I had to restart my sourdough starter due to neglecting it recently and, this time, I've made some interesting observations.
It's much more active this time around. I mean, really, really active. I fed it at around 10 AM and 3.5 hours later it's already doubled. This is the 8th day and last time it took me 14 days to get to this point. Also, the starter was taking 6 or so hours to double completely. The only change from last time was that the house was warmer in the first days of the starter's life. The 3rd day it was 80 degrees outside, and the 4th it was almost 90. The house got up to 75 the first day and 78 the next. That would've been the time that the yeast would've started taking over. It seems that having the temperature warmer those two days helped the good stuff kill off the bad stuff without a problem.
The other observation I've made is that a 10 degree temperature fluctuation hasn't really mattered much to my starter. Once it got going, it has been nothing but smooth sailing since.
I can only conclude that if I keep my house between 70 and 80 degrees this summer and feed my starter twice per day that I will have a great one this time around. But the bread will be the real test. Tomorrow's bake will be Susan's Ultimate Sourdough. :)
