No Respect . . .

If the rough gets mowed, I'm the one doin it.  No one else wants to do it.  That's probably why they keep me around.  Well, this mornin, the boss finds me.  I figgered something was up cause he was on one of the greens mowers and I was no where close to a green.  He asked me if I had spotted the hornet's nest where I had just mowed.  Said it was probably head high and he had forgotten to tell me about it.  Said he had not remembered to take a can of bee spray with him.  He told me which tree it was in, but I didn't go back to see it.  Maybe I really do mow the rough without payin much attention to what I'm doin.  Been doin it since '04.  Seems like they should be takin better care of me since no one else wants my job . . .



 
It has been foggy every AM this week.  I think one of the AM's would have created a fog delay for the schools if they had been in session.  


According to the Farmland News newspaper, this the the Blackberry moon in the foggy sky this mornin.  It was full yesterday and is waning today. 


Gettin back to this mornin, it seemed like all but a couple trees were soppin wet from the irrigation system.  It wasn't the most pleasant mornin, gettin myself and my glasses wet because I didn't bring my rain jacket with me.  

A few days ago I was mindin my own business mowing grass and looked at the ground beside me and saw an irrigation nozzle pop up.  I was thinkin, this isn't gonna be pleasant as I ducked, knowin it wasn't gonna help much.  Fortunately, the nozzle was turned parallel to my direction of travel.  Probably would have half knocked me off my mower if it was in high pressure mode.  I mentioned this potentially disastrous event at lunch.  Told them that I hoped they got a good laugh while they watched on the secret closed circuit tv system.  They never seem to know anything about that closed circuit tv, but I know they have it.  


Earlier this week, I noticed this single thistle blossom surrounded by 'browning' vegation.  


Yesterday, I spotted this large yellow blossom on the creek bank.  It must be in the neighborhood of 6" across.  I have no idea what it is and don't recall seein anything like it in the past.  Anyone have any ideas what it is??


While on the subject of flowers, a single naked lady (Lycoris squamigera) appeared near my front door recently.  It is a lily that grows from a bulb.  I can not recall it comin up in past years or even planting it. 

 
I spotted this cloud on the way out this morning.  


I saw this one last August and posted it in my 8-20-2013 blog.  Makes me wonder it this type of cloud is an annual thing . . . 

I was makin really good time, mowin the rough this week.  I was thinkin that I could be completely finished tomorrow.  Then about a half hour after lunch, my mower got hot and wouldn't cool down.  The boss said to bring it in an take the rest of the afternoon off.  I didn't another hundred feet closer to the shop when the temperature gauge went into the red. I shut it off and walked to the shop.  The water pump has been leakin all summer.  We been watin for it to give out completely . . . Today was the day . . . I'll probably be 'rimmin' the remaining uncut fairways with a little mower tomorrow . . .

Still Mowin My Life Away . . .

Had a very productive day with the rough mower . . . YESTERDAY.  Today was totally different!  I brought it around to check the fluid levels and blow out the radiator.  Grass likes to collect there and clog the air flow.  I was gonna turn it around so we could put newly sharpened blades on it.  It would not start.  It was completely dead . . . Couldn't even get the gauges to light up.  Lynn, our legendary mechanic, got his gauges out and determined that the battery was as dead as a rock.  Replaced the battery and the starter would not work.  We knew it was getting bad.  The battery or the starter killed the other or maybe it was a mutual suicide.  We will never know for sure.  So they sent me out to mow some greens while Lynn did some calling around to get a starter.  No luck.  Will probably have what is needed tomorrow afternoon.  

