OceanStWx

In my dreams I own a house large enough to have a golf simulator wing.

I would guess you've probably discovered it in the middle of the growth of the nest. End of summer numbers would be in the thousands of individuals.

When we put our mulch beds down we noticed a fox digging around the soft ground. It looked smaller so we thought female, then saw a larger male hunting the tree line. It's possible neighbors landscaping (lots of earth moving equipment) disturbed a den, because we had never seen them before. It appeared to be a sandy morph though, not a traditional red color. Our neighbors are claiming they have seen a coyote (which wouldn't really be surprising in Portland) but I'm not so sure they just didn't catch a glimpse of an off color fox.

What I really need to do is just a wedge session on the range. A big problem is I have no idea what my stock distances are with partial and open faced shots, and clearly "just feeling it" with some practice swings isn't working. I definitely have some issues with swing length through. So while I think I'm swinging to my shoulder, the reality is that I'm more likely swinging full.

Ever since my dad played a tourney that gave away a wedge (Vokey 52) and skulled everything with it and gifted it to me I have been a Vokey convert. I have a 52/56/60. My problem is the stock distances are something like 120/110/100 and I just can't seem to dial it back enough on the shorter shorts. I rarely come up short on the partial wedges.

My big takeaway was that I am nowhere near ready for a British Isles trip. So much chipping and pitching. I have the chips, but between that and a full wedge I'm a hot mess. I think my swing overall is too long, and so it's hard to hit a half wedge. But my nightmare is a 50 yard pitch.

He managed the game really well given the conditions. Kept the ball low and in play off the tee most of the time.

Will the weather be able to stop Lowry tomorrow?

We opted for the BloomStruck cultivar since it only grows to around 4-5 feet. We didn't want to block our front windows. On a side note, it really is helpful when you do the planting and know what you actually have in the ground for maintenance purposes. I couldn't imagine trying to figure out what previous owners had.

I'm actually pretty happy otherwise with how the gardening is coming along. All the new plantings are showing signs of new growth. The spirea particularly look healthy, and the lily of the valley and hydrangea in the last couple of weeks have shown new growth as well.

Its sister tree and the lower branches all have red-tinged new growth leaves, so all hope is not lost for me.

I grabbed a variant specifically for fall color, I think they are autumn blaze.

I'll have to look into that, because I really don't want to lose it after my very deliberate attempt to find a blazing red fall color to plant.

I'm also struggling with one of my red maples at home. I'm not sure what happened to it. We planted two a little over a year and a half ago, trunks about 2 inches at their thickest. One is thriving, but the other lost the top of its crown. Full foliage around the middle and bottom though. I've weeded and watered, but still not seeing any signs of life on top.

Speaking of diseased trees, I was always bummed once I found out what the Ostrander Elms gravestone was all about in the middle of Cornell's campus. This is the view I was familiar with, but Dutch elm claimed Ostrander's about 100 years from their 1877 planting. These two pictures are roughly taken from that same intersection, looking in the same direction.

Beds are all mulched. Peonies have flowered and hydrangeas are starting to get a purple tinge to them, so it appears I haven't killed anything yet.

I lucked out. Three neighbors have had to bring someone in and completely replace their lawns. And one of those even failed to come in nice. I think we were starting to lose it last year but I took a page out of Kevin's book and bombed it with fertilizer. Went away on a long weekend vacation and came back to a lawn that choked the mower a few times. Otherwise it's full on trench warfare at Chez Legro. Fighting yard by yard to hack the weeds out.

Hard to eff up Pebble.

We are in Portland, barely. We live out near the Falmouth line because that's the only place we could find a plot to build on but it's a great neighborhood.

Still have to dig out the rest of the beds around a few plants, but this is what we're working with so far. Now to mulch and patch the lawn.

I'll try and grab some when I get home from work. The greenhouse/nursery was a little overwhelming, but we ended up going with (from inside to outside off the front door) a golden cone juniper, bloomstruck hydrangea, and avalanche lily of the valley. On the side of the house we have an azalea bracketed by two spirea.

I mean they all play the same course right? I don't particularly care if the winner is +10 or -10, but the guy who plays the best golf over 72 holes will win it. And you know what, I bitch and moan when my course doesn't mow or rake the bunkers well enough, or sticks the pin on a ridge. I enjoy seeing pros complain too. Maybe the should try making birdie from a soggy fairway and a green where the grass died in March from ice cover.

It only took a year and a half but we (I) finally got around to planting at the new house. Two 10x3' beds on either side of the front door, and another 12x3' bed on the side of the house that is really visible from the street. The good news is I have 96 ft sq. ft. less to mow, the bad news I had 96 sq. ft of lawn to dig up. Now I just need to figure out what I can plant along the edge with the "wetlands" that is prettier to look at than weeds.

I'm still baffled by my return to golf after keeping my kid alive for his first year. Short game is on point, putter feels great, chipping in from greenside. Approach and tee shots are garbage. A real liability. Signs of life this past week though. Had 3 shots in the round from 115, usually my gap wedge distance. Carried all three at least 130, and not because of a skulled shot either. All solid strikes.