Metal detecting, first time in a long time!

I got out to metal detect today for the first time in a long time.  I didn't find much, it was cold, but it was nice to get out.  I found 39 cents, a top of a silver plated spoon, and some pieces of a broken up metal figurine.  I don't know what kind of metal it is, but a magnet won't stick to it.  I think it's either pot metal or lead.  It's very heavy, so I think it might be lead.  The larger piece, you can see an ear and flowing hair.  At least, that's what it looks like to me. No idea what it used to be when it was whole.  Could have been part of a lamp, door stop, fireplace cover.  Who knows.  I think there were more pieces in the area, but once I found the large one and several small pieces I figured that was enough to tell me it wasn't worth digging more.
I detected in the field in front of the Zoo.  Actually, beside the Zoo parking lot between Illinois Ave.  I saw some older kids throwing a football around there the other day and figured that it was an open area used by people, and might have something worth finding in the ground.  I figured if the Zoo didn't want me to detect there they'd come out and tell me.  Nobody bothered me.  The biggest problem is that there is no place to park.  There's no parking along the Zoo side, so I parked on the street in front of some one's house.  The lanes aren't very wide, so to get around my car you would have to drive in the other lane.  But, it wasn't a very busy street.  I think I'll try there again.

Flaget H. S. Football State Champs 1961

50 YEARS!  It's hard to believe it's been that long.  I just got a phone call that they're honoring the 1961 Flaget H. S. State Champs at the State Championship football game in Bowling Green, Ky., this Saturday.  I declined to attend, but it would have been nice.  I wish it was being held at Papa John's Stadium in Louisville. 
I was only a sophomore at the time and not a starter, but it was my second 'Letter' year.  I lettered as a Freshman and was a 4 year Letterman in Football.  I did contribute to the season.  I kept one of our Shutouts alive.  While I only played 'mop-up' minutes', I intercepted a pass in the Trinity game on the 10 yard line late in the game when they were driving for a score.  So I feel I had a major part in the number of 'shut-outs' that team had.  That year I won the "Most Improved" JV player trophy.
My Flaget football career had a major setback the following year.  When our starting Fullback was still recovering from a broken ankle, I stepped in to the starting roll pre-season.  While playing a pre-season game at Seneca Park I broke my ribs on a play up the middle.  Several plays after I left the game, the Sophomore Fullback who took my place broke loose for a 60 yard touchdown!.  By the time I recovered from my injury, the starting Senior Fullback had returned and the Sophomore 'Phenom" had jumped ahead of me to be the back-up.  That left me out in the cold.  I talked with Coach Miller and we decided it would be best that I move to the End position.  That's how my Junior and Senior year resulted with me being an end, and why I was wearing #46 in the picture, but as a Junior and Senior I was #83.  Offensive End was a tough position for a guy playing without glasses and was as blind as a bat.  I played much better at Defensive End than I did on Offense.
So, knowing my number now, can you find me?  OK, 2nd row from the bottom, 2nd from the right.

Practicing with our new Camera

I took our new camera to the Zoo today to both
practice using the camera and to get better acquainted with all the exhibits.  I tried a few close ups and zoomed pictures to see if they were sharp or blurred.  I think this snake came out pretty good.  I don't remember for sure what he was, but was some type of Tree Boa.  I put the lens against the glass and snapped this one.

This was brought up a little closer than he really was.  Looks pretty good, doesn't it?  This is Walker, the male Giraffe who is the father of the new baby, Amani.  The older baby was just shipped off to another Zoo a couple of weeks ago.

I took about 30 pictures.  A lot of them were of the placards in front of the exhibits.  This is the type of stuff I need to know.  So I figured I could just brows through my pictures and read the placards to study up.  This one is the Mhorr Gazelle.  There are no more of these in the wild.  And, they're not breeding well in captivity.  These beautiful animals are expected to be extinct in our lifetime.  I think the plaque is sharp enough to read.



The new camera has 14.1 megapixels.  Our old one had 3.2 megapixels.  I guess this has a lot to do with the clarity of the pictures, because it takes about 10 times longer to download these to my blog.  I would have put up a few more of them, but it just takes too long. So, in the future blogs, they may have fewer pictures, but the quality will be there!

Playing my last round at Long Run GC

My experiences at Long Run GC has been much like my experiences at Steak and Shake.  I've never had a good experience at either place.  So, I'll state right now, I'll never play Long Run GC again, no matter what comes up.

