Under the umbrella and dreaming

Looking at yesterday's radar for our area on weather.com yesterday, you could just see the rain and thunderstorms creeping closer and closer. Personally, I thought it was going to be a miracle if we got nine in for the golf league.

But, nine holes and a lot of soaked players later, we did.

Shot a 60 last night and I really think I would've done better if it weren't for the weather. It just got very distracting after a while and frankly, it was tough to concentrate. I'm not saying I would've broken my personal best of 54 from last week, but still.

We started off OK, but briefly had some light rain on the second hole. OK, no problem. It pretty much held off on the third (which feature a couple of rumbles of thunder, but nothing serious). But the fourth featured a downpour that soaked us for a few minutes. Once that was over, it was drier until the sixth hole where the rain steadily got heavier and heavier. By the end of the seventh, my golf glove was toast.

Anyway, other than the weather it was a typical round for me ... made some really great shots and others were horrible. Still searching for even a modicum of consistency.

But, like last week, I didn't focus on my score (we split the round 18-18). I just concentrated on the hole we were playing.

And I also took some chances on some shots to see if I could make them (like hitting out of longer rough, for example) and for the most part I did well. I was trying to take as few drops as possible and I'm gaining confidence in my ability to make something out of nothing.

The most frustrating shot, though, was my tee shot on the third hole (525 yards, par 5). I shanked the shot and it dribbled 15 yards at the most from the tee box to the edge of the fairway. So, instead of trying to hit it there (it was just too close to the wooded area) I teed it up again and hit a gorgeous shot to the middle of the fairway for about 280 yards. As I said to the others in my foursome, "Now, why couldn't I have done that on my first shot?" Still, I didn't let the first bad shot rattle me and I actually double bogeyed the hole (only because I had to take a drop) so it wasn't that bad.

I then had two best shots on the round. The first was on the next hole, the fourth (295 yards, par 4). I destroyed the tee shot with my 3-wood and put it exactly where I wanted it. I was on in three and two-putted, so even though I bogeyed the hole, I was making solid contact and had my PW working.

The second "best-of-the-round" for me was the sixth hole (175 yards, par 3). Hitting my 5-iron, I dropped the rock right onto the fringe on the back of the green. I had trouble with my putter and took a five for the hole, but I still liked what I had done from the tee.

Speaking of which, here's what I learned:

1. I really need to work on my putting. I'm taking too many three and four putts on the green, which is driving up my score. Not good.
   
2. Speaking of my score, I've found it very helpful to not think about my score while playing. I literally take it one hole at a time and don't look at the scorecard during the round (Kell keeps track).
   
3. I've gotten so much better at shaking off bad holes or shots. I'm working hard on adopting an "it's only a game" attitude while still trying to improve myself. We'll see how long this lasts.

Lost two balls last night. Still searching for that regular round in which I don't lose any.

An excellent birthday present

Turns out I can play this game after all.

Under humid and partly sunny conditions, we trudged around the back nine in the golf league yesterday afternoon and lookie lookie here ... I shot a 54! The best round I've ever had over nine holes.

Of course, it didn't start out that way as I lost my ball on my first tee shot. Over the course of play, I ended up taking three drops, so if I hadn't had to do that, I would've shot a 51 ... bummer. Still, I really felt good yesterday and was in a bit of a groove. Dunno if it was because it was my birthday (40th) but whatever it was, I had it working.

Even better, Kell and I won the round and it was close throughout, so that made for a great game. Kell also won the closest-to-the-pin hole and the skin for the hole, so that was fun, too.

Here's my score card:

Hole/par/score

• #10 / 5 / 6
  
• #11 / 4 / 6
  
• #12 / 4 / 7
  
• #13 / 5 / 5 - par! Woo-hoo!
  
• #14 / 3 / 4
  
• #15 / 4 / 8
  
• #16 / 3 / 5
  
• #17 / 4 / 7
  
• #18 / 4 / 6

Only one snowman and no nines!

