Wednesday/Thursday/Friday 2/28-3/2

The weather has been…marginal. More rain, sprinkles, storms moving in than out. I’ve seen more lightning in the last month than in the last 5 years. But then we get a sunny day. It’s not like Wash/Oregon where you are housebound for days but you need to be prepared.
Doing projects at ATA, getting some hiking in and golfing today. UJ has a lifetime full of projects. I’ll take a video of the facility. He’s not a believer in Poppa’s everything has it’s place and everything is put back in it’s place. Right Harper? Clusters of ….stuff in nooks and crannies. They see it everyday so they really don’t see it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice facility but it’s the little things that some times make the difference. A safety meeting, the pressure washer,a large dumpster, the label maker and nirvana.

Got a hike in Thursday to Balcones Wildlife Refuge. There are no “mountains” but lots of hills. The air is a bit dirty to me. There always seems to be a haze in the distance. Nice walk, wore my boots….it isn’t that hard to put them on, they are light, my feet always feel good in them but i always have this debate about putting them on. They are stiff but that’s a good thing. Nice hike, talked to some local people with that true Texas accent, a southern drawl. Did a bit of a road trip on the roads less traveled, to boot, to get there and back.

Had fast food! First time in awhile. Whopper! I’m getting better with the traffic. There is a lot of it, but there are a lot of lanes to go with that. Driving in traffic is all about trust. You trust that everyone is going to do things right and when they don’t, boom. Well i don’t trust them, so i need to be a thought or two ahead. Not knowing the area doesn’t help either. I’m usually in the right lane so i don’t miss many right turns, a few but not many. Left turns are the hardest. If the signage is good and i don’t miss seeing them, cake. But 75% I’ll miss it and have to back track. I really can’t hear what the GPS is saying so it’s marginal help. I’m in no hurry, so missing a turn doesn’t have the same intensity.

Golf, not my day. I cut my finger about 5am washing up some dishes before we went. Not as bad as the ER trip of a couple of months ago but it was a bleeder. Your mother gave me some bandages at Christmas, i think as a joke, so i sent her a picture of the damage. Not a great start. Overcast, 7:45 tee time, mid 50s, chilly. Oh well, i hit some good shots, did not drive very consistent. Hooking it. UJ has game. I’m pretty sure the old brothers could whip up on the young brothers….that’s a challenge boys!

UJ facility is surrounded by grassy areas, i think part of flood control. There was a lot of wayward tennis balls out there. There also was a old 3 iron. So after golf I went down and hit all the balls into a big pile, separated good from bad and went to look for something to pick them up. Got way-laid for a while, then walked back out front to pick them up. While i was gone, a couple of the younger ATAer, maybe 8 or so, thought they had found a huge bonanza of balls especially for them and were proceeding to hit them with their rackets like baseballs everywhere with fielders trying to catch them. WITW?(that’s not what i really said) So i fielded a few, then went and picked up the balance before they hit them all. There are tennis balls EVERYWHERE! Every little corner or depression in the grass. I was beat when i went back to the schooner and was in bed by 8 and the only reason 8 is because i kidded myself out of going to bed at 7. “Really, old man? 7?” It was a great day! Good night.

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