Our new best friend. Comes every morning at 5am to have breakfast in the Cherry tree. Eating Cherries of course. Brought the wife and kid tonight. Too dark for a photo of the whole family.

So, June was the last post. What has happened since then. School is out. Mom was here for a few days. A very nice visit.

Also since then I have actually joined the Whidbey Golf & Country Club. I have played 36 holes since then and parred two. Last Sunday it seems I broke Vince's 3 Wood and am having a new shaft put on. I was using the 3 Wood as a driver cuz I wasn't hitting the driver worth a hoot. Today I went with the driver again and am consistantly hitting a good tee shot. That does not mean that on the 18th hole I didn't dribble the ball about 20 yards. Good thing no one was in the clubhouse to see that.

My pitching and chipping is still a laugher. And getting out of a sand bunker is achingly bad. Today I managed to avoid the sand until the 14th hole or so. I did get out but it took three tries and was rewarded with 3 lousy putts before I put the little white ball in that little hole.

But am I having fun? YES!! Am I getting better? Yes. Less emphasis then you noticed...uhuh...I am getting better but fun is more important. Sure. Okay...getting better is very important but having fun is near the top. I mean I have only been at this for a little over nine weeks.

I did take a series of five lessons from the club pro. I may take another lesson or two but will spend some time on the practice tee and on the practice putting green. Maybe even the sand trap.

What else? Put some new plants in the garden. Dug up some old ones that had died in last winter's cold spell. Built a new deck. Okay...it is a sort of play deck close to the bluff. It is only 8'X12'. Big enough for a couple of chairs and a little table. Gives us a different perspective of the water as we have our coffee on the "deck".

It only took the better part of three days to put up the deck. It started out as a simple little deck made from left over lumber from our regular deck when we expanded the stairs. Well, that stuff was scrap. Leave off the "s" and you get it. So it was off to the lumber yard for 17 12' 2x6's. It is very sturdy. Sitting on 6 concrete blocks with saddles and 2x6's for joists. It is not going anywhere unless the whole bluff goes and that would require 25 feet to go first.

So golf and building decks has kept me out of trouble. Ina has been battling the blackberries on the bluff and is doing a marvelous job. I may pitch in soon.

Later.