Of course, what might have helped was a new weapon I bought earlier in the day ... a TaylorMade 3-Wood ... sweet! I picked up this club because I really hated my old 3-Wood. I just couldn't get any touch on the old club and couldn't hit it consistently. I tried out the TaylorMade at Dick's Sporting Goods and once I bought it, took it right across the street to the driving range. Ho-lee crap ... it's just incredible how different the club feels at impact. It's so solid and the ball really takes off. As with my driver, I was blown away by how much this club does for correcting a less-than-perfect strike ... just beautiful.

Anyway, I ended up using this thing on the tee on the first three holes last night (although the first hole was a mistake, should've used my 4-iron). It just felt so good in my hands and swings so sweetly, it felt like a perfect fit. Can't wait to test it out even more.

Last night I also had two really great drives. On Hole 15 (315 yards, par 4) I absolutely crushed the ball and landed on the fringe, just enough to keep me out of trouble. Saved the best for last, though, on Hole 18 (340 yards, par 4). Just tied right into the ball and landed almost in the middle of the fairway. If I hadn't fraidy-catted my chip shot, I could've been on in two, but it took three instead. Even though a double-bogeyed the hole, I still felt like I had done well.

So a good night all around on the course. Yes, made a few mistakes and ended up losing a sleeve of balls but still, it was nice shooting a low score (well, low for me).

Over nine holes, I learned the following:

1. Spending time on the practice green before the round is a good idea. I spent the better part of 20 to 30 minutes practicing different putts and chipping and it really did make a difference later. Still, I have a lot of work to do because I'm still taking way too many putts to finish a hole.
   
2. I don't have to use my driver on every tee shot, especially dog legs. Others in our foursome would use their drivers on some holes, but I went with my instincts and either used my 3-wood or 4-iron (or, in one case, my 8-iron) and still got the results I wanted.
   
3. Trust my instincts. On one shot, Kell advised me to take a club saying it was the one she would play in the fairway. But, I knew if I had done that I would have fallen way short of the green, so I took a club up and - PLOP - dropped the rock onto the green. I'm getting to know better every week how I hit clubs, so that's helping a lot.
   
4. I can get out of tough lies. We're on Hole 17 (300 yards, par 4) and my tee shot found some tree love and ended up in the middle of the fairway (thank you, golf gods!). I hit my second shot with my pitching wedge because I was less than 100 yards from the green and ended up over-shooting the green (figures, when I want to hit the PW like that, I can't!) and found my ball buried in some really deep weeds. Oy vey. I kept looking at the lie and was considering taking a drop, especially after taking a few practice swings and it looked like I had a scythe in my hand with all the weeds and grass flying in the air. But, I decided to hit out, instead. The ball ended up skidding onto the green rather than flopping with a nice arc (as it "should" have), but, I was on the green and didn't have to take a drop. I'll take that any day!

After the round, Kell kidded with me that maybe it was the Jack Daniel's that I had gotten from the bar for the cart that helped me yesterday. I think what helped is that I never focused on my score while playing. In the past, I've kept track of how I was doing during the round ... but not yesterday. With that pressure off, I think I was better able to focus on my game.

It's beginning to look a lot like ... winter?!?

Apparently, yesterday was the first day of winter and no one told me because there were more snowmen on my golf scorecard than there are at the North Pole.

Another round in the golf league last night and some typical results ... shot 65 and we lost.

I did well in not focusing on my score (I really had no idea what the actual number was while we were playing) but, I knew it wasn't good because I couldn't stop shooting double pars for many of the holes.

It started off badly when I shanked my first tee shot and had to take a drop about 30 yards from the tee. But, what seems to be my modus operandi in such instances, I made a really sweet rescue shot (this time with my 4-iron) and set myself up for a nice pitch onto the green ... which I then proceeded to 3-putt on and wound up with a seven.

Sigh.

Still, I was making much more consistent contact for most of the afternoon (something that's eluded me recently) but once again I would lift my head at the absolute worst possible time and just kill any momentum I had going.

