After waiting for what seems like forever, the new papaya tree has finally matured and is fruiting! Yay. I miss eating home-grown papayas, and papayas bought from the stores can’t beat the taste of the home-grown fruits.
Before this new tree, the old tree gave us a lot of fruits to enjoy. It was a bumper harvest period until we had to give away to family and friends. But once that phrase was over, we were papaya-less for some time.
The wait period is over now that the new tree has stabilized and fruiting. Unfortunately, the garden squirrels got to the first fruit ahead of us. Hrmph. Looks like we have to start protecting our papayas from the uninvited guests. Otherwise, we will not have the opportunity to enjoy the new fruits.
It is officially the rainy season, and playing golf during this time is no fun. It rains almost daily, and the fairways at our golf club cannot dry on time. We could opt out, but resistance is weak.
The fairways are soggy and become messy from the soft grounds whenever a contact shot is not good. The mud would splash all over, and it’s icky with the splatter onto the pants or the shirt!
Last week, my player partner wore white pants, and he did not have a good shot and got mud on his pants from the knee downwards. I had a bad shot as well and got splattered on my white shirt! Ugh.
Although dark-colored pants are ideal in such conditions, it is not a guarantee from the mess. Evidence of mud residue at the cuffs is still visible. Sigh.
The rainy situation will continue until next year. I wonder if other golf courses are just as soggy. Hmm. Well, the only way to find out is to play at these courses, regardless of the rainy season!
We played our second game this morning at Royal Perak Golf Club (RPGC). It was a good challenge duelling with hubby. The game came to a draw after 18 holes.
Always enjoyable to play at RPGC
In RPGC, we saw all types of birds while waiting to take a shot when the pace suddenly slowed. The soaring eagle caught our eyes and was quite breathtaking. There was one particular hole – we even saw bats! How strange to see this creature on a golf course.
This fella had its eyes open unlike the others
The bats were hanging upside down on the branches of the short tree next to the buggy track. Our close presence did not bother the nocturnal creatures at all, and they went about just hanging around, pun intended.
I had to whip out my iPhone XR to take a picture because I’m not sure when I will have the opportunity again to see bats in close range, on a golf course, of all places.
Well, if we return to RPGC again for a round or two of golf, we may still see them at the same tree! Who knows? Only time can tell.
This year, Halloween slipped my mind. There were a couple of years I bought a watermelon or two to carve because pumpkins are so expensive. Unfortunately, this time, the novelty of Halloween was not quite there. Maybe it’s the wet weather putting a dampener on the occasion.
The last jack-o’-lantern watermelon, if I remember correctly, was devoured by the garden squirrel after we left it out in the garden. Perhaps it’s a good thing to skip the carving to avoid dealing with the mess after the squirrel’s garden party.
I guess Halloween is not a big celebration for us. More so when the mood to carve watermelons instead of pumpkins is not there. Oh well.
After my health scare in January, I had to manage my diet to avoid a recurrence. For the first three months of the year, I avoided alcohol. And I was very conscious of my food intake, and I am still until today. I have omitted quite a fair bit of food with my new low-oxalate diet.
Everything I cooked was bland, but it had to be this way. Salty food was a big no-no for me. The biggest give-up was nuts; I had to give up most of the nuts I typically snacked on, among other things. Spinach, a healthy vegetable full of calcium, is my biggest enemy these days – who would have believed such a thing?
Now, nine months later, with a follow-up appointment with the doctor yesterday, I am pleased to say I am all good and clear. The diet change has been for the better; no new traces of a recurrence inside me. Yay!
We went and came back from the Forest City Resort Golf trip. It was an enjoyable but tiring trip because of the journey both ways. Waking up at 4.00 a.m. to take the bus with the rest of the group was not fun but necessary for the 12.30 tee-off. But we were delayed along the Plus highway with a traffic crawl due to an earlier accident.
Thankfully, we arrived on time at Senibong Golf Club. After a quick catered lunch, we teed off. I have never played speed golf before. The game at Senibong felt like a race against time! There were three of us on our flight, and buggies were allowed on the course. We found ourselves racing and chasing every shot.
The weather was cloudy, and unexpectedly, rain clouds were threatening. And when we heard thunder, the race to complete the game became more evident. We finished that game in three hours and thirty minutes! What a record.
That evening, we checked into Forest City Resort Golf. The Hotel seems to have lost its luster. Our room did not have a luggage rack. The TV did not work, the furnishings had scratches, the bathroom amenities were minimal, and they wouldn’t issue a second room access card. What has happened?
Luckily, the golf course was pristine and top-notch. The fairways and landscaping were excellent. However, the greens on the Legacy Course were frustrating. It was slow, making putting difficult. I recorded 38 putts compared to 30 putts at Senibong.
Drinks after game
The next day’s game was at the Classic course, and the greens felt better. But being a more challenging course, the return score could have been better. Oh well. The weather was a scorcher, and I don’t think I could have played any better.
Would we return to play again? I wouldn’t mind playing at Senibong, after it was our first time there. As for Forest City, perhaps we should play one course twice instead of both.
The timing to travel south to Johore for golf is, unfortunately, not the best with the haze. But the trip was mooted before the weather conditions changed. Oh well.
We woke up at an ungodly hour of 4.15 am to meet at the club to go on the bus. At least we don’t have to drive because there are enough people to charter a bus.
On the bus now, I can feel the impending headache. Ugh. I hope I can play decent for the afternoon tee-off at Senibong Golf Club. We will find out.
The weather, of late, has been wonky again. It constantly flips between being hot, like a furnace, and cold, like being in the highlands when it rains. Unpredictable is what the weather is.
Playing golf in the afternoons is very taxing on the body when it’s hot. I find myself drinking more water than ever to stay hydrated. However, not all afternoons are hot, and there are days when afternoon golf can be a washout.
I’m glad I rested the last few days to allow my body to recover. Regardless of the conditions outside, I have been indoors chilling and doing nothing. It’s nice as I caught up with my reading.
Recently, there have been reports that the haze is back! The heat is on and gets to me. It becomes unbearable and uncomfortable. Sigh. I hope this won’t last; otherwise, we have no choice but to be indoors more than ever. We will have to monitor the situation.
I find myself constantly second-guessing Mother Nature on her mood as far as the weather is concerned. It is a silly battle. The rain and sun are always giving me grief in planning my day. I’m talking about laundry days and not my golf games.
When the sun is out, it’s a good laundry day. But sometimes rain clouds would unexpectedly creep in. This situation then spoils the after-wash drying conditions. I love sun-dried clothes because they feel fresh and have a lovely sun-baked scent. Non-sun-dried clothes pale in satisfaction.
So, over the years, I have learned to look at the sky and gauge the cloud formations before I do laundry, although I could rely on the Weather app on my iPhone XR for better planning.
Yet, despite my efforts, Mother Nature still wins. Yesterday’s laundry load did not have enough sunshine to smell good. They will be out again today to catch some rays. Hopefully, it will stay sunny.
It looks like a silly battle, but instinct and technology cannot compare with Mother Nature.
The weather of late has been wonky, going from dry and hot, suitable for outdoor activities like golf, to wet and cold. It creates a sense of melancholy, yet to be home and be a couch potato seems okay to enjoy the wet and cool conditions.
After that eagle achievement, I am not aiming to be a couch potato but raring to play some good golf, only to have the weather derail my plans. We abandoned our game yesterday afternoon after the rain came rather quickly. Sigh.
Angieneering 
Remarks