WITH ONE STEP AT A TIME

 OUR PARK'S POND THIS MORNING

Today marks the September Equinox when the Sun rises almost exactly due East and sets almost exactly due West, and day and night are nearly the same length across the globe. It's a rare balance between light and dark...... And for we here in Southwestern Ontario, today was a bright, sunny one with a nighttime temperature of 46F and a daytime high of 66F.  Yes, Autumn is officially upon us for another year.  So, bring forth your colors, Autumn, and let us all once again revel in your unrivaled splendor:))

 WE'RE BEGINNING TO SEE A FEW TOUCHES OF COLOR IN THE TREES

Needless to say, after getting home from my re-introductory Tai Chi class yesterday, I wasn't long in finding myself several Taoist Tai Chi videos demonstrating all 108 Tai Chi moves and have since been busy in my living room last night and today, practicing the basics of the first four moves in preparation for next Monday's class.  I quickly found out yesterday that I am going to need all the help I can get.  They generally teach three new moves with each session.  I also fully intend to try on a level two exercise program next week, given at the same Bayfield Community Center.  If I can get that under my belt, plus the Tai Chi classes, I might be on a more positive path to making it through the Winter.  And who knows what other interests or hobbies I might be able to pick up along the way connected with those classes.  I'm on a roll.....if I don't fall off.  I have thought about the Bayfield Camera Club too, but I think that might be a bit of a stretch for me.  With one step at a time, I'll see how it all goes........

TWO OF SIX GRAIN BINS AWAITING A LOAD OF BEANS FROM TODAY'S ONGOING  BEAN HARVEST

It was another good day for getting late summer and early Autumn things done.  I cut all my ferns, Bamboo Grass, and Japanese Knotweed back in the front yard.  No easy feat, I might say.  I want to get as much done as I can before we have the big pine needle drop and then all the leaves to rake up.  I don't like doing that kind of stuff on cold and dreary days.  

 A FEW PHOTOS FROM AROUND OUR PARK THIS MORNING

Al's Music Box:: You've Got A Friend by James Taylor.

 THE FOUNTAIN IN OUR PARK'S POND

GROANER'S CORNER:((Patient: I'm in a hospital! Why am I in here? Doctor: You've had an accident involving a train. Patient: What happened? Doctor: Well, I've got some good news and some bad news. Which would you like to hear first? Patient: Well... The bad news first... Doctor: Your legs were injured so badly that we had to amputate both of them. Patient: That's terrible! What's the good news? Doctor: There's a guy in the next ward who made a very good offer on your slippers.

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Teacher: "What is the chemical formula for water?"
Student: "HIJKLMNO."
Teacher: "What are you talking about?"
Student: "Yesterday you said it's H to O!"

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- How do you make sure you always remember your wife’s birthday? Forget it once.

- A man doesn't know what happiness is until he's married. By then it's too late.

- Did you hear about the dumb athlete who won the gold medal at the Olympics? He had it bronzed.

Q: How many musicians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A: One, two, one, two, three, four!

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A father, passing through his son's college town late one night on a business trip, thought he would pay a surprise visit to his boy. Arriving at the fraternity house, he knocked on the door. After several minutes of knocking, a sleepy voice drifted down from a second-floor window.  "Whattya want?" the voice asked.
Does Jimmy Duncan live here?" asked the father. "Yeah!" replied the voice. "Dump him on the front porch, and we'll take care of him in the morning."

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Al's Art Gallery

AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

Made it out for a Sunday evening walk but decided to head home instead of doing my usual little night drive.  Too many clouds obscured the starry night sky.  But the evening sky was very picturesque. 