Truly, my worst hole was the 7th (405 yards, par 4). It's a dog-leg right which features a wide water hazard just after the bend. Two weeks ago I dominated this hole ... hit the perfect tee shot for about 220 yards with my 3-iron, then shot right over the water (still with the 3-iron) to about a foot outside the edge of the elevated green.

Last night? Not so much.

It's about 250 yards from the tee to the bend, and I flopped my tee shot about 30 yards at the most, so with my 4-iron in my hand, I went searching for the ball because the greens were very tall. I actually almost lost my ball and found it at the last minute. After three attempts to lift it out (tried my pitching wedge, too), I picked up and dropped. I was at nine strokes before I even got on the green. So I took a 10 for the hole and used it as putting practice. Hoo boy.

Now for the good (or, least the better) news ... my tee shots with my driver (when I was making good contact) were straightened out. I've said before how I've developed a wicked slice lately in my drives and was at a total loss trying to fix it. I asked a co-worker who has been playing for years and he suggested turning my right hand in my grip a 1/4 of an inch to the left so my hand was more on top of the shaft. I saw immediate results. I didn't realize my grip had changed that much. Thanks, Craig!

Another testament to my shots being straighter (although not always well-aimed) was that I spent very little time in the woods. Good feeling. Still, I lost three balls for the night because when I did hit into the woods, there was no way I was going to find them.

There were a lot of frustrating things about last night, but I did end on a high note because I parred the last hole (#9, 320 yards, par 4). Had a tremendous tee shot that landed just outside the green. Nice flop shot onto the green and I 2-putted ... I'll take it!

Also, my pitch shots are getting better. I'm not over-hitting them as often and I'm getting better at controlling the shot, so that's helped on those lies that are within 100 yards of the green.

So, what did I learn this week?

1. I really need to work on putting. There are times when I can get onto the green in two or three but then I'm all over the place with my putter (#8 hole, a par 3, was a perfect example last night because I could have parred the hole but ended up with a six instead). I was reading the greens fairly well, but just couldn't make the shot to sink the rock. Putting is key and I don't work on that enough at the range.
   
2. I have got to stop over-thinking shots. No doubt this is killing me, especially when I tee off. Look, I know perfectly well I can hit the damn ball, I do very well at the driving range. The issue is that I start thinking too much on the course and it destroys what little talent or touch I have. I'm considering not taking practice swings before I shoot ... we'll see.

Next week we'll be playing on my birthday. My golf partner said she'd understand if I skipped next week and I thought, "Playing golf on my birthday? How cool is that?!?" I mentioned this to Kell and, god bless her golf-widowed heart, she totally agreed. Sweet.

My Top 10 ... well, 12

Kell and my sister are planning a party this month to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the date (July 22nd) when I was spawned unto this unsuspecting world (we're having dinner, live music, the whole shebang).

As part of the planning, my sister wanted me to burn her a CD of my top 10 favorite songs of all time.

Riiiiiiiiiight ... 10 songs?!? I have hundreds of bands, musicians, artists on our external hard drive ... thousands of songs ranging from classical to jazz to musicals to all manners of rock, hard rock, metal, speed metal and the like.

Needless to say, I had a daunting task. Seriously, how do I figure this out? Without thinking about the number of songs I was choosing, I went through the bands and selected my favorite CD by each band, then my favorite song from the disc.

I stopped at 96 tracks.

So I pared the list down to 12 ... I just couldn't get it any shorter than that. Here's the list (in alphabetical order by band) and a brief explanation about why I chose the song:

1. Aerosmith: "Train Kept a Rollin'" (live version) - This song is a classic among classics. I remember being in high school and just cranking the radio to 11 every time it came on. I love the fact that it's a live recording and it still sounds that good. The band is simply at its peak and the drum solo/guitar riffs/base line towards the end is amazing. Just a great pounding sound ... must have been amazing to have been at that particular show.
   
