Misc Ramblins

The past 10 days or so have been rough on our mowers and me. The Toro, a 5" rotary we use for trim work, developed drive shaft problems the week before Memorial Day weekend. Since it was a holiday weekend and there was a wedding scheduled, we needed a mower that would do a nice job. I have mowed around the clubhouse with the rough mower, but it doesn't give the same results. So the boss talked one of the dealers into letting us 'try out' a mower. They sent a zero-turn mower with an 8' deck. That machine really moves!! And it is almost impossible to scalp high spots and mounds. We used it to help keep the rough in check too. On the Friday morning before the big weekend, one of the rear wheels seized on my mower. That was the second time my mower has been down for repairs this year. Didn't get parts, etc, till last Thursday AM. In the meantime, the Toro got a new drive shaft and I mowed with it. Someone else drove the demonstrator. Tuesday we mowed almost half the rough with the two mowers. The price on the demonstrator mower is $27,000. Commercial mowers aren't cheap! After driving the Toro two consecutive full days, I am about 2 inches shorter. That seat has very little give.

Heard on the radio that there is such a thing as 'cell phone elbow.' Seems like one would have to spend a lot of time on the phone to get that. Also found out about 'liquid duct tape.' It dries to a silver-gray color just like the tape. I was looking at a weed identification chart put out by a chemical company. It said that white clover seeds can survive up to 20 yrs. in the ground and still germinate. No wonder some weeds are so difficult to eradicate. It was one of the more educational weeks for me.

Got a lot of yard work and misc. projects completed and started. Finally got my gladiolas in the ground. Installed edging on two my my perennial beds. I have one more to go. I finally got part of my garage floor painted. I'm using 2 part epoxy paint. It takes a week to cure completely, then I will do the other half. It will brighten up the garage and make it easier to keep clean. I just hope I got the concrete clean enough so it will stick. Time will tell on that one. I finally fixed my wind gauge too. That involved a trip to the roof. Nothing difficult other that getting motivated to go up there. Oh, yeah, I finally did it. My laundry detergent bottle and the carpet shampoo bottle are both bright red and about the same size and shape. I finally grabbed the wrong one and put a capful in the clothes washer. That load smells like a clean carpet. At least it is an improvement.

I've worked at 2 golf courses. I have noticed drains near the tops of mounds beside the bunkers. Why do they do that? I guess if the water gets that high, they might be useful.