Golf at Weissinger Hills GC

I played golf today at Weissinger Hills GC in Shelbyville today.  J. R. and I played Harold and Barry in our usual 'Mystery' golf match.  This is where we draw on each Tee Box to see how we play the hole.  Either play your own ball, alternate shot, or scramble.  One point a hole per team, and we play to see who buys the White Castle's.  Well, J. R. and I won today 1 up.  It was a pretty tight match.  At one time we were down 3 holes.

J. R. always brings a package of crackers to eat.  You know, the orange peanut butter crackers.  When he finishes, the whole cart has orange crumbs all over the seat and floor.  Now this was sorta staged, but only in that I told him not to brush off those crumbs until I got my camera out to take a picture.  He had some crumbs left in the wrapper and decided to pour them into his mouth.  Well, he missed.  But this is typical J. R.

Then I had to take a picture of the floorboard.  Orange cracker crumbs all over.  This is EVERYTIME we play and ride in a cart.  I don't know how he does it.
I do know a flock of birds follow us around the course.

The Dinosaurs have invaded the Zoo!

Tomorrow will be the first day the Dinosaurs will be available for viewing by the Public.  I had a Walk Through today, just so we could see the displays and learn a little about each one.
There are 12 this year, and most of them are life size.  I think only one of them is not, and it's 3/4 size.

And, they had a Dinosaur nest, with babies hatching out.  All of the Dinosaurs, even these  little hatchlings, move and make noises.

Of course, T-Rex is back.  He's the only one that was brought back from 2 years ago.  Even the Triceratops is alive, even though he was brought down by the T-Rex.  The Triceratops moves his head, breathes, and his eyes move.

So, I highly recommend making a visit to the Zoo and taking in the Dinosaurs.  The Dinosaurs cost a little extra, ($5, or $4 for members), but they're worth the money, and time,  to visit.

Thursday at Iroquois GC for Round 9 this Year!

That's J. R. Harris hitting to hole #10 at Iroquois GC.  Buddy Brown in the red shirt and on the right, George Thomas, (Good George)  We have a Good George and a Bad George.
I'd already hit, and was on the green.  I had a par that hole, one of the few I had today.  I ended up shooting a 42 - 41 = 83.  I really feel good about my game, even though my scores have been a little high.  I feel like I'm very close to firing a 75-76 soon.  I'm hitting the ball well off the tee, and chipping and putting pretty good.  It's my fairway game that's really been letting me down.  And, that's improved a little over Tuesday, so I think it's coming around.  Our team fell a half stroke short of winning today.  With 4 players, that would be 2 strokes.  Pretty close match.
I play at Weissinger Hills GC this Saturday, and this coming Tuesday we have a Scramble at Shawnee GC.  I'm not sure if this Saturday we'll be playing our own ball all the way.  Probably a combination of Scramble, every other shot, and own ball.  So I won't have another round to count until next Thursday.

Another Tuesday at Shawnee GC

Yep!  I made that putt!  One of about 3 I made all day.  The greens were a little slower than I would think, and I left about 4 or 5 putts just short of falling in.  I shot a 43 - 43 = 86.  That would be about my average for Shawnee.   I really hit good drives today, but hit almost all my fairway irons fat.
It started off pretty cold this morning.  I would guess it was in the low 40's when we teed off.  I switched to my light windbreaker about half way through the round.  It was a great day to be out.  I just wished I could have played a little better.  Let's see, I guess this would be round 8 for the year.

Sittin', Swingin', and Eat'in Goober Peas.

Erin (7), Jill (6) and I like to sit out on the swing the backyard and eat salted peanuts in the shell.  We've been doing that for 4 years now.  We shell'em and eat'em, and don't have to worry about the mess.  Just walk off and leave it.
We sat outside on the swing for the first time this year this past weekend.  When we went out Jill said "Remember when I used to lick the salt off the shell and then give it to you?".  "Yes, Jill, I remember that!".  "Well", she said, "I still do it!".  So, I get a lot of soggy, in the shell peanuts to eat.
When Nana was out back a couple of years ago, I think one of the first peanuts she shelled, she dropped the peanut before she could eat it.  So, since then, any peanut dropped after shelling is a "Nana".  As in, "Darn, there goes another Nana!".
See, it doesn't take a lot of money to create memories!