2. Allman Brothers Band: "Dreams" - The version I chose is from the An Evening with the Allman Band CD. I'm a huge ABB fan and loved this song the first time I heard it and this version in particular. At the time of this recording, Dickie Betts was still with the band and he and Warren Haynes absolutely kick the living crap out of this song. Seriously, the ABB is one those bands everyone should see at least once but if you don't, this disc is a great way to get a good feeling for what it's like to see them. As usual, Tom Dowd manned the boards for the recording and he captures the band at their height with this line up. This song is amazing in its tempo, guitar solos and the lyrics are Greg Allman at his cosmic best.
   
3. Boston: "Foreplay/Longtime" - Boston's first, eponymous CD is one of my all-time faves and every song could have made the list. Again, it's one of those discs that as a teen, whenever a song came on the radio, you just had to turn it up. I think the thing that amazes me the most is how good this song (and CD) sound from a production perspective ... and it's over 30 years old! The band's guitarist and techno-wiz, Tom Scholz (an MIT grad) built and/or developed much of the recording equipment used by the band and they sounded light years ahead of their time. I just think this song in particular shows why the band was so good ... they sound so tight and the lyrics are great. I can't not listen to this song when it's on the radio.
   
4. Cream: "Crossroads" - C'mon, this song is legendary even for the casual rock music fan. If you ever want to explain to someone what Eric Clapton is all about, then look no further than this song. Whenever I hear it, it's one of those songs that I'll rewind to the beginning of the solo and listen to it again ... and again. This may sound weird, but Clapton just doesn't waste a note anywhere in this song and Jack Bruce's base playing (especially during the guitar solo) is insane ... and keeping everything together is Ginger Baker who must have had to trade in for a new pair of arms when this song was done. One of the top five rock recordings of all time, IMO.
   
5. Dave Mathews Band: "Jimi Thing" - I wish I could explain in words exactly what this song does to me every time I hear it but whenever it comes up on a CD, I have to listen to it at least two or three times in a row. First off, the production is fantastic ... nice, fat acoustic guitar sound, the drums, and the fact that there's a fiddle solo in the middle of the song ... well, damn. And Dave's lyrics are truly bizarre, but in a good way. You have to really listen to the song to get it. I can never hear this song enough ... just an amazing 5:57 of music. It also reminds me of Martha's Vineyard because when Kell and I would go down there before we were married, we'd always listen to the DMB as we drove around and hearing any DMB song, but this CD in particular, reminds of those times.
   
6. Jane's Addiction: "Slow Divers" - OK, I'll be up front and say it right now ... this song reminds me of when I used to smoke um, a leafy green herb, in particular, smoking with my friend Ray at his house. It'd be summertime at night, we'd be outside with a drink and feeling very relaxed and mellow and we'd put Kettle Whistle on and man, when this song came on everything was allllright. Just an amazing song to relax to and the lyrics are great (quick synopsis: the singer is at an amusement park and watches people going down a water slide and imagines them trying to procreate while doing so). The song itself, though, sounds amazing ... another great live recording. The band is just peaking during this recording and you can almost hear the audience sitting in stunned silence watching this.
   
7. Jimi Hendrix: "Red House" - My favorite story around this song is that when Hendrix was recording in London before he made it big in America, the record people were telling him to not include this song on the album because Americans didn't want to hear a rock guitarist play blues music. Wow! For me, this song is the epitome of Hendrix's style ... he was greatly influenced by the blues and this was his hand at recording in that vein. Thankfully he did eventually record it and released it on his Smash Hits record. The song also has one of my all-time fave Hendrix lyrics in it: "'Cause if my baby don't love no more/I know her sister will!" Always makes me laugh when I hear it because you can hear the smile on Hendrix's face when he sings the line.
   
