire on the 18th hole, since it has the supernatural tendency to extend over the course of a tournament, a summer and, eventually, a lifetime.
LAW 2: Your best round of golf will be followed almost immediately by your worst round ever. The probability of the latter increases with the number of people you tell about the former.
LAW 3: Brand new golf balls are water-magnetic. Though this cannot be proven in the lab, it is a known fact that the more expensive the golf ball, the greater its attraction to water.
LAW 4: Golf balls never bounce off of trees back into play. If one does, the tree is breaking a law of the universe and should be cut down.
LAW 5: No matter what causes a golfer to muff a shot, all his playing partners must solemnly chant "You looked up," or invoke the wrath of the universe.
LAW 6: The higher a golfer's handicap, the more qualified he deems himself as an instructor.
LAW 7: Every par-three hole in the world has a secret desire to humiliate golfers. The shorter the hole, the greater its desire.
LAW 8: Topping a 3-iron is the most painful torture known to man.
LAW 9: Palm trees eat golf balls.
LAW 10: Sand is alive. If it isn't, how do you explain the way it works against you?
LAW 11: Golf carts always run out of juice at the farthest point from the clubhouse.
LAW 12: A golfer hitting into your group will always be bigger than anyone in your group. Likewise, a group you accidentally hit into will consist of a football player, a professional wrestler, a convicted murderer and an IRS agent -- or some similar combination.
LAW 13: All 3-woods are demon-possessed.
LAW 14: Golf balls from the same "sleeve" tend to follow one another, particularly out of bounds or into the water (See Law three).
LAW 15: A severe slice is a thing of awesome power and beauty.
LAW 16: "Nice lag" can usually be translated to "lousy putt." Similarly, "tough break" can usually be translated "way to miss an easy one, sucker."
LAW 17: The person you would most hate to lose to will always be the one who beats you.
LAW 18: The last three holes of a round will automatically adjust your score to what it really should be.
LAW 19: Golf should be given up at least twice per month.
LAW 20: All vows taken on a golf course shall be valid only until the sunset.

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A very traditional elderly woman was enjoying a good game of bridge with her girlfriends one evening. "Oh, no! I have to rush home and fix dinner for my husband! He's going to really ticked if it's not ready on time!" she exclaimed suddenly. When she got home, she realized that she didn't have enough time to go to the supermarket, and all she had in the cupboard was a wilted lettuce leaf, an egg, and a can of cat food. In a panic, she opened the can of cat food, stirred in the egg, and garnished it with the lettuce leaf just as her husband pulled up. She greeted her husband and then watched in horror as he sat down to his dinner. To her surprise, the husband really enjoyed his dinner. "Darling, this is the best dinner you have made for me in forty years of marriage. You can make this for me any old day." Needless to say, every bridge night from then on, the woman made her husband the same dish. She told her bridge cronies about it, and they were all horrified. "You're going to kill him!" they exclaimed. Two months later, her husband died. The women were sitting around the table playing bridge when one of the cronies said, "You killed him! We told you that feeding him that cat food every week would do him in! How can you just sit there so calmly and play bridge knowing you murdered your husband?" The wife stoically replied, "I didn't kill him. He fell off the mantel while he was cleaning himself."

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AND WE GOT TO CHATTING

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:23:47 +0000

A MOURNING DOVE SITS IN THE FRONT YARD'S SUNBURST LOCUST TREE

I can sum up the big news in our area with one word....Smoke!! With huge wildfires burning out of control in northwestern Ontario, westerly winds have brought much of that smoke this way and even stretched over into some of the Eastern United States. I noticed the sky had turned yellowish Wednesday morning, but with my Tuckersmith Internet/TV line being installed, I didn't pay much attention to it. It wasn't until later, when I drove neighbor Monica to Clinton and back, that I became aware of the hazy smoke. And it remained smoky all day today. I think Toronto, Ontario, declared that yesterday was the worst air pollution day they have ever recorded.

HEADING EAST OUT OF OUR PARK THIS MORNING, I COULD SEE THE SMOKE WAS STILL IN THE AIR

Despite the smoke, I headed out to my walking road, and in the distant haze I could make out large objects at the north end of the alfalfa field they had just harvested a few days ago, and one of those objects was moving. As I drew closer, I could see the moving object was a tractor, and the large rectangular objects were hay (alfalfa) bales. I parked Subie and walked up the road for a closer look. The tractor came over fairly close to me and stopped. A nice young fella emerged from the enclosed cab, headed my way, and we got to chatting. He was waiting for another piece of farm machinery to show up. A few days ago, they had cut, raked, and picked up the loose alfalfa with a Forage Shredder. Knowing these bales must have been from an adjoining alfalfa field, I asked him why they decided to bale the alfalfa this time. He said that they originally planned to do that field the same way as the first, but because of yesterday's smoke blocking out the anticipated 'drying' sun and the threat of rain on Friday, they decided to bale and wrap the slightly damp alfalfa today, ensuring it would properly dry when wrapped and not be susceptible to rain.

SLOWLY DRIVING NORTH ON MY WALKING ROAD I COULD SEE THERE WAS SOME FARMING ACTIVITY GOING ON AHEAD OF ME TO THE NORTHEAST

AFTER PARKING AT MY SPOT ALONGSIDE THE ROAD, I WALKED UP TO WHERE I SAW A TRACTOR MOVING BALES AROUND

AFTER TALKING TO THIS YOUNG FELLOW, I WALKED BACK TO THE CAR ABOUT A QUARTER OF A MILE AWAY

I WAS ABOUT TO LEAVE WHEN THIS APPARATUS WENT BY HEADING TOWARDS THE ALFALFA BALE OPERATION...I KNEW RIGHT AWAY WHAT THAT ROUND THING WAS AND WHAT IT WAS ABOUT TO DO

THIS IS THE MACHINE THAT WRAPS THOSE BALES IN A HEAVY DUTY WHITE PLASTIC...IT'S CALLED A BALE WRAPPER

YOU CAN SEE THE BALING OPERATOR BESIDE THE MACHINE

HERE, YOU CAN SEE THE WHITE PLASTIC BEING WRAPPED AROUND THE BALE

Everything had gone well with my Tuckersmith install on Wednesday, but this afternoon, my desktop computer in the sunroom began having trouble picking up the signal from the router in the living room. It had been working perfectly yesterday and this morning. My music channel came through alright, but other sites struggled and wouldn't download. I called Tuckersmith (how nice to speak with someone I can understand) and told them of the problem. They suggested a signal booster to boost the signal to the sunroom. I will pick up that booster tomorrow at Tuckersmith's Bayfield office. Wish me luck in getting that booster thing set up!!

A FEW PICS ALONG MY WALKING ROAD THIS MORNING....BUTTERFLY ON A CHICORY FLOWER

THESE THISTLE FLOWERS ARE ALREADY GOING TO SEED

YELLOW SOW THISTLE FLOWERS AND QUEEN ANNE'S LACE GROWING ALONGSIDE A WHEAT FIELD

Al's Music Box:: Imagine by John Lennon.

A ROBIN HAVING A BATH IN THE FRONT YARD BIRD BATH THIS AFTERNOON

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Hearing little Johnny behind her turning the air blue, the teacher turned and said, "Johnny, "you shouldn't use that kind of language". Where did you hear such talk, anyway?" "My daddy said it," he responded. "Well, that doesn't matter," explained the teacher. "You don't even know what it means." "I do, too!" Little Johnny retorted. "It means the car won't start."

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My wife won’t let me get a tattoo of a grizzly bear on each bicep...She is infringing on my right to bear arms!
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Today is National Crayon Day::
- Crayons are just like M&Ms...
They taste the same no matter what colour they are.

I heard in the news that thay've found harmful materials in cosmetics and childrens crayons, but in the defense of the big corporations...They're doing asbestos they can.

My wife accused me of being unsympathetic and not listening, so I bought her a GI Joe coloring book...
Now she'll always have a soldier to crayon.

Fill out job applications in crayon...and if you don’t get hired, just blame it on your color.

I just can't draw blood with this orange crayon...It isn't sharp enough.

This orange does not taste right...I think I'm gonna put it back in the crayon box.

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In a murder trial, the defense attorney was cross-examining the coroner:
Attorney: Before you signed the death certificate, had you taken the pulse?
Coroner: No.
Attorney: Did you listen to the heart?
Coroner: No.
Attorney: Did you check for breathing?
Coroner: No.
Attorney: So, when you signed the death certificate, you weren't sure the man was dead, were you?
Coroner: Well, let me put it this way. The mans brain was sitting in a jar on my desk. But I guess its possible he could have been out practicing law somewhere.

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THE TUCKERSMITH COMMUNICATION INSTAL THIS MORNING WENT SMOOTHLY

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 23:07:13 +0000

Well, I was up early in case the Tuckersmith Communication installation crew came at 8 a.m. A friendly and amiable young fella who looked like he was fresh out of High School rolled into the driveway with his white TCC van at 9:05. A second fellow rolled in with his white van about 40 minutes later. A new hole was drilled through the living room wall behind my main TV because I wanted the main set up, with all its wires there instead of the sunroom where there has been a mosh of wires behind the computer desk forever. It will be much easier to slide the TV and its stand out of the way and gain access to the TCC equipment than behind the very heavy computer desk. Well, it all sounds good in theory anyway......Update:: The install went smoothly, without even one hitch. Everything was up and running perfectly by 11 a.m. Five stars and two thumbs up for Tuckersmith Communications. But, not five stars and two thumbs up for me. Despite the young fella explaining the new remote, five minutes after he left I had things so screwed up between the Tuckersmith and Apple remotes that the only thing I could get on the TV screen was my XM music and Howdy Doody. But, lucky for me, it was Andrew to the rescue again and it didn't take him long to get everything straightened out. Of course, getting me straightened out, proved to be another whole challenge!!

THE YOUNG FELLA TUCKED IN BEHIND THE LIVING ROOM TV INSTALLING THE EQUIPMENT

IT IS HERE WHERE THE NEW TUCKERSMITH CABLE ENTERS THE HOUSE

A SECOND TCC WORKER IN THE SUNROOM, SWITCHES OUT EAST LINK FOR TUCKERSMITH

Thankfully, I am feeling like my old self today. I don't know what happened yesterday, but it sure knocked the stuffings out of me for a while.
A MOURNING DOVE DOING SOME PREENING

THIS MOURNING DOVE RESTING ON THE BIRD STATION IS NOT IN DISTRESS...DUE TO THE HOT AND HUMID AIR, IT HAS ITS WINGS FLARED OUT TO COOL ITSELF DOWN

Al's Music Box:: Rave On by Buddy Holly.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Two old friends met by chance on the street. After chatting for some time one said to the other, "I'm terribly sorry, but I've forgotten your name. You'll need to tell me". The other stared at him thoughtfully for a long time, then replied, "How soon do you need to know?"

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- I'm an odd combination of “really sweet” and “don't mess with me”
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These signs have allegedly been spotted in public use::

Sign in a London department store: Bargain basement upstairs.

In an office: Would the person who took the step ladder yesterday please bring it back or further steps will be taken.

In an office: After tea break, staff should empty the teapot and stand upside down on the draining board.

Outside a secondhand shop: We exchange anything--bicycles, washing machines, etc. Why not bring your wife along and get a wonderful bargain.

Notice sent to residents of a Wiltshire parish: Due to increasing problems of vandals, we must ask anyone with relatives buried in the graveyard to do their best to keep them in order.

Notice in a dry cleaner's window: Anyone leaving their garments here for more than 30 days will be disposed of.

Sign on motorway garage: Please do not smoke near our petrol pumps. Your life may not be worth much, but our petrol is.

Spotted in a safari park: Elephants, please stay in your car.

Notice in a field: The farmer allows walkers to cross the field for free, but the bull charges.

Message on a leaflet: If you cannot read, this leaflet will tell you how to get lessons.

Sign on a repair shop door: We can repair anything (Please knock hard on the door, the bell doesn't work.)

Spotted in a toilet in a London office block: Toilet out of order, please use floor below.

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MY SLOW MOTION DAY IS STILL WITH ME

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 22:25:15 +0000

IT'S QUITE A LITTLE ANIMAL FARM AROUND HERE SOMETIMES

With these summer evenings being so nice, it is hard to sit in the house and not be out there being a part of it. So, with that thought in mind, I slipped out to my walking spot and followed that up with a drive back into Bayfield to catch the sunset.

Not one of my better days. Waking up shortly after 5 a.m. with a sore neck and a headache, I found myself dealing with a few bouts of dizziness for an hour or so. From there, the day slowed down, and I didn't do much of anything except sit for a while on the front porch taking a few photos. When I checked the thermometer, it was 91F. Needless to say, I didn't stay outside for very long. At the time of posting this tonight, my sore neck and headache are long gone, but my slow-motion day is still with me.............

