Early Spring (?) update...

Well, I'm about a week early this year on my spring update on things here on McCartyville Road, but like so many others in Ohio, I'm pretty hungry (maybe even desperate) for spring to get here. I went back to my manual for retirees and looked at what it said about winter. Yep, late winter still pretty much is for the birds ('spose that's why they're in Florida and not here). But the manual was revised to add March in Ohio to that Yuk! time. The only saving grace is that it's only 8 hours to somewhat warmer weather and golf courses in North Carolina.

So enough with the whining. Here's what's going on in the country. I got an early spring application of fertilizer on the yard about three weeks ago. We had a little stretch of warm, dry days and was able to get that done. Then the rains came and the grass turned the nicest shade of green and filled in well. So far, I've cut it three times and the mower is set at 3.5". We were in NY last week to see Doug, Danika and Quinn. It rained most of the week before we left so I didn't get to cut it; then it was sunny and warm while we were gone and it shot up. You're right -- when we got back it rained again for a couple of days and the grass was up to Bailey's belly. I got through it yesterday, had the mower set at 4" and had quite a few clumps. I'm not into raking it though, bad for the shoulders and really bad for the golf swing. I'll cut a few more times this week and get it back under control.

I think this weekend we'll get the patio furniture out of the barn. Can't wait to get the hammock up. I've got a cold beer and a new book waiting to be enjoyed.

Critters around the yard are having a good spring. So far, I have counted 4 big rabbits, but Pam saw a little baby bunny in the front yard this morning so I'm sure there are more around somewhere. "Betty and Joe" (the two ducks that have been hanging around here for the past two years) have been back a lot so far. It wouldn't surprise me if they build a nest over in the reeds on the far side of the pond. It's kinda neat watching them swim around on the edges, eating and just quacking away. I have also found four birds' nests so far, and each of them have eggs in them. I'll get some pictures of the babies when they hatch.

Since coming back from the NC road trip, I've played three 9-hole rounds (42, 43, and 45) and think I should be OK this year. Haven't had the boat out yet and, for that matter, I haven't taken the poles out of the barn yet. Need to do that next week and put some new line on a couple of them. If you've ever fished for catfish, you know how line can get all twisted and stretched and kinky when the end of a season comes around. Probably should change it more often, might catch some more fish -- do you think?

Well, it's almost time to head up to the high school. I help out in the concession stand for spring sports. It's kinda fun and doesn't take too much thinking.

I've got some stories coming from last week's trip to NY. We really have a lot of fun going there and it's so much fun seeing Quinn changing, and taking on his own personality. So, until then...keep your powder dry and keep your stick on the ice.

You can't see Canada across lake Erie, but you know it's there. It's the same with spring. You have to have faith ... especially in McCartyville.

Hooah

Spring Golf Road Trip, Part 3...

(Ed. Note: If you click on the pictures, they will be blown up for you so you can better see the action. Then use your "go back" arrow to go back to the article.)

When you have a world renowned, genuine expert with you on a road trip, it just makes sense to take advantage of his expertise. That's exactly what we did on the way hone from golfing. You see, Chuck is the closest thing to Norm (from Cheers) we have in our family when it comes to anything concerning Andy Griffith and Mayberry. I know he is a real enthusiast, but I was skeptical about the Norm bit until we got there. He said we would walk into some stores and they would know his name -- not just recognize him, but actually know his name! Guess what -- he was right. We walked into a store called Mayberry on Main (I think) and the lady there came out from behind the counter and gave him a big hug and called him by name. I'm a believer now!!

We walked around the town and stopped in a number of stores. We also saw some of the mock-ups they have there to simulate the sets from the show. I made the mistake the first time I stopped here of thinking that the town would look like the actual show. I am including a few pictures from our stop so you know how we spent our morning. No -- we were not actually prisoners in the jail.

We stopped in and sat a spell at Wally's Service Station and then went up town and ate lunch at Snappys where we got a "Pork chop Samich" (you have to pronounce it correctly or you can't order one). By the way, they were really good samichs. And we did not steal those menus. The girl gave them to us. I almost got a haircut at Floyd's Barbershop, but they had a full house and we were running out of time. Chuck later told me that any number of those guys in there probably weren't there for a haircut, but just there to shoot the breeze. He said that's what people do in Mayberry on Saturday morning.

