It's Official:

...summer hath returned...

...to the Castle Frankenstein.

April is usually an overwhelming start to the outdoor season.

Uncertain weather and the chaos that Old Man Winter inflicts on the premises...

...makes summer seem like a distant dream buried under a massive cleanup workload.

But consistent effort coupled with patient endurance eventually wins the day, and once the pool is open...

...let summer begin!

This year Larry beat us to the punch by a week, opening his cottage the first weekend in May.

An old friend stopped by to say hello:

Ok, not that old and probably wondering who the heck was interrupting her peaceful stroll along the lake shore.

as Larry noted, the line of clouds resemble snowcapped mountains in the distance.

peaceful evening view of the still waters

Gotta love summer "up north".

It's already the 4th week of my hickory golf season...

my pre-1900 hickory playset: long spoon, short spoon, brassie, lofting iron, putter.

...and it feels like it's flying by.

Bright sunshine but cold start to the day: high 30's and frost on the greens, so switched my tee time from 8 am to 8:30.

Gotta give a tip o' the hat to Mr. V...

...as once again he helped me keep it in the fairways.

Most satisfying shot of the day?

My drive from the first tee, but only because of the circumstances under which it happened.

A twosome was already in process of teeing off when I arrived - their 8:20 tee time got pushed almost into mine due to the frost - so I stood back a ways to give them some space and not crowd them.

He sliced his first attempt into the woods, then teed up a mulligan.

That's when she stepped in and began micromanaging the process.

"No, like this," she interjected as he prepared to swing away the second time.

Feet about shoulder width apart, ball toward the front not the back of your stance, grip more like this so the clubhead meets the ball flush.

You don't want to slice again, do you?

He complained as she poked and prodded but allowed her to position him while listening to her critiques of his several practice swings.

Eventually she stood back, giving him the green light; he topped his mulligan and we all watched it dribble 30 yards ahead.

That's when she turned to me and suggested I play through.

Now it was my turn to be up on stage, and they stood there studying me and my hickories as I teed it up.

I tried to forget about my audience, focusing instead on the task at hand, and by the grace of God managed a solid drive right down the middle of the fairway.

To say I was relieved doesn't begin to cover it, but I played it cool as if of course I expected a great tee shot, gathered up my hickory sticks, nodded politely and was on my way.

Not quite back to my "end of season" form from last year, but gaining on it:

4 pars, 3 bogeys and 2 unmentionables (but one of those just missed being a bogey when my 3 ft putt rimmed the cup).

Best of all I managed to par 7, 8 and 9 on my way out.

In the early season I play bogey or better wins the hole, double bogey or worse loses, so either I win or the evil Mr. Links does.

(Later in the season I'll change that to par wins, bogey halves - i.e., no score - double bogey loses.  Then it’s possible to tie.)

Under my current early season rules, today was a satisfying win for the good guy (i.e., me, and don’t look so shocked).

So from my perspective - at this moment - all is right with the world.

Sure hope you don't go messin' it up.

Your ordeal is almost over; but first it’s into the salt mines to 23 Skidoo...

our oriole is back this year, and he brought a couple of pals with him

they're going to eat us out of house and home, or at least oranges and grape jelly

Karen's daughters sent flowers - the semi-permanent kind - for Mom's day...much appreciated!

One Eyed Charlie got a refreshed paint job this year thanks to Karen's industrious spirit...

...and not only that, he also got a 2nd eyeball; but I'm still calling him One Eyed Charlie

another resurfaced green, and I've decided to do one more

no, not another view from Larry's cottage...that's a generic print from my dr's office...had my physical last week and liked that print well enough to take a pic

1st cigar from the newly opened command post this year

lilacs in bloom

like I said

Ever wonder what God really wants from you?

I mean He took the time to put you here on planet earth, and He cares for you daily; every breath you draw, every morsel of food you ingest comes courtesy of His grace.

So what does He expect from you?

The Old Testament prophet Micah had something to say about that:

later, mcm fans...

When You See This...

…do you pay attention?

Not a random inquiry, but relevant to my most recent battle in The Vale of Everlasting Sorrows (also known as my local links where I practice the black art of hickory golfery).

Happily, this was a decent round, much better than my first two because I was consistently finding the fairways.

Credit goes to my therapy session with The Guru...

...to wit:

"I have said earlier that you start the clubhead first by giving the left wrist a gentle half-turn toward the body.

"This is important, because it will put that wrist at the top of the swing into the only position in which it is capable of doing its work properly - that is, arched inward under the shaft, instead of arched outward."

Of course all of this bores you to tears.

He's expounding on some minutia about which only hickory golfers care.

But I mention this because the greatest hickory golfer of his era - the only man to ever win the British Open 6 times, The Stylist himself - specifically instructs the reader "this is important".

So, having read this important advice a half dozen times, have I been "starting the clubhead with a gentle half turn of my left wrist toward my body" ?

Well...until this last outing, nope; have not.

"And why is that, O wise one?" you sneer sarcastically.

I offer by way of excuse this from my Bible college days:

One of our profs told us our brains are like empty tin cans with both ends removed and a light coating of glue on the inside.

Learning is sorta like someone throwing a handful of sand through middle of the empty tin can.

Each time that happens, a few grains of sand "stick" to the sides of the can.

If you repeat that process enough times...

Congratulations!  You learned something!

I know my "brain glue" ain't as sticky as it used to be, but my word is this ever depressing.

Happy to have finally picked up on something that works, but how long have I had this book?

And how many times have I skimmed over that part without heeding its instruction?

As Jed Clampett used to opine:

We've finally arrived at the most beautiful month of the year here in Michigan...

an old pic but serves the purpose

...Magnificent May, when Nature bursts forth in her glorious hymn of florescent regeneration:

two things going on here...the blooming of our lower patio garden thanks to Karen's tireless efforts, and new leaves on the trees finally restoring our backyard privacy.

yes, they're thinking about what you think they're thinking about, and Loki's keeping a watchful eye

if memory serves, these are known as "purple flowers"

oak trees get (and lose) their leaves later, but at least they're making a start

courtyard coming into focus under Karen's consistent care...especially appreciate our pretty little Japanese maple

"wallflowers", aka "where wiffle golf balls go to hide"

our 2nd Japanese maple

The really spectacular thing about this?

May is just warming up...there's so much more to come in the days ahead.

Absolutely love this time of year!

Another event accompanying the beginning of May is either the best or worst week of the year here in Holland, depending on whether you're a retailer or just a regular ol' citizen of this fair town:

Tulip Time!

You're either giddy at the sound of your cash register cha-chinging!  -or-  you're <geergerd> with the unwelcome influx of 600,000 tourists.

here's something you don't see every day - Mexican Klompen dancers, but yep, we've got 'em

Holland, with its odd layout and labyrinth of one way streets can be confusing enough for its 35,000 residents...

how would you like a good swift kick in the <achterste> with a wooden shoe?  yours for the asking at the always popular Volksparade

...but layer on enough strangers to populate a city the size of Las Vegas and you've got a pretty good working definition of chaos.

This year we tried to get approval for a new sign as you're entering town:

...but for some reason, we were denied.

I guess we're reduced...

...to grinning and bearing it for another year.

In the interest of digital humanitarianism (no, I did not just make that up), we are foregoing our usual sashay through 23 Skidoo...

...and instead opting to simply flee the premises.

As you do, consider this truth from God's Word...

...and keep that muzzle handy.

later, mcm fans...