Great North Woods

Gibson Park Great Falls Montana.

2010-10-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

Not to long ago I took my camera along for my walk down to Gibson park and got some nice fall pictures around the park. Posting a few here. The picture of the Pelicans was not taken at the park but just a short distance away near the Giant Springs State Park. It has taken me so long to get this post done that all those beautiful leaves are long gone and the trees are now the barenaked trees. I will be posting more pictures of the park and pictures from all around Great Falls to my web site at http://www.layz1.com or to my facebook page in the near future. I am now four months into my third year as a Montana resident and I must say I couldn't be happier about my decision to move here. I believe even more now if that is possible then I did two years ago that Montana is the place to be. With winter fast approaching here in Great Falls I am looking forward to a few trips to Yellowstone National Park with the first one coming early November. I hope to find most of the park open to vehicle traffic I will need good weather for that to happen it is already snowed in the higher elevation, but I have not heard anything about the roads being shutdown yet. I am hoping to see and hear the battle of the bighorns as they try to impress potential mates, they should be in the rutting season late October early November. If I get lucky and get some good pictures you will be able to see them on my web page soon after the trip. My time on the computer is up and I am all out of quarters so it is time for me to say this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

The falls of Great Falls Montana.

2010-07-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

Been six months since I posted to this blog guess I'm getting laze in my old age. Usually I would post pictures from Yellowstone or Glacier National Park but not today, today I am posting a few pictures of the falls near Great Falls. This past June I went over to take a look at Rainbow and Crocked Falls just outside of Great Falls Montana. I could not have picked a better time it has been a wet spring and along with the snow melt it was a great time to get some pictures of the falls. The dam was allowing more water to go over the falls then I have seen in my two years here in Great falls. As you can see from one of the pictures the two falls are not very far apart and the water flow is controlled by one dam called Rainbow Falls Dam. This is about all I have to write at this so it is time for me to say "this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever."

Yellowstone's Lamar Valley

2010-01-25T18:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley.

Over the holidays I took a four day trip to Yellowstone's Lamar Valley. It was a great trip with four day of fantastic weather. It started out a bit chilly each morning but thanks to nothing but sunshine each day warmed up quickly. Clouds were rare if not nonexistent for the whole trip. Each day went from below zero in the morning to about twenty five degrees every afternoon and not a bit of wind. Not one to go winter camping I spent my nights at the Super 8 Motel in Gardiner Montana. They have great off season prices, it only cost $42 per night and you are less then a half a mile from the entrance to Yellowstone Park. However if you are into winter camping you can stay at the Mammoth Campground for $14 per night, they have heated restrooms with running water all winter. I am already planing another trip here in early March and will stay at the Super 8 and yet another trip in April when I will stay at the Mammoth Campground for four or five days. June July and August my focus will turn to the less crowded and cheaper to visit Glacier National Park. The cheaper part being once you get to Glacier you can park you car and use the free shuttle service to anywhere in the park. On the other hand when you are at Yellowstone there are over 300 miles of road to drive and driving them gives you your best chance of seeing wildlife. The road through Lamar Valley alone is 108 miles round trip and you use a lot of gas at 30MPH and less looking for wolves, elk. grizzlies and other wildlife. I posted a few pictures I took in Yellowstone Lamar Valley. Too see more pictures go to my web site layz1.com
This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

My first trip to yellowstone National Park.

2009-10-10T10:14:00.001-07:00

In September I had the chance to spend four days camping at Mammoth Hot springs Campground. And what a great trip it was. The first thing you notice at Yellowstone is there is something big going on beneath your feet, it might be two or more miles down but you can still feel it. As you walk around almost anywhere in the park you can feel the ground vibrate or quiver under your feet. At night when I went into the tent for some sleep even know I use an air mattress I could still feel the vibration all night long. You are after all sleeping in a volcanoes caldera or creator. What surprised me most was the only place I didn't feel the earth move, so to speak, was at and around Old Faithful. Go Figure. I saw plenty of bison and female elk but the bull elk sightings were few and far between. I only saw three in four days. However they easy to hear at night they seemed to be bugling going on in every direction all night long. One right around my tent about three in the morning. He moved on after about ten minutes allowing me to get back to sleep. The only thing that could have made the night better would have been wolves howling in the background. Unfortunately that didn't happen on this trip but maybe on the next one, I am a patient man I can wait. I am posting a picture of Old Faithful and one of the few bull elks that I saw on this trip. If you want to see more of the pictures I took on this trip go to my web site layz1.com

This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

My first camping trip to Glacier National Park

2009-07-31T16:16:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I posted to this blog. I have been pretty busy checking out more of Montana, even got in a little camping at Glacier National Park, a great six day event. Took a few short hikes and drove the Going To The Sun Road. Didn't get to see much of the scenery, it is a twisty curvy road with a steep drop off on the right side, some places have nothing to stop you from going off the edge and a ledge wall on the left side so they have no place to go if you end up on there side of the road, as I did one time while trying to do some rubber necking. I ended up coming face to face with a very angry female park ranger.. So you really can't take your eyes off the road I recommend you take the shuttle as I ended up doing, that way you get to see all the fantastic scenery. You can get off the shuttle at many places to take pictures and catch the next shuttle to continue your journey they come along about every 15 minutes. The two pictures I posted were taken on the Going To The Sun Road in Logan Pass.
You can see more pictures from this trip by going to my web site layz1.com
This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

Vacant lot, Critters and Critter Babies

2009-05-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

As Paul Harvey would say now the rest of the story. Your favorite curmudgeon the Layz1 went walking around my new home town Great Falls Montana the other day and while walking by a vacant lot, I spied with my little eye a number of little creatures running around the lot. These creatures were some type of ground squirrel, just what flavor of ground squirrel I'm not sure. The ones I saw were very young probably out of the borrows for only the second or third time in there young lives. Mom and dad were not very good parents at the first sign of danger they went under ground leaving the young above ground to fend for themselves. They knew enough to get close to the borrow entrance but stayed above ground unless you walked towards them then they would scamper down the hole quicker then a hic-cup. They look bigger in the pictures then they really are, they are about the size of a week old kitten or a bit smaller. As cute as these little guys are you would not want them in your lawn that is for sure. They can turn even a small lawn into a twenty hole golf course in a heartbeat. The adults are only out of the borrows early morning and the evening hours they don't care for the heat of mid day, but the young are out all day long. Now that you know all you need to know about ground squirrels, and the fact that I am not paid by the word it is time for me to say goodbye to you till whenever.

Don't forget to visit my web site

Another Great North Woods post already.

2009-04-02T11:57:00.000-07:00

Will wonders never cease less then a month an another post. Layz1 the Great Falls Montana curmudgeon is working himself to death. I don't think I can keep up this hectic pace for very long I am after all four years older then dirt. The reason for the quick post is mostly because the weather here in Great Falls has not been very good the last five or six days and cabin fever is raring it ugly head and bitting me in the butt, and it has quite a target there. We have another small spring snow storm on the way to Great Falls for Thursday and Friday one to three inches of snow expected with temperatures ten to twenty degrees below normal till Sunday when we get back to the fifty's. However fear not this curmudgeon has learned to accept things that he can not change, so I shall survive. Now enough ranting it is time to post some of the pictures I took a few weeks ago.
I took these pictures on Bellview Road in Choteau Montana. The pictures are of two livestock guard dogs guarding a group of old goats in a large field. They will heard the goats away from trouble and sacrifice their lives to protect the heard even if it means going up against a grizzly or a pack of wolves. Wish I could have one of these dogs in my apartment this old goat would like that kind of protection

This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

To Layz1's web page.

