Another great day in the woods of NH

Well another great day is drawing to a close, it wasn't a top ten day like yesterday, but a great day in it's on right. Today I took a drive on the road that follows Indian Stream I drove about 17 miles out on this gravel logging road and like yesterday the mighty Moose was no where in sight.
However I did get to see my share of wildlife. For starters two chipmunks that are lucky to still be alive after darting out in front of my truck, they just barely escaped becoming stuck in my tire tread. Then there was the female Deer, I was surprised to see that she was already wearing her gray winter coat And I don't want to forget the Grouse, the only thing to stay around long enough for me to get a picture. A picture you won't see on my blog, I didn't get close enough to get a good picture for posting. Now for the piece de resistance standing in the middle of the road a Coyote, I quickly stopped the truck and we stared at each other for a minute or more. I knew I was not close enough to get a good picture but I wanted to get a good look at this magnificent animal. This is only the second time I have seen a Coyote in the wild. When I did try to close the gap enough to get a picture he bolted for the forest and out of sight in a flash. Lucky for me a picture missed is never really missed, we get to take them home in our memory. And unlike the pictures I take with my camera the ones I have in my memory are always perfect in both exposer and focus. Well it's time for me to watch a little TV. This is me saying good by to you.

we do use this bridge 

Part of the Indian Stream logging road

Near the Canadian border place called Moose crossing. 

A great day to be alive.

Today is my back to nature day, and what a great day it has been. We are talking a top ten day for the year, maybe the best day of the year. Lots of sun, and a temp. of about 68 degrees and not an insect in the air. But let's face it any fall day in the "Great North Woods" of New Hampshire is a memorable day. I spent about 6 hours riding around to view the foliage, and stopping to do some short hikes here and there. I have a few pictures that I will post to the blog tonight. The foliage is at it's peak here now and unbelievably beautiful at this time. You don't have to take my word for it , just think about all the great artist that have painted scenic views in the autumn of the year. But even the greatest of artists can't capture the beauty of what is " The Great North Woods" of New Hampshire in the Fall. What a great day to be me! However I was hoping to get a picture of a big bull Moose while I was hiking, that would have made my day and given me a great picture to post to the blog. But there will be other days, I hope. I use to take longer hikes but when you reach that four years older then dirt point you get a little concerned about being out on the gated logging roads, hiking by yourself, when no one knows where you went hiking.
I start to think about heart attacks, strokes and things that you don't think of when you are younger. I have visions of me having a stroke and flopping around on the ground like a fish out of water. I start to imagine a pack of Coyotes sitting around a campfire playing poker and singing chorus after chorus of "picking dem bones" while waiting for my demise before having a good feed. Or worse yet a pack of Coyotes with no patients what so ever that would start to dine long before I took my last breath.
Ouch! That's gotta hurt. Now the perfect end to a perfect day would be a good nights sleep, so this is me saying good by to you.

Rt. 3 Fall 2004 

My Impala

Well today was my day to take the car to the dealer for repairs. I have a 2003 Chevy Impala. The rotors rusted to the point that they couldn't even be machined, they had to be replaced, First the rear with less then 15000 miles on it, then the front with less then 20000 miles on it. Now I know things can go wrong with any new car, I could live with that. What I didn't like was GM wanted me to pay for this. They called it normal wear and said that normal wear is not covered under the warranty. After a lot of aggravation and many phone calls, my dealer talked to his GM rep, and they agreed to cover it.
FYI-- After talking with other Chevy owners I have found this to be a common problem with a lot of Impala sedans as well as on some Chevy 1500 series two and four wheel pickups. Apparently General Motors has seen fit to make the rotors for these vehicles
out of recycled tuna fish cans. This was my first new GM car and it will be my last.
OK, That's the end of my ranting. Let's move on to something a little more serious.
Allow me to take you back in time, way back, back to a time and place in yesteryear.
Not really, but at least back four or five yesterdays ago. Because I can't think of anything else to write about I will expand on the neck-breathing thing. Some dos and don’ts and can and can nots for the new inexperience neck breathers and all those smokers out there that are looking forward to becoming neck breathers.
You can chew bubble gum, but you can't blow bubbles.
You can't whistle, not even while you work. That's why I quit, work that is.
You can take a shower, but don't, face the showerhead and put your head back before stepping into the shower stream to rinse the soap off your face.. Unless you want to find out what it's like to drown without actually jumping into a lake.
You can sleep under the blankets but if you get chilly don't pull the blankets up around your neck. You won't suffocate but you will wakeup, quick! With your arms and legs trashing in the air when you start to inhale one of your blankets.
You can't blow a whistle or blow on your soup. That's just a few of the things you should know as a neck breather. I will cover more later, at a time when I have nothing else to write. This is me saying good by, to you..