A GRACKLE

EVERY TIME I STEP OUT OF THE HOUSE I AM BEING WATCHED

HOSTA FLOWERS

I THINK THIS LITTLE FELLOW IS CALLED A 'SMARTY PANTS' BIRD

GRACKLE

Tomorrow morning, Tuckersmith Communications will be here to switch out my Eastlink Communications system for their internet and television setup. No doubt this will result in another techno nightmare to some degree, but I'm optimistic that once I get through yet another challenging learning curve, I'll be alright. Now, if you don't hear from me tomorrow night, just know that maybe something went sideways with the new installation and technicians are working on it.

I SKIPPED MY WALK THIS MORNING AND TOOK A SHORT DRIVE AROUND OUR PARK INSTEAD KEEPING MY EYE OUT FOR SOME COLOR

And, a correction to mention. In Monday's post, I misnamed a piece of farm machinery. (I have since corrected it) Instead of that one machine being a Combine, it was actually a 'Forage Harvester'. I did think it a bit small when I saw it. Thanks to commenter Gerrit in Brussels, Ontario, for pointing that out. In his comment, he said, "Hi Al. Being a long-time retired farmer, I have to correct you. That machine sucking up those rows of alfalfa is a Forage Harvester or a forage chopper, not a Combine. A Combine only harvests grain crops". Having grown up in and now living in a rural community, I know I should know more about rural things, and I am always aware that I do not always get things right, and especially when it comes to farming things. I'm sure I often misname crops, but I do know a horse from a corn cob. I always like it when somebody corrects me over something I have gotten wrong in my blog. It bothers me to unknowingly pass on incorrect information to people. Thanks, Gerrit, and I think I remember you.......and, speaking of thanks, I'd like to thank all the readers for wishing my Aunt Jean a 'Happy Birthday' a couple of days ago:))

BROWN EYED SUSANS AT THE SOUTH END OF OUR PARK

Al's Music Box:: It's Not For Me To Say by Johnny Mathis.

OUR PARK'S POND THIS MORNING

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Sam had proposed to young Lisa and was being interviewed by his prospective father-in-law. "Do you think you are earning enough to support a family?" the older man asked the suitor. "Yes, sir," replied Sam, "I am." "Well," said Lisa's father, "think carefully now. There are six of us."

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A bar owner locked up his place at 2 AM and went home to sleep. He had been in bed only a few minutes when the phone rang. “What time do you open up in the morning?” he heard an obviously inebriated man inquire. The owner was so furious, he slammed down the receiver and went back to bed. A few minutes later, there was another call, and he heard the same voice ask the same question. “Listen, the owner shouted, “there’s no sense in asking me what time I open because I wouldn’t let a person in your condition in anyway—“ “I don’t want to get in,” the caller interjected. “I want to get out.”

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A so-called genius makes a bet with a man he considers to be much inferior to himself. The genius says, "Hey dummy, every question I ask you that you don't know the answer to, you have to give me $5. And if you ask me a question and I can't answer yours I will give you $5,000." The man says, "Okay." The genius then asks, "How many continents are there in the world?" The supposed dummy doesn't know and hands over the $5. He then asks the Genius a question: What animal stands on two legs but sleeps with three?" The genius tries and searches very hard for the answer but gives up and hands over the $5,000. The genius says, "Dang it, I lost. By the way, what was the answer to your question?" The dumb guy hands over $5. Game over.

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LUCKILY, I FIGURED OUT THE E- BIKE'S POWER LOSS PROBLEM THIS MORNING

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 23:52:11 +0000

A wispy Sunday night cloud cover didn't make for the best sky watching, but I headed out anyway to partake in the evening's twilight glow. So quietly peaceful in the countryside at that time of day........ Before loading my bike onto Subie's bike carrier this morning to take to 360 Bikes n Boards with a 'no power' problem, I decided to take the bike's battery off and put it back on again, just to see if maybe.........what the heck, it worked. My bike once again had full power. I'm guessing a bit of dirt or dust may have got onto one of the power connecting points on the battery. Riding on the bike carrier on the back of the car does make them very susceptible to dust and stuff swirling up behind the car when going down the road. A key is needed to get that battery off the bike, so I'll be riding with the battery key in my pocket at all times after this. I did do a quick whiz-bang around the Park late this afternoon, and everything worked perfectly....even me. And, by the way, Woodsy did offer to bike home, get the car with the bike carrier already on it, and come back and pick me up. We weren't that far from home, and after all, it is a bicycle, so my decision was to simply ride it home....Which I did. Maybe not so simply though, but at least I got it home:))

Heading down Bayfield River Road this morning to my walking spot, I noticed something odd. On the south side of the road just west of Stirling Line (my walking road) there were seven black SUV type vehicles all parked single file where a long laneway leads south through a field, then into some trees. I didn't see anyone around. None of those cars were marked police cars, but still, I think something serious was going on somewhere!! Arriving at my walking spot, I could see yesterday's farmer was back in his alfalfa field again after cutting the field Sunday morning. This time, what looked to be the same tractor was pulling a different device that was raking the newly mown alfalfa into rows. Then, after a bit, I saw a combine enter the field and begin to swoop up those rows. Two more tractors towing wagons came into the field and began working with the combine. So altogether at the same time in the same field, there were three tractors, two large wagons, and a combine working in unison. Quite an operation.

THIS RED PIECE OF EQUIPMENT BEHIND THE TRACTOR RAKES UP NUMEROUS SMALL ALFALFA ROWS INTO ONE LARGE ROW MAKING IT EASIER FOR A FORAGE HARVESTER TO SCOOP IT UP NEXT

YOU CAN SEE HERE HOW CLOSE MY CAR WAS TO THE ALFALFA FIELD

Needing a few things, I slipped up to Goderich's Walmart and Canadian Tire Stores after my walk. Nothing exciting going on, and I didn't even make it down to the harbor. It wasn't long and I was on my way home. Some usual outside putterings this afternoon until the heat and humidity finally drove me inside.

SOON, ABOUT HALF A MILE AWAY, I SAW MORE FARM EQUIPMENT IN THE SAME FIELD

THERE IS A FORAGE HARVESTER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT WAGON, FUNNELING ALFALFA INTO THAT GREEN FARM WAGON

HERE'S THE WHOLE FARM TEAM WORKING TOGETHER....WHEN THAT FIRST GREEN WAGON ON THE LEFT IS FULL, IT PULLS AWAY AND THAT EMPTY SECOND GREEN WAGON ON THE RIGHT DRIVES UP AND TAKES ITS PLACE

THE UNSEEN COMBINE IS TOWING SOMETHING BEHIND IT, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS

AND HERE COMES THAT FORAGE HARVESTER NOW

THE TRACTOR AND WAGON PULL AWAY AND HEAD BACK TO THE FARM

THE SECOND TRACTOR AND WAGON TAKE THE PLACE OF THE FIRST TRACTOR AND WAGON

Al's Music Box:: After I Pass Away I find the words to this song to be so true.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The Wednesday night church service coincided with the last day of hunting season. During the service, our pastor asked who had bagged a deer. No one raised a hand.Puzzled, the pastor said, “ I don't get it. Last week many of you said you wouldn't be at church Sunday because of hunting season. I had the whole congregation pray for your deer.” One hunter said, "Well, preacher, it worked. They're all safe.”

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- Dad, will you help me with my homework?" "I'm sorry," replied the father. "It wouldn't be right." "Well, " said the boy, "at least you could try."

- A schoolteacher asked her primary six class to construct sentences with the words: defeat, detail, defense. There was a pause before a pupil raised his hand and said he could make a sentence with them; "The cow jumped over defense and detail went over defeat."

- Why did the cows keep returning to the field of marijuana? It was the pot calling the cattle back.

- A man sees his buddy carrying a box.
"What's that?" he ask. "Oh, I got a case of beer for my wife." Man nods sagely, "Good trade."

- Interviewer: Would you mind explaining this 4-year gap on your resume?
Me: I went to Yale during this time period.
Interviewer: Wow, excellent! You’re hired!
Me: Thank you! I really needed this yob!

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A guy went to the cinema one day and noticed an old man with a dog in the front row. It was a sad, funny kind of film and the guy noticed that during the sad parts the dog cried his eyes out, and during the funny parts, the dog laughed its head off. This happened throughout the film. After the film ended, the guy decided to go and speak to the old man. "That's the most amazing thing I've ever seen," he said. "That dog really seemed to enjoy the film." The old man turned to him and said: "Yeah, it is amazing. He hated the book."

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AND THEN, WE HAD A LITTLE INCIDENT

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:30:15 +0000

BAYFIELD'S BEACH BELOW PIONEER PARK THIS AFTERNOON

Too hot for me to be out on the E-bike Saturday, so we waited for the cooler evening before heading out of the Park. Turning east on Bayfield River Road, we were soon out into the countryside, biking to Tipperary Line and turning left. The evening was so beautiful with its slowly setting sun to the west. For some looney reason I had chosen to wear a loose, ill-fitting ball cap, and biking into a warm northerly breeze I had trouble keeping it on heading downhill at speed. The first time it flew off, I caught it mid-air, but the second time I didn't and it landed on the road. I slowed down and made a U-turn and headed back to where my hat was lying on the road, and made a second quick U-turn. But this U-turn was too short and hasty, and I drove right over the peak of my hat! My hat was not happy!! I wasn't either!! Picking it up and hanging it over my right side mirror, I quickly powered up to catch Woodsy, a mere dot, far up the road. Finally catching up, we continued biking as far as Tower Line Road, where we turned right onto a stretch of gravel and biked the short distance to my night sky viewing spot. Stopping there, I was able to point out some of the distant landmarks to Woodsy, such as Clinton to the east and the faintly visible wind turbines stretching across the southern horizon. From this spot, we decided to turn around and head for home. And then we had a little incident. As cyclists well know, when biking, dogs can sometimes pose a hazard when they come flying out of a farm's laneway to chase a passing biker. And that's what happened about halfway back when a large farm dog came barreling out of a farmyard and went after Woodsy about ten bicycle lengths ahead of me. The dog, barking loudly and aggressively, closed on her very fast. Woodsy kept her cool and kept on going, but I could see the dog was only inches from her right leg. I had to use the power setting on my bike to quickly close the gap between us and try to get as close as possible to distract the dog with my bike. It worked, and the dog turned its attention to me. With the dog right beside me now, I looked down straight at him and let out a big loud commanding, and very threatening yell, and that about stopped the fella right in his tracks like I figured it would, and the threat was over. Of course when I saw him in my mirror slumpingback to the farm, I felt a little sorry I had yelled at him. I'm sure he'll be alright though. Further along the road and out of dog range, we stopped, and Woodsy was a little shaken. Whether the dog would have attempted to bite her is unknown, but we agreed if something like that were to happen again, the right thing to do would be to hit the bike's power button and quickly outdistance the chasing dog with a blistering burst of speed. Those electric E-Bikes have a lot of torque to them when you hit the throttle.

COINCIDENTALLY, ON OUR WAY TO TOWERLINE ROAD, I TOOK THIS PHOTO OF A FARMS FRONT YARD, AND OUR WAY BACK, IT WAS THIS SAME FARM THE DOG CAME ROARING OUT OF

WOODSY WAS ABOUT THIS FAR OUT FRONT OF ME WHEN THE DOG CAME ROARING OUT FROM THE LEFT-HAND SIDE OF THE ROAD EARLIER

STOPPED TO TAKE A PHOTO OF THE SUNSET

Stepping out of the car on my walking road this morning, I was surprised to see a red tractor with two wide yellow wings on either side behind it, far off at the corner of the alfalfa field on the east side of my road. It was headed my way along the west side of the field, and I quickly determined the farmer was just starting out to cut the alfalfa field. I double-checked to see if my car, sitting on a flat part of the ditch right beside the field's edge, would be in his way. It wasn't.

THE TRACTOR HAS A CUTTER ON THE FRONT OF IT AS WELL

BY MY COUNT HE WAS CUTTING 11 ROWS AT A TIME

Home again, I puttered about outside, pulling a few weeds and watering some grass out back. It was somewhere around 2 p.m. when we saddled up the E-Bikes and headed into Bayfield on this sunny, not a cloud in the sky, 81F day. A nice pedal around town with a stop at Pioneer Park, Clan Gregor Square, and Rosie's Ice Cream Shop for two kiddie cones. A lot of people on the street, but we were lucky enough to snag a picnic table in the shade on the north side of Bayfield's Virtual High School. We had planned to bike down to the beach and out onto the pier, but it was a good thing we didn't. Decided instead to head for home because Woodsy wanted to get back to Stratford and deal with an air conditioner she had just installed last week. About a third of the way home, coming up a hill, my bike suddenly lost power, and no matter what we tried, we could not restore the power despite the battery showing a full charge and my display on the handlebars showing six of six bars. I had just recharged the battery this morning. I told Woodsy to head home without me because I knew she still to get her stuff together before heading home. So, away she went while I manually began pedaling my bike. I found it not to be an easy task, despite going through all the gears trying to find the easiest way. I did have to walk it up two short hills, and I did manage to pedal on the flat spots with no grades. But, one stretch of road is kinda swampy bush on both sides, and only pedaling about half a mile an hour, the biting Deer Flies soon had my range, and I was unable to outrun them. It was, 'Swat, Swat, Swat. all the rest of the way home......... Woodsy rolled out somewhere around five-thirty, and I wasn't long in popping myself into the shower to get all the sticky sweat and Deer Fly mashings off me.