This mower has several issues.  One being that whatever connects the engine with the transmission is badly worn and could break any time.  It is different than a truck or car drive shaft.  Parts are a factory order and will take a couple weeks.  They were ordered last week.  I mentioned that I hope it doesn't snap when I'm headed up or downhill with a creek or pond at the bottom.  I'm sure I would find out how well the brakes work.  There used to be a counter weight on the back of the mower.  The bolts broke early last spring before I started mowing.  They ended up removing it.  Since it holds the rear securely to the ground and I have rear wheel steering, I mentioned that as I would be careening downhill, I hope the rear wouldn't be bouncing as I was trying to steer away from the water or trees.  I think about these things and what I would do while mowin  and hope I will remember my plan if these kind of things happen.  So Lynn decided that today would be a good day to put that counter weight back on since it wasn't goin anywhere today anyway.  By the end of the day, it was back on.  He said one of the radiators was loose and ready to fall off.  Glad we caught that before it happened.  That repair might eliminate  a couple of the many rattles. We know the mower is worn out and should be replaced, but it isn't gonna happen, so we use it till it won't go and fix it enough to use it some more.  

So I spent the day on the 'Sidewinder.' the mower we use to trim around the clubhouse, tees and greens.  I did six passes around the fairways.  I got the front nine done today.  Tomorrow, I will probably do the back nine.  It only cuts a 5 foot swath and is a lot slower than the rough mower.  



My new mower drivin gloves came this week.  I used them this morning.  The high was only 69 this afternoon.  They are makin me mow my fingers to the bone anyway, so . . . 

Help may be on the way.  I've heard rumors that we might be adding a new guy next week.  If that happens, I'm hopin I go back to my old schedule -- Mowin till the rough is done, than probably have Friday off and not hafta come in on weekends to mow greens.  Not gonna hold my breath though, still have a lot of catchin up stuff to do, but it would be nice. 

A Pictorial Review Of The Week . . .

I haven't been bloggin regularly lately,  That hot week or so in July, then the cooler temps since then, along with gettin up early 6 days a week have gotten to me.  Pretty soon the body will adjust . . . I hope.  


Last Sunday was our first day of being open.  This is the sunrise at 6 AM as I was headed out to mow greens.  The country club went under last winter and was sold in April.  There were lots of problems and the sale wasn't finalized till the middle of July.  We are a couple people short of what we usually have this time of year.  I'm working more days and hours than in the past.  


I never noticed the hole in the top of this dead tree till this week.  I guess it is because I look at the ground a lot more than I'm lookin anywhere else.  


It has been a couple years since we have seen the herons regularly.  The past couple weeks, they have been hanging around the clubhouse area.  


I snapped this shot a split second before this guy went air born.  Would have been a cool pic of him takin off.  


Went 'garage salin' this morning.  First garage sales I've attended since I started mowing in the latter half of June.  It was at a camp ground south of here.  This was a u-shaped field of sunflowers.  Much more impressive in person than my photo.


I spotted this sign along the wrong side of the road.  


I spotted three tire 'No Hunting' signs.  This is one of them.  A good use of old tires.  


Then there was this building.  I have no idea what it was/is used for.  It is just an interesting old building.  

Oh yeah, in case you were wondering, I came home with some interesting things.  It was worth the trip. 

Jeeezzzzzz, It's COLD !!!!!!!!!

It was 49 degrees in my backyard when I got up shortly after 5:30 this AM to mow greens.  Anyway you look at it, that is mighty chilly for July around here!!  I was dressed ok, except for those 'anklet' socks I wear in the summer.  They come to just above one's ankles.  Should have worn regular length socks.  I will tomorrow.  I was fairly comfortable till the wind started blowin.  Fortunately I only had about a half hour to go.  I spent that half hour wishin I was wearin my Carhartts, then thinkin how ridiculous I would have felt wearin Carhartts in July.  If I would have been mowin all day, I think I would have gone back home to get them.  I had my share of the greens done by 8 AM.  I used the heater in my truck on during the commute home.  I put my tupper ware tub of  'cold mowin clothes' in my truck this afternoon.  The high temperature this afternoon was 66 and tomorrow is predicted to be only a few degrees warmer.  I'm sure to be on a mower all day tomorrow and might be digging around in that tub.  