Long time no post

2009-03-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

Hereyee, hereyee your favorite curmudgeon, Layz1 is finally posting to his blog. Wow! My last post was way back in December of last year. The winter here in Great Falls Montana was better then I had anticipated and left me with more time to get outside and less time to update my blog and web page. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I took a trip way back, well not way back, more like a few months ago, well not really a few months ago more like a month ago to Kalispell Montana on the west side of the Continental Divide. On the way I passed through the Blackfeet Nations reservation and took the two pictures I'm posting with this update. If you want to see more pictures from this trip, if you are right handed you can put your index finger on your left mouse button and very gently exert slight downward pressure to the button while your cusser is over this layz1.com link. And if you are left handed you just need to///>>>>Beats me, guess you just can't get there from h ere. Sorry! Well it time for me to say, This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

Road trip to Lincoln Montana

2008-12-19T18:13:00.000-08:00

Hi there, this is your favorite curmudgeon Layz1, welcome to my world, my world being everything Montana. It has been really cold here this week well below zero here most of last week. It looks like it will stay that way until this Thursday when the temperature will get back to normal for this time of year. Normal daytime temperature being around thirty five degrees. Normal night time temperature being, who the hell cares, I'm in bed early this time of year anyway. I am posting a couple of pictures I took on my first road trip in Montana. I took them on the way to see a big stuffed grizzly bear that got hit by a truck in Lincoln Mt. last year. If you want to see pictures of the bear you need to go to my web site layz1.com The first picture I am posting here is a picture of the said town Lincoln Montana. Don't be surprised if the pictures are not in the right order I have little choice as to how they get posted. The secound picture I took on the way home from Lincoln and is my first Rockey Mountain moose. Now let me say, Wait! Before I say that {and if you read this blog regularly you know what “that” is.} I would like to say this. I believe my new home state Montana is the ultimate place to be, why would you say that? You might ask. I say that because when you are in Montana every blink of the eyes is a new postcard......every tick of the clock a National Geographic moment. And now let me say this is me saying goodbye to you till, whenever.

Magpie

2008-10-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like it has been over a month since I have posted to my Great North Woods blog. As you probably can tell from the title I plan to write about the Magpie for this post. For some reason this bird facinates me I guess it's because we don't have them back east where I 'm from. They are a member of the Crow family and like a crow they are capable of learning some human words. What I think facinates me most is that long tail, especially when they are in flight. I learned a long long time ago, I forget just where but I am sure it was from a very reliable source or I wouldn't still remember it after all these years that it takes four and twenty Blackbirds to make a pie. For a size comparison let me say it would take two and ten Magpies to make a Magpie pie. I am posting two pictures of the Magpie check out the long tail on them. I wish I could have got better pics but I can't seem to get close to them. They say that if you come in contact with the ones that are used to humans they act almost tame but all that I have seen won't let me in fifty feet of them. Of course I have not found any in the city yet they are the ones that would be used to human contact. If I get better pictures I will post them to my web site at layz1.com. Now it is time for me to say this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

A walk to downtown Great Falls.

2008-09-17T18:42:00.001-07:00

Well this is me writing to you from Great Falls Montana once again. I took these pictures the other day while I was walking in downtown Great Falls. On this day I was walking on Central Ave between 8th and 9th street when to my surprise I spotted this cottontail rabbit apparently shopping for a new or used car at Bennet motors. I didn't actually see him kick the tires but I bet he did kick a few. Just before I took this picture he was starring at the tires with obvious interest. He must know that the tires are an important part of the ride. Maybe he is tired of hopping through the forest and now wants to ride place to place in style. I bet he doesn't even eat salads anymore and has switched to beef. Then again he might not have been interested in a car at all.
He could be one of those Montana junkyard watch rabbits that I have heard so much about. From everything I heard about them they are not something to mess with, they are said to be more vicious then a pit bull. To see more pictures of Montana go to my web site layz1.com And now the words you have all been waiting for this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

Another post from Great Falls Montana

2008-09-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

Well I have been in Great Falls Montana for over two months now. Let me say right up front I am going to love living here. Out of the first sixty days I think there might have been two days that were a little cloudy and an evening or two that it showered. That's weather I can live with. I have done some biking, camping, hiking and walking. Great Falls is a nice small city of about sixty thousand people, about the size Manchester NH was some thirty years ago, just what I was looking for. It's centrally located with lots of wildlife to see in every direction. Just fifty or so miles from the rocky mountain front and the continental divide. Today I took a walk down to Gibson Park located right in downtown Great Falls and took pictures of sum water foul. I am not sure Sure what type of ducks and geese they are. I think they are some type of domestic birds that stopped in to say hello to some of the wild ducks and Canadian geese that hang out in the duck pond in the center of the park. I am posting a few of the pictures that I took to the blog and also to remind you to stop by my web page Layz1.com for more pictures I have taken since I arrived in Great Falls Montana. And now it is time for me to say this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

My first post from Great Falls Montana

2008-07-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

Well here the Layz1 sits. In his new apartment in Great falls Montana. It could not be a better time to be this curmudgeon, life is not just good it is GREAT! I left Manchester NH june 28th at noontime and arrived in Great Falls at 3:00 pm July 1st . It took a week to get into my own apartment, another week to get it all setup. You know, get cable, get internet that type of stuff. I am including a few pictures I took right here in Great Falls with this post. One is of a Black-tailed Praririe Dog one is of two Swans in the duck pond at Gibson Park near the center of town and last but not least is the view from the visitors center looking over the northwest corner of the city of Great Falls. As always you can see more pictures on my web site by clicking here.
This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

Now hear this, now hear this!

2008-06-14T16:56:00.000-07:00

Your favorite curmudgeon the layz1 is headed for Great Falls Montana in just two weeks from today.
My vets gave me the ok. So I will be on my way on Saturday June 28th. You can expect a post from me from there in about a month or less.
This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

Another post from the big city.

2008-03-15T07:51:00.001-07:00

Well it has been awhile since I have posted to this blog, but what the hell I am the Layz1 after all. This is my second post from the big city of Manchester NH, it is not the most boring place on earth but it is right up there with the top ones. I have done a little hiking on the outskirts of the city and a lot of walking around the city. Just to pass the time I have started walking everyplace I want to go in the city, so I'm walking between four and nine miles a day. Let's here it for your favorite curmudgeon the Layz1. One of the hikes I took in my old stomping grounds Candia NH resulted in the picture on the left. First of all let me say that no polar bears were killed in the making of this picture, he was just very, very tired after I got done kicking his butt. It is not something that I enjoyed doing but you have to show all the creatures in the forest who the top dog is when you are there. After all your either top dog or lunch, and polar bears like most animals in the forest like a chance to hone there fighting skills. It is very rare to see a polar bear in the Candia woods but he was vacationing there to get a break from the cold temps of northern Quebec Canada. The picture was done by my nephews Mark L. And Keith L. or was it Keith L. and Mark L. I had to write this both ways because they are very petty about who gets credit for what. Not to mention that they are so weak that it takes them both to hold the camera. One more quick line here before I close, if all goes well with my doctors on March 19th I hope to be in Montana for the summer by the first week of June . Then I will be posting pictures of more wildlife to this blog and my web site Layz1

Well this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever

Horsing around at the beach.