WOODSY COUNTED 12 BOATS OUT THERE AND THAT IS THE MOST BOATS I HAVE EVER SEEN AT ONE TIME

THIS FELLA HAS SOME WIND IN HIS SAILS

THESE PADDLEBOARDERS HAVE A ROYAL CANADA GOOSE ESCORT

I THINK THIS MIGHT BE THIS LITTLE GALS FIRST SWIMMING LESSON WITH MOM

WOODSY SNAPS A FEW PICS

With clear blue skies still overhead, I plan to head out and do a little stargazing tonight. No, I won't be taking my bike. I plan to load it onto Subie's bike carrier in the morning and head off to 360 Bikes 'n' Boards in Goderich to find out why my bike suddenly lost power today..........................

THE FRONT YARD HOSTAS ARE BEGINNING TO BLOOM

Al's Music Box:: You Didn't Have To Be So Nice by The Lovin' Spoonful.

GROANER'S CORNER:: Mr. Jones is driving past the state mental hospital when his left rear tire suffers a flat. While he is changing the tire, another car goes by, running over the hub cap in which he was keeping the lug nuts. The nuts are all knocked into a nearby storm drain. He is at a loss for what to do and is about to go call a cab when he hears a shout from behind the hospital fence, where one of the inmates has been watching the whole thing. "Hey, pal! Why don't you just take one lug nut off each of the other three wheels and use them to replace the missing ones? That'll hold your tires on until you can get to a garage or something." Mr. Jones is startled by the patient's seeming rationality, but realizes the plan will work, and installs the spare tire without incident. Before he leaves, he calls back to the patient. "You know, that was pretty sharp thinking. Why do they have you in there?" The patient smiles and says, "I'm in here because I'm crazy, not because I'm stupid."

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Classmates at college were lamenting the cost of long-distance phone service and debating the relative advantages of AT&T, MCI, and Sprint. "I've found CTC to be the cheapest plan around," offered one. "CTC? Who are they?" "You know," he responded. "Call Them Collect."

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"As I get older he doesn't bother to look at me!" Mary cries. "I'm so sorry for you, as I get older my husband says I get more beautiful every day," replies Jane. "Yes, but your husband's an antique dealer!"

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After she woke up, a woman told her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine's day. What do you think it means?" "You'll know tonight." he said. That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it to find a book entitled "The Meaning of Dreams"

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A defendant asked the judge to appoint a new attorney to represent him. "For what reason?" the judge asked. The defendant said the public defender assigned to him wasn't interested in his case. The judge addressed the man's attorney, "Do you have any comments on the defendant's motion?"
The attorney replied, "I'm sorry, your honor, I wasn't listening."

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IT'S AUNT JEAN'S 99TH BIRTHDAY TODAY AND SHE'S STILL MIXING IT UP IN THE MANIC SARASOTA, FLORIDA TRAFFIC

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 22:35:49 +0000

A FEW PHOTOS AROUND THE PARK THIS MORNING

Aunt Jean and I decided to switch our Friday night phone calls from 8:15 to 7 p.m. We have been doing these Friday night phone calls for the best part of twenty years. It's Aunt Jean's 99th Birthday today, and by golly, she is still out there mixing it up in the manic Sarasota, Florida traffic. Although she sold her car about three months ago, she currently has the use of her friend Pat's car. Pat fell in her kitchen about six weeks ago, breaking her hip and her right wrist. She is home now recovering, but not able to drive, so she lent her car to Jean until she can get back behind the wheel again. Aunt Jean scooted off to her hairdresser and back this week and mentioned again how badly congested the Sarasota traffic has become over recent years. Pat's car is an SUV and sits higher than Aunt Jean's previous car, a Toyota Camry. No problem driving Pat's car, Aunt Jean said, but because of the height, she has one heck of a time getting in and out of it.

I was startled this morning on my walk while trying to concentrate on taking a flower picture with my iPhone. All of a sudden I heard a gaggle of voices in my left ear, and on a deserted country road, all of a sudden hearing voices in one's ear can be instantly disconcerting, to say the least. Not just one voice, but a gaggle of voices, and then, before I could turn my head, the fast-moving voices 'whoooshed' right behind me by what seemed like mere inches. Those voices were traveling fast and in a split second I estimated they must have been going about 185 mph. Swiveling quickly with my phone, I barely caught a dusting of them.

Home again, I took a little drive around our Park snapping a few pics here and there. I saw two more recently poured concrete pads for more new homes, which I expect will be arriving before too long. The Park owners had another 'open house' today with one of the models, and judging by the number of vehicles, lawn chairs, porch flower pots, and early landscaping, I think the majority of the new units are already sold.

AROUND THE PARK

OVER THE PAST NEARLY 24 YEARS, KELLY, MAX, CHECKERS, CORA, PHEEBS AND I HAVE WALKED COUNTLESS HUNDREDS OF TIMES ALONG THIS EAST BANK OF PARK'S POND ON OUR ONCE DAILY WALKS

THIS 'REST-A-BIT' BENCH ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE POND ALWAYS REMINDS ME OF KELLY, AND I CAN STILL SEE HER SITTING THERE

Despite the heat and humidity, I busied myself putting down two bags of mulch in one of the flower beds, hauled out and got the lawn sprinkler going, raked up half a wheelbarrow of pine needles, and fashioned myself together a makeshift roof for the bird station. Not exactly a thing of beauty, but it might keep the birdfeeder dryer when it rains.

AND THIS IS MY RUDIMENTARY BIRD STATION RENOVATION

AND THIS IS THE FIRST LITTLE FACE THAT APPEARED THIS AFTERNOON, WHICH TELLS ME I AM GOING TO HAVE TO TRIM PACK SOME MORE BRANCHES

THIS PAIR OF MOURNING DOVES WERE A LITTLE DISKABOOBLATED BY THE CHANGE TO THE BIRD STATION BUT WITHIN AN HOUR THEY WERE BACK ON THE STATION EATING UP THE SEEDS

OF COURSE MY BIRD STATION ANTICS WERE OF NO INTEREST TO THIS FRONT YARD FROG POND FELLOW

NO, THAT IS NOT MY FOOT......'GEEEEEZZZZ'

Had my coffee on the front porch again this afternoon and snapped a few more photos. Woodsy whipped up another 'Watermelon Salad' today, and before I got my face into it, I remembered to take a picture this time. By the way, strawberries make a great addition to this salad as well. (watermelon, cucumbers, feta cheese, cooked chicken, and honey dijon mustard,) or a salad dressing of your choice.

Al's Music Box:: Blue Bayou by Roy Orbison.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A guy walked into a doctor's office and the receptionist asked him what he had. He said, "shingles." So she took down his name, address, and medical insurance number and told him to have a seat. Fifteen minutes later a nurse's aide came out and asked him what he had. He said, "shingles." So she took down his height, weight, a complete medical history and told him to wait in the examining room. A half-hour later, a nurse came in and asked him what he had. He said, "shingles." She gave him a blood test, a blood pressure test, an electrocardiogram, told him to take off all his clothes and wait for the doctor. An hour later the doctor came in and asked him what he had. He said, "shingles." The doctor said, "Where?" He said, "Outside in the truck. Where do you want them?"

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A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She reduced altitude and spotted a man below. She descended a bit more and shouted: 'Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago but I don't know where I am..' The man below replied, 'You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.' 'You must be an Engineer,' said the balloonist. 'I am,' replied the man, 'how did you know?' 'Well,' answered the balloonist, 'everything you have told me is probably technically correct, but I've no idea what to make of your information and the fact is, I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip by your talk.' The man below responded, 'You must be in Management.' 'I am,' replied the balloonist, 'but how did you know?'
'Well,' said the man, 'you don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault.'!!

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THAT'S KINDA HOW PHEEBS AND I WERE YEARS AGO TOO

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 22:14:23 +0000

NOT SURE WHAT THIS BIRD IS, BUT I SEE THEM FLITTING ABOUT IN THE WHEATFIELD ALONGSIDE MY WALKING ROAD

Decided to carry my Sony RXIV camera with me this morning on my walk, and take a few pics along the way. Any day now, I expect a big grass-cutting machine to come rolling up the gravel road and mow down the ditches as it goes. That means all the wildflowers growing along both sides of my walking road will be gone. A lot of little yellow Butterflies and Dragonflies were fluttering about in those ditches this morning. Evenings too. After the ditches are mowed, those Dragonflies and Butterflies will move on, and I will miss them. Well, at least that's what happened last summer around this time.

CHICORY

PURPLE VETCH

MONARCH BUTTERFLY ON A MILKWEED PLANT

TWAS A FINE LOOKING MORNING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

With a warm, sunny, and humid day upon us, I enjoyed spending time simply sitting on the shaded front porch, appreciating all the greenery in the front yard with the sounds of birds in the surrounding trees and chipmunks scampering about all over the place. Also had my music with me and my camera. Of course, there is seldom any more than a ten-foot separation between me, a musical device, or a camera of some sort. That's kinda how Pheebs and I were years ago, too. I sure miss her.

Al's Music Box:: Hello Stranger by Barbara Lewis.

DRAGONFLY IN A WHEAT FIELD THIS MORNING

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A terrifying explosion occurs in a gunpowder factory, and once all the mess has been cleared up, an inquiry begins. One of the few survivors is asked to make a statement. "Okay Simpson," says the investigator, "you were near the scene, what happened?" "Well, it's like this. Old Charley Higgins was in the mixing room, and I saw him take a cigarette out of his pocket and light up." "He was smoking in the mixing room?" the investigator said in stunned horror, "How long had he been with the company?" "About 20 years, sir" "20 years in the company, then he goes and strikes a match in the mixing room, I'd have thought it would have been the last thing he'd have done." "It was, sir."

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- I met a nice girl at a bar last night and asked her to call me when she made it home. She must be homeless.

- “Electricians go with the flow, never against the current!”
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A boy had reached four without giving up the habit of sucking his thumb, though his mother had tried everything from bribery to reasoning to painting it with lemon juice to discourage the habit. She tried threats, warning her son that, "If you don't stop sucking your thumb, your stomach is going to blow up like a balloon." Later that day, walking in the park, mother and son saw a pregnant woman sitting on a bench. The four-year-old considered her gravely for a minute, then spoke to her saying, "Uh-oh ... I know what you've been doing."

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I COULD LITERALLY SIT DOWN AND EAT BY THE BUCKETFUL

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:05:37 +0000

MONARCH BUTTERFLY IN A WHEAT FIELD

With another fine summer's evening upon us, Woodsy and I saddled up the E-Bikes once again Wednesday night, and this time we headed east out of the Park into the open countryside. I was again reminded of my motorcycle days when cruising through the country and passing through all the delightfully different smells and aromas. It could be a bunch of lilac bushes alongside the road, or acres of new mown hay in the many farmers' fields. I've always liked the smell of a cattle barn, but not so much the scent of a skunk somewhere nearby and maybe close to the road. Sometimes it can simply be the smell of fresh air itself. Passing forests have a smell all of their own, and how nice the aroma of many different flowers in their seasons. Sometimes on the wind drifts the scent of the lake itself, and sometimes an earthy smell if a farmer is hard at work plowing a nearby field. Many of these aromas are not detected when inside a car, but with the open concept of a bicycle or a motorcycle, they are easily detected and enjoyed. But a bicycle has one big advantage over a motorcycle when it comes to all those various smells, and it is simply the silence. The silence, coupled with the countryside smells and enhanced by the surrounding beauty, just makes for a complete, memorable, and enjoyable outdoor experience. I am sure grateful to Woodsy for surprising me with an E-Bike for my birthday early last October. It has brought me even closer to the countryside that I love.

ANOTHER NICE TWILIGHT BIKE RIDE WITH FRIENDLY FARM FOLKS WAVING AS WE GO BY

WOODSY LINES UP A SUNSET PHOTO

Despite a heavy cloud cover, I could feel the hot sun's rays right through those clouds on my walk this morning. It sure seems to me that the sun's heat and the air's humidity are both waaaaaay stronger nowadays than forty or fifty years ago. Yes, some of that may have to do with my age but I do sincerely believe that there has been a serious change to the Earth's atmosphere.