8. King's X: "Life Going By" - King's X is one of those bands that a lot of people have never heard of but for those of us who are lucky enough to have heard of them, they're one of the best ever. This song in particular is one that I can't explain why it affects me the way it does, but it's one that I have to listen to a few times when it comes up on the CD. Again, the production is amazing so it sounds unbelievable and the lyrics ... well, I can honestly say that if I'm in the right mood, I actually get a bit choked up when I hear this song. Ty Taybor's guitar work here is some of his best ... it's a shorter solo, but just perfect, tight and to the point.
   
9. Led Zepplin: "Nobody's Fault But Mine" - I knew when compiling this list that a Led Zepplin song was going to be on it and I had no idea how I was going to come up with one song. And this is the only song on the list that isn't on that band's favorite CD of mine (Led Zep II is my fave). But as I was going through the band's catalog and I saw the title of this song, I listened to it and was once again absolutely blown away by it and I've heard this song dozens and dozens of times. For me, this song is a perfect amalgamation of four of the greatest musicians in a single song. Robert Plant's voice hits every note perfectly with authority and clarity, Jimmy Page's guitar work is genius, John Paul Jones has the best and most amazing bass sound ever recorded and John Bonham is ... well, being John Bonham. When you listen to this song, you can hear every influence the band ever had ... the blues, rock, R&B, it's all there. This is a song that the louder you listen to it, the better it sounds.
   
10. Stevie Ray Vaughn: "Couldn't Stand the Weather" - The title track from the first SVR album I ever bought. I love, love love this song. Chris Layton's drum playing is just spot on and nails every fill he has in this song; bassist Tommy Shannon has this awesome, fat sound that perfectly fills in the low end of Stevie's playing and it makes you really appreciate what a good bass player like this does for a song ... and then there's Vaughn and his quintessential blues-rock guitar in this song. The stuff he does in the bridge, the rhythm guitar and that solo ... holy crap, the solo. As I'm typing this, I can hear it in my head and I want to stop and go listen to this song. Vaughn always said he never liked his singing voice but c'mon, I think it's perfect for his music ... gritty, kinda down and dirty, like his guitar playing at its best.
    
11. The Beatles - "I Am the Walrus" - I first heard this song on a two-disc vinyl album I got for Christmas when I was around 12-ish. It was a Best of the Beatles compilation that featured their later stuff and I couldn't get enough of it. I must have listened to that album over and over again. Like Led Zepplin, it was difficult finding one song, but in the end, I think this song really represents the different, um ... altered state-influenced direction the band headed into later in their career. And the lyrics are just unreal ... "Sitting in my English garden waiting for the sun/If the sun don't come, you'll get a tan from standing in the English rain" ... ooookay. A lot of people talk about Sgt. Pepper as being the best Beatles album, but I think Magical Mystery Tour is at least as good, if not better. Like Pepper, the production is just insane but unlike Pepper, I think the influences and styles of music on MMT are more diverse and show the band spreading out and taking chances. Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't say that any Beatles song reminds me of my cousin, Liz, and that's never a bad thing.
    
12. Van Halen - "Mean Street" - Geez, where to begin?!? As many people know, things didn't end well between David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen when Roth left/quit in 1985. Whatever the case, legend has it that it got so bad that when the band would record, Eddie would lay down his guitar tracks late in the night and Dave would come in the next day and put down his vocals and rarely did the two see each other. It's been said that Eddie was at his angriest during the recording of Fair Warning, (my absolute favorite Van Halen album and Mean Street is my fave track, hands down) and you can hear that anger in these recordings. There's simply an edge to these songs that doesn't exist on any other VH record before or since. I will never forget being a teenager, sitting in my room and putting on this record (on vinyl!) and listening to it for the first time ... and my jaw just dropped. By the time this album was released (in 1981), Eddie's reputation as a guitar virtuoso was firmly in place; listen to this song and you'll know why. The two-hand tapping and hammering on and off intro as it fades in then gives way to this edgy, almost grating string sound that fades out then ... BOOM! Eddie launches another diatribe again and the drums and bass kick in. And then Dave sings some the greatest lyrics he ever wrote with the band that begin with: "At night I walk these stinkin' streets, pass the crazies on my block/And I see the same old faces and I hear that same old talk/And I'm searchin' the latest thing, a break in this routine/I'm talkin' some new kicks, ones like you ain't never seen!" Gives me goose bumps every ... single ... time and that says a lot about a song when it affects you like that.