I definitely had an off day, mowin straight and fueling my mower.  We have two greens mowers.  One is diesel and one is gasoline.  I got the gasoline mower.  I remember checkin the fuel level, knowing that I had the gasoline mower.  I topped off the tank.  The problem is that I can't remember which pump I used to top off the tank.  At the first green, I noticed that the engine wasn't runnin real smooth and it was smokin.  And, boy did the exhaust stink!!  That made me think I topped the tank with diesel instead of gasoline.  Stank so bad that I was considering stoppin off at the EMS garage on the way home to see if I could 'bum' a  good whiff or two of oxygen.  But when the wind started up and I got really cold, I forgot about doing that.  

Soooo, tomorrow, I hafta bring doughnuts for the crew or I will never hear the end of it . . . even though someone at least once every season, puts so much diesel in a gasoline tank that it won't start.

The Geese Are Flyin . . .

I noticed  a gaggle of geese flyin around this past week.  That means their molt is ending and they have enough of the crucial feathers to fly instead of walkin around leavin disgusting deposits on the golf greens.  Fortunately, the greens mower does a pretty good job of cleanin up their mess.


I saw a duck swimmin around on one of the ponds a couple days ago.  Don't usually see ducks this time of year.  We sometimes see them in the early spring heading north and sometimes again in the fall heading south.  

The weather the week before last was really hot & humid the week before last.  The temps were in the 90's and the dew point was usually around 75.  They say 60 is when one starts to feel the humidity.  All that heat pretty well drained me.  Cleanin up storm damage first thing in the AM for a couple hours, then drivin my mower around took its toll.  I pretty much went to bed when I got home each day.  This past week was weather opposite.  Mid 70's during the day and into the 50's at night.  I have been just plaine worn out this past week.  One of the others guys at the golf course said they feel the same way.  





We had another torrential downpour last weekend . . . a bit over 2-1/2 "   No wind this time.  But a couple tree limbs came down. Bigger than the trees we cleaned up last week. This is probably the biggest tree on the property.  It is a willow with the trunk easily 5' in diameter.  It has been cracked for a long time.  We figger the windstorm two weeks ago weakened it.  The broken limb had a generous diameter of at least 18 inches.  Glad it fell when I wasn't mowin around it.  I figger they would be needing a new mower and a new guy to use it . . . 


The hazel nut trees are loaded this year!  It is gonna be like walkin/mowin on marbles when they fall to the ground.  Some of the crab apple trees are so loaded that they have broken from the weight of the fruit.  


Spotted this yesterday, as I was about to mow around this tree.  That is a very active hornet's nest!  Look close and you can you a few hornets adding to the diameter of their nest.  I called the boss right away to report my find.  We take care of those things right away. 

It Was Worth A Try . . .

I got to work this morning and went straight to the back to get my mower ready.  I figgered that maybe if I went out to mow right away, they wouldn't come after me and make me help pick up and haul limbs.  We been working a couple hours or so first thing each morning on downed limbs and trees.  

I was my own worst enemy !!  I was fueling up and somehow knocked or kicked the gas cap to parts unknown.  I couldn't find it.  Soon they came to the back to get ready to clean up limbs.  It took a while for all of us to find it.  Anyways, I had to help with the clean up.  We have a few limbs here and there to pickup and a huge willow tree limb and a downed pine tree to deal with.  It is the pine tree that I dread.  There are all those disgusting needles and that sticky pine sap.  Fooling around with pine trees in hot, humid conditions is not my idea of fun. I don't even like to mow around them when the weather is like this.

Maybe next time . . .

A Long Absence. . .

It has been a while.  Back in the middle of June, my hard drive decided to crash.  For reasons unknown to me and the repair shop people, it decided to go to BIOS and stay there.  When I took it in, they said they only had one computer ahead of me.  A week and a half later, I got it back.  It seems that they couldn't even re-format the hard drive. So we replaced the hard drive.  They put the latest version of Windows 8 on it.  I was just getting used to the first version of Windows 8.  This version has start menu like all the previous versions and a couple other minor changes.  For some reason unknown to everyone, they had a heck of a time loading certain drivers.  The nice thing is that they gave me a serious discount for taking so long.  

