I could shoot your eye out....

I set the can on the ground down by the birdfeeders, with the bottom facing the back door. From 60 feet away, one shot. I know it's not in the center, but from 60 feet and less than 3 inch target, pretty good! I had to find out what I could hit from what distance. Now I know nothing in the backyard is out of range. I was also amazed at how powerful this BB Gun is. It was fun learning how to shoot it and what it would do. I have developed a very healthy respect for this little gun.

Better Pictures

.......... I thought I'd provide a better picture of the coin I found. I wish I could get as good a close-up pictures as Mark does. I find it amazing how well silver coins hold up lost in the ground 70 years. They stay the same condition as when they were lost.
I also wish I could figure out how to place my pictures where I want them on my blog posts!

MY FIRST SILVER HALF DOLLAR!

I metal detected at Chance School again this afternoon, late. I didn't get over there until about 3:30 and quit about 5:00. I found 17 wheat pennies on the soccer field, and while 'trolling' back to the car, found this knife and half dollar. The half dollar was just off the gravel circle on the fence side, about 4 inches deep. I had to dig through gravel about 2 inches, the whole time hoping it was worth it. It was! The pocket knife is in really bad shape, but an interesting find. I can't quiet make out what it says on the little circle, but I think on the very bottom of the circle it says 'Louisville'. Also, the nickel is a 1940, and many of the pennies I could read were 1940, others were older. My guess is that these coins were lost in 1940. All of the wheat pennies came from about a 30 square foot area on the soccer field. It may have been where the bleacher seats were for the football games. I'm sure this field holds many more treasures and I hope Mark, Brian and I can get back there soon.

Sisters, Sisters, Sisters.....

"Lord help the Mister who comes between me and my sister!"

Clockwise from left: Julie and Mary Lynn; Beth, Aunt Mary Lynn, Susie; Jill and Erin. Proof that cute-ness is hereditary!

Metal Detecting at Chance School

I met Mark at Chance School today and be metal detected for close to 2 hours. I spent most of my time on the soccer field, and that's where I found the coins on the right. It's a 1914 and 1918 penny and a 1936 Buffalo nickel. The two jewels I found are probably priceless! I wish the coins were in better shape. They really have a 'rusted' look to them. The soil there was very wet and and probably stays pretty wet except for the middle of summer dry season. Mark also found a Buffalo nickel and he said he'd put it on his blog. I think his was a 1934. We didn't find a lot but we did find some old coins. I'd like to go back to the soccer field again. We didn't cover very much of it.

There's no such thing as a 'Free Lunch'

I found this token metal detecting at Atherton HS today. I would have to assume it was used as a Lunch Token. If someone knows different, let me know. It was down about 3-4 inches so I think it has been lost for awhile. Do they still use these tokens? If so, I'm stopping by for my 'Free Lunch'!

Golf at Shawnee, Round 70 for the Year

I played for the first time in three weeks today. It really felt good to get out and hit the ball again. I shot a 38 - 42 = 80. Not bad for being off 3 weeks! I thought my short game would suffer, but it wasn't bad. Overall, I played pretty consistant in all phases. Got off the tee well, hit fairway shots well, and my short game wasn't bad. I think I 3 putted one green, but it was a long first putt, and I ran it by the hole about 6 feet and missed the putt coming back. So, I feel like it wasn't that bad. I'd like to get in one more round before New Year. I can't believe I've played 70 rounds. I've played an additional 8-12 other rounds of golf, such as Scrambles, Alternate shot, etc., that I don't add to my total rounds for the year. I only count the rounds where I play my own ball.

The Tabler Girl's Sing

Metal Detecting and Jill's Christmas Program

I know Mary Lynn posted a couple of pictures from Jill's program today. But, I don't have very many pictures of me taken with Jill, so I had to post this one. She just got finished making her Christmas tree, an ice cream cone coated with green icing, and then decorating it with marshmallows, gum drops and sprinkles.

I metal detected at Cox's Park today and found $1.28. Cox's Park is really loaded with a lot of garbage in the ground. Bottle caps, mainly. So detecting there is pretty hard. I ended up going to the childrens playground and detecting around the edge of the dividers and found most of my coins there. I think there is some good finds to be had there, but just too much junk to wade through.

