Really ? Are you kidding me ?

One day I found myself driving behind a truck sporting a lovely pair of pink testicles.   It was hypnotic watching them swaying back and forth, back and forth.  I wanted to pull up beside the driver at the next light, roll down my window, smile demurely, and coo, "Nice testicles".

But I didn't.   I'm such a wuss.

Didn't get a shot of the pink testicles. This is a
different set I saw around the same time.  YES, a different set.

Total chick magnet.  I mean, what girl can resist a truck decorated with swinging, plastic, man parts ?

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Being of an inquiring mind I set out to learn what I could, so I Googled, "truck testicles", and was delighted to be presented with five different web pages selling these enchanting car decorations.

"Made of solid abs plastic and painted a military green.  Has the veins, wrinkles like the rest.  Some of our customers requested this color in a larger size for their quads.  We aim to please !  8" at lower nut, comes in at just under a pound."

It's nice that they point out that one of the nuts hangs lower than the other.

"This pink looks almost like cotton candy.  Great gift for your girls ride.  Solid ABS plastic, color all the way thru, veins, realistic, 8" at lower nut, 4 1/4" wide and approx 2" thick.  Weighs just under a pound."

What girl wouldn't be thrilled to find one of these under the Christmas tree ?

Nutz for your truck reassures its customers that: " ALL Novelty Testicle Sets Made to Swing".

Bulls Balls, the originator of balls for your truck,  boldly claims: "We are the Foremost Truck Balls Company in the World!" 

Ranging in price from $14.99 to over $50 they come in a dazzling selection of colours and sizes. They  make them for motorcycles and you can even get a set for your key chain !

But as stupid as they are, I was surprised to learn that the state of Florida has banned them.  Florida, a state where carrying a guns is OK, but displaying plastic testicles is not.

Really ?  Are you kidding me ?

Buffy makes a fashion statement.

I think the look works for her.

What do you think ?

How can I blog at a time like this ?

No, no, don't panic.  Nothing bad has happened.

Well that depends on how you define "bad".

The weather has been spectacular for several days now.

Most Canadians, laugh at the March calendar date for the beginning of spring.  "Ha!" we say, "the calendar is such a tease."  We can't plant our vegetable gardens and tender annuals until late May.

The average high temperature in mid-March is 5 or 6 C with lows at or below freezing.  We can have snow as late as May.

That said, the high for today is predicted to be 27 C  (Kathy, that's 80.6 F)  !!!   A bit cooler at 20 or so, nearer the shore.  

Normally, we wouldn't see temperatures like this until summer, in June, July or August.

These ridiculous, hot temperatures are great for those of us who love to spend outside in the garden, puttering about, or by the seashore, NOT bundled under layers of clothing, freezing in an on-shore Atlantic wind.   

Great for us.  Not so great for good ol' mother earth.  My good chum, Amy-Lynn explained the problem succinctly, in her latest Flandrum Hill post.

So, here I sit typing as fast as I can, sucking back my tea and chomping toast with peanut butter, while Trey is has his morning jog beside me on the treadmill.  All done in haste to get outside and enjoy this T-shirt weather.

Until the climate comes to its senses, I'm going to take the advice posted on the "Last Page of the Internet" ...

If you're experiencing similar weather -- I respectfully suggest you do the same.

My favourite picture of Trey ...

Trey is a photogenic, handsome boy.

He has the most amazing, soppy eyes.

Whether he's sucking on his blankie,

or teasing me with a ball,

his eyes are the windows to his sweet, doggie soul.  

But my favourite picture of Trey isn't a photograph.

It's a beautiful pencil sketch, left at my door, by a wonderful friend.

Thanks Amy-Lynn.

You rock !

Love from Sybil & Trey.    Y

A delayed outing

The same flu that laid me low for a while, also had its way with friends, Amy and Mickie.  As a result,  we delayed our outing to Duncan's Cove until Sunday, when the weather was nicer and we were feeling more like our old selves.

It was an easy, scenic drive down Purcell's Cove Road, which offered lovely views across the widening harbour, toward the open Atlantic. We parked, and within minutes were walking along the rocky shore.

We came across this massive beat-up buoy that had been hurled a hundred metres out of the ocean.  We guessed that the individual links on the chain weighed at least 20 pounds each.  I know, I know, "metres" and "pounds".  I can relate to distance in metric but not weight.  Go figure.

I crawled underneath to see what there was to see, while Mickie peered in through a split in its shell.

photo credit: Amy B.

I poked my camera inside and asked the flash to reveal what I could not see.