I was using my backup computer to keep up with my eBay sales.  Didn't attempt to do too much more with it.  I've spent the last week or so putting this computer back together.  Still have a few minor things to do, but I'm getting there.  Today, I spent a couple hours fixing up my eBay & Etsy listings and started re-listing a few items. I also 'emptied' out photos from two of my cameras today.  I will be listing one of them on eBay soon.  I finally pulled the trigger and purchased a Nikon D3200 DSLR camera.  Been thinking about a DSLR for a long time.  Haven't used it much yet, only about a 100 shots.  Went to the National Thresher's Reunion last Saturday, thinking I would have plenty of stuff to shoot, but it started pouring down rain shortly after I got there and didn't stop.  

Two weeks ago today, I went back to my mowin job at the golf course.  The bank foreclosed on the country club last winter.  It was sold at auction last April.  Two weeks ago the buyer wanted to open it today.  They still haven't transferred it to the buyer.  The bank and the buyer can't seem to agree on anything.  I've been paid once by the buyer.  If they can't close, the bank may sell to the other bidder or start over.  We are kind of day to day at this point.  If they send us home, the greens and fairways are either going to become overgrown or cook in the heat or both.  If that happens a lot of the value of the property as a golf course will be lost.  It costs a lot of money to maintain a decent golf course.  There are four of us trying to keep it presentable.  We usually have 7 people this time of year.  

Since there were only two people trying to keep the course alive, till myself and another guy arrived on the scene, mowin the rough wasn't at the top of the list.  There is still about an acre or more that hasn't been touched at all this year.  We will hafta use the bush hog on those areas, then use the rough mower.  Above are some of the longer areas I faced the first few days.  I've been over most of the course three times and it is looking pretty good.  I've been mowin greens, tees and approaches regularly too.  I'm workin more hours and days than in the past.

I almost ran over this guy one afternoon.  He was resting against a tree trunk, pretty far from any water.  I don't expect to see turtles that far from the water.  He was a young one, about 6-8 across.

Wednesday was the first heavy fog of the year.  It got pretty thick in this area before it broke up.

Done !!!

I knew it was comin soon . . .  My last day sunrise on the mower was yesterday.  I'm done mowin the rough for the year.  Last week's frost slowed the growth of the grass drastically.  With the expected frost or two this comin weekend, it will slow even more. If the rough needs touchin up here and there someone else is gonna hafta do it.  I'm glad I'm done for a while.  Been mowin the rough since the third week of March, which is about 4 weeks earlier than normal.  I was gettin pretty tired and bored with mowin.  There are only so many directions that one can mow.  I think I used most of them this year.  

I expect that it will take me three weeks or so to get bored and be ready to do somethin away from the house.  Oh, well, such is life.

That Was A Close One !!!

I'm mowin the rough perpendicularly tween the 18th tee and fairway . . . mindin my own business, ponderin somethin or other . . . don't think it was the butterflies . . . Anyway, I see movement to my right and behind me.  Some guy is headed to the clubhouse on his golf cart.  He must have had that thing floored.  There is a fairly steep drop off goin down from the tee toward the fairway.  He probably wasn't able to see me.  He cleared me by probably 10 feet or so.  At the speed he was goin, he would have rolled it if he had tried to turn away from me. The whole thing gave me somethin new to ponder. . . how much damage would there have been to me and my mowin machine.   I decided that I would have felt it if he had broad sided me.  I'm thinkin  he and his cart would have been damaged more than me and my mower.  I keep an eye on golfers and their sometimes wayward golf balls, but I've never thought about keepin out of the way of speedin golf carts. 

Catchin Up . . .

The weather change got to me the past few days.  That cold wind knocks the heck out of me.  I began Monday with a brand new razor blade . . . and didn't bloody my face with it!! When that happens, I spend the rest of the day wonderin if I've used up all my luck for the day or if everything is gonna be goin well.  


Monday was a bright, cold, windy day.  I was impressed with the high cirrus clouds and jet contrails.

I mowed the same area Monday as I did last Monday.  Last Monday I picked up 15 golf balls.  This Monday, I picked up three.  