I went Christmas Shopping yesterday...well, almost

I went to Oxmoor Shopping Center yesterday. I didn't start out to do that, but ended up going. I started out metal detecting at Cox's Park. But, it was very cold yesterday and when I got to the park I found out my gloves were still wet from the day before. So, wearing wet gloves in 37 degree weather didn't last very long. So, I decided to go to Oxmoor Mall and walk around. AMAZING! I couldn't believe how crowded it was. I mean, I know it's Christmas time and all, but it was Noon, on a Tuesday, 2 weeks before Christmas! Don't any of these people work? I just walked around, what you would call 'window shopping' I guess. I've already got my Christmas shopping done, but I thought if I found something really cool, I'd buy it. Well, I didn't spend a penny. It was kinda neat though, watching everyone else spend a fortune. I saw so many people walking around with bags and bags of goodies. What's wrong with these people? Does everybody have to try to outdo everybody else in giving stuff for Christmas? If somebody gets 3 or 4 things for Christmas, isn't that enough?
No, I'm not a Scrooge. But I do think the giving is overdone. People are Nuts!
Anyway, for Kim's info.....the big Steamboat at Oxmoor is no longer there! Just a tile floor now.

Venturing close to the North Pole....

We headed north Saturday. Got pretty close to the North Pole. Spent the night in Columbus, Ohio. Well, that is pretty close to the North Pole.

Note poor Beth. She's crying because Mary Lynn and Julie are opening their Christmas Bonus presents, and Beth doesn't have any! Julie remedied that. She gave Beth one of her '26' presents as a bonus and said she'd replace it with a new one, so she will still have 26 presents Christmas Day.

Mary Lynn has pictures on her post also, but I thought I'd better put a couple of pictures of Julie's house lights from the outside. They were very pretty. I don't know why ML and Julie had to drive some other place to look at Christmas lights.

We played a game called Left, Right, Center. It was fun and a pretty good gambling game. I lost my shirt! It's a dice game with special dice and you start off with a given amount of money. You role 3 dice and either give money to the person on the left, right, or put money in the center (pot). The last person with money in front of them wins the money. It required absolutly NO skill, therefore I didn't win.

We did have a lot of fun!

The pictures taken outside were a little blurry. I didn't have my coat on and it was cold, therefore doing a little shivering.

The weather has kinda slowed me down a bit....

I haven't been able to get out to play golf or metal detect for the past week or so. It's either been too cold, windy, rainy, or all three. I thought I'd show you a picture of what I consider my 'nice' finds this past year. I don't believe there's much value in this batch, but I think it's interesting to look at. So far I've found $78.45 since my birthday in March. My goal is to top $100 by my birthday, which will be one year of metal detecting. With the weather being what it is, all I've been able to do lately is stay in and read. I tell ya, life ain't so easy when you're retired. I think I might go out and do a little Christmas shopping today, if I'm not busy.

Pearl Harbor Day

The attack on Pearl Harbor happened 4 years before I was born. Mary Lynn and I visited the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor in 1968. That was 27 years after the attack, and it was 41 years ago that we visited. At the time we visited the site, I thought it had happened sooo long ago, but it doesn't seem very long ago that I visited the site. Hmmm. Time is funny. I think we look at things as happening a long time ago if it happened before we were born.
Still, on this day I always think about the soldiers and sailors that were in the service at that time. Every one of them knew that they would stay in the service until the War was over and having no idea how long that would be. I know I spent 4 years in the Navy and, at the time, it seemed awfully long. I imagine the people who had joined for a 4 year hitch, planning for it to be up in several months, and all of a sudden they've had their tour of duty extended for duration of the war. And, spending 8 or 9 years in the military, for a young man of 17 or 18, had to feel like a lifetime.
Anyway, I don't know how many Americans even stop to thing about what happened on this day 68 years ago, but I always do.

