A significant difference?

 5:48 am - Friday - August 2nd - LPR&VR - 57° F, humidity 59%, cloud cover 58%, wind 1 mph out of the east by southeast.......forecast high for today is 98° F.  On this date in 2012, just 6 months into our nomadic life, we were at Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, OR.....

There is a definite, significant difference between 94° and 98° F, or is it just that my mind believes it is more significant than it really is?  I'm pretty sure the difference is real, and significant.  Anyway, that was our high for Thursday, so when you know it's going be hot you get the major work done early.  It being a Thursday means the major work would be clearing the balls off the driving range for its once weekly 'haircut', but I get slightly ahead of myself.

For the third consecutive day there were ZERO goose/duck leavings at the 3rd hole tee boxes, and I haven't seen any geese at all during that time.  I raked three of the four sand traps, and was back at the Clubhouse by 9 am, at which time I donned my rarely used mud boots to wade down the creek which crosses the driving range.  I have not retrieved golf balls from the creek the entire summer, so it was definitely time.  In all I pulled close to 40 balls out of their watery graves, and returned them to their intended purpose. That there were that few surprised me, but I know when DeWayne weed wacked the grass along the creek a couple of weeks ago he found a bunch of balls, too, so that is probably why I found so few.

Once that was done I picked up four 5 gallon buckets from the Cart Return, and a Shag Bag to begin clearing the range by hand.  When there are 4 buckets, or less on the range it is actually easier to do it by hand than using the ball picker.  As I walked to and fro, up and down the heat of the day began to descend upon the driving range.  By the time I finished at 11 am I was ready for a glass of ice water, and some shade.  After filling each of the 4 buckets with Dawn soap, and water I did just that.

I hadn't done any marshaling yet Thursday, and a drive around the course with the morning breeze blowing on my body seemed to be just the ticket.  By the time I reached the 18th hole I was cool once again.....

The freshly raked sand trap at the 18th hole

Looking back up the 18th fairway to the tees

.....by the time I made my rounds (everyone was behaving themselves), and returned to the Clubhouse it was almost 12 pm, and time for TLE's lunch break. I was really looking forward to spending an hour in the cool confines of the Clubhouse, which is cooled by a 'swamp cooler', which works well in low humidity environments, which is exactly what Likely, CA is.  At the end of my hour of comfort I headed back into the hot, arid outdoors to finish the final 2.5 hours of my work day. 

On my way out to make another round of the course I turned on the sprinklers at the large grass area adjacent to site #30.  The sprinklers there are of the pop up variety to turn in a circle.  Occasionally, when I kneel on the ground to reach into the utility box to turn on the sprinklers the sprinkler nearest to me is sometimes pointed directly at me when I turn on the water, and that was the case Thursday.  For once I didn't mind getting sprayed directly in the face....it was quite invigorating.....lol!  By the time I reached the 15th hole I was dry again, but wishing I wasn't.

We only rented 8 golf carts Thursday, and by quitting time only 5 had been returned, so I'll have 3 to wash first thing Friday.  I took a long, cool shower, drank a tall glass of ice coffee, then took a nice nap before returning to pick up TLE from the Clubhouse at the end of her shift.  Once again our four day work week has flown by quickly, and this Friday will actually be our 'Friday', too

Thanks for stopping by!