Spending a couple of hours at the Zoo before the KY game

I had to go to the Zoo today to handle a Tegu for the Meta Zoo Keeper in order to be able to sign it out for schools or Outreaches.  I had to be there at 2:00, with the UK game starting at 2:20 today.  I missed the first 4 minutes of the game, but that was all.  I figured that if I had to go to the Zoo, I might as well get a little time in and do an interpretation while I was there.  So, I went over a little early and signed out a Ball Python and took it over to the Herpaquarium.  For about an hour and a half I talked to the people who passed by, telling them about the Python, and letting them touch it.  Most of the kids were very wide-eyed, and I think it enhanced their Zoo experience to be able to actually touch a snake!  This picture was taken several months ago, but it was the same snake.

This picture was taken today, and this is the Tegu I hand to handle.  This is the male.  The female was a little smaller.  She fit in the travel container, so we had to get her out, hold her for presentation, and put her back into the container.  And, she just barely fits in the container.  The male doesn't fit, so he just gets carried around.  The female is just a little smaller, but small enough to fit.  The male won't go on an outreach simply because there isn't a container large enough for him, so the female goes.  If you'll notice the paper towels on the carpet behind me.  Well, that's because this guy just did his business there.  The Keeper said she didn't think he would go, because he only goes about once a week, and he just went a couple of days ago.  Well, Surprise!  I'm just glad I wasn't holding him when he let go.  Anyway, now I'm eligible to sign out a Tegu!

Happy Birthday Brian!

My youngest son Brian turned 36 this past Thursday and we celebrated with a Birthday Breakfast this morning.  I have no idea what that white line is at the bottom of the picture, but I think it's the Kleinman ghost that likes to climb into bed with us.  But I wanted to us this picture because it has everybody in it but me.
We had a nice breakfast, and a nice time, even though it was a little rough for everybody to get up early this morning after being up until after midnight last night watching the UK game.  Beth Garvey Stanley even came down from Columbus, OH, to join in the festivities!

Julie and Jillian look on, as Brian opens the card Erin made for him.  Erin and Jillian both made really cute cards that they spent a lot of time on.  They've gotten pretty creative with their card making.

It's always fun to have the family get together.  We'll get together again in a couple of weeks for Easter.  This morning Kim and Kevin both had to work and couldn't be here.  We should have the whole clan here on Easter.
Happy Birthday Brian, and many more!

On the Golf Course on a Thursday

What a beautiful day to be outside, and what better way to be outside than playing golf!  The only thing that wasn't perfect was the fire that was burning on the other side of Iroquois Park Hill.  I don't know if it was a controlled burn, or they had some type of brush fire.  But, it burned the whole time we played.  We could see the smoke coming over the hill, and had smoke that was sometimes hard to track your drives through it.

Springtime and golf.  Can't be beat!  I played pretty well today, shot a 42 - 40 = 82.  And, like most rounds, I can look back at just 2-3 shots and could have been around 77-78.
Our team did manage to win low team.  We got back $7 each for our effort, a whopping $4 profit.  After our handicaps deducted, we had a 72, 74, 74, 82.  Guess who was the 82.  J. R. Harris.  He tried to drag us down, but we still managed to win by 2 strokes.  Believe me, we let Mr. Harris know we're not going to continue to carry him!
It's early in the year, and I feel pretty good about the condition my game is in.  It might be due to the warm weather.  The grass is starting to grow in the fairways and that always helps my game.  I just can't stand hitting off bare fairways.

Tuesday Golf?......Well......not this week.

I know it's Tuesday, and the day I would normally play golf at Shawnee GC.  But, I had an Outreach to do at the Zoo today.  I went with 2 other Docents to Northaven Elem. School, in Jeffersonville, IN.  We were to teach an 'Experiencing Animals' Class to Kindergarteners.  I found out when I got to the Zoo that it was actually 3 groups of Kindergartners, a class to each one.  So, we ended up teaching 3 half hours classes, which went pretty well.  The kids were well behaved and seemed to really appreciate getting to see and touch the animals.

We took a lot of things with us; Polar Bear Fur, Giraffe Hide, Anaconda Skin, Orangutan Hair, etc., plus 4 live animals.  The animals were a Ball Python, Guinea Pig, Greek Tortoise, and, of course, a Hissing Cockroach.  A whole lot of touchy, feely things, and the kids were very attentive and well behaved.
This was my 4th Outreach, one when I was still a Trainee.  Each one has been enjoyable, and I think it's one of my favorite things to do as a Docent.

Docent-ing at the Louisville Zoo

My trip to the Columbus Zoo is what prompted me to be a Docent.  I'd never heard of the term before.  But, basically, a Docent is a Volunteer Teacher.  My visit to the Columbus Zoo was greatly enhanced by the number of Volunteers on the grounds, showing animals, letting the children touch or pet them, stationed at each exhibit talking to people and conveying information about the animals. To me, this is Docent work. 