I played with Brian, Kevin, and J. R.  Even playing bad and hating this course that's always in terrible shape, I still had a nice time playing golf with them.  I shot a 48 -47 = 95 for my 61st round of the year.  I had 71 rounds last year, so I have 10 more this year to catch up.  Don't think I'll make it.  It has been 2 weeks since I've played.  That may have had something to do with how bad I played.  But mostly, I believe the fact that I hate this course played on my mind more than anything, and the whole time I'm playing thinking " Why the hell did I agree to play here?"  The fairways were bad, the greens were shaggy and rutted.  And to top that off, our cart barely made it in to the clubhouse.  The battery was almost played out. 

Oh well, enough complaining.  By playing terrible, that made me hate the course just that much more.  So, I'll let it be.  But, I'll never play there again!

Thanksgiving for Grampy!

The family came over, to visit and eat.

Everyone came, it was quite a treat!

Nana was late, but it was not her fault,

The East End Tabler's arrived before they thought.

Oops!  Go and get Nana, it just slipped my mind.
Mark made the trip, and put them behind.

The big dinner was eaten, with gusto and zest!

Erin and Jillian got their pie before all the rest.

When the big feast was over, all sat back and moaned,
but poor old Grampy in the kitchen to scrub all alone.

The dishes were piled to the ceiling with care,
for they knew that Grampy was scrubbing out there.

So I washed and I cleaned, til the dishes again shone,

Then they all said goodbye, and headed for home.

So that's how it is, Mimi fixes the meal,
I get stuck with the dishes, that's the whole deal!


Naw, that's not exactly how it went.  We all had fun, great to be with the family.  Erin and Jillian got their piece of pie first because I promised them they could have as big a piece of pumpkin pie as they wanted, and could put their own whipped cream on it.  So we had to get it first just in case the wanted a really big piece.
Other than Derby Day, I have to believe this is my favorite day of the year.  Only having fun with the family and eating.  Doesn't get much better than that!

"A Taste of Kentucky" at Chance School

Mary Lynn and I went to Chance School today to visit Erin's Classroom and to go to the Fun Room to see Jillian's project.

We first went to Erin's Classroom for their "Taste of Kentucky".  Erin made a big pot of "Kentucky Burgoo".  Each student made something of Kentucky Flavor for sampling.  Ky Fried Chicken, Country Ham on Biscuits, Hot Browns, Derby Pie, and a host of other items.  I couldn't quiet sample everything, but I tried.  It was all very tasty!

As you can see, there was a lot of food.  I'm pretty sure this wasn't Erin's first time through the line.  I think the dessert table was hit several times by her.

Then we went to the Fun Room to see Jillian's project.  Her Class is studying the Earth and how it was formed.  Her project was a Cave.  She made this cave and told everyone about the Stalactites and Stalagmites, Columns, Bats, and how those  things are formed.  The yellow paper on the right front is a flashlight shining into the cave.

She stood by her cave as people came by and explained  the cave system to them.  I was very impressed by how well she spoke up and wasn't a bit shy about it.

Docent Exam is Looming

Yesterday when Mary Lynn went to the Chance School Boutique, I took the opportunity to attend an extra class at the Zoo.  The Fall Docent Class is held on 2 days each week, Wednesday and Saturday, covering the same materials but allowing people to attend either one,  allowing for each person's schedule.  Saturday Class has been behind Wednesdays Class all year until yesterday.  I don't exactly how they caught up, but I'm sure some of the classes were combined, therefore shortened. 
Yesterday, the class had their 3 minute talk, which we had 2 weeks ago, but then had their 'Review' Class, which we won't have until this coming Wednesday. With the exam coming up I thought it would be a good idea to attend the 'Review' Class twice.  Also, it's going to give me more time to study up on the things he mentions 'might' be important to remember. 

Our teacher, Doug McCoy, said the test will consist of about 50 questions.  He sat out 26 pictures of animals across the front of the room, unidentified, and said that '10' of those animals will be on the test.  10 of the questions will be to identify the animal and write at least 2 things about it.  It's 'cute', or it's 'yuckie', will not be accepted.  Those 26 animals were:

1. Cottontop Tamarin               10.  Amur/Siberian Tiger *               19.  Ring Tailed Lemur
2. Snow Leopard                     11.  Woolly Monkey                        20.  Orangutan*
3. Hissing Cockroach*             12.  Rose Haired Tarantula              21.  Guam Rail
4. Eastern Screech Owl            13.  Giant African Millipede             22.  Masai Giraffe
5. Siamang                               14.  E. African Crowned Crane*      23.  Warthog
6. Southern White Rhino           15.  Western Lowland Gorilla*        24.  Addax
7. Black Footed Ferret *          16.  Polar Bear *                             25.  Mhorr Gazelle*
8. Maned Wolf*                       17.  Nene (Hawaiian Goose)*          26.  Bongo
9. Cuban Crocodile                  18.  Rodrigues Fruit Bat
                   Bongo Antelope

The animals I marked with  * is my 'guess' as to the 10 that will be on the test.  I feel very sure of several of them, Black Footed Ferret, Polar Bear, Mhorr Gazelle, Maned Wolf, Nene, but the others are just a wild guess.  Of course, this will be just 10 of the 50 questions.  He gave us no idea what might be contained in the other 40 questions!  Some help.  We'll see how close I came to the actual 10 used.  Do you know these animals? Can you come up with 2 interesting facts about each?  Oh yeah, he won't let us use "They stink" either.

We have our final Review this Wednesday, a longer class than yesterday's class, so maybe he'll cover more of what to expect.  I've discovered over the course of these last 3 months, too, that, as far as I can tell, I'm the least 'educated' of anyone in the class.  My limited 'High School' education, a High School without a 'Biology' Lab, and only a Freshman Biology Class, I've run into many words I've either never heard of or have not heard for many years.

I went on my first 'Night Safari' Friday night.  That was fun and interesting.  I didn't spend the night, but left at 11:00 pm, as the others were going to bed.  The Group that came were Cub Scouts from Richmond, KY, and a lot of parents and siblings.  I would guess about 24 children and 15 adults.  They bring sleeping bags, air mattresses, and sleep all around on the floor of the MetaZoo.  In the evenings we have a class on the groups chosen subject ( this time Nocturnal Animals and their adaptations), group activities involving in some way, animals.  Then about 10:00 pm go for a night walk.  In the morning they are awakened at 6:00am for breakfast of Krispy Kreme Donuts, or anything they may have brought, juice, milk and Coffee.  Then they go for a morning walk through the Zoo.  Of course the evening walk and morning walk are with the Docents talking about the animals we are seeing.  Then about 9:00 am they're walked to the front gate and they leave.  I think all the Cub Scouts had a good time.  At least they sure acted like it.  And, the Night Safari completed the last 2 of my required tasks for my Docent Training.  So, the only hurdle now will be my Exam!

Docent Training Continued

This was our last Class today.  Next Wednesday we will review what we've covered, then the following Wednesday will be our Exam.

Today's class was Animal Endangerment and Extinction.  This class covered animals that are recently extinct, animals that are soon to be extinct, and animals that are in danger of extinction.  We also covered the reasons, both man made and natural.  Most of these problems stem from man.
The top four reasons animals become endangered or extinct:
    1.  Habitat Destruction
    2.  Invasion of Exotic Species
    3.  Poaching
    4.  Pet Trade

I'll mention this once again, these classes have really been interesting.  After class today our behind the scenes trip was to the Rhino exhibit.  It was really rainy and  pretty chilly today so the Rhino's were inside.  We went into the back and entered the holding pen right next to the 2 White Rhino's.  They came up to the metal railed gate and we could touch them and pet them.  They really have thick skin.  The keeper said their skin is about an inch thick.  The two Rhino's at the Louisville Zoo are both female, and their names are Cindy and Lulu.  If you're at the Zoo with me, I'll point out which one is Cindy and which one is Lulu.  We're good friends now.  Rhino's are being hunted for their horns.  A Rhino horn is valued on the black market at about $50,000.  Thieves have even gone so far as to break into museums and steal horns off stuffed Rhino's.  We have one to show and let people touch, but at the value of that item I'm wondering how long we'll be able to use it.

I think I'm gonna enjoy this Docent thing.  I find all that I learn in these classes enjoyable to talk about.  And, I think I'm smart enough to tell if the person I'm talking to is interested also, or just bored.  So I know enough not to push info on  someone who just isn't interested.  I never knew they had so many classes at the Zoo, and that they go out to so many different places to teach classes.  It's a little, well, a lot intimidating, but I think as I get more comfortable it's really gonna be fun.