2008-01-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

This is me your favorite curmudgeon, no longer from the Great North Woods of NH. Now I am a city slicker from Manchester NH. In my quest for some peace and quite during the holidays I got out of the city for a few days. I spent the night before Christmas and Christmas night at Hampton Beach NH.
It was two great days and nights, I had the beach mostly to myself both days. I went to the Ashworth hotel and got a great rate on a beach view room for cheap buck. Can't beat that with a stick. Right!
believe it or not I saw a small number of surfers riding the waves on Christmas day during high tide.
I think the tide wasn't the only thing high at the beach that day. If the die hard surfers weren't high they should have been. I don't care wet suit or not it had to be cold in that water. But it was a real nice sunny day in the high thirties, still... I don't think you could catch me doing that in December at Hampton. I have posted some pictures of that day on my wep page layz1.com
Then just a few days ago my nephew Mark and I went up LL Bean in Freeport Maine and on the way home we stop by the beach again and took some pictures of some people horsing around on the beach and I am posting them to the blog with this note. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And remember if you didn't it is not my fault.
This is me saying good bye to you till whenever.

My goodbye to The Great North Woods.

2007-11-15T11:56:00.000-08:00

This will be my last post to this blog from the Great North Woods of New Hampshire.
Layz1 has sold his mobil home there and is relocating to the asphalt jungle of Manchester NH for the winter. Then if all goes well I will be posting from Great Falls Montana for at least six months. I am hoping that this will put some excitement in my life and allow me to recapture my youth. First thing I will do when I get there is go out to the wilderness and kick some grizzly bear butt, then maybe find a mountain lion and show him who the new boss in the wilderness of Montana is. I will post some pictures of me putting them and all the other creatures that roam the wilderness of Montana in there place. However if they decide that I am not the boss of the wilderness and I'm lucky enough to live through it, the only pictures I will be able to post will be of my stained underwear.

I have posted a picture of some male evening Grossbeaks that stopped by my feeders the other day and a picture of a bull moose that came out of the woods to say goodbye to me up at the north end of Pittsburg NH.
This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever

Beaver Brook Falls

2007-09-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick post to let you know that I am still alive.
This is a picture of Beaver Brook Falls on route 145 in Colebrook NH.

New Hampshire wildlife.

2007-08-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

My granddaughter came up to the Great North Woods to visit this curmudgeon and we had a great time together. While she was here we went to the Squam Lake Science Center in Ashland New Hampshire. As old as I am {four years older then dirt} I have never been to this place. It is quite the place, it contains a lot of the wildlife that is common to NH. The wildlife exhibits are setup on trails in such a way that you must do a little walking to see them all. This is a good thing for the children of today who are hooked on computers, game boys, and the good old television. The more we can do to get these couch potatoes up and exercising the better off they will be. So all you grandparents out there take a grandchild out for some exercise today.
I am posting a few pictures from our visit to the Science Center. To see a slideshow of the wildlife that my granddaughter posted to my website click here.

This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

In the good old summer time.

2007-06-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post because it is the good old summer time and I am the Layz1.
It's been awhile since I posted to the blog so I'm taking just a minute or two to post a few pictures today. One is a” he said” “she said” picture of a pair of tree swallows that raised a family in one of my bird houses in the back yard. The other is a good look at the way the inside of most of are covered bridges are constructed.

This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever

Covered Bridges

2007-04-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

I'm posting a few pictures of one of New Hampshire's covered bridge that is still in use today. It crosses the Connecticut River between Dalton New Hampshire and Lunenburg Vermont. There are only a few of these bridges left in New Hampshire and still fewer that are in use today. Someday soon I will go out and take pictures of all the ones that I know of in the Great North Wood area and post them to my web site layz1.com I know of at least three that are still in use and about four more that are not being used today. When I post it to my web page I will post a link to it here on my blog. Am I a considerate guy? Or what! Always taken care of my readers. Once again it is time for the Layz1 to say “this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever."

Oh! Crap!

2007-04-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

I have a riddle for you. What’s white all over and really, really sucks? The answer is, the Great North Woods of New Hampshire on April 5th. We got about 10 inches of new snow last night. When I went to bed at midnight we had about an inch and a half and it looked like it had stopped but I had a rude awakening this morning, we had at least 8 more inches of snow during the night. It must have snowed like snowbodies business after I went to bed for the night. I don’t think I will use my camper this weekend. Do you? I gave you the bad news so now it’s time for the really bad news it’s still freaking snowing. And now the really, really bad new. I have to go out and shovel this wet heavy crap so this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

Here comes da critters!

2007-03-09T15:11:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like we have had the last arctic cold wave of the winter. Today was a fairly warm day so I took a short ride to look for some photo opps. It seems like the critters know the warmer days are here and are already leaving the warmth of the deep forest and coming out in the open near the sides of the roads. I took the picture of this fox while he was hunting for field mice in a field right off the side of the road in Beacher Falls Vermont. I watch this little guy for a good ten minutes it seems he couldn't care less that I was there, he would look up every once in awhile just to make sure that I wasn't making a move toward him. The deer was in the Lake Francis campground area in Pittsburg NH. It looks like a silhouette because I had to shoot right into the sun to get the picture. Now it is time for me to say, this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

Hello from the Great North Woods of NH.

2007-02-01T13:52:00.000-08:00

It's me the Layz1 saying hello to you from the Great North Woods.
In my travels a few weeks ago I witnessed this great holiday escape,this flock of turkeys were hightailing it from NH into Vermont looking for better cover to hide in. They like to eat at the farms in NH and hide it the isolated forest of Vermont. Now while I have you here I want to tell you that I have changed the URL of my web site from musingsofacurmudgeon.com to layz1.com just click on this link and it will take you there. I won't go into why I changed my domain name just that I had to get a new server and the old server refused to release my old name. The fact is I always wanted my domain name to be layz1.com but it was not available. However as luck would have it when I needed a new name it was available so that is how I got the new name. Still the same old web site just a different domain name. Now it is time for the layz1 to say goodbye to you till whenever.

Escape from the big city

2007-01-20T12:38:00.000-08:00

Damn! It’s been awhile since the Layz1 has added to this blog. Last spring my son had some spare time and needed a break from the big city so he made the trip up here to the Great North Woods of NH. He tries to get up here once a year to visit with the old curmudgeon and get in some fishing. Although the fishing was not good the scenery was as always fantastic. I posted a few pictures of my sons visit. Hope you enjoy the photos and remember that spring is not far off and start planning your trip to the scenic Great North Woods of NH. While I have your attention I want to tell you about my web page. My page domain name use to be musingsofacurmudgeon.Com but I have changed the domain name to layz1.com.Just click here and it will take you there. Layz1.com wasn’t available when I started my web page but I found out it was available about a month ago and because I am known by many as the Layz1 I made the change.