Info on the Balsams picture

A little info about the picture of the Balsams Hotel. The picture was taken from a place called Table Rock, that is a big piece of ledge that sticks out from the side of a mountain over 600 feet above and just across the road from the Balsams. It takes me about an hour to hike up to the rock, it would take the average person about 20 minutes for the hike. Not being all that found of heights I had to crawl out on the rock on my hands and knees with the camera around my neck [it is over 600 feet straight down on three sides] just to get this picture. The Balsams is located in Dixville Notch NH, you know where Dixville Notch is, right? It's that annoying little town that's always the first place to vote for president. Every 4 years all twelve or so people vote right at midnight on Election Day.
Well today was a pretty uneventful day, with little to write about and is quickly coming to and end. Soon this day, like to many before it, will become just a memory.
Once again, this is me saying good by to you.

Balsams Hotel Dixville Notch NH 

A lawn mowing Sunday

Today is Sunday, so right after church [lol] I had to mow the lawn. My neighbors were complaining that terrorist could be hiding in it. For me that is three hours of hard work. Not that my lawn is that big mind you, two hungry hamsters could devour it in about twenty minutes. But as I have said, I am four years older then dirt, and move slower then Molasses. What I should have is a lawn tractor or a riding lawn mower but I have spent all my money and can’t afford one. So if anyone out there knows where I can get a mower attachment for my Rascal, cheap let me know. So the job is done, no terrorist where found, and the town of Stewartstown is safe. Real long pause. Well it looks like I will be late posting this entry. I shut my computer down to watch the ball game [Boston Red Sox 11- --NYY 2. ] and when I tried to start it back up it wouldn't boot. I ended up calling a friend to come over and jump start it, but then we couldn't find the cables. The good news, we found the cables and got the computer running good enough to get this entry posted. It’s still not right, but I am real good with computers and will have it working like new tomorrow. I think it could be the alternator, or maybe it just needs a hug.
This is me saying good bye to you till another day, or maybe tomorrow.

This is my Saturday

On the first hour of my Saturday I got up. On the second hour of my Saturday I started to think about a nap. For real now, it is still early in the morning but so far my Saturday has been unremarkable. This simply means that I don't have a thing to write about. However, like it or not that will not stop me. Long pause. It's now Saturday afternoon my unremarkable day has taken a turn for the worse. I told you yesterday about my cold as ice
friends and family, now I have a fridge that is warm as a down comforter, go figure.
The good news for the day is that the repair man came right away, and the fridge is all better. The bad news, my repair man just left taken with him my wallet, one arm, one leg and the shirt off my back. Short pause. So! I'm on my way to the garden to see if there is any thing left alive after the last few cold nights, and I spot a woolly caterpillar tearing across the lawn at a brisk pace. Now I think this is a good time to try out the macro lens on my digital camera . So I went back to the house got the camera and headed back to the caterpillar to get my picture. Apparently this caterpillar was moving faster then I thought and I got to him quicker then I expected, I never saw him till my foot was on the way down. Almost enough said, except it really sucked to be him on this day. However I did get to use my macro lens to take a picture of the bottom of my shoe. I will spare you that gross visual by not posting that picture to my blog, say thank you Butch. Long pause.
And along comes Saturday evening, it is now time to put both this day. and this old man to bed. This is me saying good by to you till tomorrow.

A little more about me.
Well this is my first ever blog so yesterday was my first ever posting. I planed on getting a lot more done last night but as I said in my profile I am four years older then dirt, and as us old people are known to do, I dozed off. If my granddaughters only new how close they are to spoon feeding me my Oatmeal and having to wipe the drool from my chin they would be running for the hills. I don't have a picture to post with my profile but you can take my word for it, I am great looking. I have posted a picture of my best friend so you can see how handsome he is, and I put him to shame. Now I'm going to tell you something
about myself that you probably can't tell from my writing because I hide it so well. I am a nec zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Just kidding! I'm awake, now where was I? Ah yes, I was about to tell you that I am a neck breather, a 12 year survivor of throat cancer.
For those who do not know what a neck breather is, let me explain. A neck breather is someone who gets his air via a tube that runs from the wind pipe [trachea] just below the larynx to the outside of the neck. I call this tube the trach for short. Now what this means is I can stand on my head, in water, forever, as long as the water is not over my neck. Why anyone would want to do that I have know idea, but I could do that if I wanted to. One of the many drawbacks to being a neck breather is that in order to talk, I need a free hand so I can cover the trach tube with my finger. This forces the air in my lungs up through the larynx and lets me use what is left of my voice box to speak. There are some cold people out there who try to talk to me when I have both hands full, at this point I have to put down whatever is tying up my hands so I can use my finger, and I don't use it to cover the trach tube I can tell you that! I will let you draw your own conclusion as to what I use it for. I even have friends and relatives that are so cold as to tell me if I don't shut up they will tie my hands behind my back,is it any wonder I am in therapy. Well I can't see it but I know there is a nap about to sneak up on me, I can almost feel it hiding behind my chair just waiting to pounce. So this is me saying good by to you till tomorrow or until I wake up, whatever comes first

We have some great sunsets here this time of year in the Great North Woods of NH

One of my best friends