Thus Endeth September...

...and so we welcome October:

Absolutely love October...cool, crisp temperatures, gorgeous colors, slanted sunshine and all the delights of the season...cold mornings by the fire, apple pies & cider, pumpkin patches...

I'm even ok with raking leaves...

...functional fitness, doncha know.

It's just what comes after Autumn that leaves me cold...

I say we rebel and refuse to leave October this year!

this is it, the end of the line where we drive a stake in the ground and take our stand!

I'll let you know how that goes in about 4 weeks or so.

Hickory golf has always been a solo shot for me, right from the get go.

I often end my hickory soliloquies with the phrase "a little solitude, a little exercise and a pleasant stroll through the country side".

But as mentioned in the previous AMC, for the first time in several decades I golfed with a partner:

That's Justin, a friend and former co-worker, taking a whack at things with a 1920's mashie.

Justin's probably an inch taller (and 30+ years younger) than me, so that mashie I provided was no doubt a little shorter than he'd like.

In spite of that, he did a nice job for his first time swinging hickories.

I've noted before how much smaller the heads are for hickories vs modern clubs:

That goes double for the "sweet spot" - that part of the club head you want to impact the ball for best performance.

Not only that, you play with fewer clubs than modern golf.

Justin's hickory playset had a driver, mid-iron, mashie, niblick and putter...the irons being roughly equivalent to a 3, 6 and wedge.

Modern sets usually have twice that many clubs...

...and legally can have 14.

Your midiron might be for shots ranging from 130 yards to 180; your mashie could cover anything from 70 to 120; all dependent on how you swing them.

In modern golf, that 70 to 180 range would probably involve at least 4 clubs, not 2.

So it's not an easy adjustment to make, going from modern to hickory, but Justin handled it very well.

He has a smooth, powerful swing and when he connected the way he wanted to, his shots were things of beauty.

Several times he had killer approach shots, landing his ball expertly on the green from 120+ yards out.

And when he gets the hang of the 1920's driver, he'll outdrive me by 30 yards.

To avoid humiliation, I may have to get back on my "ST" workout:

me, after a workout, in peak physical condition

STrictly STeroids and STraining.

Can't be shown up by some whippersnapper at my own game, can I?

My 2nd outing of the week...

early morning mist after 2 days of steady rain

...was solo per usual, and managed a 3 and 2 win (up by 3 with 2 holes left to play).

But unlike most rounds, where I tend to let down once the match is won or lost, this time I dug in and won the last 2 holes as well.

#9 was especially rewarding as I miraculously sunk a 20 footer from the fringe for my 1st (and most likely, last) birdie of the season.

When I told Karen she said, "If no one saw it, it didn't really happen."

"In that case," replies I, "it was actually a hole in one."

If no one believes you anyway, you might as well go big.

Whether I'm telling the truth or liar liar pants on fire, it was still a little solitude, a little exercise and a pleasant stroll through the countryside.

But now, it's officially time to panic; the end of October will be the end of hickory golf...

...for another year.

Sick and tired of all the political ads glutting the airwaves?

Me, too, so I say we skip the nonsense of politics and move directly to the codswallop of 23 Skidoo:

saddest day of the year, when we close the pool.  it will be 8 months before we open it again...rats!

we did something that for most of my life I never imagined we would do...

...joined a "senior center", and I'm surprised to say we're really happy we did.  more to come on this in the future.

time for "fun with trail cams", starting with the pre-dawn edition

I swear they can hear the camera click...

what do you call a group of turkeys?  dinner

magnificent animal

home sweet home, at least for now

beautiful sunrise pic courtesy of Larry at his cottage

Larry shared this with me recently:

It's one of those things that can really tell your age.

I grew up with / did all of those, and still have #1 in my Philco V-handle refrigerator...

...still do #4 all spring, summer and fall...

...still have #6...

...and in the "you can dress 'em up but can't take 'em out" department, still do #8 on hot summer days...

...much to Karen's chagrin.

By modern standards, none of them are still necessary (except #8, it just tastes good and satisfies your thirst like nothing else).

For a couple of them, I had to go out of my way and spend some $$'s to make them possible.

So...why?

Why hold onto something from the past, when it's simpler to just forget it and go with the flow?

This is a very big subject and one we're not going to delve into today.

Briefly, I'll say this:

Moving fast is not the same thing as going somewhere, and change does not necessarily equate to progress.

It takes a special - and dangerous - kind of arrogance to diminish, reject and forget the past.

Think of all the changes of the last decade.

Did you really believe there would be a time we'd be discussing the merits of men in women's sport, or of communism as a viable replacement for our constitutional republic?

²⁸ Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set.

    - Proverbs 22

²¹ My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:

²² For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?

    - Proverbs 24

¹⁶ Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.  But they said, We will not walk therein.

    - Jeremiah 6:16

later, mcm fans...