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The Predator

2 Apr

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It was a sad ending for Munch Pots 5.1, 6, 7 and 8 over the weekend. Right after discovering the Calamansi Lime tree having four caterpillars to my delight, they all mysteriously disappeared the next day to my dismay. What a quick turnaround within a day!

Initially, I thought the rain displaced them or even some birds came swooping down on them for food. And I found myself standing in front of the pot, staring intently at the branches looking for caterpillars! It was quite a funny yet sombre scene. And it’s something more sinister that I discovered…

A predator.

One level higher in the vicious food chain, I found this grasshopper lurking amongst the leaves. And it could only mean one thing, feasting on juicy fat caterpillars. Oh my poor Munch Pots…

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Scotty, Oh Scotty

1 Apr

The outcome from the Iron Challenge golf tournament at my golf club over the weekend was not a result I had hoped for. Although there were more Red Tee boxes moved up (compared to last year) to shorten the distance to green to make it friendlier, this didn’t help my game.

And while I was mentally and physically prepared, there were areas that were such let-downs, it deflated the spirit. The putting especially with my Scotty Cameron putter.

Whilst I had a slight mishap only in one sand bunker, the putting was the biggest let down. On that hole, a Par 3 mind you, I took three shots to come out from the sand bunker with the 56 wedge and the damage wasn’t that bad until I had to putt. I took three putts to hole out. That hurt.

And on the next hole, the Par 4 where I blew up last year with the bunker failure, I was three on the green and three-putted as well. Scotty, oh Scotty, why did you fail me when it’s most critical?

In fact, the putting throughout failed me this time. I can only conclude that playing in tournaments sometimes bring out the worst in judgement and shots. And it wasn’t emotion, the sand bunker or fear that got the better of me.

It was my putting or should I say inability to putt well when it mattered most. In total, there were six holes that I three-putted. Six holes and that’s enough in a tournament situation to be costly.

Oh well. Another year, another experience chalked up. Did I have fun? Well, a couple of dunked balls each in two holes that resulted in double digits on the score card was another factor, along with the inconsistent putting to erase all the good gained. It could have been better. Sigh…

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Iron Challenge Again

29 Mar

This year my golf club has scheduled the 2019 Iron Challenge for this Sunday, 31st March instead of towards the second half of the year. And I have been mentally preparing for it, not just physically. After last year’s outing, whereby I still remember my bunker failure, I need to stay focused and not be out-of-sorts especially if I end up in a sand bunker.

The remedy? Putting a 56 degree club in the bag.

All this while, I never had a sand wedge because there was no need for one. And if I landed in a bunker, the 52 degree or P wedge worked fine. Unfortunately, on that fateful Challenge day last year, the 52 failed me.

So this year, with this additional club to help me get out of sand trouble, I hope to have a better and more enjoyable outing. I have been practicing and teeing off with my 4-iron the last few games and gaining my confidence with it. Come Sunday, I should be ready.

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5.1, 6, 7, 8!

28 Mar
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A day in the life of Munch Pot 5.1

It’s a bittersweet moment as far as the caterpillars are concerned. While Munch Pot 3.1 is clearly no more after so many days with no evidence of metamorphosis or a shrivelled body or pod in sight, Munch Pot 5.1 continues to grow. And to our delight, we found more babies, 6, 7 and 8 to be exact on the Calamansi Lime tree! Hahaha… the poor tree.

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Top: Munch Pots 7 and 8 saying “Hello”! Bottom: Munch Pot 6

I guess there’s a never ending supply of caterpillars on this particular tree to keep me enthralled.

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Sarcastic Siri

26 Mar

I must say it’s fun to play with Siri. Silly mundane tasks to set the alarm, check the headlines or deep thought provoking questions about life which she cannot help me.

Siri can be downright sarcastic too at times. After asking Siri to set my alarm one night, I politely said “goodnight”, and she had to remind me of the time, implying it’s way too early to go to bed. Ish… Ish…

Not wanting to give her the satisfaction, I asked some other questions which I was certain she could not answer. But Siri, being Siri questioned me instead. The exchanges were priceless I must say.

All in good fun and very entertaining.

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Rescuing My Caterpillar

25 Mar

Of late, caterpillars have become very fascinating to me. It’s so fun checking on them every morning and evening, and taking pictures of them. Honestly, I like it when all the leaves on the Calamansi Lime tree gets gnawed on and even hubby doesn’t mind this.

Munch Pot 5.0 before it evolved

Munch Pot 3.1 doing a vertical stand

3.1 up close

The munch pots are growing and happy. Munch Pot 3.1 have grown beautifully and even 5.0 have evolved. So now, it’s 5.1.