The hickory nuts are plentiful this year . . . and the squirrels are gettin them cleaned up.  It is my belief that the ground would look something like this if I didn't stop and pick up those lost golf balls.  


This is what happens when ya plant a hickory tree next to a tee box.  Someone hasta blow it off every mornin this time of year.  We are blowin leaves off the greens and tees every day too.  Happens every fall.


Can't say for certain, but it seems like there are more walnuts on the ground than in past years.  

I finished mowin the rough on Thursday and had myself a three day weekend.  If I don't have a breakdown tomorrow, I'm gonna have a 3 1/2 day weekend.  I may need it.  Been feelin pretty rough this week.  I feel like I'm tryin to get a sore throat this evening.  

Train traffic seems more plentiful this summer.  I've noticed a lot of 'extra' locomotives goin west.  Must mean more freight is comin from the west than goin east.  I saw a short train of twelve locomotives and maybe two dozen freight carts goin west this week.  An hour or so later I saw a train with 9 locomotives goin west.  When I see multiple locomotives, I think of the guy who gathers up the grocery carts and takes them back into the store.  The railroad people must have someone gather up their locomotives too.  

Today was one of those 'ISH' days.  It was foggish, darkish and drizzlish.  At least there was no wind.  I thought I had enough clothes with me when I went out to mow, but I got cold and wet and went back for a sweatshirt.  Usually when there is drizzle, you can see it fall.  This was a real fine mist that seemed to hang in the air an I drove into it, gettin wetter than if it was fallin in the regular size droplet form.  Yes, I was wearin all my rain gear.

Heard this on the radio this AM.  Didn't catch where this took place.  A McDonald's manager called the police, sayin there was a suspicious person in his store.  The suspicious person turned out to be a Burger King, king who was passin out BK sandwiches.  I love it.  Gonna ask the local BK manager if he has enough nerve to do something like that.  If he does, I'm gonna offer to be the BK king passin out the sandwiches.  He's gonna hafta promise to bail me out of jail though. 

Cold Out There !!!

It has been downright cold this week.  Even had some frost Wed. mornin.  The boss changed my workin hours to 8 to 3.  Sunrise is around 7:30 now and ya can't see much at 7 anymore.  Then there are the frost delays.  Like I tell 'em, "I ain't happy unless I'm mowin."  Guess they wanna keep me happy.  

I was on call for this weekend.  The boss was pretty tight on weekend help.  If it would have rained more than the .1" that it did, I would have gotten a call to rake bunkers or mow greens.  The Bryan HS Invitational is today.  The number of teams playin is in the double digits.


Last week, those little white round mushrooms were doin their best to fool me when it came to pickin up lost golf balls.  Wasn't fooled once this week.  Picked up 29 golf balls.  A bit above average.  Fifteen of them were on Monday.  Surprised I got as much mowed as I did,  gettin on and off the mower all the time.  






The leaves are startin to turn a bit.  I still don't think this is gonna be an above average fall when it comes to color. 

I'm thinkin maybe it is time to close some of the windows for the night.  Woke up one mornin this past week with Simon beside me . . . underneath the blankets . . . Simon doesn't mind bein in closed off, tight places.


Besides the short frost delay, I had a rain delay this week.  Since I was mowin near the clubhouse, I waited it out there.  I successfully begged a diet coke from the kitchen people and watched it rain from the loading dock. 

Post #700 . . .

That's right, this is blog post #700.  My first post was December 20, 2008.  That's a lot of ramblin on about nothin in particular or of any importance . . . but people keep checkin in to read all about it.  I don't know why either . . . 


Yesterday AM was the third day in a row of lots of fog.  It was the lightest fog of the three days where I was.  Lots of school delays again.  

The high school kid is startin his senior year at the local vocational school.  A few days before school started, I told him loud enough so the boss could hear, that I knew that the JVS started at 9AM and that he could work an hour or so on the way to school.  That got him to thinkin.  He talked to the boss and his parents.  He works an hour or so three days each week on the way to school.  I was only kiddin when I said that, but is nice to see a kid who likes money and isn't afraid to work for it. 