Well this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

My trip to the Rupert River

2006-09-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

Posted sept 15th
Just a quick word about my trip to Radisson Quebec for a last look at the Rupert River before they divert eighty percent of it to one of Hydro-Quebec many power plants in 2007. This is the last really wild river left in this part of the world that I know of you can reach by car. It runs under the James Bay highway that runs through four hundred miles of wilderness from Matagami Quebec to Radisson Quebec. This is my second trip to that area in three years with the main purpose for this last trip being to see the Rupert one more time before it is gone forever next year. I posted two pictures of the Rupert and a picture taken of a fountain in Amos Quebec, a very clean and quit small town I just love to visit.
Well this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever

Back on the bike

2006-04-09T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well it has been awhile since I wrote to the blog but lucky for you today is the day. The Highway Turtle [the name I have given my bike.] and I have been out cruising the highways of the Great North Woods of NH even know there was still snow on the ground as you can see in the picture to the left. You might find it hard to believe but it was over sixty degrees when I took this picture. This is at the third Connecticut lake in Pittsburg NH. Weather permitting I hope to get a lot more riding in on this my sixtieth year on earth. My how time flies when you are having fun. Now if my train goes off the track [train of thought that is.] you know it is because of my age. Now where was I! Oh well! Who the hell cares, I must have been getting ready to say this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever

Elk ranch and gay cowboys.

2006-03-16T06:26:00.000-08:00

About a week ago I got bored and took a trip out of New Hampshire, just across the Connecticut River into the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. I can not go through Derby Center VT. without stopping at the elk ranch that is located there. As cold as it was that day I still managed to get out of the car and take a few pictures and am posting one here on the blog. It was a sunny day but the wind chill factor was 20 below zero so I didn't stay out of the car for long, that's for sure.
Now I would like to talk about the Oscars that just passed. Let me say that I am sure glad that brokeback mountain did not get an Oscar as expected. The reason for that I think is because people in my age bracket, two to four years older then dirt just aren't ready for a gay cowboy. We grew up with westerns like the Lone Ranger and Wyatt Earp and would not be ready for a remake of Tombstone where Wyatt and Doc Holiday are sleeping together. Can you just hear Doc saying to Wyatt,“ Wyatt you simply must shoot that man, he is wearing pearl handle pistols after labor day”. So let's make it a rule no gay cowboys {not that there's anything wrong with that.} as long as us baby boomer's are still alive. Now that I have subjected you to my sic sense of humor it is time for the Layz1 from the Great North Woods to say “ this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.
PS Don't forget to visitMY WEB SITE

Back already

2006-02-21T14:09:00.001-08:00

Well here it is less then a month and I am making another post to my blog. That can mean only one thing it is cold as hell up here in the Great North Woods.I took this picture of the cow moose and her calf last summer. The calf was almost a year old and will stay with the mother for another year.Ok thats it for today except to tell you to visit my web site

OK, OK So I made a mistake.

2006-01-30T14:27:00.000-08:00

I know you all saw it, I made a mistake when I posted the pictures the other day. I posted a picture that I had all ready posted to the blog many months ago. So I took time out of my busy day to remove it and post a picture I took just the other day. This is what winter is like up here in the Great North Woods of New Hampshire. So now that it is all better this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

Damn! it has been awhile.

2006-01-28T11:22:00.000-08:00

Holly cow! It sure has been a long time since I have said HI-DE-HO to anyone that stumbles on to my blog about nothing.
I didn't steal that thing about nothing Seinfeld said I could use it. It has been a mild winter up here in the Great North Woods, and that is the best kind as far as I am concerned. I have a few pictures I will post along with this post. I wish I could think of something cleaver to write about but I am coming up blank. So let me just wish you a Happy New Year, It is still January so I think I can still get away with that. That's about as cleaver as I can get today, so let me just say this is me saying goodbye to you from the Great North Woods of New Hampshire till next time.

2005-10-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Fall 2005 E

2005-10-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

Fall 2005 D

2005-10-05T16:34:00.000-07:00

Fall 2005 C

2005-10-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

Fall 2005 B

2005-10-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

Fall 2005 A

It's October again, gotta love it Layz1 does

2005-10-05T16:14:00.000-07:00

This is me the layz1, talking to you from the Great North Woods of NH.
It has been awhile since I wrote just to the blog. I have been spending most of my spare time working on my web page. Actually most of my time I have spent cycling and a lot of my spare time has been spent trying to catch my breath. Once again we are in my favorite time of year the fall season, or what some call autumn. One thing I miss living in the north country oak trees are a rare commodity here. The few that I see are ones that look like they are planted in peoples yards. I don’t think that they are native to northern NH. Where I am from, the southern part of NH they are all over the place. Not just a tree here and there we have large oak groves throughout the forest. Large oak groves are a great place to go and view the wildlife of New Hampshire. Acorns are the favorite food of deer, red and gray squirrels. In fact just about every creature that roams the woods of NH can be found foraging in the oak groves for the acorns they all seem to love. There is nothing better then spending a crisp afternoon, sitting on the ground, with your back up against a big oak tree on a nice autumn day. The intoxicating smell of the decomposing leaves, the sound of the red squirrels, field mice, and other small creatures rustling those leaves searching for one of their favorite foods. And if you are real lucky seeing a big six or eight point buck pawing the ground or rubbing his antlers against a tree to mark his territory for the upcoming rutting season. Damn! Sometimes I can really miss the old home town, Hooksett NH. Ok that’s enough of this reminiscing now before I make myself homesick and have to head south. Well I have just one job left and that is to pick a few pictures to post with this note. But wait! I am forgetting something, Thought you would get away without Layz1 pushing his web site huh? Not going to happen, sorry. So if you have the time consider this an invite to go to Layz1’s web site just, click on the link below and quick as a hic-cup you will be there.

To go to Layz1's home page.

About my ranting the other day

2005-09-15T15:05:00.000-07:00

Posted September 15th 2005

OK, so I went off the deep end on my last posting. I will make no apologizes because I do detest the big oil companies. But I will offer a reason for using my web site to rant. This curmudgeon was having a very angry day. How angry of a day was the curmudgeon having you ask? Let me give you an example of how angry of a day Layz1 was having. I spent my entire morning biting the heads off all my animal********crackers and leaving there little decapitated corpses just laying around my house the entire day. How’s that for an angry day. I am sorry I had to expose that side of myself to you but it had to be done you deserve to know the real curmudgeon. I will try to keep the angry curmudgeon in me in check, at least for awhile.

To go to Layz1's home page.

Big Oil

2005-09-14T05:57:00.000-07:00

Posted September 13th 2005

I just want to toss out a few, lets call them food for thought questions. We have all heard about the generosity of many big companies ,athletes, individuals even young school children given their all to the Red Cross and other Katrina funds, a big “Hip, Hip Hurray for them. Now to the food for thought, where the hell are the big oil company’s donations? For the last five years or so they have been breaking their profit records year after year. Katrina certainly brought them more record profits for at least a few weeks. We all know what happened to the price of gas. Don’t we! Come to think of it I don’t remember them being very generous during the 9-11 disaster, in fact I don’t remember them ever coming forward with donations for any disaster of course many years have passed me bye so my memory could be failing me. Now to those of you who run theses companies, the CEO’s and those of you who have made and continue to make your fortunes with big oil ie. Politicians I can only say “ look ashamed! if you know how. Now for food for thought question number two. Let me take you back a few years, back to when a young Bill Gates was acquiring his fortune and had not yet learned to be charitable. All the powers that be in the news media were quick to take him to task for his failure to donate to any good causes, many even called him cheapskate. Where are the powers that be now why aren’t they taking the big oil companies to task. Well the sun is out and the old Layz1 ranger must jump on old silver [bike] and ride. By the way I am looking for a Tonto type sidekick to ride with me, any takers.