Chance School Cross Country Awards Banquet

Mary Lynn and I went to the Chance School Cross Country Awards Banquet yesterday afternoon.  At 3:00pm they ran the "Chance Chase".  This is one of the runs they ran in this year, which is their own school run course and the first of the season.  So, it was set up as just a fun run before the banquet.  Mary Lynn and I ran it.  Well, we walk /ran it.  I told Jillian, my 5 year old granddaughter,  I was going to beat her.  But there was no way she was going to let that happen.  I started walking and she started running.  Well, of course, she didn't run very far.  So I started closing on her.  When I'd get within about 50 yards I'd yell "I'm gonna beat you!".  Well, she'd look back and take off again.  This happened about 5 times during the 1.2 mile course.  Jillian hung on and beat me by about 100 yards at the end.  I think I made her run a little more than she wanted to, but she wasn't going to let Grampy beat her!

Erin, my 7 year old granddaughter competed on her first competitive sports team, running on Chance School's Cross Country Team, consisting of 2nd thru 5th graders.  Erin is one of the youngest in her class so I feel sure she was the youngest on the team. 
Here, she show's off her trophy for the year and her "Shining Star Award".  I was very proud of how well she did this year.  Especially in the race where she had her worst time. But, that was when she fell early in the race, skinned her knee, but got up, brushed herself off, and finished the race.

After the awards, we roasted marshmallows over a campfire and made 'smores'.  Here, Erin can't find a place to get close to the fire without the smoke blowing in her face.  She liked to get her marshmallows browned.

Jillian, on the other hand, just liked to show her marshmallow to the fire, and that's about it.  She liked her marshmallows a little on the 'raw' side.

Then, the good part.  Mmmmmm, marshmallows, chocolate, and Graham crackers.

Erin and Jillian Spend the night

The girls had a sleepover at Mimi and Grandpa's last night.  They both, but mainly Erin, spent a lot of time singing their Kentucky songs.

Here, Erin is on crutches like she has a bad leg.  I think she was pretending to be 'New' Aunt Julie.

Jillian on the other hand, was showing me how strong she was.  Notice the rippling muscles and those mountainous biceps!

Also, note that she has her jeans on inside out.  She said one of the pant legs were rubbing but we couldn't see anything that might do it.  So I suggested she put them on inside out to see if they still rubbed.  They didn't, so she wore them the rest of the evening that way.



Last night for dinner we had Bar-B-Q Chicken, Corn on the Cob potatoes and rolls.  The girls ate a pretty good dinner, and then....TA-DA!   Pumpkin Pie!  They both got to put the Whipped Cream on their piece of pie themselves. 

This morning, Grandpa's World Famous French Toast and Sausage.  It must have been good because they each ate 2 pieces of sausage and 4 pieces of French toast!  Well, it does build those rippling muscles!

Make'n money on Tuesday, blowing it on Thursday

It was a dark and stormy night....No, wait a minute.  That's a different story.  It was a cold and windy day.  A real tough day to play golf.  It looked pretty outside, but the wind was blowing and the temperature was in the low and mid 40's. 

I found out today that I won the front 9 and the total score for 18 this past Tuesday for a total of $34!  Pretty nice!  However, I sure didn't play well enough to win today.  Everybody played bad today.  I shot a 44 - 42 = 86.  We had four teams play today and our net score average on each team was 77 - 76 - 76 - 75.3.  We finished with a 76 average so we lost by .7 strokes.  There were a lot of times today when you got over your ball, you had to step back away because a gust of wind would blow you off balance.  If it hadn't been for the wind, it would have been a very nice golf day, even with the temps in the low 40's.

But, this was my 60th round for the year.

Another Wednesday, Another Docent Class

We're approaching the end.  I have 3 more sessions.  Only one more class, one week of review, and then the final exam.

Today we finished up Ecosystems.  But, the main thing we did today, each Trainee had to give a 3 minute talk.  This was very hard, standing up in front of the other trainees and the Docent mentors, and giving a 3 minute talk on your chosen subject.  My subject was Polar Bear Fur.  Even though I'd timed myself many times and had gotten what I thought was a good 3 1/2 minutes of material, when I gave the talk I finished about 10 seconds short.  "Uh, any questions?"  Kinda embarrasing, but I made it.  I wasn't the only one of about 15 of us who had to give a talk today who came up a little short.  One thing, I found out right before class that you could ask the group questions as you talked. Now, that's one piece of information that I'd like to have had when preparing.  You can really stretch out a talk if you can phrase a lot of your information into questions and fielding the answers as you go. So, I decided to stay with how I practiced it.   I'm glad I've got that part behind me.