THE GOLDEN WHEAT FIELD BESIDE MY WALKING ROAD IS VERY CLOSE TO BEING HARVESTED

Many readers will know of my dislike of salads.....and any kind of a salad. Well, I must amend that a wee bit. Woodsy makes a salad that I could literally sit down and eat by the bucketful. And, I'll call it, 'Watermelon Salad because its main ingredient is watermelon. I think I have written about this salad before and had included a picture. I had intended to take another picture today and include it with this post, but wouldn't you know it, I gobbled the salad all up before thinking of a picture. Here are the ingredients.......Watermelon, cucumber, feta cheese, cooked chicken, with a honey dijon dressing.
HERE'S ONE OF MY LITTLE PALS LOOKING IN THE PATIO DOOR EARLIER THIS MORNING TO SEE IF I AM UP YET

HERE WE ARE WATCHING TV TOGETHER THIS MORNING

SOME OF TONIGHT'S PHOTOS ARE NOT AS SHARP AS THEY SHOULD BE, BUT I CAN'T BE LUCKY ALL THE TIME

Al's Music Box:: Stranger On The Shore by Acker Bilk.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( One day, the little Moron's neighbor comes over to his house, and finds him crying, and asks him what happened. The little Moron said that his mother had passed away. The neighbor made him some coffee and calmed him down a little and then left. The next day the neighbor went back over to the house and found the little Moron crying again. He asked him why he was crying this time. The little Moron said, "I just got off of the phone with my sister. Her mother died too!"

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Q. What did the digital clock say to the analog clock?

A. Look, No hands!
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- Do you know what always catches my eye? Short people with umbrellas.

- My family told me to stop telling Thanksgiving jokes, but I told them I couldn't just quit "cold turkey."

- Why do pilgrims’ pants always fall down? Because they wear their belt buckles on their hats!

- What did the hipster say the day after Thanksgiving? I liked the leftovers because they were cool.

- What do you call a turkey on the day after Thanksgiving? Lucky.

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Knock Knock
Who's there?
Dawn!
Dawn who?
Dawn leave me out here in the cold!

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Deanna!
Deanna who?
Deanna-mals are restless open the cage!

Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Tamara.
Tamara who? Tamara we'll have turkey leftovers!

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Diner: "I would like a cup of coffee, please."

Waiter: "I'm very sorry, sir, but I'm afraid we're fresh out of coffee today; our coffee maker has been completely exhausted."
Diner: "I'm not surprised, due to how weak it's been lately."

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NICE, FRIENDLY SMALL-TOWN FOLKS AT MICHAELS

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 22:42:01 +0000

NO, THIS ISN'T US, BUT WE'VE NOTICED A LOT MORE E-BIKES ON THE ROAD THIS YEAR

As soon as the evening air began to cool Tuesday night we saddled up our E-Bikes and headed for Bayfield. We weren't long in arriving at Rosie's Ice Cream Shoppe. While Woodsy waited across the street at a sit-down place with the bikes, I headed over to Rosies and snagged us two small kiddy-cones. Key Lime for Woodsy, and Pralines and Cream for me.

RIDING ALONG BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET, WOODSY PULLS OVER TO ANSWER HER RINGING PHONE

IN THE LINE UP AT ROSIE'S, THE GIRL ON THE LEFT ACTUALLY HAS A TINY BABY STRAPPED TO HER CHEST IN A PAPOOSE

YES, WE DO LOVE OUR SUMMERTIME ICE CREAM CONES

WOODSY SLIPS DOWN THESE STEEP STEPS TO THE BEACH TO SNAP A PICTURE OF THE SUNSET

Following that, we rode down around the south end of Bayfield. With sunset quickly approaching, we pedalled back through Pioneer Park and down Short Hill Road to Bayfield's beach and out onto the pier. Lots of people there, with many of them fishing and kids jumping off the pier into the lake.

OUT AT THE END OF BAYFIELD'S SOUTH PIER

A SAILBOAT HEADS IN AFTER AND EVENINGS CRUISE

A YOUNG COUPLE HEADS OUT IN A SMALL MOTORIZED RUBBER BOAT

KIDS JUMPING OFF THE PIER

Following my almost 'too warm' country road walk this morning, I slipped into Bayfield and picked up two twenty-pound 'anti-squirrel' bags of birdseed at Porter's Hill Wild Birdseed Company. Dropped off my first prescription at Michaels Pharasave where I recently transferred my account from Walmart's Pharmact. Nice, friendly small-town folks at Michaels.

FOUR FROGS IN THE FRONT YARD FROG POND NOW

TWO 20 POUND BAGS OF BIRDSEED

JUST INSIDE THE KITCHEN DOOR IS MY SUPPLY OF CRITTER COMFORTS

With the summer's heat and humidity ramping up again, I didn't have much interest for spending any time outside.

Al's Music Box:: Did She Mention My Name by Gordon Lightfoot.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Charlie decides to learn to try horseback riding without any experience or lessons. He mounts the horse with great effort, and the tall, shiny horse springs into motion. It gallops along at a steady and rhythmic pace, but the Charlie begins to slip from the saddle. Out of shear terror, he grabs for the horse's mane but cannot seem to get a firm grip. He tries to throw his arms around the horse's neck, but slides down the side of the horse anyway. The horse gallops along, seemingly oblivious to its slipping rider. Finally, giving up his frail grip, he leaps away from the horse to try and throw himself to safety. Unfortunately, his foot has become entangled in the stirrup. He is now at the mercy of the horse's pounding hooves as his head is struck against the ground again and again. As his head is battered against the ground, he is moments away from unconsciousness or even death when Todd, the Walmart manager, runs out to turn the horse off.

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What do you get when you cross a kangaroo with a calendar?

A leap year!

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Two little boys were at a wedding when one leaned over to the other and asked, "How many wives can a man have?" His friend answered, "Sixteen... four better, four worse, four richer, and four poorer."

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While driving in Pennsylvania, a family caught up to an Amish carriage. The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand-painted sign that read, "Energy efficient vehicle. Runs on oats and grass. CAUTION: Do not step on exhaust."

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Clem and Abner were out hunting when they came upon a couple of tracks. After close examination, the first Clem declared them to be deer tracks. Abner disagreed, insisting they must be elk tracks. They were still arguing when the train hit them.

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I PASSED INSPECTION OKAY

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 22:23:11 +0000

A lovely Monday evening for a walk and a slow wander through the countryside. Farmer's were out cutting and baling hay. The summer sure is slipping by. My drive was made extra nice with no rattles or knocking sounds emanating from underneath the car. That front wheel repair and the tightening of a loose muffler clamp resolved the noisy and annoying problems.

BALING HAY IN MONDAY EVENING'S TWIIGHT GLOW

With Woodsy on her way today, I had some vacuuming to do, and a few dishes to wash up. Not a lot, but a few. I run a tidy ship here. I think it was nearly noon when the little burgundy VW Tiguan rolled into the driveway and out popped Woodsy and her cheery smile. I passed inspection okay, and we weren't long piling into the Subaru and on our way to Walmart for a few things. Followed that with a swing down around the harbor, but not out to Rotary Cove because the road was closed. With that, we headed home with warm temps under a big blue sky and mountains of tall puffy white clouds.

THE BARBRO G IN PORT LOADING GRAIN

BALES OF HAY HEADING FOR A FARM

LOW ON PICS I TOOK A WALK AROUND THE FRONT YARD WITH MY CAMERA....THIS IS A FLOWERPOT ALONSIDE THE FROG POND

A HOSTA LEAF

Al's Music Box:: How High The Moon by Les Paul and Mary Ford.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( When the rod in her closet fell from the weight of her clothes Sally decided to donate some. While gathering the garments she no longer wore, she checked the pockets in one coat and found a ticket for shoes she’d brought in for repairs nearly four years before. “So that’s what happened to those,” she muttered. Later that day after dropping off the clothes, she decided to see if the repairman still had the shoes. After studying the ticket, the man said. “I’m sorry, but those won’t be ready until Friday.”

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Q: What looks like half a cat?
A: The other half!

Q: What is lion's favorite food?
A: Baked beings!

Q: How does a lion greet the other animals in the field?
A: 'Pleased to eat you.'!

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It was the middle of the night. Suddenly there was a loud rapping on the doctor’s door, followed by a groan. The doctor angrily thrust his head out of the window. “WELL?” he shouted. “No,” moaned the man. “Sick.”

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After hearing the story of Jonah at Sunday School, a little girl repeated the story at school on Monday. Her teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because, even though it is a very large mammal, its throat is very small. The little girl said, "But how can that be? Jonah was swallowed by a whale."Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human. "It is physically impossible!" she said. Undaunted, the little girl said, "Well, when I get to heaven I will ask Jonah." To this, the teacher said, "What if Jonah went to hell?"The little girl replied, "Then YOU ask him!"

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SUBIE IS BACK TO HER GOOD OLD SMOOTHLY QUIET SELF AGAIN

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 23:22:45 +0000

My little excursion to the Bayfield Garage with the E-bike on the back of the car on Sunday evening went off without a hitch. I parked the car at the garage, took the bike off, mounted up, and headed straightaway for the Woodland Drive-In, whereupon I chased a foot-long hot dog down with a soft ice cream cone. From there, it was down Bayfield's Main Street to Pioneer Park to nab a few early sunset photos. The ride from there home was uneventful, and I was back well before dark.

HERE'S SUBIE'S SPOT FOR THE NIGHT AT THE BAYFIELD GARAGE

YUP, THAT THAR'S MY FOOT LONGE HOT DOG ALRIGHT

ON MY WAY TO PIONEER PARK I SPOTTED THIS 'CLASS A' MOTORHOME WITH KIND OF AN ODD PAINT JOB

MY BASE OF OPERATIONS AT THE PARK

THIS LITTLE DOG WENT FLYING BY DOING ABOUT 85 MPH, AND WITH PEOPLE SHOUTING AT HIM, I DETERMINED HIS NAME WAS 'PIPER'

A SAILBOAT HEADS BECK INTO PORT AFTER AN EVENING'S CRUISE

WELL, JUST ABOUT TIME TO HEAD FOR HOME

No car this morning, so no country road walk. Instead, with much-welcome cooler air upon us, I spent time outside dealing with weeds and stuff. By noon, with temperatures once again climbing, I retreated into the house and waited for a call from the garage to come pick up the car. Of course, it wasn't an idle wait, with birds and chipmunks to feed as well as any other little critters that might happen along, like bunnies, spiders, and toads, etc.......The Bayfield Garage called shortly after 5 saying the Subaru was all fixed up and ready to go, so it was out to the carport I went, saddled up my E-Bike and pedal-powered my way into Bayfield a couple of miles away. Reaching the garage, I secured the bike on the bike carrier and slipped in to pay the bill. Here's the breakdown on the repair....That driver's side front wheel had a new wheel bearing installed last summer, and it required another one today, which was luckily covered under warranty so no charge there. But the wheel also required a control arm bushing which was torn, and a stabilizer bar kit that was loose. They also inspected for noises and replaced`a rattling exhaust shield clamp. As mentioned, the wheel bearing was also replaced. My bill came to $496.23 with 57.09 being taxes. Subie is back to her good old smoothly quiet self again......

ABOUT READY TO LOAD UP THE BIKE

SURE ARE A LOT OF DAY LILIES AROUND THE HOUSE THIS YEAR

Al's Music Box:: Baby The Rain Must Fall by Glenn Yarbrough.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( At a southern university, students in the psychology program were attending their first class on emotional extremes."Just to establish some parameters," said the professor to the student from Arkansas, "what is the opposite of joy?" "Sadness," said the student. "And the opposite of depression?" he asked of the young lady from Oklahoma. "Elation," she said. "And you sir," he said to the young man from Texas, "what about the opposite of woe?" The Texan replied, "Sir, I believe that would be 'giddy up' ."

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Q: What do you call a dead atheist?

A: Someone all dressed up with nowhere to go!

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Mary goes to her first show at an art gallery and is looking at the paintings. One is a huge canvas that has black with yellow blobs of paint splattered all over it. The next painting is a murky gray color that has drips of purple paint streaked across it. Mary walks over to the artist and says, I don't understand your paintings.
I paint what I feel inside me, explains the artist.
Have you ever tried Alka-Seltzer?

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LEST MUGGERS WERE TO ROB ME AND STEAL MY COUPON!!

