Buffleheads

Another early spring visitor to the golf course ponds is the Bufflehead duck, easily spotted due to the large white head patch on the male.  They stop by the golf course for a couple of weeks each spring during their migration.

Mergansers

Some of the earliest visitors back to the golf course each spring are the Common mergansers.  The male, on the left, is quite easy to see from a distance with a large portion of his body being white.  The female has a reddish head with some feathers that fan outwards.  They are fish-eaters and possess a serated bill giving them the nickname "Sawbills".  During the winter months they are like some of the golf course members in that they migrate south to where the rivers and lakes don't freeze.

January also went by very quickly as John, Chris, Kenny, James, Tina and myself did some renovations in the clubhouse.  We removed the old carpeting and painted all the walls in the main area and hallway going to a nice brick red color, adding some warmth to the area.  The ceiling was given 2 coats of paint and a new sub-floor was installed followed by some new carpet and vinyl floor that looks awesome.  New lights were installed throughout the building and the bathrooms also got some new paint and fixtures.  The older style wallpaper in the main entrance was covered over with two good coats of paint and the new furniture really tied it all together.  Unfortunately there are no pictures as I was too tired to take any.  Kudos to everyone for putting in a strenuous three weeks, especially Chris and John for masterminding the renovations.

It' hard to believe that it's almost March and another winter has flown by very quickly.  Things tend to move quickly when you are busy and it was a busy and enjoyable off-season.  The winter months are always a great time to participate in a multitude of educational activities and the first event is the Alberta Golf Superintendent's Association Property Manager's Conference that was held in Red Deer at the end of November.  Each year the Association presents the Distinguished Service Award to a superintendent in Alberta and I was certainly touched when I was chosen to be the 2011 recipient of the award.  Jason Clouston, my good friend from Olds GC made the presentation:

For the entire issue of the magazine http://www.albertagsa.com/external/documents/December%202011%20Final%20Copy.pdf

the grand finale

The grand finale of the work on the golf course is the annual wet-well maintenance.  The wet-well is a large cistern located inside the pumphouse beside the 17th tee.  We close the valve on the 12 inch pipe that connects the well to the lake and then pump out the well with our big 3 inch pump.  We need to pump out 10 feet of water before we can go down and check the pump intakes.  In the picture you can see the three submersible pumps and the green hose that is removing the water from the well. 

This duck didn't seem to be bothered by all the commotion and noise.

More wind

And to think that the Alberta flag was just a few days old.

Chinook winds

A little breezy at the country club today!