After class today, on our 'behind the scenes' trip, we went to the Zoo Commissary.  Nope, it's not where they prepare food for the concession stands.  This is where they prepare food for the animals.

I'm going to list the food the Zoo goes through every week. EVERY WEEK!

12 BUSHELS OF GREENS

30 POUNDS OF GRAPES

100 PEARS

120 BALES OF HAY, STRAW, ALFALFA

160 POUNDS OF BANANAS

200 RATS

250 ORANGES

300 POUNDS OF CARROTS

300 POUNDS OF SWEET POTATOES

500 POUNDS OF APPLES

500 POUNDS OF MEAT

1,000 POUNDS OF FISH AND SQUID

1,200 MICE

5,600 POUNDS OF GRAIN

10,000 CRICKETS

15,000 MEALWORMS

$400,000 per year is budgeted to feed the 1,700 animals found at the Zoo.  The list doesn't include 'all' the food, but a sample of the volume of food they use.

The food must be prepared for each animal.  Sometimes things are mixed together, portions need to be weighed, even the same food item may be prepared in different ways depending on which animal is to eat it.  And the Commissary is constantly receiving changes in diets for each animal.  More food, less food, different varieties of food.  As an example, I saw a note on the bulletin board that, and I forget which animal it was for, the rats were to have their tummies slit open from now on.  Appetizing, yes?  But these are the things that the Commisary workers prepare for the Zoo Animals.

We went into the large walk-in refrigerator.  Lots of veggies and fruits, but also bags of rats, mice, rabbits, chicks, fish, etc.  The freezer had boxes and boxes of meat.  They use horse meat.  Also, they make a trip to Bardstown processing plant and bring back gallons of blood from the slaughtered sheep and cows.  This is fed to the vampire bats and also mixed in with other animal feed.  I don't know how often they make that trip, but my guess would be once a week. 

This all may seem a little gross, but animals must be fed the food that keeps them healthy and mirror what they would be eating in the wild.  I'll say it again, it's been very interesting!

News Flash!...Bob plays a decent round at Shawnee GC!

I've had a little time to think about my golf game since the last time I played.  We were rained out last Thursday so it's been a week since I've played.

I few little things I know I've been doing wrong, just not having the right concentration on each shot  was the main thing.  So I was anxious to get out again to see how I would play.

Today I shot a 36 - 43 = 79, where a week ago I was shooting a 44 - 45 = 90.  My back nine should have been a couple of strokes better.  I lost my tee shot into the trees on the right on hole #17 (lack of concentration), and hit a nice iron to the green that came up just a little short and fell back into the bunker.  My only double bogey of the round.  I think my front nine and possibly my total for the 18 might win me some money.  My handicap on Tuesdays has gotten up  a little since I've been shooting these bad scores, so my net should look pretty good.  I don't know what my handicap is at the present for Shawnee.  I was pleased with my putting today.  I made a few nice putts and when I didn't make them they were just good putts that didn't go in.

This was round 59 for the year!

Docent Training Continued

We didn't have a class last Wednesday, but I still worked on fulfilling some of my required tasks.  I went in last Wednesday and did an 'interpretation'.  That's where we go to one of the exhibits, taking with us a 'biofact', such as a piece of giraffe hide, and talk  to the people who come by about the animals.  We went to the giraffe exhibit and talked to people about them.  It was pretty nice because the baby giraffe had just gotten her name the day before.  He name is Amani, meaning Peace in Swahili.
Today I went on an 'Outreach', one of my other requirements.  This is where we take animals out to schools, etc, and teach a lesson there.
We went to St Albert's, just off Westport Road, and taught 3 different groups of 3rd and 4th graders a class on Animal Adaptation.  Each class was 45 minutes.  There were 3 Docents and 2 of us 'Trainees'.  We took along 4 animals.  Above, a picture of one of the animals, a pygmy hedgehog.  I notice in the picture they are not wearing gloves, which we do.  Not because of the spiny hair, which really isn't a problem, but because they have very sharp teeth.  The kids love this animal because he's so cute.  He really works his nose around.

We also took a Tiger Salamander.  This was the only animal the kids were not allowed to touch.  This animal is very 'skin' sensitive and just the handlers touch him, and we must keep our hands wet and him wet at all times.

We also took a Ball Python.  He was about 5 feet long.  Seeing a 'live' snake always thrills people.  I was going to say kids, but snakes always get the attention of everyone.  And I think it will be fun for them to go home and tell Mom and Dad they touched a snake today.

