We do much the same thing day in and day out, week in and week out, but our life is certainly not boring.   

I play golf several times a week, leaving little time for anything else.  As was written in the last entry, the lesson with pro Mike Socha and his recommendation to change to a Bridgestone E6 golf ball have resulted in significant improvements in my game.  Kay continues to improve as well, playing with the Lady Duffers every Wednesday morning, and started the month off with a golf game.

On Thursday, we drove to Mountain Home and had lunch with Wayne and Loretta, then to Calico Rock for our semi-annual dental cleaning and examination.  A small cavity was found among my teeth, and Dr. Lane filled it while Kay was having her teeth cleaned, saving us another trip to Calico Rock.  

Sunday morning early, I bicycled over 10 miles in a hilly section of the Village, and combined with partially inflated tires (30 psi vs. 65 psi), it proved an exhausting ride.  We did make it to church, but I missed the church picnic Sunday afternoon, playing golf instead, and had good round, shooting in the high 80s at Cortez Golf Club.

On June 8, I did an 18 mile ride, and it wasn’t near as tough as the 10 mile ride, followed by 18 holes of golf.  Kay’s sister, Nan, and her husband, George, flew in from the Richmond, VA, area for a visit and to attend her 50th high school reunion.  George and I played golf, Thursday (I played two 18 hole rounds) and Friday, making for 7 rounds in 6 days.  We so enjoyed their visit, staying up late and catching up on family happenings, and reminiscing about childhood days in Morrilton, Arkansas.  Kay and Sue Sroczynski attended the Morrilton High School reunion brunch on Saturday morning—the brunch is for all classes having celebrated their 50th year reunion, and Nan and George attended her reunion in the evening.

I accompanied fellow photographer and birder, Vic Privlipsky, to a nature reserve adjacent to the Village in hopes of spotting a Diana Fritillary.  Thanks to Vic, we spotted both a female and male, nectaring among the Monardi wildflowers.  In addition, he pointed out a rare wildflower found in only two places in the world, here and at Bauxite, Arkansas.  I am super grateful to Vic for introducing this nature area.  (First photo is female Diana Fritillary, second is male, third and fourth are the wild roses.)

We bade farewell to Nan and George on Tuesday, and got acquainted with new neighbors, Steve and Dora, Tuesday evening.  We closed out the first part of June Wednesday with Kay playing golf and attending a book club meeting, and me playing golf.

I spent the morning of May 16 fishing with Bobby and Martha Altom’s grandson, but unfortunately rain spoiled the fishing outing.  We came in the house and he tied his first fly, and is a natural.  In the evening, Kay and I attended Bluejeans and Libations, a small gathering for PEO members and their husbands.

Again, this week was filled with medical appointments.  I got cleared on new cholesterol medicine and Kay got released from the cataract surgery.  And, book club was this week as well!  Of course, lots of golf was played.

On May 19, we drove to Bella Vista, Arkansas, to join Ed and Linda Richmond and John and Sandy Simank for a bream fishing trip.  Former neighbor Bill Ackerman was kind enough to guide us with the help of his good friend Tom.  We fished Friday and Saturday, and despite a cold front, caught fish.  The fish were definitely the largest bream I’ve ever seen.  We returned home on Sunday in time for golf Sunday afternoon. 

In between rain events, I took opportunities to fish our lake, Lake Estrella, and ventured to Lake Isabella one afternoon—only 10 more to go!  Fishing has been decent, and nothing beats catching fish on a popping bug or foam spider.

We have been blessed with an abundance of rain this spring, and when weather permitted, lots of golf was played, despite being limited to the cart path.  On May 24, Kay and book club girlfriends traveled to Oklahoma for an evening of gambling, and returned the next day in time for us to host Karyn, Matt and the kids here for Memorial Day weekend.  I smoked a couple slabs of ribs, and they were good, but not my best effort—wrong type of ribs and wrong rub!

I played hookie from church on Sunday morning and took a golf lesson focusing on hitting the 6 iron and putting.  Mike Socha is a fantastic instructor, and such a positive person.  He moved the ball forward a couple inches in my stance, had me rotate my shoulders slightly clockwise, and move the right foot closer to the ball. 

We ended the month with several days of rain, keeping us inside.  I worked on #6 and #10 popping bugs, and now have about 5 dozen ready to be tailed.

We are immensely enjoying living in Hot Springs Village, being close to family and old friends, and making new friends.  Though neither of us is big on clubs and organizations, we haven chosen to participate in a limited few.  I attend the Village Mac Users Group and Audubon Society meetings monthly as time permits, and Kay attends PEO, Naomi Circle, AAUW, and Book Club meetings.  We stay so busy that there is little time to take photographs, write blog entries, or watch television!