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 22:30:19 +0000

ONE OF THREE FROGS RESIDING IN THE FRONT YARD FROG POND THIS SUMMER

It was a sultry Saturday evening, and so much so, that I had to apply some heat through my defrost to keep the windshield clear while I made my way around a few country roads after my evening walk. This has been happening with frequency lately in this hot and humid weather. It's the oddest thing that I have never experienced before. It forms on the outside of the windshield, has a silver sheen, and looks like ice.
iPHONE PIC OF SATURDAY NIGHT'S SUNSET

WHEN I EDITED THIS PHOTO, I WAS REMINDED OF A SONG FROM THE 60'S CALED RED RUBBER BALL BY THE CYRKLE

With an A&W breakfast coupon in my pocket, I was anxious to use it up lest muggers were to rob me and steal my coupon!! So, after my morning walk, it was off straightaway that I headed lickety split to Goderich to partake myself in a mess of bacon and eggs, toast, coffee, and a hash brown. Twas quite the enjoyable time I had tucked away in a far corner, adding a few new stains to my clean shirt. Of course, in my world, it is only clean shirts that are susceptible to the droppings of food.

From A&W, it was down to the harbor and out to the cove. Two large ships in port this morning. The Algoma Compass taking on a load of salt, and the Harvest Spirit, a couple of hundred yards away, taking on a load of grain. Took a spin out to Rotary Cove, snapped a few pics, and then it was up out of the harbor I went, heading through town to Goderich's east end for a stop at Walmart. I was dangerously low on peanut butter, and the kitchen cupboard's alarm bell had been sounding since yesterday.

LOADING GRAIN THIS MORNING WAS THE HARVEST SPIRIT

IF YOU DIDN'T NOTICE THE CREW MEMBER MONITORING THE LOAD OF GRAIN INTO THE HOLD OF THE SHIP, CHECK THE PHOTO BELOW

OH MY, THE ADVANTAGES OF A TELEPHOTO LENS

TAKING ON A LOAD OF SALT IS THE ALGOMA COMPASS

SPOTTED THIS NEAT-O TRUCK OUT AT ROTARY COVE

IT'S A MERCURY BUT I DON'T KNOW THE YEAR....IF MY GOOD BUDDY RICHARD WERE STILL WITH US, HE WOULD KNOW

THE CALM WATERS OF LAKE HURON AND LONG-TIME READERS MAY REMEMBER ME BLOGGING ABOUT THAT BIG MARBLED COLORED BOULDER IN THE LEFT FOREGROUND.....I WAS SO CONCERNED THAT WORKERS WERE GOING TO BURY IT WHEN THIS SHORELINE RESTORATION WORK WAS TAKING PLACE A FEW YEARS AGO....PHEEBS AND I WOULD ALWAYS SAY, 'HELLO, MR. ROCK' AS WE PASSED BY

PEOPLE ENJOYING THE BEACH THIS MORNING

A NICE PATCH OF FLOWERS ON THE WAY OUT TO ROTARY COVE

Home again, and despite having a good night's sleep, I felt like I'd been up all night working in a coal mine. I headed for the sunroom, tipped myself back in my recliner, and crossed my fingers in hopes of catching myself some zzzzzzzzz's. Well, so much for crossing my fingers and all that stuff. Hardly seems to ever work anyway, but actually, I did manage to get about an hour, and it indeed was a big help.

FROGGY NUMBER 2

So, the Subaru is going into the Bayfield Garage tomorrow for what I suspect might be brake work. With a possible chance of rain in the morning, I am going to drop it off at the garage tonight and ride my E-bike back home.

Al's Music Box:: It Never Rains In Southern California byAlbert Hammond.

FROGGY NUMBER 3

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter clearer, he said: "Now, students, if I stood on my head the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I should turn red in the face." "Yes, sir," the boys said. "Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary position the blood doesn't run into my feet?" A little fellow shouted, "'It's because yer feet ain't empty."

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"Yesterday, scientists revealed that beer contains small traces of female hormones.
To prove their theory, the scientists fed 100 men 12 pints of beer and observed that 100% of them gained weight, talked excessively without making sense, became emotional, couldn't drive, and refused to apologize when wrong.

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A teacher says, “Okay, class. Today we’re going to be talking about the tenses. If I say ‘I’m beautiful,’ which tense is it?” Little Johnny raises his hand and says, “Obviously past tense, Miss.”

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Three older ladies were discussing the travails of getting older. One said, "Sometimes I catch myself with a jar of mayonnaise in my hand, in front of the refrigerator, and I can't remember whether I was taking it out or putting it away."
The second lady said, "Yes, sometimes I find myself on the landing of the stairs, and I can't remember whether I was on my up, or on my way down." The third lady chimed in, "Well, I'm glad I don't have those problems. Knock on wood." With that, she rapped her knuckles on the table, then said, "That must be the door. I'll get it."
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SO, IT'S LOOKING LIKE ANOTHER SHORT POST

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 22:32:37 +0000

On this cloudy, lower-temp morning (72F) after my walk, I headed home, hauled out the mower and cut the backyard grass, raked out another area, and planted more grass seed. Couldn't seem to get myself into photo mode today, and writing didn't seem to interest me either, so it's looking like another short post................

Al's Music Box:(( Broken Hearted Melody by Sarah Vaughn.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( One day, there was a catastrophic event that caused all humans on Earth to die. To sort things out, everyone went to Heaven. God came in and said, "I want the men to make two lines. One line for the men who ruled their women on Earth and the other line for the men who were ruled by their women. Also, I want all the women to go with St. Peter." With that, the next time God looked, the women were gone and there were two lines. The line of men who were ruled by their women was 1000 miles long, and in the line of men who ruled their women, there was only one man. God became angry and said, "You men should be ashamed of yourselves. I created you in my image and you were all whipped by your mates. Look at the only one of my sons who stood up and made me proud. Learn from him! Tell them, my son, how did you manage to be the only one in this line?" The man replied, "I don't know, my wife told me to stand here."

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Q: What goes vroom, screech, vroom, screech, vroom, screech?

A: A Moron going through a flashing red light.

Q: What did the Little Moron say to the physicist?

A: "Why, I just love nuclear fission! What do you use for bait?"

Q: Did you hear about the Moron couple that were found frozen in their car at a drive-in movie theater?

A: They went to see "Closed for the Winter".

Q: A Little Moron is walking down the street with a pig under his arm. He passes a person who asks, "Where did you get that?"

A: The pig says, "I won him in a raffle!"

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A couple, desperate to conceive a child, went to their priest and asked him to pray for them. "I'm going on a sabbatical to Rome," he replied, "and while I'm there, I'll light a candle for you." When the priest returned three years later, he went to the couple's house and found the wife pregnant, busily attending to two sets of twins. Elated, the priest asked her where her husband was so that he could congratulate him. "He's gone to Rome, to blow that damn candle out" came the harried reply.

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AND THAT IS ABOUT ALL I HAVE TODAY

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 23:05:56 +0000

AN iPHONE PIC OF CHICORY FLOWERS ALONGSIDE MY WALKING ROAD THIS MORNING

With a loud clap of thunder followed by a deluge of falling water upon the roof, my day started at 5:35 this morning. I had a feeling it might be a long day, and that is about all I have today.

HAY BALES HANGING OUT IN A FIELD

MY LITTLE PAL WAS BACK AT THE SUNROOM WINDOW THIS AFTERNOON

TWILIGHT'S WARM GLOW THURSDAY EVENING

LOOKING LIKE A GIANT DELTA-WING AIRLINER CLOUD OR A UFO

Al's Music Box:: I Believe In You by Don Williams.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A brilliant young boy was applying for a job with the railways. The interviewer asked him: "Do you know how to use the equipment?" "Yes", the boy replied. "Then what would you do if you realized that 2 trains, one from this station and one from the next were going to crash because they were on the same track?" The young applicant thought and replied "I'd press the button to change the points without hesitation." "What if the button was frozen and wouldn't work?" "I'd run outside and pull the lever to change the points manually" "And if the lever was broken?" "I'd get on the phone to the next station and tell them to change the points," he replied. "And if the phone was broken and needed an electrician to fix it?" The boy thought about that one. "I'd run into town and get my uncle" "Is your uncle an electrician?" "No, but he's never seen a train crash before!"

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The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours." Our next song is "Angels We Have Heard Get High." Don't let worry kill you, let the church help. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs. This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.

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A man is at work one day when he notices that his co-worker is wearing an earring.
This man knows his co-worker to be a normally conservative fellow, and is curious about his sudden change in "fashion sense."
The man walks up to him and says, "I didn't know you were into earrings." "Don't make such a big deal out of this, it's only an earring," he replies sheepishly. His friend falls silent for a few minutes, but then his curiosity prods him to say, "So, how long have you been wearing one?" "Ever since my wife found it in my truck..."

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KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED THAT BOTH DECISIONS I MADE THIS MORNING WERE GOOD DECISIONS

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 23:28:42 +0000

An hour or so after Wednesday's afternoon storm knocked the power out, a knock came to my door. It was our good neighbor, Andrew, inviting me over later because they have a generator, which meant they of course, still had air conditioning. Well, with it getting a little warm in the house, I couldn't refuse the offer, so over I went with a plate of four butter tarts that Lorraine had made for them. I stayed about an hour visiting with Sheila and Andrew. Andrew asked my how things were working with the TV, Apple box, Sirius Satellite Radio, Eastlink, etc. him I told had been having a little trouble with my iPhone not making a Bluetooth connection to the SiriusXM radio in the car for the last couple of days, so Andrew walked back home with me and in no time had that little problem all straightened out. So, I once again have my favorite XM music channel in the car going again. With the power still being out, and my iPhone desperately needing a charge, and me needing a coffee, I then plugged the phone charger cord into Subie's AC adapter and headed for Tim Hortons in Clinton. With a little drive through the countryside, it didn't take long for my phone to charge up, and it didn't take long for me to enjoy my daily evening cup of decaf coffee. Stopped at my night sky spot for half an hour before heading home, fingers crossed that the power would be on. What a relief it was to pull into the Park and see the street lights brightly on. So, with the power restored, my first order of business was to get my blog finished up and published. With that done, I then quickly started on my next day's blog. Oh, tis quite a life I live here:))

SPOTTED THIS LITTLE CHAP ON MY SUNROOM WINDOW TODAY

NOT THE BEST PICS OF A PILATED WOODPECKER THAT i SAW T HROUGH THE LIVING ROOM WINDOW IN A DEEPLY SHADED AREA BUT I'VE DECIDED TO INCLUDE THEM ANYWAY BECAUSE IT'S RARE TO SEE THESE BIG FELLOWS

THIS LITTLE RED SQUIRREL DIDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM BREACHING THIS SQUIRREL PROOF BIRDFEEDER'S SECURITY FEATURES

Determined this morning NOT to start my post off in the usual habitual manner (morning walk and weather) I sat blank-faced for the longest time combing through the cobwebs of my mind searching for a DIFFERENT way to start my post. So, here/s what I came up with which I'm sure long time readers have read before a few times......Years ago, after moving here to the Bayfield Pines, I picked myself up a part-time job driving a mobility van for a company in Clinton called, 'Town and Country'. It is now called 'One Care'. It was while driving for this company that I wrote the following......I have had many varied jobs over the years & I attribute that to my high susceptibility to boredom. Always found new jobs challenging with an element of excitement & for me that was always the attraction. My type of personality needs new challenges to keep itself from slumping into the dregs of boredom. There is a type of job though that has always held more of an attraction for me than any of the others & I was reminded of that again to-day as I leisurely cruised through our rural countryside in my mobility van. Driving jobs have never been boring for me & I took to driving like a duck takes to water right from the first time I snuck my stepfather's car out of the garage & picked up a couple pals for a cruise around some local country roads near the small town where we lived. No drivers license, underage, & scared like nuts as I manuevered that big huge black & nearly new 1961 Ford Galaxy around the corners & curves of those dusty gravel roads. Mixed with that fear was joy & excitement & it is the excitement I have retained after all these years. But it was the joy I felt to-day cruising through the countryside taking in Mother Natures wondrous wonders. Here I was.... being paid to sit in a controlled environment on a comfortible soft cushy seat while listening to music of my choice watching beautiful scenery unfold before my very eyes. Lush emerald green fields of grasses waving in the wind & carpets of bright yellow dandelions under white flowering apple trees. Sparkling little streams alongside the road bubbling over water weathered stones with fresh colors of lime colored leaves unwrapping themselves in the trees overhead & hews of purple lilacs emerging out of the fairytale landscape. Farmers busy on their patch work quilt fields to-day disking, fertilizing & planting. Small distant plumes of dust were tell tale signs of tractor activity below. With the deep robins egg blue sky above & the greening of the junglelike landscape below it made for a beautiful afternoon drive in the country & reminded me of why I have always liked driving jobs. If you have a love of nature, an eye for beauty, & a hankering for driving, you just might enjoy these kinds of jobs just as much as I have over the years. And if your like me this is one kind of job that isn't going to bore you.