Then, the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach.  This is one of those things that make them go "Ooooyuuuk", but they can't take their eyes off it and want to touch it.  This was the animal I handled today.  When you go on an 'Outreach' you can only take 3 animals, but that doesn't count a cockroach, so it can be your 4th animal.  They say cockroaches are 'free'. Because there were 5 of us, the other Trainee didn't handle any animal, but passed around pictures we had and handled the hand sanitizer.


The kids at St Albert were very well behaved and were able to answer a lot of the questions.  They were studying ecosystems and were just getting to animal adaptations.  This was also the first time St Albert had Docents from the Zoo come in to teach a class.  I think the teacher was very pleased with how it was conducted and I would think that we will make many appearances there in the future.  As a matter of fact, one of the Docents with us had another class scheduled there this coming Wednesday.

Now, besides finishing my classes and passing the 'final exam', I only have two more required tasks to complete, and those should be signed off in my book when I go on a 'Night Safari" at the Zoo I have scheduled for Friday night, November 18th.

I need to find a place to do some metal detecting

I metal detected at Chance School Field today for about an hour and an half.  I started near the pumpkin vines to the right of the Chance Chase Starting line.  That area has only yielded pieces of aluminum cans in the past, and it was the same way today.  I roamed up to the soccer field, only to find an occasional piece of can there.  I did find a piece of 12 gauge shotgun shell.  I found 2 quarters along the edge of the soccer field.  The 2 pennies were lying on top the grass near the parking circle.

The wires were found at the north end of the parking circle.  I've found pieces of wire like this in that area in the past, and I think there is still a lot of those pieces there.  I don't know if they're copper or what, but they don't seem to disintegrate when in the ground.  And, they're not magnetic.

I don't know if there's anything left to find at that field.  I've been very disappointed in the finds there.  I've always been sure there are silver coins to be found, but other that that half dollar coin, I just can't turn them up.   I sure wish I could find a good place to detect.  I need people who live in old homes to allow me to detect their yards.  If I thought they'd let me, I'd go knocking on doors in old neighborhoods asking permission.  But, I think that was just me a waste of time.  I need someone who knows me and who lives in an old house to let me detect.  Help!

Old Navy Saying

There's an old Navy saying "Red sky at night, sailors delight, Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning."

I took this picture early this morning as the sun was coming up.  Yep, it starting raining a couple of hours later and chance of thunderstorms in the forecast.

It is a pretty picture though, isn't it?

More Golf at Shawnee GC on a Tuesday

What a beautiful day for round 58 of the year.  Walking 18 holes on a Fall day with the leaves falling and the sun shining is what the retired life is all about.  I enjoyed the day even though I didn't play very well.  It seems like I lost something about 3 weeks ago and can't seem to get it back.  It was the same way early in the year.  Out of the 18 holes, I play 13 or 14 well and get big numbers on the other 3 or 4 holes.  And that's enough to balloon my score out of the respectable range.  Yesterday I started off triple bogeying the first hole.  After a good drive, good 3 wood, I hit a fat iron to the green, well short, then wedged up and ran off the back, short siding myself.  Chipping up past the hole, then 3 putting on a fast green.  I look back at that hole and one iron shot hit fat cost me 2- 3 strokes.  And that's the way the day went.  Really good shots lost because of one bad shot on a couple of holes each side.

I was trying to figure out why my game goes south during the Spring and Fall.  I think my body hasn't adjusted to the little bit of tightness in my muscles due to temperature change, or posssibly the change in the clothes I need to wear.  Each of these might cause just enough difference in my normal swing.  I don't know, I'm grasping at straws here to try and understand.  It seems every Spring and Fall I play terrible, but seem to play better during the Winter and Summer after settling in to the normal temperature.  I was thinking it was the difference the the balls carry due to cooler weather, but it's not.  I just don't hit the ball flush way too often during these times I'm playing bad.  Either hitting it thin or fat.  I'll hit an iron fat from the fairway, leaving me short, then hit my wedge up a little thin and run over the green.  Maybe it's just because I'm a lousy golfer?  Yeah, that's probably it.

Oh, by the way, I shot a 44 - 46 = 90.  Had a birdie on #7 with a nice drive, nice 3 wood, and a nice 15' putt.  Followed by a par 3 that I pushed my tee shot, hit the carpath, and jumped into the weeds.  Wedged up over a bunker, 3 putted for a 6.  Consistency!