The Day After

 Birthday greetings today to Sean Cowie, Judy's son-in-law.  He has hit the half century mark.  Mardi fondly remembers the kitchen chats she had with Sean, who was a buddy of her boys.  All the best Sean!

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As anticipated, I spent part of the afternoon on the lazyboy, watching the Blue Jays.  Exciting game.  Bo Bichette hit a walk-off home run in the 9th to give the Jays a victory.  That's two series with the Yankees that they've won already.

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After the game Mardi and I took our one mile waterfront walk.  A lot of limping and wimping but I got it done.

Had to avoid a speeding car along the way.  Mom was running to keep up.

And the daffodils are up.  Spring is here.

The daffodils that I planted in one of the gardens along the driveway at the greenhouse haven't quite opened yet.  They're shaded by the pine trees for part of the day.  But they'll be open soon.

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The Blue Jays don't play until 8 p.m. tomorrow so I'll be heading to the greenhouse.

Be kind.  Stay well.

Golfed My Age

 Wayne tells me he's seen a gecko a couple of times recently in Sidney, B.C.  Perhaps climate change is happening faster than we thought!

In the meantime, David has purchased some crickets to share the bowl with our gecko.  Game on!

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Following up on yesterday's blog, all of my Tuesday golf buddies are helping me to have a long life.  Lots of laughs every week.....love you guys!

But today wasn't much of a laugh.  Four of us showed up - Calvin, David, yours truly and Sven (he of the dozen names - and a  birthday for each one).

Power carts not allowed, so we pushed/pulled the carts you see through soft, soggy conditions for eighteen holes.  A tough slog!

Add to that, I mistakenly left my putter in the van, so I variously used a 3 wood, a pitching wedge and each of my three partners' putters to put together a memorable round.

By the time the round ended, I felt like a 114 year old man.  Which was good, because that allowed me to reach my 2021 goal of playing my age.  Yeah, I was that bad.  Finally figured out what was wrong - I'm getting old, losing muscle mass and distance, so I was swinging harder and messing up.  Figured that out by the 17th hole and the last two were much better.  I've now decided to join the Ron King Swing Clinic and stay within my comfort zone.  Swing slower and hit them down the middle like Ron.  Wait until next week!

Sven had the best round, his 99 beating David by one stroke and Calvin by two.  I am obviously in a different league.

Calvin admired my sweater....and my 3 wood/putter...

...while Sven was enthralled by my yellow shirt.

Northern Puffers rule!

Unfortunately, the bar wasn't open due to covid rules, so we couldn't toast our day until we got home.  It took two CC and Pepsi's (I've run out of Coke) for the memory fog to comfort me.  

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A teenaged shooter was killed in a Tennessee high school yesterday.  I've heard various numbers, one of which was that this was the fifth shooting at that particular school this year!  Unbelievable!

And, a veteran police officer in Minnesota fired a gun, supposedly thinking it was a taser, killing another young black man.  Makes you just shake your head.

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Blue Jays won 7-3 over the Yankees tonight, evening up their home series.  They play again tomorrow at 1 p.m.  I'm guessing that my aching body will force me to stay in the lazy boy for the afternoon.

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Hey Al, Mardi made apple crisp today.  Fantastic.  Too bad we're not allowed visitors.

Keep smiling folks.  It does help.  Stay well.

Another Wildlife Sighting

 Headed to the greenhouse in the rain, not to work, but to meet Malcolm for advice on the wheel spacers.  More about that in a minute.

David pointed out the new pet at the greenhouse.

We assume he came in with some tropicals from Mexico.  Jake now has some competition, but I don't think the gecko can sing like Jake.

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Malcolm measured my rims, figured out the size of spacers needed, and ordered them online for me.  

The problem is that the hole in the middle of the rim is bigger than the seating ring on the hub.  So "hub centric rings" are required to make up the difference and provide a stabilizing seating for the rim.  Otherwise the lugs are taking all the punishment from road bumps and could fail.  You're never too old to learn new things!

Malcolm and I will meet again when the rings arrive - he's offered to do the installation for me.

I'm not going to mention the tire shop that I previously frequented (Barbara and Jo-Ann will know them) but I won't be going back.  That Mr. Lube shop will be my go-to place in future.

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Sven is stewing right now.  The forecast for tomorrow doesn't look good and golf carts will probably not be allowed out.  But he doesn't want to recommend cancelling because he's looked foolish in the past when he went by the weather forecast, stayed home, and heard from me about how we got a full 18 holes in.