Mickie has an app on her phone that spits and creates mirror images of photos. She took this AMAZING photo !  Click it to get the full effect. Do you see the face ?

The shore is peppered with WWII gun battery emplacements, that have fallen into ruin.

From one of them, Mickie and I, contemplate the vastness of the ocean.

Amy does not.

Glancing up, I was surprised to see that two of the round emplacements, had been incorporated into the foundations of homes on the cliff-edge.

Yep, that's Trey.  Luckily, no one was home.

To get up to see these cliff-edge homes, I clambered up the rocks, and with help from Wendy and Trey made it to the top.
.
Amy took this shot of me.  She calls it, "Find Sybil".

We'd been rambling around for a couple of hours, with many places yet to explore.

"Where to next?" Amy asked.

I was embarrassed to say I was beat, and just wanted to go home for a nap.  Luckily, I wasn't alone, as Mickie expressed the same desire.

Apparently this flu bug wasn't quite finished with us yet, so we gave in and headed home.

But we're already looking forward to our next outing.

And our next nap.

Abstract photography ....

Scott's  latest photo challenge over at "Views Infinitum", is about abstract photography. 
I thought this was a fun challenge.  My favourite is #3.  Oooops.  Am I allowed to have a favourite ?  Will the other photos get jealous ?
Your challenge is to tell me what the photos are of.  

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

one more thing we did ...

I thought for sure I'd told you about Sandy and I going to Hall's Harbour.  Heck, I even thought I could recall which images I'd posted.  The first shot was of Sandy, with the beach and cliffs curving into the distance behind her.

Trouble is, I hadn't.  Hadn't posted any images that is.  No idea why not.  I mean, LOOK !

How could I forget to post pictures about such a marvellous outing ?

We went to the beach at Hall's Harbour on the same day we went to the "Jelly Bean Cottages" and Blomidon.

What do you mean  I didn't post anything about visiting Blomidon or the Jelly Bean Cottages?  Are you sure?

Never mind ...

Visits to cliffs along the Fundy shore must be timed very carefully.  The icicles next to Sandy have been been trimmed neatly across the bottom by the recent salty, tide.  Getting caught by the incoming tide, with no escape route, is not an option.  

I had visited this beach last year with Amy and Mickie.  During that visit, we explored the shore looking for minerals and interesting rocks.

This was my first winter visit, and I was surprised and delighted by the massive icicles.  Some of them seemed to  materialize from solid rock, making it easy to understand why the rock face is in a state of flux.

The shot below puzzles me.  Why are the trees on the right, angled and not standing upright ? Has the ground recently heaved upwards ?

Water cascaded down the centre of the largest ice fall.   I couldn't resist, and took a video which I posted on YouTube.

The beach is littered with the results of massive rock falls.  For a sense of scale, find Trey, in the shot below.  

Ready for a real challenge ?  Find Wendy, who is a black dog, in this next shot.

If you're still scrolling down, hoping for images of Blomidon or Jelly Bean Cottages, I hate to disappoint you but  ...

How about a big Whopper ?

Recently I went for a marvellous hike with friend, Des.  He took me to see The Whopper Trail, which is a mecca for local mountain bikers and trick riders.

Like the Bayer's Lake Walls, the bike trail is located behind a massive mega strip mall full of box stores and an industrial park.   It's hard to imagine that the scenery I'm going to show you is located behind a Burger King, hence the "Whopper" nic-name.

Since it was mid-winter, trick-riders were in short supply.  But there was a lovely waiting area...

The bikers have built "ladders" all over the place. The one below looks like a roller coaster.  I'd love to see the bikers whipping around on it.

The ladders presented great opportunities to do agility work with the dogs.

I was amazed at Trey's confidence as he casually traversed obstacles that he'd never dealt with before.

Sometimes he managed stuff much better than I did.  At those times, I'd drop his leash and let him forge ahead while I carefully pulled up the rear.  Some of the ladders were too high off the ground for my liking.

Trey looks back, as if encouraging me along. 

A Trey's-eye-view of a downward ladder.  Des encouraged him to come down, while I hopped off the side, and scrambled down the hill.

Des's beautifully-trained dog Liza,
mounts a ladder with little encouragement. 

From the top of the boulder we could see a distant lake and miles of rocky, boulder-strewn woods.

.  I was fine going up the ladder.  Going down wasn't as easy.  

I swear Trey looks like he's checking to see if I'm OK 

The trail led down to the valley floor, and a hydro cut.  

We wandered along that for a while and then took another path back up the hill to the car.

                                             

We covered less than half of the hillside trails and those on the valley floor probably went on for miles and miles. 

Guess where I'm going when the weather warms up ?