Well, it was time to hit the road. We still had a long drive ahead of us in the rain. Guess who had the best idea of all of us for the trip home -- you guessed it.

As you can tell, this was a good trip. Although I was sick as a dog with a cold all the following week and couldn't stop coughing, the trip was good, and we're looking forward to doing it again next year

I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them. (Mark Twain)

Hooah

Spring Golf Road Trip, Part 2...

(Ed. Note: If you click on the pictures, they will be blown up for you so you can better see the action. then use your "go back" arrow to go back to the article.)

In the first article, I talked about the course conditions and weather in hopes you might take some measure of pity on us for those scores. Now, however, I want to write about some of the good shots.

Take Dave's tee shot on #12 at Oak Valley (picture right - 351 yds./uphill/slight dog-leg right). Now, Dave is a lefty and hits the ball right to left about 75% of the time, so in order to hit this tee shot and keep it on the planet, he should have had to take it through the bathroom window of the house on the right and hope the patio door was open so the ball could gently fly to the center of the fairway out by those traps. Well, old Dave fooled us all (including himself) and hit it straight down the middle. Nice shot. He had several of these the first day and didn't do too bad. Putting deserted him, but he also had a good day playing from the sand.

Chuck's second shot on #4 at Oak Valley (334 yds./fairway sloping left to right) was a very good shot which ended up about two feet off the front of the green. This was a good shot considering there are about six real deep traps surrounding the green (see picture below). The hole was uphill to where he was and then went downhill and back up to the green. Oh, yeah, the ball you see in the trap in this picture is mine. This led to the shot you saw in the first picture in the other article. Unfortunately I hit that shot to the trap (the deep one) at the right front of the green.

So even though there were obstacles in our way, there were some pretty good shots made. Take this hole -- #7 Oak Valley (486 yds./par 5). There is water on both sides of the fairway which slopes left to right. You can see the green WAY out there, and guess what -- it has a bunch of traps around it too. I hit my third shot which cleared the creek in front of the green by about 8" (saw the ball mark) and rolled onto the front of the green. I missed the putt but thought that was a fun hole.
Well, as you see, we had fun and thoroughly enjoyed the trip in spite of the weather. Oh, by the way, there were a couple hundred junior PGA and LPGA hopefuls there that weekend for some sort of qualifier for a national junior tournament. A lot of them were staying at this hotel. Do you suppose any of them wondered who or what the Bennett Golf Group was? Do you suppose any of them cared?

One last confession I think needs to be made -- we did play from the senior tees (5,672 yds - Oak Valley, 6,014 yds - Tanglewood)! Believe it or not, we're all old enough to do so; besides, the first rule of the early spring golf trip is that it is supposed to be fun. And this falls in line with the old adage: build it (senior tees) and they will play from it.

I'm not saying my golf game went bad, but if I grew tomatoes, they'd come up sliced. (Attributed to both Miller Barber and Lee Trevino)

Hooah

Spring Golf Road Trip, Part 1...

(Ed. Note: If you click on the pictures, they will be blown up for you so you can better see the action.)

You know, there is just so much you can plan and organize, and then in the case of doing anything that involves weather, Mother Nature and Murphy will play a part, welcome or not.

One of the benefits of being retired, or so I was told, was that I could go and do things at various times of the year that I never got to do when I was working. I usually had enough vacation time saved up to do things, but it always had to be in the summer or when school was not in session. So when the thought of a spring golf trip came up, I thought why not. Dave, my Army buddie from Troy, and Chuck, my brother-in-law, said they were "in" so I checked out possible package locations and we picked North Carolina. I found a package there in the Winston-Salem area that featured some challenging courses and looked real nice. I usually don't mind getting my brains beat in by the course if the scenery is nice.

The drive was only a little over 8 hours, so that is very doable with a couple of stretch breaks. When we got to the hotel, it was sunny and hanging in there at about 65 degrees. However, the weather chart had been showing for about the last 10 days that the two days we would be there might be better spent on computer golf. The temps were suppposed to be in the low 50s at best and there was about a 50% chance of rain (or worse) both days. But you know me, I'm the eternal optimist. BRING IT ON -- WE'RE NOT ASKEERED OF NO STINKING RAIN (OR WORSE)!!