What a cutie 3.1

5.1 on Friday night, having evolved

But on Saturday morning, a slight mishap occurred and we couldn’t find 3.1. Oh no, it’s gone! Lunch for the birds? I couldn’t accept this so we looked and looked. And lo and behold, it actually fell off the tree onto the ground. Oh dear…

Poor 3.1. I wonder if it’s traumatized?

5.1 looking good

Looking disheveled but hopefully not traumatized, hubby picked it up with a bamboo stick to place it back on the branches. I thought our little deed was whimsical, rescuing a caterpillar that some people consider a pest. I hope 3.1 will be okay and evolve to its next stage. It was still okay on Saturday afternoon when I checked on it again.

Unfortunately after that, the last two days as we stood in front of the Calamansi Lime tree to scrutinize every branch looking for it, we cannot find Munch Pot 3.1. Sniffle…

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On Track, Part 3

22 Mar

It’s Friday and the weigh-in day to gauge my progress. It’s Week Four of the weight loss challenge and I am thrilled to say, being on track and staying disciplined is actually quite a fun and uplifting thing to do when you see the results!

I thought I wouldn’t fare too good this week because mid-week, I met up with friends at the bar for dinner and drinks. Two drinks to be exact, a glass of white wine and half a pint of Kronenbourg 1664 beer. I even snacked in the office this whole week, and had one Kisses chocolate yesterday without guilt though.

I do notice it doesn’t matter what I ate, just as long as I don’t go overboard, but when I ate that was critical. This is the essence of the 16/8 diet after all. The next day after that bar visit, I maintained the 16 hours window with a later lunch than usual. And this morning, standing on the bathroom scale, it’s a number to be proud of. Officially, from 25 February until today, I have lost 4.1lbs! Woo hoo…

I am now 1.6lbs away from my set goal weight. Although it’s not 15lbs that I had mentioned that got me started on this challenge, losing 4.1lbs in total is quite an achievement by itself within a month. So proud of myself. Of course, if I stuck to the three months time frame, and knowing now this works, 15lbs is not impossible.

But perhaps once I do get to shedding the balance (1.6lbs), I will take a break and decide later if I want to embark on the second phase to lose more weight because I like how I feel now. We shall see.

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Munch Pots, Part 2

21 Mar
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Munch Pot 3.0 in the morning

Munch Pot 3.0 has evolved and is now 3.1! What a beauty I must say. Within a day, in the morning, it was still its old self; then that evening when I got home and checked on it, it has morphed into a glorious green caterpillar. And to my delight, we found another caterpillar on the same tree, 5.0.

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Munch Pot 3.1 in the evening

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Eat ’em and poop

But sadly, I cannot locate Munch Pot 4.0 on the other tree.

Now 3.1 and 5.0 have grown very fast, being munch pots that they are. And when they eat so much, they poop just as much too, as evidenced by this morning’s photographs.

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Munch Pot 5.0

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March Madness All Over Again

19 Mar

March is the month for sports that I enjoy. There’s the golf Iron Challenge at my club at the end of the month which I am preparing for and then, there’s the college basketball NCAA Tournament which has started after the regular season ended.

This is the fourth year I am following the March Madness schedule and putting my two cents worth to predict the winners for both the men and women’s games in the draw.

M1’s university has made it to the NCAA Women’s Division 1 bracket again. For the third consecutive year, six Pac-12 teams made it. And of course, I will be rooting for her school. The first round games start this Saturday.

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Munch Pots

18 Mar

This caterpillar business is so hard to keep track! Last Friday, Munch Pot 2.1 could not be found at its usual spot on the branch of the Calamansi Lime tree. I suspect the final same fate as Munch Pot 1.0 has befallen 2.1. We couldn’t find any cocoon on the tree.

Either a bird came down and had it for lunch or it could have fallen off the branch because the pelting rain was too strong for it to hold on tight. I am disappointed. Munch Pot 2.1 is no more. Sigh…

But while we were searching for it, we found a new baby. Munch Pot 3.0 I guess. The tiny hairy fella measured at only 1cm and have grown since then. It’s funny, people take care of plants and here I am ‘taking’ care of caterpillars. On top of 3.0, I found another one, 4.0 at another Calamansi tree. This one’s a wee bit bigger.

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Meet Munch Pot 3.0

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Munch Pot 3.0 have grown since the first sighting

 

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Munch Pot 4.0

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Up close and personal with Munch Pot 4.0 the munching machine

Let’s hope both 3.0 and 4.0 live longer than the others.

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