Today, with the weather as nice as it was, I went to the Zoo to do just that.  I went to the Docent room, got a large piece of Giraffe Hide with fur, and went up to the Giraffe Exhibit.  While there, for a little over an hour, I talked to 150-200 people, letting them actually feel giraffe fur, and talking to them about giraffes in general.  The people really seemed to enjoy it, and the kids loved touching the 'real' giraffe fur.  The Zoo was packed today, the parking lot was completely full.
But, when I got to the Zoo I was the only Docent signed in, and when I left 2 hours later, I was still the only Docent that had been there.  I was there from Noon til 2:00 pm, prime time.
The Louisville Zoo has close to 200 Docents.  There are schools at the Zoo during the week, Outreach programs, Night Safari's, etc., that Docents must sign up for, and many do.  There are also special program's that come up, Christmas at the Zoo, Halloween, Earth Day, The Dinosaurs are coming this Summer, that Docents have to cover, and they do a good job of that.  But, to me, one of the most important jobs is to be there when the crowds attend, to enhance their visit, and make it enjoyable enough that they'll tell their family and friends about the experience.  I think this is where the Louisville Zoo falls short.
Talking with other Docents, I think Saturday has some regular volunteers.  But, Sunday seems to be forgotten.  I think I might make it a point to try and get over their on as many Sundays as I can.
Giraffe information?  Did you know that the only animal born with horns is a giraffe?  That the giraffe's tongue is about 20 inches long?  Humans have 7 vertebrates in their necks.  How many does a giraffe have?  Well, I'll let you know the answer to that one in the comments.  It'll give you time to think and take a guess.  No fair googling it!

Sidewalk Chalk-Art Major Award!

Erin and Jillian were over this afternoon for a few hours.  While here, we had another Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest.  This time we took turns being the Judge.  When it was Jill's turn to be a Judge, she decided that the 'Theme' would be 'Deserts'.  I drew a Birthday Cake, Mary Lynn Cupcakes, and Erin drew a big Chocolate Sundae.  Of course, I won.  The rain washed away the drawings and I didn't get a picture of them, but I do have a picture of my Major Award Jillian made.

While we were out front making our Sidewalk Drawings, Jillian was inside making the Award.  Notice the scalloped edges she made to beautify the Award.  Of course, after she came out and judged the contest, she went inside and personalized it......

And.....here it is!  I don't like to brag, but this is my first Major Art Award!  I'm still on Cloud 9!

It's not quite Spring yet, but it feels like it

We played our usual golf at Shawnee GC today.  The yellow tees were moved back to the Summer locations, so it lengthened the course for us.  I don't know why they move them back so early.  The ground is still soft and we're getting no roll on our drives.  For me, this makes a lot of the par 4's unreachable. On 4 or 5 of the par 4's today I hit a good drive, good 3-wood, and was still about 10-20 yards short of the green.  I really thought I played pretty decent today, except for a couple of holes, and shot a 44 - 44 = 88. 
There were a couple of par 3's that I really messed up.  And those holes should be my bread and butter.  But plunking one in the water on one hole, and blasting over the green from a bunker on another, and all of sudden I have a big number on an easy par-3 hole.
The grass is starting to grow in on the fairways.  I noticed my back yard when I took my clubs out this morning, and it won't be very many days before I'm going to need to cut my grass.
Oh well, nice weather, good friends, and I hit enough good shots that I don't feel too bad about my bad score. 

Goddard Avenue Chalk Art Contest

Erin and Jill were out of School today, so they spent the night last night.  So, the girls and I had a Chalk Art contest.  Mary Lynn was the Judge.  The 'theme' was ANIMALS.

Jillian's picture of a fox and mouse garnered a first place tie.  The judge liked the long tail on the mouse and the fox tail.

Erin's drawing was the other first place winner.  An elephant grazing in the Savannah.  I think the Judge was taken by the bright blue sky.

My picture of a polar bear waiting by a hole in the ice for the seal to come up won an Honorable Mention.  I was pretty proud of that.

Monthly Poker Game Didn't Go as Planned

We had our monthly Poker Game last night at Frank's house.  I call it our 'monthly' game, but the fact is we play the first Saturday of the month, playing 2 months, taking off 2 months, then playing 2 months, etc.  So we play 6 times a year.  We used to play every month but several of the months got to be inconvenient, such as May (Derby), and December (Christmas), and January was always a bad travel month for roads, so we came up with the 2 month, skip 2 month plan.  We've been playing over 20 years now, and I always look forward to the games.  Before every game, I envision being a big winner. But last night's game didn't turn out the way I planned.  They took my money!