The first course we played was The Oak Valley Golf Course, an Arnold Palmer course. Lots of rolling hills, water and deep bunkers. Another thing we noticed right away was that the fairway grass was still dormant. It was strange playing brown fairways and green rough, but it's a testament to the ability of the three of us -- we weren't in the green grass much!! Right!! Oh, and a note to my sister -- I only lost two golf balls -- one in a lake on the 18th on the first day, and one in the lake you see above on the second day. Not too bad. I had a 91 on the Palmer course. My goal was to break 90. (OK ..... my real goal was to break 100, still have all my clubs, and not have to buy golf balls to finish the round, but those things are always subject to revision.)

The second day was supposed to be the toughest course. It was. It is called Tanglewood, The Championship Course. This is listed by Golf Digest as one of the top 25 courses in the country. they play tour events there (regular, senior and Nike Tour). BRING IT ON!! Weatherwise, this was definitely the worst of the two days. It was raining when we got up and all the way to the course. It stopped as we were getting out of the truck, but the thermometer showed 45 degrees and it was a bit windy. The wind died down, but the temps died too -- we finished 18 in some spitting snow and 36 degrees. I shot a 97 on this course and thought that wasn't too bad, considering. This picture shows the green at 17. I think there were at least 17 traps in front of and around the green. The message is you either hit the green from 75 yards out and make it stay there, or go home and don't come back until you can. There is no home course bump and run here. Oh, and by the way, the greens are hard and lightning fast, even for this early.

There are some advantages to playing for the first time of the year on the road. You get the "dumb" things out of the way, or at least remember to keep them locked up somewhere -- like my driver!! Another thing I learned, this dormant grass is really slick and doesn't have that "grab" that green grass does. So if a shot is going badly off the tee, it is going to go really, really badly as it goes down the line. I also learned the value of those little pocket hand warmers you can buy at Dick's Sporting Goods. They sell them there for $0.99 per pack as opposed to the counter at the golf shop where they go for $2.00 each ($4.00 for the package of two). And, last but not least, don't forget to pack some handi- wipes or hand sanitizer for those "gotta go"moments that we seniors tend to have more frequently these days.

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. (Phyllis Diller)

Hooah

Mr. Wizzard/Dale/Yoda would have been proud...

As I mentioned in my last article, I have been doing quite a bit with the Ham radio this past winter. In fact, I joined an Amateur radio/emergency services communication club here in Sidney and have enjoyed learning more about this hobby from some pretty smart guys there.

One of the things the club is going to do is take part in what are called "fox and hound" events. Better known as radio direction finding exercises, the over-simplified objective of the event is to find the emanating source of a radio signal. The club will send out an operator who will find a place somewhere in the county and begin sending periodic radio signals of very short duration. These signals could represent anything from the emergency transmissions from a downed aircraft to (what is more likely) someone who has his hand-help radio stuck "open" (keyed up and broadcasting) without his knowledge. This happens quite often in mobile units when the hand mic might fall down between the seats, wedging open the PTT (Push To Talk) switch, thus tying up the frequency and rendering it inoperative.

The fun thing about this kind of activity is the "hounds" have to build a portable antenna which is used to locate the radio signal and enable them to triangulate the "fox's" location. We have to know the area, how to read a compass and a map, and most importantly, how to build the antenna.

Here is an antenna I built for this exercise. It's pretty cool and seems to work. We'll see. My wife thought I was building a divining rod so I could go out and find water. Another nice thing about this is these kinds of events are pretty cheap to participate in -- this antenna cost me about $10.

Now, those of you who know me know I just can't go out there with this antenna that looks like something from some spy novel and play this straight. So, I'm thinking I should maybe dress up in a full body, aluminum foil wrap and a silver football helmet and walk around like that. What do you think the locals would say about that? Better yet, maybe I should get out my old Army protective mask and wear my uniform and walk around through the fields. Bet that would cause a stir.

One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his greatest surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't. (Henry Ford)

Hooah

Hello America, and all the ships at sea...