To go to Layz1's home page.

Modest show

2005-09-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

Posted September 11th 2005

We had a modest display of Northern Lights up here in the North Country last night from 10:30pm till about midnight then the clouds came in. I will post some pictures I took if they come out but I don't think they were bright enough to catch on a digital camera. The west coast got a better show because they were still dark when the geomagnetic storm hit it's peak but it was six in the morning here. You can click here if you want to see pictures from around the world
at Spaceweather.com

Keep your eye to the heavens on those clear nights, the sunspot that is responsible for this storm will be more in line with earth over the next two weeks. Let the shows begin.

2005-03-31T16:58:00.000-08:00

well fed

2005-03-31T16:11:00.000-08:00

well fed

2005-03-31T16:07:00.000-08:00

Looks like the deer survived the winter.

Going in for repairs

2005-03-10T17:11:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like I have a day coming in the near future when it will suck to be the layz 1. But that’s ok because I need one of those every now and then to help me appreciate the days when it’s really great to be the Layz 1. Like the day I saw my first bald eagle or the day my niece and I saw a wild wolf on the James Bay Highway in the wilderness of North Quebec. Or the day the same niece and I saw the Aurora Borealis for the first time in Raddison Quebec, and the time another niece, her children and I watch the Aurora Borealis from my back deck right here in West Stewartstown NH. The reason that it will suck to be the Layz 1 on that day is I have to undergo a carotid angioplasty. An angioplasty is when the doctor and his crew make an incision in the artery in the groin area of the leg and slide a camera and the rest of the needed equipment into that artery, all the way up to the artery in the neck and look for plaque buildup in the carotid arteries. There is not much pain involved in this but the fact that you are awake for this performance makes it a real crappy experience. How they get all that stuff to slide through my tiny veins along with a wheelbarrow and a jackhammer amazes the hell out of me. But the truth is I know I will look back on this day and come to realize that it was still a good day to be the layz 1. All it takes to convince me of this is to watch the nightly news or read the local paper. If you are not one of are young men or women in Iraq who face death everyday or one of the parents who will answer the door and be told by a stranger that they will never see their son or daughter alive again. If you go to bed tonight and you and everyone close to you made it through the day without being beat, raped, robbed or murdered then you had at least a good day. If you get up in the morning and you have a roof over your head, food in your fridge then you are all ready having a much better day then a lot of people in the world, and if you have a few extra dollars in your jeans you could say it is a very good day to be you. When I think about these things it makes me realize just how lucky I am, there have been damn few days in my life when it has really sucked to be the Layz 1. This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

I'm back.

2005-02-27T18:39:00.000-08:00

I t has been awhile since we talked, the last time I made a post to the blog was when I made my first bike ride in 25 years. The weather was warm and the ground was almost without snow. That was the last real good day that we had, the next day brought us about a foot of new snow and like any man I rushed outside to write my name in it. Since then it has been mostly bright and sunny but cold days and even colder nights. We have been below zero almost every night for the last ten nights, but that’s what you get when you live just nine hundred miles as the crow flies from polar bear country.
Well I’m just coming back from a break. I needed to think of something to write about so I took a little ride up route three to the third Connecticut Lake just south of the Canadian border and spotted a few deer but nothing I could get a good picture of. However just a few miles from my home, up in the sky it wasn’t a plane, it wasn’t just a bird it was a bald eagle. It was my first ever-adult bald eagle and I got a great picture of it. It was being circled by two crows or ravens I guess he was not very hungry. They circled over my head a number of times and I got one picture of the eagle and a crow. I now have my web site up so I will post the picture of the great bird on it today or tomorrow. I will try to put a link on my blog to my web site sometime today when I post this note. If the link doesn’t work you can copy and past this into your browsers address bar. Http://www.musingsofacurmudgeon.com
This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

Fishing and Hiking in Feb.

2005-02-08T13:46:00.000-08:00

We are coming to the end of what has been a six or seven day stretch of great weather. I took advantage of this to get in some hiking and fishing. On the fishing front I am batting zero for fish caught, but the only one that got hurt was the worm. I could almost hear him or her scream as they hit that ice cold water. I on the other hand had a great time. On the hiking front I could not have picked a better day, fifty-two degrees and bright sunshine. The trails were packed down by snowmobiles so I didn’t need snowshoes, that is the only good thing that’s comes from snowmobiles as far as I am concerned. The first trail I walked was not a snowmobile trail but had enough illegal traffic so it was still well packed down and easy to walk without the snowshoes. I walked about a mile out on this trail to a cabin I wanted to get a winter picture of. This is a cabin I have always like, it seems to blend in so well with the landscape. [picture posted to blog]
The second trail I walked was a snowmobile trail but I only saw about 20 snowmobiles in the two miles out and back that I walked. My timing was perfect, I couldn’t have picked a better day to walk the trails because it was Super bowl Sunday and most of the snowmobile riders were on their way home to catch the game. In my six miles of hiking I didn’t see any wildlife except the ever present ever pleasant, to both eye and ear, Chickadee. I can’t imagine what a walk in the woods would be like without them. I did see a sign that spring is on it’s way, about a million snow fleas. I have no idea where these little black hopping specks come from, but as soon as the sun gets strong enough to warm the surface of the snow they seem to mystically appear. I thought about looking them up on the internet but then I realized that this is one of the things in my life I want to remain a mystery. I think we all need a lot of magic and mystery in our life to tickle our imaginations. I think the things we call snow fleas could be visitors from another planet, or maybe visitors from another time or dimension, of course this is just speculation. But one thing I am almost sure of, snow fleas and only snow fleas are the creators of the mysterious crop circles, think about it, at a certain time of the year snow fleas appear out of nowhere, at a certain time of year crop circles appear out of nowhere, coincidence I think not! Although I saw no wildlife on the hike I did see a fox while driving to the place I intended to hike, it was just a quick glance but I noticed it still had its bushy winter coat on. In a month or so it will start to shed the winter coat it wears and begin to look like an animal with the mange for a few weeks. However this was a beautiful animal and I wish It would have stayed still long enough for me to get a picture but it was not to be.
Looks like it is going to rain all day here, so what else can I write about, ah, yes, my mountain bike came in yesterday so I made the 5 hour round trip to pick it up. It’s a nice looking well-equipped bike and I think I look rather cute on it. I’m posting a picture of me on the bike today so you be the judge. I got home early enough to take it for short four-mile ride. Not good! I averaged a disappointing 9 miles per hour and when I got off it at the end of what was only about a 25 minute ride my legs were quivering like two bowls of jello just out of the mold. Lucky for me this only lasted about two minutes. So once again I am asking my wonderful web buddies to help me out and tell me where I can find a really flat mountain so I can start riding my mountain bike. On the other hand after my little four-mile ride and considering my age and the fact that the only pedals I have pushed in the last twenty-five years are a gas and brake pedal this might not be such a good idea. It could be that this curmudgeon is biting off more then he can chew, much like an ant walking up an elephant’s leg with rape on its mind.
This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

2005-02-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

Thi is a cabin in the woods that I have always liked.