These are the culprits.  It's hard to believe this bunch would be smart enough to take any one's money, but that's what happened.  I'm at the far left, clockwise would be, our newest member Mike, then Jack, Kevin, Frank, Chuck, and Mark. 





Like I said, we've been playing for over 20 years.  I've always been a pretty good poker player, and early on, I think I had an advantage over some of these guys.  But, over the years, with all the experience they've gained, they're starting to get harder to beat!  We play quarter/half, 3 raise limit, no match pot games.  So, winning or losing $30-$35 is about the maximum.
We'll be taking off 2 months now and will play again the first Saturday in June.  I can't wait to get my money back!

Another Zoo Experience!

I hadn't been to the Zoo since February 27th, when I went to the monthly Docent Meeting.  Even then, I left a little early because Mary Lynn and I had Line Dancing at Noon, so I didn't go to the Docent room to put my time in the books. 
So, today I decided I'd better go over and see if there was anything I could sign up for, and put my time for the meeting in the books.  When I walked into the room, one Docent was there getting ready to go on an Outreach to Friends School.  After telling her I'd just stopped by to see what was available she invited me to go on the Outreach because there was just two of them going.  As it turned out, 2 Docents didn't show up for School at the Zoo, so they were short handed, and the other lady stayed there to help and Ann and I went on the Outreach.  This was my 3rd Outreach, 2nd since becoming a Docent.  Every time I work at the Zoo I learn more, so it's always interesting.

We took 4 animals with us.  A Bearded Dragon, pictured to the left, a Box Turtle, Chinchilla, and Hissing Cockroach.  We taught a class "Experiencing Animals" to a Kindergarten Class.  It went well, and the Lady I went with, Ann, had done this many times and I was able to learn a lot from her.  One of the things she did that the kids liked, was to bring along some meal worms.  She put the Bearded Dragon on some papers on the floor and fed it the meal worms.  The kids really liked watching that tongue dart out to eat those worms. So, whenever I sign out a Bearded Dragon, request some meal worms.   Also, she said that whenever you take a Chinchilla out, make sure to request a 'Dust Bath' to take with you.  After handling the Chinchilla, and having the kids all touch her, she likes to be put in a box of pumice stone dust to take a 'Dust Bath'.  Because Chinchilla's live in high, snowy environment, they don't take water baths, but the dust bath keeps their fur dry and fluffy for good insulation.  The kids really liked watching the Chinchilla roll around and throw that dust all over her.
The kids were well behaved and seemed to enjoy all the information on animals and the animals we brought with us.  It was something I hadn't planned on today, but was fun. 
Becoming a Docent the 1st of December I was required to get in 18 hours by the End of April this year.  This was a pro-rated amount of hours from the 48 hours required each year by Docents.  When I put my hours in today for the Docent Meeting and the Outreach,   I had 70 hours already, in only 3 months.  I'm scheduled to go on an Outreach on March 20th, and have to go in for training on the Tegu, a large lizard, on the 25th.  So, I decided not to sign up for anything else while I was there.  Approaching the end of the Docent year, others may need to get some time in, so I'll leave things open for this weekend.  When I go in on the 20th I may sign up for something else if there are some openings.

My First Field Trip.........EVER!!!

I went on my first Field Trip Today.  EVER!  We didn't go on Field Trips when I was in school.  The closest thing we ever had to a Field Trip was a Fire Drill.  When my boys were going through school, I was working and Mary Lynn went on some of the trips with the boys.  But today, I got to go on a Field Trip with Erin to the Science Center Downtown.  It was fun!
We saw a movie at IMAX,  "ROAR".  It was about lions in the Kalahari Desert.  Very informative.  The young lion finally dominated the old lion and took over the Pride.  The lions made a few Spring Buck kills.  I think the boys and girls learned a little more about what survival for an animal in the wild is all about.   Then, they got to spend some free time seeing what they wanted to see and do.

This was a nice setup.  You could do your own TV weather report.  You were on TV, with the green screen behind you showing the weather, and a teleprompter showing you what to say.  Of course, the girls just wanted to do their own thing. For awhile, Erin was a Giant stomping through the fields.

This was another of the very popular spots.  This station was a question and answer contest on Energy Conservation.  It kept track of the right answers and had a winner at the end of 9 questions.  They got pretty competitive, and you can see them celebrating when they got a right answer!  Each question was a multiple choice, A, B, or C, and you got a green light with a right answer and a red light with a wrong answer.  You had to make a quick decision, it didn't wait long for an answer.  These were the 3 I had in my car.  I got them back to school safe and sound.