The truth of the matter is that he's hoping for rain - he really doesn't want to face the Northern Puffers, those yellow shirt wearing champions.

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Remember, you don't stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop laughing.

Smile Sven.  Stay well everybody.

Northern Puffers - Quoits Champions

We have a birthday doubleheader today.  Sue and Reggie are celebrating.  Best wishes to both.

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Gary Parker asked me why I punished myself by publishing his Goldfinch item.  Sue's response explained it perfectly - it was hilarious!  You've become a very good story teller Sven.  

Gary's daughter Jacquie also responded to his original email:

"Love the Northern Puffers! I believe they once migrated to your own backyard in search of tasty quoits?"

Gary probably wishes she hadn't said that.  He seems to want to avoid the fact that we did in fact find some tasty quoits.  Those beautiful yellow shirts have printing on them!

And, as you can see, there's room to add more years when the coronavirus no longer interrupts our annual migration to Burlington.

Matt, I think we should wear those shirts this Tuesday at MontHill.

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Grandson Malcolm responded to my aftermarket wheels item.  Apparently what I need are "hub centric rings".  Otherwise the wheels are not anchored properly to the hubs.  Looked it up on line and it appears that I was lucky to avoid problems - it's a safety issue.

Any wheel that is not OEM needs such rings.  This applies to those cheap generic wheels that are used for winter tires too.

Thanks for the advice Malcolm!  And also, thanks to the guy at Mr. Lube (Upper Mount Albion Road) who refused to mount the wheels without the rings.  Scary that the tire shop that I previously frequented didn't point this out.

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Kathryn and I passed on our planned hike today.  Rain overnight means slippery paths.  We'll reload for next weekend.

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Last night I stayed up until the Jays game ended at 1:07 a.m. with a 15-1 victory.  Today's game was rained out.

But I watched the Masters and Hideki Matsuyama's one stroke victory.  Canadian Cory Conners finished in a tie for 8th, an admirable finish on a devilishly tough golf course.

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Stay well.

Nature (again)

 No birthdays today.  Amazing!

Headed to the greenhouse and did a cycle.  Then cut the grass behind the rink, over the septic bed.  Had a couple of discoveries.

First, found a Killdear "nest" near the rink.

Disturbed the mom a bit while I cut the grass.  She tried to lure me away each time.

Then, when I got to the pond, I saw a monster Snapping Turtle.

The shell was about 18 inches long and over a foot wide.  Head as big as my hand.  Don't tell Sarah-Jean or she won't go swimming in the pond.

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Corey Conners is doing well at the Masters.  Had a hole-in-one today, followed by a birdie.  But Hudeki Matsuyama has looked awesome as he came from behind and built up a four shot lead.

Augusta is a beautiful, but really tough track.

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No Blue Jays on TV tonight, which is just as well.  Their ranks are decimated by injuries and covid protocols and they're playing some sloppy ball.

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Stay well.

Wheels

Today the birthday wishes go to my nephew Stefan Murray (sister Judy's son).   All the best Stefan.

April birthdays are coming in bunches.  July vacations to blame?

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 I spent a couple of hours at a Mr. Lube location today.  They balanced my summer wheels, but eventually refused to put them on because they say I need plastic sleeves between the wheels and the hubs.  Never had any before as far as I know and those after market wheels have a couple of hundred thousand kilometres on them.

Oh well.  No charge for the balancing.  I'll report later on the final outcome.

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I've been trying to attach an email from Sven Parkersburg without success.  So, I'll close for now and simply forward his Nature Notes to all of you.  It's my masochistic nature.

Stay well.

A New Activity

 Today it's A.J.'s turn to enjoy a birthday celebration.  All the best A.J.

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I added a fifth activity to my circle route today.  On the way back with a load of dirt I stopped to hit a dozen shots at the driving range.  I was joined by the owner who was on lunch break.

Need to keep that left arm straight David.  Neither of us was happy with our results.

As I was walking around picking up all of the balls we hit, I wondered if David would consider buying a ball scooper for the front of the lawnmower.  If Roy was still with us I'm sure he would make one.

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I did two cycles today before my body said it was time to go home.  Skipped the driving range on the second cycle - after all I'm in mid season form (the Tuesday guys are cracking up right now - they aren't impressed with my mid season form).

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Watched the first day of the Masters and then the Blue Jays game, which they lost in the tenth inning.  Oh well!

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Enjoy the weather.  Stay well.