Friday, March 22, 2013

Two Eaglets Have Arrived

We are thrilled and blessed to announce the hatching of two eaglets at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.  The first eaglet arrived on Wed. March 20, 2013 around 7:30 AM and the second arrived Thurs. March 21, 2013 around 7:30 PM.  Both eaglets appear to be strong, healthy, and thriving.  This is great news, especially considering the failure of the two eggs last year.




This is a video of the first eaglet hatching.  What a wonderful site.


Feeding time this afternoon.

I can not thank the United States Golf Association and the Friends of Harrison Bay State Park for their funding and support.  Without these great sponsors this project would not be possible.


Hope everyone is enjoying this awesome site.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Expected Hatch Date is Quickly Approaching

March 17th is quickly approaching.  What is so special about March 17th you might ask?  Well it is the expected date for the much anticipated hatching of the first egg Eloise laid on February 10th.  Hopefully a few days later little brother or sister will emerge from the second egg which was laid on February 13.


Both Elliott and Eloise have been very busy and attentive parents this year, with Eloise taking the brunt of the parental duties.  She has stayed on the nest through bitter cold temperatures, driving rain, and wind storms that have swayed the treetop enough to make some viewers feel ill.  After last years sad and disappointing failure of the two eggs laid we are praying for a happy and successful hatching and fledging of the two eaglets.

It has been great to see the attention the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project has received this year and we are very appreciative of all the articles, email and Facebook passes, and tweets that everyone has sent out.  It has been especially thrilling to see entities such as TurfNet, The Golf Channel, and USGA spread the word about the project, along with emails and tweets from organizations such as Audubon International and GCSAA

Here is a photo my mom sent me of some eagles having a "family reunion" in Homer, Alaska.  Don't know if we will ever have this many eagles at Harrison Bay but we can hope. 
 


 
 
 

Friday, March 8, 2013

Greens mowers and ice


We finally got out to use our new Jacobsen Eclipse 322 Electric greensmowers this morning and I have to say we are thoroughly impressed with their operation and the amazing quality of cut the 15 blade reels provide.  I am really excited about the quality of putting surface we will be able to provide our golfers thanks to these mowers.






Bill, Jonathan, and Eric have been working hard this winter to finish up the four year bunker renovation project of the greenside bunkers at Harrison Bay.  Our bunkers used to be our biggest complaint and one of our biggest budget expenses but that has all changed and we can provide now our golfers and guests with some very good bunkers to play out of.  The remaining three greenside bunkers will be completed in the next week or two. We are also going to work on improving the fairway bunkers which we have had some comments about by adding the sand we removed from the greenside bunkers to the fairway bunkers which will give them much needed sand and a firmer surface which is what you want in a fairway bunker sand.


We found an irrigation head stuck on on #4 green this morning and were surprised to see the layer of ice which had accumulated on the bunker face overnight.  Pretty funny to see the grass blades incased in an ice cocoon. 


Saturday, March 2, 2013

Electric Greensmowers and Greens Rollers Arrive


 What better way to wrap up a great week of operations at the golf course than to take delivery of our new fully electric Jacobsen Eclipse 322 greensmowers and our new fully electric Tru-Turf greens rollers.



 Mitch is trying out the new Eclipse mower.  The operation is so quiet all you can hear is the sound of the reels turning.  It has been a long time since we have been able to cut any green grass and the arrival of these greensmowers just adds to that desire.  Really looking forward to a great year and some of the best manicured greens we have ever had.

 
We also took delivery of the new 48 volt Tru Turf Electric greens roller which will help us to provide faster, firmer greens.  The tri-roller smoothing heads and the rubber coated drive roller will help us to roll the greens in almost any direction without the fear of leaving creases or lines in the putting surface.
 
 
Here is another quick video to demonstrate the quietness of the electric equipment. 
 
Only a couple more pieces of equipment to be delivered and some finish up work in the golf course maintenance building by Ooltewah Electric and the Electric Equipment Initiative will be in full swing.