Winter Golf at Shawnee GC

I played round number 69 for the year today. I shot a 41 - 40 = 81. Not a bad round, but I had a few ugly holes with big numbers. Considering I birdied 3 holes today, the score doesn't look that good. But, I was off for almost 2 weeks, so my consistency was off a little. Getting in 18 holes this time of year is always nice, and walking the 18 is good exercise. Once again, the round won't be good enough to get me any money, but will probably lower my handicap. I had a little problem with the trees today. I hit two shots that hit trees that ended up further from the hole than my original lie. And, twice I had to chip out sideways from behind a tree. So, I guess even with 3 birdies, that kind of tree trouble could have led to a big score for the 18. So I guess I should be very happy with an 81. And, I am.

Bob's Christmas Wish List

I've finally gotten a list together of things I want for Christmas. These are in no particular order and, because this was requested, it is not fair making fun of the things on my list:

* Ear Phones with Adjustable volume for my metal detector

* B-B Rifle (I promise not to shoot my eye out)

* New Squirrel Trap

* Bird Bath (Lightweight like the one Mark has)

* CD, Fats Domino Greatest Hits (Original Recordings a must!)

* Any neat magic tricks that would amaze my granddaughters

* Ear Warmer Band that you wear with a ball cap (Has hole for cap bill)

* Peace on Earth and Good...oh wait, I'm not wasting a wish on something that's impossible.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Metal Detecting at Atherton HS

I metal detected with Mark yesterday at Barrett Middle School and we didn't have a lot of luck. Mark found 2 pennies, one of them a 'wheat penny', and I found about .60 and a large drill bit. Today I went over to Atherton HS for about and hour and a half and found 83 cents and this silver earring with the initials G.B.F. on it, and inside was stamped 925. I don't know what the 925 means, but it looks silver to me.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

The End of Squirrel-Zilla

I finally caught him! This monster has been robbing my traps for over a week. He was either too big or too smart to get caught in the small traps. He would sneak in, get the bait, and leave his rump in the door of the trap. When the door would drop, it would hit him on the rear and he'd back out. Stealing my bait and getting me madder each time. Well, Mr. Squirrel, You've met your match! I got out the big trap. After several failed attempts with it, I finally set the hair trigger just enough to snare him. Boy, was he mad! Because I caught him in the big trap I couldn't water-board him, so I had to relocate him. He now resides at the Gardiner Lane Post Office parking lot. Stop by sometime and see "Squirrel-Zilla". He is a monster!

"The Sudden Appearance of 188 Pennies"

Kinda sounds like a Sherlock Holmes Story Title doesn't it? I went metal detecting yesterday around 10:00 a.m. Mary Lynn went to the grocery and to do a little shopping. When I got home around 12:30 I found these pennies and a small chain in the driveway. They weren't there when I left because I came out through the gate with my metal detector and box of tools. So, they appeared during those couple of hours I was gone. I asked Patti, who does the yard work for most of the houses around us if she knew anything about it. Nothing. When our next door neighbor, Marie, got home about an hour later, She knew nothing about it. When Mary Lynn got home, she knew nothing about it. Hmmmm. A mystery. They were there as shown in the picture. Not dropped from very high, or the pennies would have rolled in a bigger area. But seemingly spilled out of something. No broken glass as if dropped in a jar. So I picked them up and counted them. 188 pennies and a chain. One of the pennies was a 1951 wheat penny. Patti suggested that it may be a bribe from the squirrels. Mary Lynn says that maybe the Thanksgiving Turkey lays pennies around like the Easter Bunny does with the eggs. I like both of these theories, but I don't think Sherlock would taken either one as a solution. So, for now, it remains the mystery of the 188 pennies.

I found Isaac!!!!!!

Isaac finaly got his medallion. But, what a coincidence this was. I used to coach his Dad in T-ball and basketball at HYR. The medallion belonged to Isaac Owen, who is the son of Steven Owen, and grandson of Tom Owen, the Metro Councilman. I coached Steven and his brother Andrew in T-ball and basketball way back when. I would guess about 1978. Steven and Isaac stopped by today to pick up the medallion and we had a nice talk about the old days. He now coaches at HYR and is a board member. What a small world this is.

