100 Day War

Back in the day. No this isn't one those stories your dad told you about when you were young. You know, walked 3 miles to school every day and mostly in a blazing snow blizzard with holes in your boots. And you've got it so easy compared to what I had. Right story? I'm sure I am guilty also. Remember party lines? Anyways I digress.

Back in the day, some twenty years ago my profession was a golf course superintendent. I worked for a municipal golf course in a town of 50,000 in Oklahoma. I did what some people said was the thing to do. Make you hobby your job.  I loved to play golf, so being on a golf course every day sounded great! It was by far the most difficult and consuming job I every had. Talk about multitasking. These are the hats you had to wear. Human resources (hiring), accounting (budget), agronomy (soil science-native soils and putting green soils), entomologist (insect ID and controls), turf grass pathologist (disease ID and controls), environmentalist (native wildlife protection), irrigation specialist (design systems and repair diagnostics), administrator, knowledge of golf rules, politician (city government), husband father (balance personal life),  meteorologist (track storms for irrigation controls-not to over-water or underwater), mechanic ( very specialized equipment), equipment operator, spray technician ( pesticide knowledge and calibration), lawyer ( need to know federal and state statutes), engineer (construction design and implementation), landscape contractor (seeding, sodding, and landscape construction), hazardous material administrator and manager, and overall good ole boy to the golfers who love to  pat you on the back (yeah right).
Anyways I digress. (see a pattern here?)

San Antonio Botanical Gardens

 The 100 day war. During the dog days of summer the golf course staff and I would develop a war plan for 100 days. That is, our plan was to survive until Labor Day weekend. Normally that weekend would signal the end to heat and the arrival of a cold front. Growing bent grass greens in hot Oklahoma meant you had to have a plan to help the greens survive until Labor Day, and usually the heat and humidity would be stifling for 100 days.
Today I was reminded of how much effort and worry it takes to make it. And today the temperature is one oh fregeeden six with 40% humidity. Yikes. Enough already. Pay the fiddler. I can't imagine what these golf course guys are going through. It must be a 200 day war this year.

All you people in Oklahoma and Texas take heart, it's almost Labor Day. Hopefully your war plan has worked!

San Antonio Botanical Gardens