Truly, this list could go on and on and on ... but it's only supposed to be 10 ... well, 12 'cause it's my list, so there!

2, 4 and 9

A little different take on the golf league last night. Instead of playing teams, we did a tournament-type thing, every player for themselves.

The rules were:

1. Nine holes with a shotgun start.
   
2. Each player was allowed only two clubs: 8-iron and putter.
   
3. You could only bring four golf balls. Once you lost them, you were done even if you didn't shoot nine holes.
   
4. Individual scoring, no teams.
   
5. All players hit from the ladies' tees.

At first, this type of play was very daunting because you just didn't know what to expect. But it was a lot of fun because it was relaxing and it forced you to look at the holes in a completely different way. Standing on the ladies' tees on holes I've played plenty of times was weird ... many times you could actually see the pin from the tees instead of being so far back.

So, with a sleeve of balls plus one and two clubs, we headed out. I ended up playing with my regular golf partner; the other pair in our foursome weren't regular partners (one was A-Flight, the other B).

We shot the back nine and started off on the 17th (255 yards, par 4). After we all teed off (I never used a tee, just put the ball on the ground because that's how I usually hit with an iron anyway), we all thought using an 8-iron was a great idea because we were making great shots.

But, again, on longer holes, you really had to think about how you were going to swing as you approached the green. Pitches and chips were the order of the day.

So I shot a typical 60 for the round (my lowest score in a while) and I didn't lose a ball, which was a great feeling. I don't think I've ever played nine holes and not lost a ball and I attribute my luck last night to the fact that I wasn't hooking or slicing shots with a 3-wood or driver. As I've noticed before, I rarely hook or slice my irons. If the ball doesn't go where I intend with my irons, it's because I aimed poorly or shanked the shot.

There were two particular highlights for me last night:

• The 13the hole (350 yards, par 5) it dog legs a bit to the left, so you have to clear a small hill on the left or hit to the right of the hill and stay on the fairway. I ended up half way down the hill. No worries, I've hit from there before. So I set up for my second shot, trying to cut around the hill a bit and THWACK, I hit a tree about 10 yards in front me square on and my ball ricocheted back at me and almost landed right at my feet. Too funny.
  
• On the 16th hole (125 yards, par 3), I didn't hit down on my swing enough and the ball ended up scooting right along the fairway (the tee box and green are both elevated, so it's like a bowl in the middle) and the ball popped up right onto the green (I ended up winning closest-to-the-pin for the night on the hole). The guy standing next to me (he plays A-Flight) just stared and said, "That was the longest goddamn putt I've ever seen!" I do what I can to keep people entertained.

Anyway, a fun night at the course. It was nice playing in such a relaxed atmosphere and not thinking about scores and team points.

So, what did I learn?

1. I can play this game. I have the skills to do it, I just need to give it time and I will get better.
   
2. If I slow down, I'm a better player. Slow down in my back swing, realize when I need to slow down in my follow through ... I can make the shots I need to make when I need to make them. I just need to take the time to recognize things like that.
   
3. I shouldn't stand over the ball at address for too long. The longer I do, the more chance I have for making a mistake and the worse my shot will be. Like a player from another team told me weeks ago, "Get up to the ball and pull the trigger."

Here's hoping the weather gets a little more consistent and we have more sun. Yesterday there were tornado and hail warnings south of us and the temperature was barely 70 degrees. So much for July summer weather!

Shooting 18

Shot 18 holes with two of my brother-in-laws, Paul and Neil, and my nephew, Nick, at Westminster last Friday. Finally had an absolutely gorgeous day after so much rain ... high 60s to low 70s, sunny and dry.