2005-02-08T12:38:00.000-08:00

Told you I look cute on my mountain bike

Another Butch Day

2005-01-31T13:19:00.000-08:00

Yes Virginia, there is a “Oldman and Gobin.” Not much is known about the pair except they spend their time in the Oldcave up in the “Great North Woods” just south of the Canadian border. They spend their time in the Oldcave, scanning the skies for the Oldsign, the silhouette of a Depends in a circle of light in the northern sky. That is the sign that someone is in trouble and they are needed in Gorham city. Quick as a hic-cup they jump into the Oldmobile, a model T Ford, and race to the rescue of the person or people in distress. Of course Oldman and Gobin are not their real names, as you could guess it is of the utmost importance that their true identities be kept secret. That is the safest way for them to keep doing good things, and to keep the evil doers in check. So when you find yourself in harms way, and the air gets heavy with the scent of Fixodent and Stridex pads you will know that Oldman and Gobin are coming to your rescue. I can tell you that Oldman it is said is really laze. As for Gobin I can only say that he thinks he looks great in his tights and spends a lot of his free time at Michael Jackson’s ranch.
I understand that they have a silver mine that they work just over the Canadian border.
This is where they get the silver for the silver bullets they use. Oh Hell! I seem to be getting my stories mixed up that would be the Oldranger and Pontoe. We will save them for another day. Now it is time for me to get on with my typical Butch day. By that I mean, I will make bad decisions, spend more then I have and eat more then I should. GOD DAMN! Could life be any better then this, I think not. This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

more ailments

2005-01-24T16:50:00.000-08:00

It seems I suffer from yet another old folks ailment, shrinkage. I always thought that the idea of people shrinking as they got older was a load of crap. Not so, a few weeks ago a friend of mine went for his yearly physical and was told by his doctor that he had shrunk two and a half inches since his last visit. According to his vet this is not uncommon for someone with a history of back problems. Now curiosity got the best of me and I had to check my own height, and to my surprise I’m no longer at five foot seven and one half inches tall. I have shrunk down to an even five foot six inches tall, for those who have trouble with their math this is a net loss of one and one half inches over the last few years. This really does suck because I though I would spend my golden years relaxing in my lazy boy chair not sitting in a high chair. I have come to the conclusion that I am losing all the height in the trunk part of the body, because my pants and shirts tell me that my arms and legs are the same size now as they have been for my entire adult life. If this shrinkage continues, and it will, I can look forward to getting up one morning to find that my knuckles drag on the floor when I walk. So anyone that wants proof that man came from monkeys this should do it. This is not the worst, the worst of it is the day will come when I will be just a bellybutton with arms, legs and a head. Someone help me, I’ve shrunken and I can’t grow up.
Holly bellybutton! Oldman, what about something from the, it could be worse department?
No! Not this time Goben, for nothing could be worse then being a walking, talking bellybutton wearing Depends. Now I need to quickly take enough prescribed meds to get that vision out of my head.
This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

New Girfriend

2005-01-20T18:14:00.000-08:00

Yes I have a new girlfriend in fact I have two of them, so now I can cheat life is just to good.
Yes I paid for them, I did not! I repeat I did not steal that inflatable girl over in Milan Italy.
This is me saying goodbye to you, till whenever.

layz1 the inventor

2005-01-13T16:35:00.000-08:00

Because I have nothing to write about at this time I am requesting that you accompany me once again in Professor Peabody's wayback machine so I can take you back in time, back to the seventies. Before we can go we need to suck it in and make room for Sherman, Prof. Peabody won't go anywhere without him. OK Sherman is in, Professor Peabody press the button. Swish quicker then a hic cup we are back in the seventies, you can hear KC and the Sunshine Band singing "that's the way I like it on the local jukebox. Now were back in my time, back when I spent most of my weekends just about a drink and a half away from being in an alcohol induced coma. It was on one of those weekends that I got even a little closer to that coma I mentioned, maybe only a half a drink from it. [Gotta love the good old days.] I would have had that half a drink too but it was closing time so it was time to stager home. At home is when the excitement would start. For all the people who have said that I am a perfect asshole I have some news for you, I'm not! I have a hemorrhoid problem. It was that hemorrhoid problem that caused the excitement on this night. Drunk or not I knew that I needed to tend to my problem or I would be up after a few hours sleep with that ungodly burning and itching those hemorrhoids can cause. So before going to bed I went into the bathroom opened the medicine cabinet and took out the Preparation H and applied it to the proper place, however when I went to put it back in the cabinet I noticed that it was not the Preparation H but Ben Gay that I had used. Superman could not have wiped that stuff off quicker but alas I was not quick enough to stop the fire like burning, and that my friends is how I invented break dancing.
Now from the "it could have been worse" department, at least I didn't mistake the Preparation H for my toothpaste. OK professor you can take us back to 2005 now.<<<<<<< Come on lets go, to hell with Sherman,Peabody I have things to do!
Swish. This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

Girlfriend

2005-01-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

Now that the holidays are over I will share the bad news that I received just before Christmas. I have kept this to myself because I didn't want to ruin the holidays for anyone else. My live in girlfriend has been losing weight and starting to look pretty sick so I took her to the doctors for what I thought was just another slow leak. We were both surprised when the plastic surgeon said that she was terminal.
She has a rare disease called porouscy, it causes the skin to get very porous and the body can no longer hold air. At least it is not contagious like Aids. Now that would be the definition of irony, if I had to use a condom on a rubber woman. The plastic surgeon thought that she might get me through, I mean make it through the winter. But when I got up on New Years day she looked like she needed a big hug so I grabbed her around her now very small waist and gave her a big squeeze and poof she was gone. I guess I don't know my own strength. Now don't feel bad for me I have moved on, but you can see now why I was upset when Santa didn't bring me what I asked for. I knew I would soon be in need of a new girlfriend, now I have to go to the Girlfriend store in Canada and pick up a new one. However this time I think I will pick up two of them. Even and old man like me knows that a relationship is a lot more fun if you can cheat.
So this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever

Ho! Ho! Ho my ass!

2004-12-31T13:44:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas has come and gone and Santa did not bring me what I asked for. As you well know I only asked for a Ho, a Ho and another Ho. So I hung up Three pairs of panty hose expecting Santa to fill them with a blond a redhead and a brunette. I don’t think that was asking to much from a guy who passes Ho’s around this time of year like he has plenty to spare. Maybe I was being a little greedy asking for three, but he could have filled at least one pair to make an old man happy. Santa stinks! Christmas stinks!
But that is in the past so lets put Christmas behind us and move on to the New Year.
I would like to make a nice New Years card here but as you know I am the "Layz1"
So I will ask you to use your imagination here and make your own card.
Insert image of your choice here.
Wishing you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR, [all but Santa that is.]
From Layz1 and the Dust Bunnies.
This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

What the hell is going on here!