Thanksgiving Lunch and Daisy Scouts

Mary Lynn and I went to Jill's Pre-School Thanksgiving Lunch yesterday. They always have a very good lunch. Turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings with a table full of desserts. The pre-schoolers all wear their shirts they make with their Indian names on the back. Jill's was "Busy Pink Elephant". Then we went to Erin's school for her first Daisy Scout meeting. They got their scouts vests to wear that they can fill with merit badges as they earn them. And, they got their scout pins and all pledged the girl scout oath. It was a nice ceremony. I don't know why but I think Erin is going to earn a LOT of merit badges! Then, Jill wanted to take a picture of Erin eating strawberries. Do you think she got a close up?

Thursdays at Iroquois GC

I played my 68th round for the year with a 44 - 41 = 85. I didn't win lowest round money, lost by 2 strokes, but was on the winning foursome. So, I got $4 back for the $3 I put up. I always like to come out ahead, even if it's just a dollar. It was decent weather, upper 40's to 50 degrees. A little windy and cloudy, but not at all too cold to play.It's hard to believe that I've played my own ball for 68 rounds so far this year. With the other rounds, scrambles and such, I've got to be around 80 rounds of golf. No wonder I'm over on my golf budget this year. Oh well, I'll just have to cut Christmas expenses!

It's Tuesday, but no golf..

....................................................................................It was a little too wet to play today. The rain did quit right about the time we were supposed to tee off, but I didn't bother to go to the course.Even if the rain did let up it would have been a sloppy, wet day. We needed the rain though. I'm glad to see it. When metal detecting, it was getting hard to dig and some places I stayed away from because it was just too dry. I think the rain is supposed to move out tonight so it looks like Thursday will be a good golf day.

Oldest Coin Found so far - But how old?

I found this penny at Lincoln-Shelby Park today. It's a 1920 something, but I can't make out the last number. Sometimes I think it looks like a'0', sometimes a '2' and sometimes a '4'. But it's 1920 something, which makes it the oldest coin I've found so far. I also metal detected at Atherton HS this afternoon. Evidently they gave out their trophies for HYR this morning because I found a medallion that "Isaac" won, but didn't make it home with. I looked up HYR on line and called the director and left a message. I'm sure little "Isaac" would love to have his medallion that he worked hard all season to earn.

Thursdays at Iroquois GC

My 67th round of the year was at Iroquois GC today. I shot a 41 - 41 = 82. As I was doing Monday, my short game is just not working. I'm hitting the ball well off the tee, hitting good fairway shots, but my chipping and putting is awful. I almost got through the round without anything over a bogey, but double bogeyed 17! Three putted. Then three putted on the 18th hole for a bogey. I just don't feel confident over a putt anymore. I'm sure it will come back. Probably when I start hitting bad drives. It seems the whole game never wants to come together at the same time.

Shawnee GC on a Tuesday

Well, I completed round 66 for the year. I only count rounds where I play my own ball the whole 18 holes. Scrambles, Mystery Golf, and any round that I don't play my own ball the whole 18 won't count on the total for the year. I shot a 44 - 44 = 88 today. I hit the ball well off the tee and hit my fairway shots OK, but my short game left a lot to be desired. Either I couldn't chip it close, or if I got it fairly close, couldn't make the putt. A good short game would have cut the score down to about an 80. I 3 putted 3 or 4 greens. Well, looks like my handicap keeps going up, up, up! Now, if I can just slip in a good score one week, I could win some money.

Girl Scout Ring

I found this Girl Scout ring yesterday. It's a cheap ring and tarnished and looks like it may have been hit by a lawn mower. But, I think it was an interesting find. I wish I had found it when it was still new. Even though it is cheap, it would have been a 'neat' find.