This is a new area about which I will be writing, but it is not a new hobby. I have been a licensed Ham radio operator since 1991. I got into this hobby right after I got back from Desert Storm and had two pretty smart fellas (Dale Vesper - W8HCI/silent key, and Scott Swink - KB8JOY) help me through all the studies required. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to do the Morse Code part to get my Technician license. The FCC might have had enough foresight back then to see that cell phones would make a major dent in electronic communications, especially among young people. So, if amateur radio was to continue or have a chance at growing and thus keeping the band widths it already had from being gobbled up by cell phone companies, it had to make it easier for newbies like myself to get into the hobby. They were still looking for radio geeks, you just didn't need to be an electrical engineer to get into it.

Since obtaining that first "ticket" I basically continued to operate on what is called 2-Meter communications (144-148 MHz). This is pretty similar to what most people think of when they think of CB radio -- i.e., it is pretty much an open communication line, regulated by the operators themselves, used pretty much for what is called "rag chews" and just general conversation. Operators must be licensed by the FCC and usually operate with hand-held or mobile units. Hams, as they are called, also perform a great deal of public service, to include weather spotting, communication services for community events, emergency communications in the event of natural disasters, and so on.

Well, the next step for me was getting my General operator's license in 2007. This allowed me to move up from the VHF/UHF frequencies to HF. Basically, this meant that I was now able to communicate with the whole country and stations around the world. Here is my "Ham Shack": (l-r) Yaesu VX-6 Tri-band hand held radio (2 meters, 70 cm, and 220 MHz); Power supply; ICOM-735 HF multi-band Transceiver; Z-100 LDG Electronics antenna tuner; and an old B/W TV Pam and I got back in 1980 (soon to be outdated with digital TV reception).


Since I have been on the HF airwaves, I have been able to make contacts in 22 states, an island off the coast of Maine in the Atlantic Ocean, the Virgin Islands and to a guy in Bulgaria (the bands were really open). My goal is to make contacts in all the states in this country and then try for other countries. I probably wouldn't have been able to do this is the FCC hadn't stopped requiring Morse Code for all its licenses.

Although this isn't a cheap hobby, it really is fun. It's kinda like Forrest Gump's thoughts on life being like a box of chocolates and never knowing what you'll get when you open it up.

A good amateur radio contact is as stimulating as rich, black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.

Hooah

Mr. Rogers would be proud...

I missed the big blow last week by a few days, but I have finally installed my weather station. And it's pretty cool being able to look at the monitoring device here in the kitchen to see what the wind is like, or the temps. and the barometer. I looked on line on eBay for one of these stations, and could have purchased one there. They sell the wireless LaCrosse stations that do all the basics (measuring rain, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, relative humidity, temperatures, wind chill) and also connect to your computer so you can track data for periods of time.

I assume you would then print out graphs and charts on wind, rainfall, and temperatures. I suppose if you're really into weather, or chart making that would be the way to go. However, I'm not into it that much. I'm pretty much a "what's it doing now" kind of guy, so I picked up the one at Wal-Mart. It is the same as the more expensive ones, except it doesn't connect to the computer. It does have an internal history mode which can give a visual readout for some period of time (I have not finished digesting the whole instruction book yet, so I can't tell you how long that period is). In any event, it's kind of fun just stopping by the monitoring device to see what is going on. Since I have convinced myself that the wind blows here every day, I have not been disappointed. Those little cups go flying around under the pointer thingy all the time. Kind of impressive. I just hope when the big winds come back, those things don't get to going so fast that they lift that whole end of the building off the ground like a helicopter.

The little box on top is the rain gauge and the bird house is really a cover for the Thermo-Hygro sensor (how's that for a fancy name for a thermometer-thingy). The instruction book suggests that this piece be installed in a bird house to keep it out of direct contact with the elements. So, I drilled some holes in it all over the place and stapled some screen on all the inside walls to keep the birds and bees out and there you have it.

I'm sure someone who just happens to be driving by and notices this on the shed (a.k.a. Lakefront Cottage, a.k.a. Remote Climatological Readings Gathering Station) will be impressed and think some real smart guy lives here.

Well I guess you've figured out by now that retirement gets boring in February and this is just something to play with. You would be correct. However, one thing I have noticed is the little thing on the display that shows climate and temperature trends shows that everything is moving in the right direction-- which means golf and fishing can't be too far down the road.

Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella. (Pepper Giardino)

Hooah