When I got back to school, while walking back up to Erin's class, I got to see Jillian in Art Class.  She was standing in the door and when she saw me she came out in the hall and gave me a hug.  Yep, great Field Trip!

Snowy Golf for round 4 for the Year

With the 4" snow we had yesterday, I wasn't sure we'd be able to play today.  But, there were only a few places on the course that had snow, in the shady areas or hillsides where the sun couldn't hit it directly.  So, we played.  I played pretty well, but my putts just wouldn't fall.  I made a couple of nice long putts, but missed a few short ones, and a lot of medium range putts just burned the hole or stopped just short of dropping.  I ended up shooting 41 - 44 = 85.  Not bad, but a couple of putts each side drop for me and I'm close to an 80.
The course was really sloppy today. Shots needed to get there in the air because there would be no roll, no bounce.  Walking the fairways you sloshed through a lot of standing water.  But, we got the round in, and only 7 of us showed up.  I didn't win any money, or get very close to winning any money.  But, it was nice to get in a round of golf in March.

Another Varmit Captured

I knew a larger varmit had been getting into my squirrel traps.  I thought it was a raccoon.  Brian had borrowed my large trap for awhile, but he brought it back Sunday when they came over for my Birthday celebration.  I didn't get a chance to set the trap out Sunday night, but I set it out last night.  Here is the result.
I'm playing golf at Shawnee GC today, if the snow allows.  This picture was taken this morning, so you can see that the snow may not allow for golf.  But, if I play at Shawnee, this little opossum will take up residence in the West End.  If I don't play, I guess I'll take him down to Mellwood Avenue, by the River, like I have several others.
This little guy kinda resembles a rat, doesn't he?  Mark and Kim, you interested?  He could be an Uncle to all the baby rats.

My hat after Blocking it

I just thought I'd show the hat Brian and Julie gave me for my birthday after I shaped it.  I wet the brim and shaped it the way I wanted and let it dry.  Can't say much for the guy, but doesn't the hat look nice.

As my Dad used to Say "Let the P-O-P Begin!"

What is the P-O-P?  Why, the Parade-of-Presents, of course.  We celebrated my 66th Birthday yesterday, even though my Birthday is not until tomorrow, March 6th.  And let me tell you, we had a Parade of Presents! I'm sitting here writing this post listening to the CD Kevin gave me.  Gillian Welch's "The Harrow & The Harvest".  It's very good.  She has such a 'haunting' voice.

I love all my gifts, but I don't think I'll hurt anybody's feelings if I pick this as my favorite.  My granddaughters drawings they made for me.  Erin and Jillian put a lot of work into this, and thought of Grampy the whole time they were doing it.  Erin even made a little 'holder' for her drawings, rolled up at the bottom right.  Two of her drawing are rolled up in that.

Mark and Kim gave me this Art Magnet.  Of course, this is a copy of the drawing Mark had Stolen from the Comfy Cow last month.   Doesn't he do good work?  I'll have this in view as a constant reminder of a story that will be in our family for years.  The "Great Art Heist of 2012"! We're still holding out hope of recovering this piece that Mark put so much work and hours into.

Brian and Julie, in the background, gave me this nice hat for golf, with the Navy emblem.  I really like wearing these type hats playing because the wide brim keeps the sun off my face, neck, and ears.  Something us fair skinned people really need to watch.  The only problem is, you can't wear this type hat on a windy day.  I have a smaller full brimmed hat, with a chin strap, that I use on those days.



I have a couple more pictures I'd like to post, but it's taken so long to download these three pictures that I've given up on adding more.  But, you can see in the picture of the hat that there are two golf shirts below it.  They were two gifts from Mary Lynn, plus a new lightweight jacket.  See.  It really was a P-O-P!

Round 3 for the year brings in Cash!!!!!

I didn't play well, but I was on the winning team.  Our team was low team today and we each got $7!  Pretty Good!  I didn't really play that bad overall.  I had a terrible front nine and a good back nine.  I shot a 46 - 37 = 83.  My front nine wasn't real bad except for one hole, the 7th.  It was a par 3 that I had a 6 on.  So, overall, I was pleased with the way I played.  I thought I was much more consistent with my shots than I was on Tuesday.  My back didn't bother me at all, so it was just a matter of getting back in the groove.  The greens were very fast today, especially for Iroquois GC.  Anytime you were above the hole on the greens, if you didn't hit the hole, you would have a 6 or 8 footer coming back.  The weather was nice today, but the wind could have been a little calmer.  Most shots into the wind would take at least one extra club.  I knew I would start playing better today.  After all, it's Birthday Season!