Curlew hanging out near 18 tees

I thought I would include a picture of the curlew that have been hanging out at Sandpines for the last month. They stop by about this time each year. They have a distinctive long curved beak. They will be leaving soon, so if you want to catch a glimpse of them in person, now is the time.

Sandpines has received .08 inches of precipitation in the last 20 days. According to Jerry Waite, the assistant superintendent at Sandpines, this is definitely one of the driest stretches of spring weather he has witnessed. He has been at Sandpines since 1992, which is the year before the course opened.

With all the dry weather in the area its no surprise there have been a few brush fires around the Florence area. Last Sunday, there was a brush fire next to the tees on hole 8. It was sunny and about 85 degrees with a little east wind. Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue responded quickly, and they had the fire out in short order. I was able to help with our irrigation cart, which is equipped with a hose reel and about 125 feet of hose. I would like to thank those that helped put out the fire, especially since the group was largely made up of volunteers. They were outfitted in all their fire gear while digging a fire line in the heat. Nice job guys, I really appreciate your service to the community. The firemen suspected a discarded cigarette butt was likely the cause of the fire.

This tree had its lower limbs singed