 A JET'S CONTRAIL ADDS TO THE CLOUD PATTERNS

 DID YOU NOTICE THE HAPPY LITTLE SUN FACE WAVING TO YOU

After thinking about something for a very long time, I reached deep inside myself today and was able to get a good grip on myself and pull myself out of myself long enough to drive myself to the Bayfield Community Center and attend an introductory class on Taoist Tai Chi.  Now, this isn't new to me, having completed a beginner's course twenty-five years ago in St. Marys, Ontario.  And I remember starting another beginner's class again a dozen years or so ago in Bayfield, but I have no recollection of having completed that one.  Maybe it was because we headed off to the Southwest that year earlier than planned.  With my normal short-term memory problem being even more compromised at the age of nearly eighty-two, I'm not so sure I'm up for the challenge because re-learning one hundred and eight continuous Taoist Tai Chi moves will especially be an even bigger challenge for me now than it was back then.  Years ago, when I attended many AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings, I learned a little prayer that is spoken at all meetings.  Before walking into that Bayfield Community Center this afternoon at 1:30, I had to repeat The Serenity Prayer several times. "God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change.  Courage to change the things I can.  And the Wisdom to know the difference."  And with that under my belt, into the Community Center I went.......

 A FEW COTTAGES AND HOMES NEAR BAYFIELD'S PIONEER PARK TODAY

Okay, I wrote the previous paragraph this morning pre-Tai Chi decision, and here's how it went.  Yes, I did make it into the building and up the stairs to the second floor of the Bayfield Community Center, with every step of the way wanting to turn around, go home, and crawl back into my secure and safe little cave.  However, I persisted and walked through the door into a room of strangers.  Always one of my biggest fears these last bunch of years.  Two nice ladies came over right away and made me feel welcome, and that, of course, was a big help.  There was a core group of about ten Tai Chi folks there, and with this being an introductory class, there were four other newcomers beside myself.  With we Newbies taking a seat, several Tai Chi members spoke before putting on a demonstration, often called a set.  Sitting there watching the folks go through the Tai Chi moves, my confidence began to stir with thoughts like, 'Yes, I think I can do this again.  But that positive thought didn't last long.  Soon we Newbies were up on the floor being shown the warm-up exercises and the first three opening Tai Chi moves.  And it was here that my confidence left me.  I had wrongly assumed that, like riding a bicycle, things would come back to me, despite it being so many years since I had last done Taoist Tai Chi.  Not one single thing came back to me, not even the warm-up exercises.  Nothing, zero, zilch.  I was once again totally a fish out of water.  And to think that twenty-five years ago, after successfully completing an introductory course in St. Marys and then attending Tai Chi classes in Stratford Ontario, for a while, I was asked if I would be interested in going further with an eye on being trained as an instructor. I had a lot of things going on in my life at that time, plus the idea of being an instructor scared me.  The basic line was simply this....I had grown a little bit of confidence in myself, but not that much confidence to be an instructor. By the time today's demonstration concluded, I was so disappointed in myself that I was eyeing the door.  But I decided to stay and watch the core group go through one more set of exercises. But still, I just couldn't see myself being able to do this anymore, so when the class wrapped up, I walked over to the registration table.....and signed up for the full four-month Tai Chi class beginning full tilt next Monday. 

Al's Music Box: Monday Monday by the Mamas and the Papas.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A California Highway Patrolman pulled a car over and told the driver that because he had been wearing his seat belt, he had just won $5,000 in the statewide safety competition. "What are you going to do with the money?" asked the policeman. "Well, I guess I'm going to get a driver's license," he answered. "Oh, don't listen to him," yelled a woman in the passenger seat. "He's always a smart aleck when he's drunk." This woke up the guy in the back seat, who took one look at the cop and moaned, "I knew we wouldn't get far in a stolen car." At that moment, there was a knock from the trunk and a voice said, in Spanish, "Are we over the border yet?"

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Why did the British cross the Atlantic?
To get to the other tide!

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Men say that women should come with instructions. What's the point of that? Have you ever seen a man actually read the instructions?

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A guy bought his wife a beautiful diamond ring for Christmas. A friend of his said, "I thought she wanted one of those sporty 4-wheel-drive vehicles." "She did," he replied. "But where in the world was I gonna find a fake Jeep?"

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I’m on a plane and the lunch choices are white meat chicken or German sausage. Unfortunately, I’m seated in the last row and I’m hoping for the breast, but preparing for the wurst.
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I ain't afraid of the cops around Santa Ana, California. You seen some of these guys? What, cops on bicycles? How intimidating is this: Alright, buddy, pull it over. Ching-ching-ching? What do they do when they arrest somebody? "Alright, get in the basket!!

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Art Gallery