This was this mornin shortly after 7AM.  A clear sunrise for a change.  It is pretty cloudy right now.  Weather people are predictin some severe weather for this PM.  I told the boss to call me if he needed bodies to help clean up if there is a lot of wind damage.  I've heard them tell stories of gettin the chainsaws out to clean up.  That hasn't happened much since I've worked there.  

It was a messed up week.  I had to get up and go mow greens Sunday and Monday AM.  My share of the greens mowin only takes about an hour and a half.  The boss is pretty desperate for weekend help when he hasta ask me.  I made him promise to give me Thanksgiving, New Year's and Christmas off in return for the 3-4 hours I worked over Labor Day weekend.  There was no mowin of the rough on Monday.  I lost a couple hrs. Tuesday, due to a broken belt.  A couple more mowin hrs. was lost on Wed. due to PM rains.  Yesterday, I mowed a couple hrs. extra to try to get critical areas of the rough mowed.  This AM I mowed a couple hours to finish up.  The course was invaded by 40 women havin some kind of tournament.  There is another big tournament on Sunday.  Hopefully there won't be any problems caused by a storm and I will get the weekend off.

I'm hopin to be able to sleep past 6AM  and find some other topic of questionable sociable redeeming value to ramble on and on about this weekend.

Pictorial Review of the Week

Still in my mowin stupor, so I thought I'd post the pics I took this past week. 

I didn't get started mowin till around 11:30 AM last Monday.  Ma Nature decided to deposit just over an inch of rain.  It stopped around 11, so I mowed a couple hours.  Didn't take any pics that day, so you will just hafta picture me drivin the mower back and forth, back and forth, till I don't know if I'm comin or goin.  

 

Mid mornin Tuesday, I noticed this snake swimmin down the creek with something in his mouth.  By the time I got stopped and my camera out, he was on dry ground.  I didn't notice the butterfly till I displayed the pic on my computer.  This is the best of the four frames I shot.  I was shootin into the sun and as you know, one can't really see anything on the lcd screen.

 

Later that PM, I noticed reddish dust on my mower.  It is rust, a  fungus  found on lawns when conditions are right.  It doesn't harm the grass.  Just something that happens around here about this time of year.  While I'm talkin about this time of year, the barn swallows seem to be gone for the year.  This is the first week I haven't any at all. 

First thing Wednesday AM, I headed to the back corner.  The grass is thick and grows fast back there.  This is the 14 approach and green.  A few minutes later is was 'fogged' in.  Interesting how fast fog forms some mornins.  

 

There is a fence back there.  The sun was shinin bright and I spotted this web.

 

Looked a little closer and I spotted a lot of webs on the fence.  I could've spent a half hour or so shootin spider webs. but I'm the official mower of the rough, not the course photographer.  

Wednesday is the day for the AM Women's League.  I parked in the shade and let them tee off in peace and quiet. 

I thought this old half dead tree would make a good pic against the cloudless blue sky.  

This woods is to the left of 13.  In a good year, you would not believe the bright shade of orange these trees turn.  I kinda doubt that there will be much color this year.  The canopies of the trees are pretty thin and have been turning brown and droppin due to the drought.

This was the setting moon of Thursday mornin against the western sky.

 
A few minutes later the sun made it over the horizon in the east.  This comin week, we will be startin at 7 instead of 6:30 AM.  Couldn't really see to mow much till almost 7 this past week.

A lichen or some other kind of fungus growin out the side of a dead Ash tree.  Still have nearly 80 dead Ash trees to cut.  Somehow we have managed to get a tree or two cut most weeks.  Several of the pines have died this summer.  Don't know if it is due to the drought, age or disease.  

Friday PM, a hawk settled in to watch me mow around 18.  

I got Saturday off.  I mowed greens first thing this mornin and get to do the same tomorrow AM.  Thought sure I was gonna get rained out this AM.  It rained so hard that it woke me up around 5 AM.  There was a bit over .75" in the gauge.  Got to the course and they had less than a tenth.