Good early morning GH. Here I am in the wee hours of Sunday morning, and I just wanted to use that phrase  "the wee hours," because I heard it on the TV yesterday. A lame reason, I know, but there it is. Our current temperature here in "The City" is 33 damp degrees. We are anticipating a high of 58 today, with only a 30% chance of precipitation in the form of rain. The temperatures will hold in the lower 50s until Friday, when they drop to the upper 40s for a few days. Then the 50s return for a few days and then the 40s and well, you get the picture. Like I have said before, this is winter in Michigan. I have my micro-chips crossed that the predictions for the 50s by that far away weekend are actual and holding. Right now, the view out the Weather Window is, well, I'll let you work that out for yourselves.

The other day, when I was out walking with Sugar the Weather Dog, I had an epiphany. Mary has been wanting a trellis or two for her clematis plants, and as I was walking through the neighborhoods, I saw a garden arch made of branches from the local flora. The proverbial light bulb came on and Sugar and I came home to tell Mary of an idea that I was running through my mind. A main branch with smaller branches tied to the larger branch and voila, a trellis. Mary suggested that I gather some of the branches from our yard and the yards of our neighbors for a try of my idea. She also suggested tying the various branches together with twine. So, I gathered the branches, placed them in the garage to dry, and at some not to far in the distance, I will take them to the man-cave for assembly. With a little design help from Mary, I think I can do it. And best of all, a ready supply of raw materials awaits after every high wind event. I or Mary will post some pictures of the finished products when they become a three dimensional reality. In fact, I may take pictures as they take shape.

Otherwise, the boys in blue found another way to lose, as the Tigers were winning in Oakland and taking the lead in their division. The Red Sox held on to their lead in the Eastern Division of the American League with a 2 - 1 win over the Rays. Our local team, the West Michigan Whitecaps, referred to as the "Caps" in this and future blogs, fell to the Bowling Green Hot Rods, hows that for ironic, by a score of 4 - 2. The White Sox, once again, who cares.

For those of you who care, The 77th Master's tournament is still going on, but not without controversy. Tiger Woods was assessed a 2 stroke penalty for improperly placing his golf ball after he hit one into the water. He says he didn't knowingly violate the rules, but the guy has been playing golf professionally for a long time and should have known. It is unlikely that he will be able to make a late surge as he never has in a major tournament, but even if he does, any victory would be tainted. Some are calling for him to disqualify himself, while others have suggested that officials gave him a break for television. I don't know, but such is life in a 24/7 news/sports world. No controversy, no news. Plus, given Tiger's recent personal issues, everyone wants to see him fall. Unlike Greek tragedies, where a person has to reach a peak, fall from grace and then comeback, people would like him to just fall. Sad, but that's where it is.

Otherwise, Mary wants to continue her research on her "Family" to see where it goes. I'll help, but this is really her baby, so I'll do the voodoo that I do and she can have this for her very own.

So, it looks like it is time for bed, and then...Tea time. I should mention that Up withe Chris Hayes has been replaced by UP with Steve Kornacki. Same format, new host, similar viewing experience.

Keeping with my interest in train travel, I should note that once again, an Amtrak train has fallen off the rails, this time in California. No one hurt, but another embarrassment for Amtrak. Like the Postal Service, when Congress is involved, disaster is sure to follow. In Europe, trains travel at high speeds without incident. Here, the automobile and airline lobbies have done everything they can to kill long-distance passenger rail service. A sad state of affairs for a country that was founded by the westward expansion of railroads in the 19th century under our 16th president. Oh well, when the Postal Service is gone and people can't get any package deliveries to far-flung places that aren't served by UPS, and when the passenger rail service is gone, and people can't travel to and from places not served by the airlines, maybe then people will wake up. By then it will truly be too late. I won't even start on the problems with pipelines and radioactive waste.

So, Ciao.