Weissinger Hill Mystery Golf

I played Weissinger Hills GC today in our "Mystery Golf" round. J. R. Harris and I play Harold Goad and Barry Rahn, 2 man team agains 2 man team. I'll explain how our 'Mystery Golf' works. We play team match play, each hole being either won, lost, or halved, as in normal match play. On each tee we alternate drawing out a number from a bag, numbers 1 thru 4. #1, we play our own ball, add both players score to see which team has lowest score. #2 we play alternate shot. Both players tee off and whichever drive is chosen, the other player takes the next shot. #3 is scramble format for that hole. #4 the team gets to choose which format they want to play for that hole. Well, we played today. J. R. and I were down 2 with 2 holes to play and ended up winning the last 2 holes to tie. It was fun, and changing the format each hole keeps it interesting.

Winners for Saturday Breeders Cup

Did I get you rich on Friday? Use all your winnings to bet on these ponies Saturday. The same guarantee applies:

BC JUVENILE TURF..................Interactif
BC TURF SPRINT....................California Flag
SENTIENT JET BC SPRINT............Fleeting Spirit
GREY GOOSE BC JUVENILE............Eskendereya
TVG BC MILE.......................Court Vision
BC DIRT MILE......................Mastercraftsman
EMIRATES AIRLINES BC TURF.........Conduit
BC CLASSIC........................Richard's Kid (6-8-10 Exacta Box)
There you have it. If you're still poor tomorrow night it's your own fault! Remember, the less you bet, the more you lose when you win!

Breeder's Cup Winners You Can Count On!

Today is the first day of Breeder's Cup Racing. There are six races today and eight tomorrow. I have guaranteed* winners for the six races today and will post tomorrows winners later.

BC MARATHON..........................Mastery
BC JUVENILE FILLIES TURF.............Tapitsfly
GREY GOOSE BC JUVENILE FILLIES.......Negligee
EMIRATES BC FILLY & MARE TURF........Midday
SENTIENT JET BC FILLY & MARE SPRINT..Ventura
BC LADIES CLASSIC....................Proviso

*Guarantee void in English speaking nations and areas outside continental United States.

You got your winners. Now, go make some money!

Thursday golf at Iroquois GC

If it's Thursday, this must be Iroquois. I played OK today, but didn't putt well. I gave myself a lot of chances to save par with a makeable par putt, but couldn't convert. I shot a 43 - 39 = 82. I can't believe this is round 65 for the year!

Passing the time Metal Detecting

I've been doing a little detecting the past couple of days. I've been to Camp Taylor Park, The Water Tower, A little park in Portland, and the park in Lyndon of which I can never remember the name. I found this Seaworld penny in Lyndon. It's a newer penny because it was already starting to corrode. I don't know what park I found the two wheat pennies in. I think it must have been Portland, because I stopped there for only a half and hour when I finished playing golf on Tuesday. I was kinda in a hurry and I don't think I checked what I found real close while there. But, I may have to check out the park again.

UGLY, UGLY, UGLY

Ugly, Ugly, Ugly. That's how I'd have to describe my round of golf today. I played my usual Tuesday at Shawnee GC. I shot a 46 - 44 - 90. The only part of my game that I thought was good today was my drives. I hit very good tee shots with my driver. However, my par three tee shots weren't anything to brag about. I hit terrible fairway woods and didn't putt very well. One plus though, my handicap will go up! This was round 64 for the year.

Golf at Iroquois GC, Round 63 for the Year

Well, the game wasn't bad today, but the leaves were beautiful! I shot a 43 - 40 = 83. Not good enough to win low score, but our team won, so I came out $1 ahead. Just about every tee box, I was amazed when I looked around at how pretty the trees were. Right now is prime viewing time! But, back to golf. I played decent today. A few muffed shots here and there that fattened my score up. Once again I didn't have a round with no more than a bogey. But, I didn't have any more than a double bogey!A few bad shots changed here and there and I could have been in the mid-70's.

Golf round 62 for the year

It was a very wet round today. It started drizzling about halfway through the front nine and steadily rained harder as time went on. By the time we finished 18 it was a light, steady rain. I was very glad to get done. It was a Jekyll and Hyde round. I shot a 39 - 50 = 89. I'm not a mudder!. I really didn't play that poorly on the back nine, but a few errant shots made for 3 blow-up holes. A ball out of bounds on 10 and one OB on 16, and that will boost a score pretty high! I did get $15 for winning one of the nines in an earlier round. I'm sure it wasn't last week, so it must have been 2 weeks ago.