2004-12-21T13:13:00.000-08:00

Well amigos, when I move just south of the border I envisioned spending my golden years wearing nothing but Hawaiian shirts and Bermuda shorts. Imaging my surprise when I jumped out of bed this morning and it was a balmy 32 degrees below zero. I’m not talking wind chill I am talking real temperature here. By comparison Fairbanks Alaska was 14 degrees below zero and Anchorage Alaska was 14 degrees above zero this morning. So don’t believe what they say about the warm weather south of the border.
I wonder if they could be talking about a border other then the Canadian border? Well I need to get into some warmer clothes so this is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

2004-12-19T19:18:00.000-08:00

Have a Merry Christmas

Merry Xmas

2004-12-19T13:34:00.000-08:00

Have a very Merry Christmas. HO! HO! HO!
Which is exactly what I want Santa to bring me for Xmas. 3 HOs
This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever.

Dust bunnies from hell.

2004-12-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

Well here I sit back in front of the keyboard, bruised and beaten. Now if you can keep a secret I will tell you how the bruised and beaten part happened. Be sure you keep this to yourself if word got out about this I am sure I would end up in a straight jacket, or worse have my medication taken away from me. I know you will find this hard to believe but take my word for it, my house is not like any house you are aware of. Friday December 17th, started out as a normal enough day but I new it would not be a normal day, because it was house cleaning day. As always when I do my house cleaning I saved what I know will be the worst part for last. It all starts when I drag out the old Hoover and plug her in, then all hell breaks loose. The gang of dust bunnies under the bed turn into the dust bunnies from hell. Bunny scampered out from under the bed and bit me on the ankle, while I tried to shake her loose from my ankle Clump climbed onto the bed and cannon balls off the bed into my groin sending me crashing to the floor in some serious pain. As soon as I hit the floor the rest of the dust bunny gang scurried out from under the bed and pummeled me into unconsciousness. When I came too all the dust bunnies were gone and the bag on the Hoover was torn to shreds. Sometimes I think, why not just give up but then the reality of it all comes to me, today they conquer my home, tomorrow the world.! It’s all up to me, I must save the world from these evil things. I wish I could get the best of them just once so I could prove to myself that they can be beat. I thought I did one in awhile ago but it turn out he had a fight with his mate and was suicidal, he actually threw himself in front of the Hoover. Under the circumstances that kill was not much of a confidence builder for me. Well I’m off to the vacuum repair shop to get a new bag for the Hoover. Damn! Did I accidentally take my meds twice today? Oh well! This is me saying goodbye to you till whenever

Baa Humbug

2004-12-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

Well I decorated my Xmas tree today, what a pain in the ass! The weather has to be just right because my tree is a live tree outside. I don’t do an inside tree, I can’t see any need for it when I have this beautiful tree right in front of my trailer. It’s not that it takes me that long to decorate it but I agonize for hours as to where to put the ornament. But I think this year I found the perfect spot, I posted a picture to my blog so you be the judge. This is me, saying goodbye, to you for now.

2004-12-11T10:16:00.000-08:00

Is this a great tree or what. Have a Merry Whatever.

2004-12-03T19:46:00.000-08:00

Beaver Brook Falls.12/1/04

2004-12-03T19:44:00.000-08:00

Beaver Brook falls RT 145 Colebrook NH. taken Dec.1st 2004

2004-11-21T16:22:00.000-08:00

I meant pass me the stuffing from the turkey

Turkey Day

2004-11-21T16:12:00.000-08:00

OK, it’s time to see if my typing has improved since I started writing to this blog, so I’m going to test myself right now, in front of everyone. Fingers at the home or the default position. READY, SET GO!
Tgd wxigm brpwm foc ku,ped oxet the lszw btowm gog/ Done, not bad if I must say so myself. As anyone can tell I was typing the quick brown fox jumped over the laze brown dog. I did it really, really fast and I think it went quite well. Don’t you?
Now on to things more relevant to today. Thanksgiving Day is almost upon us. I have a lot of people that flip me the bird, usually when I am behind the wheel [think it could be my driving?] but now I will actually get a to eat the bird. But first I must ask the good people of the worldwide web for their help.
What I want, no! What I need, to know is how you can put a turkey in an oven at 350 degrees for hours without the feathers catching fire? If I can solve this problem then I think I will finally end up with a turkey that I can eat. This year I did something very different, I shot my own turkey. I would recommend everyone try this at least once in his or her lifetime. I found it very exciting even know there were a few problems. The biggest one was when the pellets from the bird shot I used in the shotgun ricochet off the bird and shattered my neighbors window injuring said neighbor. I can’t say that I am real sorry about the neighbor because judging by the part of the body that got hit by the flying glass he had to be flashing me the moon at the time of the incident. In hindsight [no pun intended] I probably should have thawed the bird out before taking it outside to shoot it. Pellets won’t ricochet off a thawed bird, no ricochet no problem. Next year I think I will just shoot my bird in the supermarket, I don’t see how that could be a problem, do you? Well my computer parts came in so I can replace this old slow relic, so I’m off to build a little better computer then what I use now.
This is me saying good by to you till whenever.

Pictures of the Northern Lights

2004-11-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

I posted some pictures of the Northern Lights that took place on Nov. 9th.
They are not pictures I took, but they are what I saw, at least a small part of what I saw. I downloaded them from spaceweather.com .
Anyone in New England looking up at the sky at the right time would have seen the same thing. Ok it is dinner time and I am hungry and fading fast, must eat. This is me saying good bye to you for now.

2004-11-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

Taken near Quebec City Nov. 9th

2004-11-17T13:36:00.000-08:00

Taken near Quebec City Nov 9th

2004-11-17T13:34:00.000-08:00

Northern Lights taken in Manchester NH sometime on the night of Nov. 9th

OH WHAT A NIGHT!

