Cognitive Dissonance...

...is truly enjoying a warm fire on a cold morning - while at the same time disliking cold mornings.

But hey, I'm not the only one...Kitty's right there with me.

As is often the case during this otherwise wonderful month, summer is having some trouble finding its way to our neck of the woods.

So here we are on the last day of May, sitting by the fire and hoping today might warm up to 59 degrees.

Sorry to say, we've decided next year we won't open the pool until the Memorial Day weekend.

Too much junk falls into it from the trees...

...and too many cold days to actually use it.

Lots of work and expense, not enough fun to make it worthwhile.

Heavy sigh...

Continuing with the cognitive dissonance theme, there is one other circumstance when a cold morning is acceptable, nay, preferable...

...to a warm humid day.

Yep, when I'm on the links, flailing away with my hickories.

And so it was this week when I sallied forth.

Alas, while I continue to hit pretty well from the tees and fairways, I'm still befuddled by the short game.

It only takes one foozled shot around the green to move me from bogey or better - a win in my book - to double bogey or worse.

So I'm not scoring as well as I'd like, but it's still an enjoyable early morning stroll through the countryside.

And they're about to get even earlier, as the 1st tee times from now on will be 7 rather than 8 am.

Yikes.

Before we leave the subject of hickory golf...

I've mentioned <The Hickory Hacker> before.

His real name is Christian Williams and he describes himself as both a golf historian and avid enthusiast.

Below is an explanatory quote from his blog:

"For those of us who have found a connection to this game through avenues other than athletic ability, our enjoyment of golf is derived from a deep reverence for its history, its rules, and its ability to make us better people."

Hear, hear!

One of the fun things he does is give modern low compression balls - suitable for hickory clubs - period correct "mesh pattern" covers (similar to the JH Taylor ball used in the 1920s):

Those are Titleist TruSoft low compression balls with their new "old timey" mesh pattern look.

You may be wondering what the big yank is, but to those of us practicing the black art of hickory golfery, this is très cool.

He's also working on a line cut version, similar to gutta percha balls...

...but finding molds at a reasonable price...

that's an obscene price for a mold that will do one ball at a time

...ain't easy.

If he does manage to pull this off, he'll be my new hero.

Hey, don't laugh; that's no small thing.

Other than Superman...

...Mighty Mouse...

...and Bad Orange Man...

...heroes have been in short supply.

I was going to spend some time waxing disgusted at the soulless charlatans of the lunatic left...

...but then I thought, "why stink up an otherwise perfectly good blog entry?"

Let's 23 Skidoo instead:

at Larry's cottage:  trees vanquished, job done

lakeside vista

love the rising mist on the mirrored water

doorbell image of Boo Boo from Larry's neighbor at the lake

Catherine and Rodger from Alaska stopped by our place for some food and fellowship

they brought flowers...

...and dinner.  yes, that does say "moose".

hardscape continues to bloom...

...as do our irises in the courtyard.

Loki lurking

Since I started this blog entry we've magically morphed from May into June.

Can't tell by the weather; it's just as cold this morning as it was yesterday.

But hey, it's June.

That's the official start of meteorological summer, so drop whatever un-summer type stuff you've been doing and get with the program.

No excuses!  Commence summerization procedures immediately before it's too late.

And on your way out the door, take this command from God's Word with you:

15  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

16  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

    - Ephesians 5:15,16

Ain't that the truth.

later, mcm fans...

We Pause To Remember On This...

                <Memorial Day>      

It is well said that only two forces have ever offered to die for us:

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the American Soldier.

Jesus died to save our souls; American soldiers, to secure our freedoms.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

  - John 15:13

Never forget.  Always give thanks.

There's an old saying that opines if you <eat a frog> in the morning, the rest of the day's problems will seem like a piece of cake by comparison.

In this case "the frog" is your favorite subject...

...hickory golf.

There's really nothing for it but to get it out of the way so we can get on with life.

And since you asked, 'twas a chilly but enjoyable stroll through the countryside this week.

Not particularly successful, however, as I went down to defeat at the merciless hands of Mr. Links, 3 and 2 (that means I was down 3 holes with only 2 left to play, so my cause was lost).

Earlier in the week I finally gave up on my unhittable lofting iron and replaced it with a baffy...

30* loft

...which I really like, but definitely don't have the range yet.

Oddly, not so long ago I was hitting nothing but irons...

...but with this change I'm now carrying nothing but woods:

left to right: long spoon, short spoon, brassie, baffy, putter

Go figger.

Made for the short game, I was hitting my baffy on the right line, just too far.

Several times I hit over the greens; a score killer.

Unlike modern golf with a different club for every 10 yards, in hickory golf we use the same clubs for wider ranges based on how we hit them: hard, medium, easy.

And I definitely haven't zoned in on my baffy yet.

But overall I'm improving a bit as I continue studying and practicing both the mindset and methods of the great Harry Vardon.

Most of all I'm enjoying it since I'm usually playing golf now instead of hunting for lost balls in the hinterlands.

Just wait 'til next week.

No doubt you've heard about Jake "The Fake" Tapper's new autobiography, Original Sin.

In it he confesses that he and all his fake news pals ran cover for the cognitively impaired Biden and his amoral handlers - aka <The Politburo> -  constantly lying to the public as the democrats willfully drove America into the ground.

What's that you say?

His book is not an autobiography?

Instead of confessing his obvious guilt, he maintains his innocence, pretending he wasn't an active participant in the coverup?

And he continues lying about his complicity so he can make a boatload of money with his BS revisionist claptrap?

 

Hmm...I guess that's the morally bankrupt left for ya.

While the rest of the country and the world at large knew exactly what was happening...

...Jake The Fake and his fellow charlatans were busy performing <la danse de la tromperie> in their cute little tutus.

Aren't they ridiculous.

And irrelevant.

As Groucho famously asked:

"Who are you going to believe?  Me, or your own eyes?"

Stick it in your ear, Jake.

Legacy media is officially dead, poisoned by its terminal addiction to corruption and dishonesty.

Good riddance.

Time to 23 Skidoo...

hardscape coming to life

lower patio garden

snowballs in May...

...and a birdie nesting amongst the snowballs

lakeside view from Larry's cottage...

...and minnie the moocher outside his window

my 1st green after last week's storms...

...now resurfaced

Karen and I planting a fir tree the summer we moved in...

...and our little tree, 8 summers later

I'm not positive how "they" know this, but supposedly we speak about 16,000 words per day.

Even if they're only half right, that's still a whole lotta tongue wagging.

Did you know you're going to give an account for every idle, careless, empty word you've spoken?

Not a few.  Not some of them.

Every. Single. One.

"But I say unto you, that every idle word men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."

Jesus said that, and you can read it in Matthew 12:36.

I don't know about you, but that makes me want to zip my lip, because I've said way too many careless things in my day.

That's why one of my daily prayers comes straight from God's Word in the book of Psalms:

later, mcm fans...