Warmest Day of the Year!

Yesterday was the warmest day of 2008. It got up to 78 degrees. Having heard on the weather station that it was going to be a nice day, I decided to try to go golfing at my new place of employment. When I arrived, I got a golf cart and went to hit some balls at the driving range. Then I went to the pro shop and they said I could go and play nine holes on the "Orchard Course." I was outside getting ready to go to my first experience at this golf course, and a man who was by himself asked me if I'd like to play golf with him on the "Lakes Course.". (He is a member and I am a lowly ranger employee.) I told him sure, but I didn't know if I was allowed being I was a ranger. He said let's go and find out. He went back in to the pro shop and asked the Director of Golf who said, "yes." Before I knew it, we were at the first tee. He wanted to play at the "blue" tees. (That's a little farther back than the white tees, where I normally play.) Anyway, we had a great two and a half hours playing golf. He'd tell me the lay of each green, various hazards to avoid and stragegy for someo of the holes. AND, as it turns out, he's a deacon in his church. We talked about his church some and enjoyed the morning together. It was truly a "grace filled" morning for me.

While I was there, Dee was doing things at the house in preparation for the Fishers coming over for dinner tonight. When I got home, I walked Bonz around the block and then Dee and I had lunch together, and went shopping for shelves. We found what we wanted at Target and picked up some items at Giant Eagle. At home I built the shelves and the unloaded 8 boxes of books and placed them in an orderly fashion on the shelves in the basement area. (These are the resource books I chose to keep after my years in ministry.)

After dinner, we sat on the porch and enjoyed the nice weather. Dee started reading a new book she had, while I decided to type the words to the various barbershop songs onto my computer so I can memorize them easier. Bonz watched the neighbors on their deck and began getting used to them and their cats being there. While I was typing away on the laptop, every once in a while I'd hear a bird calling across the valley behind out home. So I got my binoculars out and searched for the anonnymous singer. I found him. As it turns out it is a pileated woodpecker. Awesome! As I searched other branches I found a downey woodpecker, my first cardinal of the summer, a bluejay and some gold finches as they loped their way past our deck. (Since our home and deck are elevated, I often look down or straight across at many of the birds. My own birdseye view. LOL) Cool.

It was a beautiful day. A morning of free golf with a new friend; lunch and dinner with my honey; time to finally organize my reference shelves; and time on the deck enjoying the sights and sounds of our new neighborhood. God is good.