BEACHGOERS AT GODERICH'S ROTARY COVE THIS MORNING
Down to my last quart of milk this morning, I hopped into Subie, cranked up the A/C, pointed her nose in the direction of Goderich, and off we went on our way. It was my usual routine of coffee, harbor, and Walmart. Pondering a couple of things that have been on my mind for a while, I made a couple of decisions on the way home. After dropping off my few groceries, I headed into Bayfield to make two stops, with the first one being Michaels Pharmacy. I had decided to move my Pharmacy Account from Walmart to Michaels. I set that change in motion. Then, in the same mini-mall I walked over to Tuckersmith Communications and gave them the go-ahead to install their Internet and TV equipment next Thursday. After that is done and successfully installed, I will cancel my long time Eastlink Internet and TV account and keep my fingers crossed that both decisions this morning were good decisions. I'm always leery of decisions like that because my track record shows me that I sure have made some big bad whoppers on the down side over the years.....Another hot and humid one today with thermometers hitting another 90F again:(( But hey, no nasty damaging late afternoon storms:))

TOOK THESE PICS OF A COUPLE SEADOS THIS AFTERNOON FROM BAYFIELD'S PIONEER PARK
Al's Music Box:: Shadowland by k.d. Lang.

THIS IS MY HOT SUMMER'S GO TO DRINK WHERE I MIX HALF A GALSS OF APPLE JUICE WITH HALF A GLASS OF DIET CRANBERRY JUICE WHICH I HAVE ALREADY DILUTED WITH WATER BY 50%

GROANER'S CORNER:(( An old man lived alone in Idaho. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, Bubba, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament. Dear Bubba: I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me. Love, Dad. A few days later, he received a letter from his son. Dear Dad: For heaven's sake, Dad, don't dig up that garden. That's where I buried the BODIES. Love, Bubba. At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local Police showed up and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day, the old man received another letter from his son. Dear Dad: Go ahead and plant the potatoes now. It's the best I could do under the circumstances. Love, Bubba.

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"Madam, your husband must have absolute rest." "Well, Doctor, he won't listen to me."

"A very good beginning, madam, a very good beginning."

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A Russian couple was walking down the street in St. Petersburg the other night, when the man felt a drop hit his nose. "I think it's raining," he said to his wife.
"No, that felt more like snow to me," she replied. "No, I'm sure it was just rain, he said." Well, as these things go, they were about to have a major argument about whether it was raining or snowing. Just then they saw a minor communist party official walking toward them. "Let's not fight about it," the man said, "let's ask Comrade Rudolph whether it's officially raining or snowing." As the official approached, the man said, "Tell us, Comrade Rudolph, is it officially raining or snowing?" "It's raining, of course," he answered and walked on. But the woman insisted: "I know that felt like snow!" To which the man quietly replied: "Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear!"
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'HEY, WHAT AM I DOING HERE WITH ALL THESE DOGS'

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YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU ACCEPT IT + THE INTERNET WAS DOWN FOR 9 HOURS TUESDAY

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 02:53:01 +0000

WE SURE HAVE HAD A LOT OF NICE BIG SKY DAYS LATELY

TUESDAY:: As has been my usual routine on evenings of late, I slipped out to my walking road Sunday night around 8:30 and took my stroll up the road and back. And then, I broke with routine. Try as I did to talk myself into slipping into Clinton for a coffee to go, I just couldn't seem to drum up any interest. So, I came home, but not before I had snagged a couple of photos of a few cloud formations. Oh, and on my walk Sunday night, I remembered to take a couple of photos of the spot where I took a tumble Saturday night in the ditch.

THE DARKER PATCH IN THE TALL GRASS IS WHERE I FELL

SUNDAY NIGHT'S SUNSET AND I SEE A SLEEPING PUSSY CAT'S EARS

AND HERE, CAN YOU WALT DISNEY'S GOOFY BEING CHASED BY A LONG-NOSED WILY COYOTE

AND HOW ABOUT THIS LONG STREAMLINED GRAY SUBMARINE WITH ITS WHITE SUPERSTRUCTURE

BIG BEAUTIFUL SKIES INDEED

ANOTHER HAYFIELD CUT AND RACKED
By 8 a.m. the temperature had already reached 78F and with the humidity factor at 90%, I knew my outside time today was going to be very limited. So, with that foremost in my mind, I carried on with the day accordingly, washing dishes instead of going for my morning walk. We did hit a high today of 92fF. Praise be to the inventor of air conditioning. It did slip out briefly for a sit-down on the front porch. Popped some peanuts to my Chipmunk Pals and took a few telephoto shots of light and shadow in the front yard.

A VERIGATED HOSTA

A SHADOWED BUSH FERN

It was garbage pick-up day this morning, and sometime this afternoon the theme from TV's Mission Impossible rumbled into my head, followed by the words, "Your Mission, should you accept it Mr. Bossence, is to walk to the end of your driveway and retrieve the two garbage cans you will find there". Well, it's hard to argue with Mission Impossible when told what to do, so that is exactly what I did. And, it turned out to be the highlight of my day on this hot, humid, and sultry late weekday in June of 2026......UNTIL the day hit a low point when suddenly, at 2:45 in the afternoon, the internet (Eastlink) went down, taking the TV with it. And it stayed down until 11:45 Tuesday night. No internet, and no TV for nine hours. So, thanks to some quick thinking on my part, out of long ago storage came an old boombox and a handful of CDs. At least I still had my music, so all was not lost. The upside of course, is that I got caught up on a lot of reading. Re-reading the Anne of Green Gable series, and I'm on Anne of Avonlea at the moment. Took myself out for a wee drive Tuesday night to put in some time with the windows up, and the A/C going. Snagged a Horton's coffee in Clinton, then made my way southeast of Bayfield finally coming through town on my way home. Took a few pics along the way, but lost them today while carelessly transferring the pics from my camera to the computer. I do do unthinking silly things sometimes.

AT LEAST I DIDN'T HAVE TO GO WITHOUT MY MUSIC

WEDNESDAY:: Again, with temps already over 80F first thing this morning, I knew it was going to be another inside day, staying cool. For me, going outside in this heat and humidity with my oily skin just turns me into a sticky ball of paste. And, I absolutely hate that feeling!!!! Thank heavens I have my inside exercise bike to keep my legs limbered up. And, so far, the internet is back on for my computer and TV. And, once again, waaaay too hot for a morning walk. So, today was basically a repeat of yesterday, and I remained inside, trapped by the heat and humidity. I think we got over 90F again. Not nice for this guy. However, I did get out to the front porch to get warmed up a bit. The A/C in the house has got everything so darn cold I have to wear a warm hat and mitts. While on the porch with my long lens, I did manage to snap a few bird pics......And then, all of a sudden it became very dark out. I quickly checked my live Exeter radar site and holy smokes, there was a big bad storm racing across Lake Huron and was almost upon us. I barely got the outside shed door closed before I heard hail hitting the steel roof and deck. The hail only lasted a few seconds, and then came the deluge of rain with the wind driving it sideways and bending the trees. Minutes later at 3 p.m. our power went out. Fifteen minutes after that, everything calmed right down, the rain stopped, and the storm moved inland. And then the sun came out. But, our power never came back on until sometime later Wednesday night. I had gone out in the car for a drive to charge up my phone, plus grab a coffee, and when I got home about 10:30 the power was on. So, here I am now typing the last few words of the blog before publishing it. And that's why I am so late tonight...................................

A PAIR OF COWBIRDS AT ONE OF THE BIRD FEEDER TODAY

A RED WING BLACKBIRD AT THE BIRD STATION

Al's Music Box:: Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

FROM A DISTANCE, I THOUGHT THIS SMALL PATCH OF ORANGE WAS BUTTERFLY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FROG POND

GROANER'S CORNER:(( 10 Commandments of Marriage::

Commandment 1. Marriages are made in heaven. But so again, are thunder and lightning.
Commandment 2.
If you want your spouse to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.
Commandment 3. Marriage is grand — and divorce is at least 100 grand!
Commandment 4. Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.
Commandment 5. When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: Either the car is new or the wife is.

Commandment 6. Marriage is when a man and woman become as one; the trouble starts when they try to decide which one.
Commandment 7. Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something you said. After marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish talking.
Commandment 8. Every man wants a wife who is beautiful, understanding, economical, and a good cook. But the law allows only one wife.
Commandment 9. Every woman wants a man who is handsome, understanding, economical and a considerate lover, but again, the law allows only one husband.
Commandment 10. Man is incomplete until he marries. After that, he is finished.

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A man gets pulled over by the police for speeding. The cop walks up to the car and says to the driver, “Sir, did you know that you were going 60 miles an hour?" The driver says, "Officer, there is no way I could have been going 60 miles an hour!" The cop says, “Really! Why is that? The driver replies," I could not have been going 60 miles an hour because I've only been out driving for 25 minutes."

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Two elderly couples were enjoying a friendly conversation when one of the men asked the other, "Fred, how was the memory clinic you went to last month?"
"Outstanding," Fred replied. "They taught us all the latest psychological techniques: visualization, association, etc. It was great."
"That's good! And what was the name of the clinic?" Fred went blank. He thought and thought, but couldn't remember. Then a smile broke across his face and he asked, "What do you call that flower with the long stem and thorns?" "You mean a rose?" "Yes, that's it!" He turned to his wife, "Rose, what was the name of that memory clinic?"

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Q. Why did the pig cross the road
A. To prove that he wasn't a chicken

- If electricity comes from electrons... does that mean that morality comes from morons?

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It was a sunny Saturday morning, and a perfect golfing day. Mike was beginning his pre-shot routine, visualizing his upcoming shot, when a voice came over the clubhouse speaker--"Would the gentleman on the Ladies Tee please back up to the Men's Tee!" Mike, still deep in his routine, seemed impervious to the interruption. Again the announcement--"Would the man on the Ladies Tee kindly back up to the Men's tee, PLEASE!" Mike had had enough. He turned and shouted, "Would the announcer in the clubhouse kindly shut up and let me play my second shot!"

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AND DOWN I WENT WITH A THUD

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 23:29:45 +0000

Another fine summer's evening as I slipped out to my walking road. On the east side there is a row of white plastic-wrapped straw bales that have been there for over a year now. There are maybe a dozen bales laid end to end running parallel with my walking road at the edge of a farmer's field. About in the middle of that line of bales is a tall brown, spindly plant stalk maybe five or six feet tall. It's been there well over a year now and once had yellow flowers on it. I pass it every time I walk up the road and back. Never knew what it was, so last night, knowing how to identify plants with my iPhone now, I decided to wade down into the tall grass ditch and make my way over to the plant. The ditch was much deeper than I thought, and the tall, thick grass hid that. With effort, up a short, steep bank, I was shakily able to get close enough to this tall, spindly, spikey brown thing. My phone identified it as a biannual plant called Mullein and this one was obviously at the end of its second year, with only a bunch of small seed pods on it. I took the picture and stepped back, forgetting the deep ditch behind me, and down I went with a thud, ka-boom, flat on my back in the tall four-foot grass. I knew within seconds that I was okay because nothing hurt and all parts of me seemed to still be working okay. Into my mind right away popped that saying, 'I've fallen, and I can't get up'. But, I knew I could get up, and if I couldn't, I still had my phone in my hand if I needed to call for help. With a rare chuckle popping out of me, I set about disentangling myself from the long grass and hoisting myself back up onto my feet. I turned to the Mullein plant and said, 'Well, Mr. Mullein, that was quite an adventure.' A minute later, I was back up on the road and on my merry way. And, I'm sure I heard a little chuckle as well out of that tall Mullein plant behind me. Ten minutes later, I picked up a coffee to go at Clinton's Tim Hortons and headed west through the countryside to my night sky spot on Tower Hill Line. The big pinky-looking full Moon was already up off the horizon when I first spotted it. Reaching my spot, I could right away see fireworks on the darkening horizon in the direction of Bayfield. This display was more prominent than the two I had seen in the same direction the night before. I stood leaning back against the front of the car, taking in the beautiful summer's night and all its fine scenery laid out in front of me. The Moon, and the winking red lights of numerous wind turbines on the far distant horizon. The lights of Clinton to my left, and the fireworks and tall communication tower between Bayfield and our Park winking its red lights at me as well. I thought again last night on my way home, how really fortunate I am to have come this far and lasted this long after such a troubled life...........