2004-11-10T18:22:00.000-08:00

OH WHAT A NIGHT!
Well last night and early this morning I had the good fortune of seeing the Northern lights [AKA—Aurora Borealis ]. They started about 9:30pm and went on for the entire night right up till daylight I am told. I stayed up till 3:15 in the morning watching the sky myself. It went back and forth from quiet displays to some of the most awesome displays I have ever seen. Not that I have seen them that many times, this was only my fifth time.
They had to be impressive for me to spend as much time as I did outside in two degree weather. I went out at 9:30pm for the first display and watch a good show that kept me outside till 10:pm when it subsided to a quite display, just a little action on the horizon. I picked this time to go in the house and get warm. It was a balmy seven degrees at that time. I went and got the young man [Andrew] that lives next door to me and we watch the first display on my deck together, he like myself thinks the northern lights are an awesome sight. When I went in to get warm he headed home to get warm and get some sleep he is only fifteen and needed the rest for that school thing. I kept an eye out for the display to start up again. I have found with my vast experience [all five of my sightings] that they always give you a much better second show in an hour or less. This night was no exception, at about 11pm I noticed the lights getting very active again so I put on my coat and hat and back outside I went. By this time it was down to 5 degrees, Ten minutes into a great show Andrew showed up on my deck, He noticed the new activity just before going to bed and could not resist the chance to see more of them. He will have a rough day at school tomorrow I’m sure, for we stayed outside watching this great spectacle till at least 11:45pm. At this time the lights went back to quiet displays and Andrew went home to get some sleep once again, and I retreated back into the house hoping that my feet would thaw out and that my toes would not break off. I thought that would be the last of the flair ups for the night, but I kept an eye looking out my windows for more active displays just in case. I did end up going outside a few times to get a better look at some very good but short activities. Just before 2:00am I decided to call it a night and go to bed, but I took one last look out the window and I’m glad I did. I could see streaks of dark green coming off the horizon and I took that to be a sign of another big display on the way, so outside I went once again, this time it was only two degrees. I was wrong, this display was bigger then big it stretched the whole length of the northern horizon and out to the middle of the sky. In one place you would see the lights crisscrossing each other like they were in a fierce sword fight. Turn your head a little and you would see waves of light moving across the sky at a rapid pace, turn a little more and you would see just an eerie patch of green light. It was like trying to watch three or four TVs at one time. I can remember thinking if I knew nothing about the northern lights I would surely think I was watching the world come to it’s end. I could feel the hair standing up on the back of my neck. This was by far the most awesome thing that I have seen in my lifetime to date. I never felt the cold outside for the first twenty minutes I was too fascinated with the lights. When I did notice the cold I forced myself to stay out there for another 10 minutes. Then I went inside to get warm and watch the rest of the show from my picture window, but that lasted only about twenty minutes then I saw that the lights were forming bright green oblong shapes. It was like watching someone draw them on the sky, so back out in the cold I went for another ten minutes. By 3:15am they were back to just a quite display so I rushed to bed before I felt the pull from the lights taking me outside again. I heard there was a good display at about 5:00am but I was in bed by then. I was disappointed a number of times this fall because I was lock in with clouds and missed out on other chances too see lights. But last night made up for it. And because of that I got up this morning feeling like the luckiest man in the world.
This is me saying good by to you till another day

OH CRAP

2004-11-03T09:38:00.000-08:00

OH CRAP!!! Four more years of G. W.

BOO!!!!

2004-11-01T16:23:00.000-08:00

Well Halloween has been and gone. I only had about ten ghost and goblins, I was ready for fifty or more. That’s the way it always goes if I prepare for fifty I get less then a dozen if I prepare for a dozen I get fifty.
Last year I handed out candy dressed as a priest and scared the hell out of the little snot monsters.
This year I wanted to dress as Michael Jackson and really scare the hell out of them. But I couldn’t find a store that would sell me just one glove, don’t know how he get them. I guess you can get stores to break a pair up when you have the big bucks. But it turns out that I didn’t need a costume the snot monsters seem to be pretty scared anyway, I guess they have never seen a neck breather before. It couldn’t have been my looks because I know I am a great looking person, I carry a note on me that I wrote that says so, so it must be true. Tomorrow is another big day we all get to vote, I for one will be up and at the polls early in the morning. Now as to who I will be voting for [ imagine an MC announcing here ] Butch aka layz will be casting his vote [drum roll here] for *********. Ha, ha gotcha, I hope you all vote for him to. If today’s posting makes no sense to you it is not my fault because I am all hopped up on sugar from eating that left over candy. It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it. However that job will be left unfinished due to an upset stomach that is forcing me to bed early tonight. I need to be well rested and in tiptop shape to cast my vote tomorrow, so this is me saying good bye to you till whenever.

Last of the dead cat

2004-10-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

Up date on the dead cat.
Well, no one took me up on that free cat offer so I went out and scooped up the big fat Carcass and took it to the local taxidermist and had it stuffed. I had him stuff it in a laying down position. Keeping that dead cat could be a good thing. I brought him home, put him on the floor in front of a window where the warm sun would hit right on him. It’s just like having a live cat, except for the smelly cat box and that feeding thing. This could turn out to be the best pet I have ever had. Dust him off once or twice a month and he is good to go. So on to other things, the great north woods has now become X-rated. We are now the land of the Barenaked trees. Some people like to listen to the Barenaked ladies we like to look at Barenaked trees. Once again on to another subject, a few days ago my sister called to tell me she has an inner ear problem. I don’t know what it is called and probably could not spell it if I did, but this inner ear problem causes her to lose all sense of balance and get very dizzy. Now from this point on she will be known as Weeble, so it is written so it shall be done. Now when we have are weekly card games if Weeble has one of these attacks we can bet on which way she will fall. If she stays true to the Weeble name and wobbles but don’t fall down the betting pot will roll over till the next attack, so when the inevitable happens someone will win a nice pot. Looks like are card games will be a little more interesting from now on.
PS. I took the picture of the Turkeys in Dalton NH just north of Littleton NH.
This is me saying good bye to you till another day.

2004-10-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

Wild Turkeys having a quick feed before going to Littleton NH to protest Thanksgiving Day

Bad day for cats

2004-10-16T16:54:00.000-07:00

I’m Back
So, I get up this morning and make my way to the kitchen table, pour my first cup of coffee, look out my picture window and I see a dead cat on my front lawn. Looks like this kitty forgot to look both ways before he tried to cross the road. Now such a deal I have for you! Anyone out there who wants a free cat call me @ 1-900-DEADCAT4U.
We are getting to the last of the nice weather up here in the North Country of NH so instead of writing and posting pictures to the blog I have been out enjoying the few good remaining days of autumn. Funny thing about autumn, I usually run holding my nose from the smell of anything decaying, but I find the aroma of decaying leaves rather pleasant. If all goes well in the next few days I will get to do some hiking, the fall is a good time to get that picture of a big bull moose to post to the blog. Long Pause
I have been a long time getting back to writing this so I can get it posted to the blog, but I have a good excuse. I couldn’t remember where my computer was, I bet you think I have a laptop. Wrong! I have a desktop, pathetic huh!
They say the memory is the first thing to go on us seniors, well not the first thing, I will talk about that another time. A bad memory is not always a bad thing, sometime it can work to your advantage. Last April I hid ten eggs the night before Easter and when I got up I spent all of Easter day looking for them and only found three. I bet you young people can’t do that. Then there are the times we forget and take double our medications, now this can be good or bad depending on the meds. If it’s the wrong meds you can end up on the floor flopping around like a fish out of water, now that would be bad. But if it’s the right meds you can have a real interesting day. The next time I accidentally double up on the right meds I will tell you about Bunny and Clump and their ferocious gang of dust bunnies that I share my home with. Maybe that is where my other seven eggs went, the dust bunnies ate them.
Well I just remembered where I left my bed so it’s time for me to say this is me saying good by to you till whenever.

2004-10-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

A nice road to walk

Another great day in the woods of NH

2004-09-30T17:15:00.000-07:00

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.

2004-09-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

we do use this bridge

2004-09-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

Part of the Indian Stream logging road

2004-09-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

Near the Canadian border place called Moose crossing.

A great day to be alive.

2004-09-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

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.

2004-09-29T18:46:00.000-07:00

Rt. 3 Fall 2004

My Impala

2004-09-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

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

2004-09-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

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.

2004-09-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

Balsams Hotel Dixville Notch NH

A lawn mowing Sunday

2004-09-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

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

2004-09-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

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.

2004-09-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

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

2004-09-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

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

2004-09-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends