They Only Come Out...

...at night...but sometimes they come inside, too.

We were watching something forgettable on TV when Karen got up for more ice water and I heard a scream.

"Aaah!  There's a bat in here!"

It was clear she was not happy about our uninvited guest, and no wonder.

As Ace Ventura observed, "Have you seen a bat?  They're hideous!"

He has a point.

Given that, a lesser man might have wondered, "where can I hide?"

But not me.  I jumped to my feet, grabbed my cell phone and leapt into action.

"Where is he?" I asked her.  "I wanna get some video!"

"What?" she replied excitedly.  "No!  Get him out of here!"

Luckily, cooler heads prevailed in this domestic crisis, and we now have recorded evidence of a bat flying in our living room!

Ok, so maybe that's not quite the big yank I thought it would be.

But still, it is kinda cool.

You can hear Karen encouraging Loki, one of our pointless felines, to get the flying mouse, but he did what cats always do when commanded: nothing.

Eventually the problem was resolved sans bloodshed; we opened the door and Dracula flew back into the night...

...from whence he came.

How he got in remains a mystery.

For a delightful change, The Twins Report is decidedly upbeat:

After 5 long, trying months in the NICU, both boys are home with Mom and Dad!

They started life at less than 2 lbs apiece, and now one is over 8 pounds, the other over 9.

There are still challenges ahead - one of them will be seeing a retinal specialist this coming week - but this is a major step forward in their continued growth and healing.

A sincere thank you to those who took the time to pray for these precious lives.

Here's all you need to know about golf this week:

That's where I left a putt for par, and so went my round.

This was a transition week on several levels, and I spent quite a bit of time in my backyard adjusting / correcting things.

I know you'll be disappointed to hear I'm sparing you the details...

...but do try to bear up.

Every time I check the headlines it's more bad news.

We've become the laughingstock of the entire world, with a corrupt, cognitively impaired buffoon pretending to be president while the behind-the-scenes puppet masters wreak havoc on everything they touch...our military, our economy, our energy sector, our justice system, our personal freedoms.

The gaslighting and obfuscation is non-stop.

Biden stands accused of illegal influence peddling - of selling out his country to the highest bidder for his own personal gain.

It is in fact the only endeavor at which he's succeeded in his 50 year career of feeding at the public trough.

You think you can afford this home on a Senator's pay?

The Big Guy's gotta do something to supplement his income, and he's not bright...with a 1.9 GPA and graduating 76th out of a class of 85 from Syracuse Law, he's one of the dimmer bulbs on the tree.

What to do?

You know what he did; everyone with a brain knows what he did, and finally he's being publicly called to account.

What happens now?

They dust off the Marxist playbook and implement DARVO:  Deny, Accuse, Reverse Victim and Offender.

Deny: Biden hasn't done anything wrong!  There's never been a whisper of impropriety in his long and distinguished career!

Accuse: Anyone making these kinds of claims is guilty of domestic terrorism!  They're part of the white supremacist movement!

Reverse Victim and Offender:  Biden's not the criminal here, Trump is!  We'll sic the DOJ and all the Soros funded DA's in the blue states and indict him for his many crimes!

With this constant drumbeat of lawless corruption it would be easy to become discouraged and disillusioned.

However, as an older Christian mentor and friend has often reminded me, God is still in control:

God's will is immutable; what He has ordained will indeed come to pass in His time.

That's one of the reasons He reminds us, "Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished; the seed of the righteous shall be delivered." (Proverbs 11:21)

So as we face the constant onslaught of lies -

 * whether it's about meaningless trifles like Biden's imaginary confrontation with a breakfast cereal ("Corn Pop was a bad dude!")

 * or something that actually matters like his SOTU fantasy that "take home pay has gone up!" when due to Bidenflation Americans are demonstrably poorer than ever

- we would be wise to do as King David did:

We soldier on.

It's that time folks, so sit back, grab your favorite refreshments and let's see what's playing at the local Drive-In...

...hope it's not another rerun:

Loki, our unresponsive bat exterminator from the video

56 degrees outside this August morning, and our fireplace came on

as Larry commented, the King(fisher) on his throne

another gorgeous sunset at his cottage

these next photographs are from the KBH files:

mcm fireplace in our bedroom; that's a sexton cat on the wall

more laundry day issues on the golf course

gotta ask Karen what these are, but they're beautiful and in the process of turning pink

and speaking of pink, our dinnerplate hibiscus are radiant this year

raul, the daredevil tree specialist, doing his thing

Just one more weekend in August, folks...

...grab hold of the time that's left and squeeze as much summer delight from it as you can.

later, mcm fans...

Pretty Day...

...on the links...despite my lackluster play.

2 chances to 1 putt for par, bogeys for both.

Carded 2 other bogeys along the way, but the rest...well, at least there were no snowmen in sight...

...but nothing to write home about, either.

Next week I'm swapping out my guttys for Callaway Supersofts.

Between my driving iron and mid iron, I can reach most greens on the course in 2 strokes when using supersofts.

In theory, anyway...whether that actually happens remains to be seen.

Um, not the movie, though "Comedy Riot!" can be an apt description of my efforts at times.

The Twins Report is once again tough sledding.

One of them needs hernia surgery, and the other one they thought might be ready to go home had some breathing issues this past week.

So in the "2 steps forward, 1 step back" routine, this has definitely been the step backwards.

Please uphold this young family in prayer.

I know I said Halloween in July is too early, even for me...

...but it's August now.

Besides, this isn't my fault; Larry's the one who showed them to me.

In the "flimsy justification" department, they're not an addition to our ever growing cadre of props; no, they're a replacement.

Specifically, we're retiring Bones Bluesman, the harmonica skeleton guy:

He's fun, but just goes on and on and on...way too long.

The new guys are mellow jazzy and will give a kind of spooky cool vibe to the proceedings.

And don't worry about Bones; we've got just the place for him...

there's this saying, see, about skeletons in your clos - ah, forget it...

As Colin Raye opined musically, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

From the KBH* files...after a miserable failure with my first roll of B&W film - though I'm not convinced it was totally my fault - I decided to try, try again.

While I definitely prefer color film, there's something austere, an elegant simplicity, about crisp, black and white pictures.

Not to mention being period correct...this is after all a 1950's camera:

the pics may be black and white, but the captions don't have to be...love the shadow play in this photograph, and if memory serves, finished my round with a birdie.  or was this just a staged shot?  hmm...

those tiger lilies on the right were a bright, vibrant orange.

the hardscape looks especially harsh in black and white.

Marilyn's contract called for all her movies to be in color, but one - and perhaps her comedic best - was shot in black and white - the Billy Wilder classic, "Some Like It Hot".  She looks pretty good in B&W, yes?

wanted to see if the flash worked as well for B&W photos as it did for color, and...voila.

aptly named.

There you have it...a more successful foray into the world of B&W photography.

I've got one more roll of B&W film to shoot, but I'm saving it until inspiration strikes.

*Kodak Brownie Hawkeye, 620 film camera, circa 1950:

Think that's gonna do it for this this edition of the

Tune in next time when John will say...

later, mcm fans...

And Now For Something...

...completely different...a brief departure from my usual blog format.

Below are some random images and descriptions - pictures I've taken with my Kodak Brownie Hawkeye or cell phone, and some that were sent to me.

Enjoy:

Here's the best thing that happened on the golf course this week...snapped this cellphone pic of a blue heron and some admirers (don't ask why I was close enough to the water to get this picture):

August is Hibiscus month, at least around our place:

Sorry to say, but like summer itself, they'll be gone all too soon.

From the KBH* files:

gotta love good, cheap wine from Aldi's

why oh why did I decide to golf on laundry day?

These next 3 pics were all taken indoors with the flash attachment...really like the clarity; nothing gets "washed out" as sometimes happens with the camera flash:

weltron radio/record player/8 track player...and it looks fake, but that's a live plant on the right

1960's Philco phonograph...the 8 track cartridges are for the weltron "space ball" 8 track player on the left

some vintage favorites...and a random cat toy on the floor

Back outdoors now:

Karen's lower patio garden in full bloom

August 5th of 1962, the date when Marilyn was found dead.  officially a suicide, but many believe the Kennedy's were involved in her murder

tiger lilies are all done now; glad I got this pic while they were in their glory

These last 2 were taken with a close up lens:

Barbie's pet flamingo, pretty in pink

filed under "peacock, pretty as a"

*KBH: Kodak Brownie Hawkeye, 620 film camera, circa 1950.

Here are a couple of cellphone pics from Larry who attended the races at Berlin in tiny little Marne, Michigan...but don't let the location fool you...there were big name drivers there like Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart and Johnny Benson:

looked like storms were brewing, but all was well

great view from the stands

I hear my lawn mower calling me, so please let yourself out the servant's exit in the back.

We have our reputation to consider, and we'd rather the neighbors didn't see...well, I'm sure you understand.

later, mcm fans...