Good early morning GH. It is just past 12:30 a.m. in "The City," and our current outdoor temperature is 42°. That's according to the analog weather instruments located in the Weather Window. We are headed for a high of 48° today. Today someone said that given the ice cover still prevailing on Lake Superior, we may not see 80° this year. I'm hoping that that person is wrong. I'm not that big a fan of high temperatures, but I'd like to see our garden grow.

Speaking of our garden, we have some invasive plants sprouting in the flower beds in the back forty. Uprooting them is one more outdoor activity that we'd like to avoid, but can't.

Although I am publishing this blog after 12:30 a.m., I just watched a train go by at 11:55 p.m. The regular pair of EMD GP 38 locomotives towing 20 covered hopper cars, one white tank car, and two of those dreaded black tank cars. If you wonder why I refer to those black tank cars as dreaded, take a look at one of the pictures from Lynchburg, VA, courtesy of ABC Television™ in Lynchburg.

http://www.wset.com/story/25393713/slideshow-viewer-pics-of-lynchburg-train-derailment

When you live on a train board as we do, you think about those things. In the attached web site, are some facts provided to ABC Television News™ by AP™ regarding tank cars and derailments.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/facts-train-derailment-virginia-23550282?singlePage=true

Otherwise, the day proceeded at the usual slow pace. We traveled to Holland to pick up our framed puzzle, and it looks great. Now I have to find time to hang it. Holland itself is getting ready for Tulip Time™. The usual food vendors are in place on 8th Ave, in the downtown area. The tulips are almost in bloom, and the town is ready for their annual party celebrating the tulip and their Dutch heritage. We headed home by the back route and spent the afternoon watching a light rain fall. Nothing unusual there.

Today, more highlighting, more guitar, and more reading and walking. Sugar the Weather Dog is usually up for the walking, unless there is thunder and lightning in the air.

In sports, the boys in blue meet the Cardinals this afternoon at Wrigley Field. This may be a good test of how good or bad they will be this year. The Tigers take their solid 14 - 9 record to Kansas City this evening. My beloved Red Sox sporting a 13 - 16 record, after their latest losses to the Rays, move back to Fenway to meet Oakland. The Caps are still on a winning streak, having beaten Lake County in 10 innings 3 - 2.

The sun will rise at 6:37 a.m. today and set at 8:44 p.m. Cloudy skies will prevail in the morning and then intermittent rain showers in the afternoon. Ciao.

The northbound train happened at 2:55 a.m. Quite the mixed bag.