ON MY WAY TO MY WALKING ROAD SUNDAY EVENING I SAW THIS SINGLE PATH LEADING INTO A WHEAT FIELD....ODD I THOUGHT

WITH SUNDAY EVENINGS HEAVY CLOUD COVER TO THE EAST, I DIDN'T THINK I WAS GOING TO SEE A FULL MOON

THE SAME CLOUD COVER OVER AN ALFALFA FIELD ON THE EAST SIDE OF MY WALKING ROAD

FINISHING MY WALK, THE SUNSET WAS BEGINNING TO TAKE SHAPE IN THE WEST

LATER, WITH COFFEE IN HAND, I TOOK A COUPLE MORE SUNSET PICS

THIS WAS MY FIRST SIGHTING OF THE FULL MOON

THE MOON PARTIALLY OBSCURED BY SOME CLOUD COVER

A CLEAR SKY FULL MOON

Twas a warm summer breeze out of the east this morning as I made my way along my walking road, stopping to look at the flattened grass where I took my tumble the night before. Didn't feel like going home after my walk, so I cruised a few country roads east and southeast of Bayfield before swinging north and coming into Bayfield itself. I was there for a reason. About a week ago, the Subaru began making noises, and I could tell those noises were coming from somewhere under the car. A slight rattling sound when stepping on the gas and click/knock sound sometimes when stepping on the gas or backing off the gas. A knock when I would start the wheels moving sometimes. I suspect a brake problem so I popped into the Bayfield Garage. The car goes in next Monday morning for repairs to whatever it is. And, it probably ain't gonna be a cheap fix. The rest of the day just kinda floated away on me, and here I am again about to publish yet another Bayfield Bunch blog. This post will be number 6,532. It's no wonder they call me Mr. Blabberfingers.............

MY MORNING DRIVE TOOK ME BY SOME SMALL CREEKS ALONG THE BANNOCKBURN LINE

I FIND IT UNUSUAL TO SEE SO MANY TURKEY VULTURES ON THE GROUND AND ALL IN ONE SPOT
Sometimes, I drift away and become lost in all the memories I find in my blog archives. It happened to me today when I casually slipped back a couple of years to see what we were doing back then. Kelly had just received some good news at London's University Hospital so we were on the upbeat. I came across a post I wrote back in June of 2024 and it tells how we evolved from 'The Dreamweavers' to 'The Bayfield Bunch' years ago. You can find this short story at the end of that post entitled, From The Dreamweavers To The Bayfield Bunch

A CLUSTER OF FLOWERS IN A WHEATFIELD

Al's Music Box:: Devoted To You by The Everly Brothers.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A young man watched as an elderly couple sat down to lunch at McDonald's. He noticed that they had ordered just one meal, and an extra drink cup. As he watched, the old gentleman carefully divided the hamburger in half, then counted out the fries, one for him, one for her, etc, until each had exactly half. Then the old man poured half of the soft drink into the extra cup and set that in front of his wife. The old man then began to eat, but his wife just sat watching him. The young man felt sorry for them and asked "I'm sorry to intrude, but would you allow me to purchase another meal for your wife so that you don't have to split your food?" The old gentleman said, "Oh, no, thank you. But you see, we've been married a long time, and everything has always been shared, 50/50." The young man said, "Wow! That's commendable." He then turned to the wife and asked, "Aren't you going to eat your share?" The wife replied "Not yet. It's his turn to use the teeth."

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- What’s the difference between a turkey and a chicken? Chickens celebrate Thanksgiving.

- Why did the turkey stand on stilts?
Because nobody eats flamingoes for Thanksgiving dinner.
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A patient was waiting nervously in the examination room of a famous specialist.

"So who did you see before coming to me?" asked the doctor. "My General Practitioner."
"Your GP?" scoffed the doctor. "What a waste of time. Tell me, what sort of useless advice did he give you?" "He told me to come and see you."
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This guy was watching TV as his wife was out cutting the grass during the hot summer. He finally worked up the energy to go out and ask his wife what was for supper. Well, his missus was quite irritated about him sitting in the air-conditioned house all day while she did all the work, so she scolded him. "I can't believe you're asking me about supper right now! Imagine I'm out of town, go inside and figure dinner out yourself." So he went back in the house and fixed himself a big steak, with potatoes, garlic bread, and a tall glass of iced tea. The wife finally walked in about the time he was finishing up and asked him, "You fixed something to eat? So where is mine?" "Huh? I thought you were out of town."

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WITH A HEARTFELT LITTLE HAT PRAYER, I HIT THE SWITCH

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 22:28:38 +0000

IT WAS A QUIET SUNDAY AFTERNOON AROUND THE OLD FRONT YARD FROG POND

I did make it out Saturday evening, and it turned out to be a fine summer's night. From my spot atop a hill on Tower Line Road, as darkness fell, I was able to see in the far distance three separate fireworks displays. One to the east, north of Clinton, and two in the direction of Bayfield to the southwest. The two near Bayfield were very distant and faint, but they were there. And, in the sky above, steadily on the rise glowed the big and bright nearly full Moon in all its forever mystery and mysticism. It was a nice way to wrap up an otherwise long and tiring, unproductive day. And, speaking of full Moons, don't be fooled by the term Strawberry Moon into thinking it is going to be the color of a strawberry. I think some folks sometimes get fooled by all the color names they have for different Moons. Just know that the Moon is the same color all the time, regardless of the month or what colorful name has been hung on it. There is no blue moon, blood moon, pink, purple, red strawberry moon, or fleshy pink colored Moon just because some loony-toon pulls his pants down and moons the neighbors.

SATURDAY NIGHTS TWILIGHT ON A NEWLY MOWN HAY FIELD

SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALMOST FULL MOON

Today was one of the first mornings I think that it felt warm enough on my walk to be wearing a short-sleeve shirt without a jacket or having to put on a long-sleeve shirt. Hey, and it's even summer already.

A SUNDAY MORNING iPHONE PIC OF PURPLE VETCH ALONGSIDE MY WALKING ROAD

It was a Sunday on February 8th of 2015, while boondocked in the Mojave Desert, Kelly and I, on a day trip, walked into an old, beautifully restored train station, pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. The little whistlestop was known as the Kelso Depot, and it was in southern California. Inside that train station remained the popular and well-known, in its day, by many travelers, the beautiful horseshoe lunch counter. It was as if weary travelers, having just finished breakfast, had just left their seats to step out onto the train platform to welcome the incoming westward-bound train on its way to Los Angeles and California's Pacific Coast. It was in this train station that I noticed a small room just off the lunchroom lobby. It appeared to be a gift shop. Now, I'm not much for browsing around gift shops, (even at Cracklbarrel) but I had a feeling there just might be something in that room waiting to meet me. And, so there was. I saw a rack of hats in the corner, and being in the market for a new hat, I walked right over to the hat rack for a look-see. To this day, I couldn't tell you what else was in that gift shop, but there on the rack hung just what I was looking for. It was called, a 'Breezer' hat. Now, I have a slightly large head, so any hats I wear always have to be an XL, (extra large) and most hat racks or shelves usually have only small, medium, and large. It was with an excited nervousness mixed with my usual pessimism that I saw a hat slightly larger towards the bottom of the rack and slowly lifted it up to peer at the label. And, there it was......XL. But, would it fit!! I carefully put the hat on......and it fit perfectly. And that was the beginning of a long and enduring friendship between a man and his hat. And, I still wear that very same hat most every day to this very day. Here is my post from that day long ago in Kelso, California, when my hat and I met for the very first time. Oh, And A New Hat And, the reason for writing about my hat today is that yesterday, after not being washed since Kelly last washed the hat in her Mother's dishwasher in Spencerport, New York, half a dozen years ago, my hat was due for a darn good cleaning. Of course, I don't have a dishwasher, but I do have a clothes washer, so you can imagine my great trepidation yesterday, when with a light load of other laundry, I carefully placed my prized hat into the washing machine and, with a heartfelt little hat prayer, I hit the switch. I couldn't bear to listen to all the noisy agitations, swirlalations, or the flow of water under punishing pressure, plus the centrifugal force necessary to spin the bajeebers right out of my favorite hat. Oh my, what have I done, I thought, as I stepped out of the house and focused my mind on something else. Later, when the nashing of water and air was done, I carefully lifted the washer lid and daintily extracted my crumpled hat. Oh my, what a forlorn and soggy-looking twisted mess it was, but at least it had held together and was not in a state of extreme tatters. I carefully straightened it out and stretched it over an overturned salad bowl. I then placed it on a table on the back deck, where the sun could gently dry it without being further mashed up in a rotating clothes dryer. And, I am happy to report, that my hat is all clean and happy now and ready for another dozen or so years if I am. Maybe it can go to a hat museum someday:))

Al's Music Box:: That Sunday, That Summer by Nat King Cole.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man takes his place in the theater, but his seat is too far from the stage. He whispers to the usher, "This is a mystery, and I have to watch a mystery close up. Get me a better seat, and I'll give you a handsome tip." The usher moves him into the first row, and the man hands the usher a quarter. The usher looks at the quarter, leans over and whispers, "The wife did it."

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"Honey," said this husband to his wife, "I invited a friend home for supper." "What? Are you crazy? The house is a mess, I didn't go shopping, all the dishes are dirty, and I don't feel like cooking a fancy meal!" "I know all that."
"Then, why did you invite a friend for supper?"
"Because the poor guy is thinking about getting married."

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A doctor examining a woman who had been rushed to the Emergency Room, took the husband aside, and said, "I don't like the looks of your wife at all.” "Me neither doc," said the husband. "But she's a great cook and really good with the kids."

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It's paralyzing being a germaphobe; lots of places are really paralyzing to me. Laundromats have these baskets on wheels -- some guy will come in with a big bag of disgusting laundry, put it in the basket, and move it into the washer. And I'm supposed to take my clean laundry out of the dryer, put it in that exact same basket. I don't mind something having a dual purpose, but it's like, 'What's that big green box over there?' 'Oh that's a dumpster, and we also use that to store soup.'

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LEADING THE WAY TO WHEREVER IT IS MY MIND MIGHT TAKE ME

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 23:04:31 +0000

I HAD HELP WRITING MY BLOG TODAY

Finally, a touch of real warmth in the morning air as a gentle southerly breeze accompanied me on my walk under sunny blue skies and an overhead steady parade of big white puffy summer clouds.

OXEYE DAISIES ALONG THE WAY THIS MORNING
My utility trailer needed a good dumping, so off came Subie's bicycle carrier and on went my standard trailer hitch. To de dump, to de dump, I did go, driving dare fast and coming home slow. After parking the trailer, I headed into Bayfield, took a few pics, gassed up the car, mailed a birthday card, picked up a Key Lime pie for our good neighbor Monica, and snagged Monica's mail on my way back into the Park. And, just that little bit about knocked me out for the rest of the afternoon. Of course, not getting to sleep until after 2 a.m. was probably a big factor into my low energy day as well.

IT WAS THE COLORS OF LAKE HURON'S WATER TODAY THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

SAW THIS NICE LOOKING CAR ON BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET THIS AFTERNOON

In my Friday night post, I made a wrong assumption about something. I had several photos of a couple large trucks pouring concrete into what I thought was a foundation pad for another new house coming into the Park. I was wrong. That concrete was being poured for a driveway and a walkway. When I drove down to that spot this morning to see have a closer look at the pour, I saw it wasn't a pad afterall. I hope nobody loses any sleep over my wrong assumption:))

IT WAS A DRIVEWAY AND WALKWAY. THEY POURING YESTERDAY

The day's weather is holding together really well, so this evening, I think I'll head out for a walk, grab a Horton's coffee to go in Clinton, and head myself out into the countryside with a nearly full Moon brightening my path and leading the way to wherever it is my mind might take me:))

TYPING AWAY ON MY LAPTOP COMPUTER OUTSIDE TODAY, I HEARD A LITTLE WHISPER IN MY EAR

THIS LITTLE FELLOW JUST STUFFED A WHOLE PEANUT INTO HIS CHEEK POUCH

Al's Music Box:: Somewhere Down The Crazy River by Robbie Robertson. A favorite and memorable song of mine from the late 80's.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( There was a woman who was pregnant with twins, and shortly before they were due, she had an accident and went into a coma. Her husband was away on business and unable to be reached. While in the coma, she gave birth to her twins, and the only person around to name her children was her brother. When the mother came out of her coma to find she had given birth and that her brother had named the twins, she became very worried, because he wasn't a very bright guy. She was sure he had named them something absurd or stupid. When she saw her brother, she asked him about the twins. He said, "The first one was a girl." The mother: "What did you name her?!?" Brother: "Denise!"The Mom: "Oh, wow, that's not bad! What about the second one?" Brother: "The second one was a boy." The Mom: "Oh, and what did you name him?" Brother: "Denephew."

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- Here's an example of something you never say at a job interview: Can I have my resume back? Its my only copy.

- “I think every morning that I'm going to make pancakes, but I keep waffling.”

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- What bothers you?
- I have a bad memory.
- Ok. What else?
- I have a very bad memory.
- What else?!
- And... I have a really bad memory.
- Yes, I understand that you have a bad memory! What else??
- And I have hearing problems.
- What else?
- What did you say?
- What else?!
- Say it again?
- What else?!
- Ah-ah! And I have a bad memory!!

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This 60 year old woman was walking along 5th Avenue when she heard a voice from above: "You will live to be 100." She looked around and didn't see anyone. Again she heard: "You will live to be 100." "Boy," she thought to herself, "that was the voice of God. I've got 40 more years to live!" So off she went to the plastic surgeon. She got everything fixed from head to toe.
When she left the plastic surgeon's office, she got hit by a bus, died, and went up to heaven. She said to God, "You told me I would live to be 100. I was supposed to have had 40 more years. So how come you let the bus kill me?" God said, "I didn't recognize you".