Needless to say, playing in this foursome was an adventure. As the day wore on, we tended to not keep score as stringently ... well, at least Paul and Nick didn't. Paul has been playing for a long time and Nick is just starting. Neil and I are scratch golfers, but Neil is definitely better than me.

I shot a 129 for the day, taking an automatic double par for a hole once I got to that score even if I hadn't finished the hole, so my score is a bit skewered at best. I readily admit to not being a good golfer, but I will say that I think the condition of the fairways definitely influence my score. We've had so much rain that it was like playing on a sponge ... a muddy one at that. I've never been covered in so much mud after golf ... it was so bad I threw away my socks when I got home. We had had a torrential day of rain the day before, so conditions weren't at their best when we teed off.

Still, we had a blast and once again I tried to learn as much as possible. Speaking of which ... what did I learn this time out?

1. I really need to slow down. I think at this point I'm trying too hard. As Paul pointed out when I saw him the next day, he could tell I over analyze every shot and the more I do that, the worse I get. Don't think, Meat ... it can only hurt the team.
   
2. I need to find a way to translate to the course what I do on the practice range. I spent the better part of an hour at the range yesterday and was hitting iron shots like I could do it in my sleep ... great loft, nice and straight. When I get on the course, many times I top the ball and/or the shot goes anywhere but where I'm aiming. Very frustrating. And once again, I seem to have lost the ability to at least make solid contact on the course. Need to find that groove.

I talked to Paul about that last point at some length the other day and he made another good point when he said I'm thinking too much about my score. Paul's a very good golfer, but he doesn't often keep score because, as he said, he gets ultra competitive and that's no fun for anyone he's playing with, including himself. While I'm grateful to be in the golf league because it's given me the chance to play every week, it may ultimately do me a bit more harm than good in the sense that I'm feeling the pressure (consciously or subconsciously) to do well and with my limited skills, I don't need any more distractions than I already have.

So, I think slowing down my swing and trying not to over think everything will help me in the end. Something has to because I know I can play this game ... I just need to find a way to bring that confidence to the fairways when it counts.

Hanging with Joey

Kell wasn't feeling well yesterday (cold) so Joey and I spent the better part of the day together and I was reminded once again why I love this kid so much.

I took him to Cogshall Park and he had a lot of fun feeding the ducks (left). He's too funny because he likes to talk to the ducks and says, "Here you go boy (or girl)." Recently I taught him the difference between male and female mallards and now he looks for the male's green head and calls them the "boy ducks" and the other ducks the "girl ducks".

I called my parents to see if they wanted to meet us for ice cream and my mom said they were headed to a local state park with my sister and nephews. So after spending sometime on the swings and playing around the park, we headed over.

The small stream/river that runs through the park was fairly strong given all of the rain we had recently, so Joey had a blast throwing rocks in the water. We also had fun getting my sister and mom wet as they sat nearby.

Joey also discovered the advantage of being a boy, to which: the woods are your toilet. He came up to me and said, "Daddy, I gotta go pee!" So, I turned him around, pointed him towards some rocks away from us and away he went ... and went ... and went. He loved peeing in the outdoors.

We then went to Cherry Hill Ice Cream in Lunenburg where Joey got his favorite: chocolate ice cream (or, as he calls it, "cow ice cream") with hot fudge, whipped cream and a cheery on top. Giddy up.

Finally got home around 4:30 p.m. and he snuggled in for some time with mama. I went to the driving range and got home around 6:30-ish and Kell said he had been asleep for about 20 minutes at that point. A couple of hours later we tried to roust him so he could take a bath and get ready for bed but that wasn't happening ... he was out cold. I picked him up off of the couch, brought him up to his room and rolled him into his bed and he didn't even flinch. Almost 12 hours later and he was up. Too cute.

Is this the Northern or Southern hemisphere?

OK, it's July 1 ... cloudy, cold, foggy and rainy ... oh, and it's 61 degrees.

Unreal.

Saw a report today that for the month of June in this area, there were only 11 sunny days. All other days were either partly or totally cloudy with rain.