Coincidence? I think not.

Two different story angles here:
Story 1: I was metal detecting at St. Matthias Field today. I've never found a real silver quarter. I found my first real silver dime Saturday. Today I dug a hole and found this horseshoe. The very next hole I dug I found this silver quarter! Believe me, I'm keeping the horseshoe! I think I'll mount it to the side of my wooden box I keep all metal detecting tools in.
Story 2: Brian came by to visit yesterday. I know Brian has found a silver dime. Mark and I have never found a silver coin. I found my first silver dime Saturday. When I told Brian I was now even with him he informed me that he's also found a silver quarter! I didn't know that. Well, Mr. Brian smarty pants, now we're even!!!
Check out the 2 quarters. One is a 2001, lost for maybe 8 years at the most. Then check the 'real' silver quarter, 1964, probably lost for 40 years. What a difference in the coins!

MY FIRST SILVER COIN!!!!

I found my first real silver coin! A 1942 mercury head dime! There is no mistaking it. It's the shiny one in the middle. I also found another ring. This one is marked "sterling" on the inside so I know it's silver. I also found a game token and a boy scout tie clasp.
I've mention before about the new pennies. Check out the 'half penny' on the right. It's only a 1991 and already eaten half gone.
I found the tie clasp in Clarksville along with $1.12. The rest of the finds were at Audubon Elem. School.

Round 61 for the Year

I played Iroquois GC today. Played pretty good overall, a few bad shots, but I hit a lot of good shots. I shot a 41 - 38 = 79. I have to admit though, that on 3 of the par 5 holes they had the yellow tees moved up to the ladies tees. So they were shortened up a bit. I won the money for low round with handicap. My handicap has climbed back up to 14, so my 79 netted to a 65. My foursome also won the team bet, so I ended up winning $12. The last two rounds I've hit the best drives of the season. I don't know why, but I've been hitting them longer. Not all of them, but I've really gotten ahold of a few drives that even impressed me. Of course, I'm talking long drives for ME.

Finding more "Bling"

I found this batch at St. Matthias, beside the basketball court. The small piece, I don't know if it's off an earring or necklace. The large $ sign I'm sure came off a necklace. I also don't have any idea if they are silver. I didn't find any old coins. I consider 'old' as either silver coins or wheat back pennies. Even though, if you look closely, the middle top penny is a 1959. That penny is 50 years old.Some people might call that an 'old' coin. But, I call 'good' pennies 1982 or earlier. After 1982 they changed the composition to 99% zinc and the pennies start to corrode as soon as they're in the ground. Check out the difference in the pennies on the left side of the photo and the pennies on the right side of the photo. The pennies on the right are all newer, but look a whole lot worse!

Another Milestone reached, round 60 for the Year.

I don't know what this picture has to do with my golf, but I thought it was funny so I put it in. Anyway, I played round 60 for the year at Shawnee GC yesterday. I shot a 38 - 45 = 83. The front side 38 came close to being a great round for me. I double bogeyed the 9th hole. Just couldn't stand the pressure. I think I started falling apart on the 8th hole when I dubbed a chip, causing me to bogey. I still think my 38 could be good enough to win the front 9 with my handicap, which I think is now an 11 or 12. The back nine, was my usual inconsistant golf. I hit a lot of good shots and mis-hit enough balls to fatten my score. I hit some of my best drives of the year during the round though. I was pleased with that. Overall, I was very happy walking 18 holes, playing with friends, and the weather was perfect.

Cowgirls Riding the Open Range

Mary Lynn and I attended Chance School's Fall Festival yesterday. Erin and Jill got to ride the horses. The had 2 ponies and 2 horses. The girls, being the fine horsewomen that they are, rode the horses. Don't they look comfortable in the saddle? Just because their feet aren't reaching the stirrups doesn't mean they can't handle these fiery steeds!
The only disappointment was that Erin didn't get to do the Cake Walk. They were out of cakes and closed down before we got to it. I'm sure Erin envisioned something a little better than it actually is, or she wouldn't have been so disappointed.