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ENOUGH FOOD TO LAST ME UNTIL NEXT WINTER

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:08:10 +0000

A RATHER SUBDUED WEDNESDAY NIGHT BAYFIELD SUNSET

Thursday:: With no rain showers forecast for Wednesday evening we dusted off our E-Bikes and headed into Bayfield. We were both overdue for an ice cream cone at Rosie's. Deciding to eat a little smarter these days, we got kiddie cones. Key Lime for Woodsy and Pralines and Cream for me. Sitting along main street and finishing our cones we headed over to Pioneer Park to see if we could salvage a sunset from the heavy cloud cover. Although no brilliant sunset colors, it was not a total loss, and I did manage to get a few photos out over the lake anyway.

WOODSIE TAKES A FEW FLOWER PICS AS I SLIP ACROSS THE STREET TO ROSIES ICE CREAM SHOP FOR A COUPLE KIDDIE CONES

AT BAYFIELD'S PIONEER PARK FOR THE CLOUDY SUNSET

NOW THERE'S A GOOD DAD COMING UP THE LONG STEPS FROM THE BEACH

ANOTHER QUICK CANDID PHOTO AS A MOM LINES UP THE KIDS FOR A PHOTO

HEADING OUT FOR AN EVENING CRUISE AND DID YOU NOTICE THE FISHERMAN

ANOTHER BOAT SETS OUT ON THE PLACID WATERS OF LAE HURON

LOOKS LIKE THEY ARE GEARING UP TO DO SOME WATER SKIING

AND, THERE THEY GO

It was a mixed bag of sunshine, ominous storm clouds, rain, and wind gusts this morning, but I was able to get my walk in anyway. Skies are always so mysteriously interesting when brewing up unpredictable weather. I always enjoy seeing a good storm, and when Kelly and I lived at the old farm (Weenie Roast Ranch) we would sit on the covered side porch and watch the big bad storms going by to the south. Always liked the big claps of rumbling thunder and all the accompanying jagged lightning bolts ripping across the darkened, angry-looking skies. This morning, strong southerly winds played across a ripening wheat field alongside my walking road, sending wave upon wave of rippling little wheat heads tossing their manes and laughing in the wind.

AN iPHONE MORNING LOOK AT AT THE WHEAT FIELD BESIDE MY WALKING ROAD

AN iPHONE TWILIGHT VIEW OF THE SAME FIELD EARLIER IN THE WEEK

At a restaurant in Goderich today called Stacked Pancake and Breakfast House, everything was half price because the chain was celebrating National Stacked Day. And, we were there. I do like my bacon and eggs. The place was jumpin and we waited over half an hour to be seated. Neither Woodsy or I are patient people for this kind of stuff, but we stuck out the wait anyway and were finally rewarded with a good breakfast. After that, and dodging raindrops, it was another short shopping schmozzle. Food Basics, Giant Tiger, Dollarama, and Walmart. By mid-afternoon, we were on our way home, following our windshield wipers for most of the way. A quick stop at Michael's Pharmacy and then over to Pioneer Park to check out the lake. We noticed a wedding going on in the park, and I was able snap a few quick pics.

AT 'STACKED' WAITING FOR MY BACON AND EGGS THURSDAY

A WEDDING GATHERING AT BAYFIELD'S PIONEER PARK

AND, HERE COMES THE RING BEARER

THE MAID OF HONOR I PRESUME

AND, HERE COMES THE BRIDE WITH HER DAD

Friday:: Rain in the night left everything wet. Even had a couple of water puddles on my walking road. Diffused sunlight this morning, but I noticed when the sun did pop through an opening in the clouds, it seemed abnormally hot and seemed to burn right through my shirt. I don't remember experiencing the sun that hot and 'burning' before. But then again, I've only been on the Planet for slightly over eight decades, so what do I know.

MY PARKING SPOT FOR MY MORNING WALKS

BACK AT OUR PARK THIS MORNING I WONDERED IF THIS WAS A BURIAL OR AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG

WELL, IT WAS NEITHER AS THIS GROUP POURED ANOTHER CONCRETE SLAB FOR A SOON TO ARRIVE NEW HOME

THIS PHOTO AND THE ONE BELOW WERE TAKEN ON JUNE 10TH, AND I THINK BOTH HOUSES ARE ALREADY SOLD

Skies finally cleared, and it turned out to be a nice 66F day for doing yard maintenance. Out came the step ladder, swede saw, and clippers. Snip, snip, chop, chop, and I soon had half a utility trailer load. Did some weed spraying as well. Woodsy, busy in the kitchen, whooped up a whole big batch of butter tarts. (30) I showed great restraint in only eating twenty-two of them as soon as they came out of the oven. Oh wait, a typo there......that should read two:)) After spending a big part of her day in the kitchen making sure I I had enough food to last me for another week, she headed for home about 6:30. Heck, I got enough food here now to last me until next winter............................

THE BANK AT PIONEER PARK OVERLOOKING LAKE HURON

Al's Music Box:: God Only Knows by The Beach Boys.

A ROADSIDE SUMAC TREE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The other day I had the opportunity to drop by my department head's office. He's a friendly guy and, on the rare opportunities that I have to pay him a visit, we have had enjoyable conversations.Comedy & Humor. While I was in his office, I asked him, "Sir, what is the secret of your success?" He said, "Two words." "And, Sir, what are they?" "Right decisions." "But how do you make right decisions?" "One word," he responded. "And, Sir, what is that?" "Experience." "And how do you get experience?" "Two words." "And, Sir what are they?" "Wrong decisions.

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On Facebook, being blocked and unfriended by some people is like the trash taking itself out.

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A kind-hearted fellow was walking through Central Park in New York and was astonished to see an old man, fishing rod in hand, fishing over a beautiful bed of lillies. What a sad sight, he thought to himself. That poor old man is fishing over a bed of flowers. I'll see if I can help."So the kind fellow walked up to the old man and asked, "What are you doing, my friend?" "Fishin', sir." "Fishin', eh. Well how would you like to come have a drink with me?" The old man stood up, put his rod away, and followed the kind stranger to the corner bar. He ordered a large glass of beer and a fine cigar. His host, the kind fellow, felt good about helping the old man, and he asked, "Tell me, old friend, how many did you catch this morning?" The old fellow took a long drag on the cigar, blew a careful smoke ring, and replied, "You are the sixth one today, sir!"

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WE ALL MADE IT BACK TO THE CAR UNSCATHED

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 22:27:11 +0000

Saw my first orange Day Lily of the year, blooming in the backyard beside the shed. Another indicator of how fast the season is already moving on. But that's okay, I always look forward to those splashes of orange in the flower beds and along many roadside ditches at this time each year. A slightly overcast day and that was okay too. No horrid heat and humidity, and no ice and snow either. Sometimes, things just kinda do alright. A pleasant country road walk as usual earlier today. Home again, I decided it was a good morning for cleaning the car, so out came the floor mats and in went the vacuum cleaner.

SPOTTED A WHOLE HERD OF BUZZARDS IN A NEIGHBORING FARM FIELD THIS MORNING

MOURNING DOVE ON THE BIRD STATION

A FEW FRONT YARD SQUIRREL PICS TODAY

SOMETIMES THE SQUIRRELS LAY MOTIONLESS HIGH UP IN THE SUNBURST LOCUST TREE, AND I FIGURE THEY ARE CATCHING SOME ZZZZZZZZZ'S

A PAIR OF MOURNING DOVES

With a chance of rain, we decided to roll back our E-Bike ride up around Blyth, Ontario, to maybe tomorrow, weather permitting. With our good neighbor Monica having an appointment in Goderich early this afternoon, we decided to combine her appointment with some grocery shopping, and at 12:20, under cloudy skies, we three headed off to Goderich. After Monica's appointment, I dropped the ladies at Food Basics and they slipped inside looking for some bargoons while I held the fort down outside in the car. I'm not a fan of banging around in grocery stores. From Food Basics, it was off to Walmart we three Musketeers went to mix it up with the local Walmartians. Even I went in this time. It was a busy place, but fortunately, we all made it back to the car unscathed, with our arms full. Heading for home, we made one last stop at the Bayfield Berry Farm where the gals slipped inside looking for strawberries and whatever other little goodies they could find. They weren't disappointed. Having had enough strenuous shopping for one day, I again gladly waited in the car. Minutes later, we were all home, and a good gol darn time was had by all.

Al's Music Box:(( What's Going On by Marvin Gaye.

BAYFIELD'S TUESDAY EVENING SUNSET AT THE BEACH

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A couple had been married for 35 years, and the pair was also celebrating their 60th birthdays. During the celebration, a fairy godmother appeared and said that because they had been such a loving couple all those years, she would give them each one wish. The wife said she wanted to travel around the world. The fairy godmother waved her magic wand and BOOM! The wife had the tickets in her hand. Then it was the husband's turn. He paused for a moment, then said boldly, "Well, I'd like to have a wife 30 years younger than I." The fairy godmother picked up her wand and BOOM! He was now 90.

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- My dad walked me down the aisle at my third wedding. He said, “I keep giving you away... and they keep giving you back!”

- Where was the toothbrush invented?
Mississippi. If it had been invented anywhere else, it would have been called a teeth brush.

- 'My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 now and we don't know where the hell she is.'

- Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut save you thirty cents?

- All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

- Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

- Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

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An old-time pastor was riding furiously down the road, hurrying to get to church on time. Suddenly, his horse stumbled and threw him to the ground. Lying in the dirt, his body wracked with pain, the pastor called out, “All you angels in heaven, help me get up on my horse!”With extraordinary strength, he leaped onto the horse’s back—and fell off the other side. From the ground again, he called out, “All right, just half of you angels this time!”

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Al's Doggy World

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Al's Art Gallery

HOPING TO GET OUT E-BIKING TOMORROW

noreply@blogger.com (Al Bossence) — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 22:32:02 +0000

A MARSHY AREA MEANDERS THROUGH A CORN FIELD

Well, not wanting to miss another nice evening now that the days are already getting shorter on this first day of summer, I grabbed my camera Monday evening and headed out into the countryside. My first stop, of course, was my walking road, where for the second time on Monday, I did my quarter-mile stroll up the gravel road and back. From there, it was into Clinton for a Tim Hortons coffee to go before slipping northeast out of town and driving northward along the west side of the Hullet Marsh. How many times over the span of fourteen years had Pheebs and I traveled this stretch of road to the Marsh for our morning walks. Turning left, I then headed westward into the sunset. As darkness descended, it wasn't long before I began seeing glowing diamond-like fairies along the roadside, floating about in the tall grass and woodland trees. At one point, I stopped, turned the car off, and got out to just stand quietly and watch them. They were Fireflies, of course, but I preferred to imagine them as woodland fairies. I remember reading somewhere recently that it is believed that we will be the last generation to see them, as it is believed that because of environmental issues, they will soon be lost to history. Eventually, I arrived at my night sky spot, stayed for a while, took a couple of pictures, thought about things for a bit, and then headed home. It was nearly 11 p.m. Another fine evening well spent. My fav:))

Kind of a quiet day here in my jungle of greenery as something keeps draining my energy. Lorraine rolled in around noon today, and we're hoping to get out E-biking tomorrow. (Wednesday)

Al's Music Box:: Sealed With A Kiss by Brian Hyland. A timely song for younger school-aged folks at this time of year.

A COUPLE OF FRONT YARD FROGS

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Two businessmen in Florida were sitting down for a break in their soon-to-be new store. As yet, the store wasn't ready, with only a few shelves set up. One said to the other, ' I bet any minute now some senior citizen is going to walk by, put his face to the window, and ask what we're selling.' No sooner were the words out of his mouth when, sure enough, a curious senior citizen walked to the window, had a peek, and in a soft voice asked, "What are you sellin' here?" One of the men replied sarcastically, "We're selling Idiots" Without skipping a beat, the old timer said, "You're doing well. Only two left."

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A minister stood in front of his congregation and announced, "I have good news and bad news. The good news is we have enough money to pay for our new building program. The bad news is that it’s still in your pockets.”

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- “What do you call a tissue that is sleeping? A napkin.”

- Charles Dickens walks into a bar and orders a martini. The bartender asks, "Olive or twist?"

- Why do people go to Burger King and Order a Double Whopper with a Large French Fry and insist on getting a Diet Coke?

- If you got into a taxi and he started driving backwards, would the taxi driver end up owing you money?
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A three-year-old went with his dad to see a litter of kittens. On returning home, he breathlessly informed his mother there were two boy kittens and two girl kittens.
"How did you know?" his mother asked.
"Daddy picked them up and looked underneath," he replied. "I think it was printed on the bottom."

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Al's Doggy World

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Al's Art Gallery