Good early morning GH. It is just past 1:30 a.m. in "The City," and the current climate controlled indoor temperature is 67°. I used the words "Climate Controlled" because we had to break down and turn on the furnace again. Why you ask?  Because the outdoor non-climate controlled temperature is currently 36°, which is supposed to be our low temperature this early morning, before climbing to today's high of 48°. It got cold enough to worry Mary regarding frost and her garden, so we covered her vegetable plants. The local weather forecast is calling for a possibility of three total nights of frost. Not a certainty, but the risk is great enough to take precautions.

Yesterday morning, Sugar the Weather Dog and I went for our morning constitutional. As we headed west, the winds blowing in our faces were strong enough to lay Sugar's ears back, both going and coming. I had to keep my head down as the gale-force winds blew the light rain into a stinging force.The intrepid weather dog and I got as far as the newspaper office and then it was time to get home. Today Sugar and I have an appointment at 11:00 a.m. at the groomer. We face a 40% chance of rain, but the winds will not be nearly as strong.

Speaking of Sugar the Weather Dog, Mary and I stopped in at the local pet supply store to get Sugar a new set of necklaces before her grooming appointment. Now when Sugar comes home, she will get clean necklaces to go with her clean self. All should be good.

I want to encourage everyone who reads my blog, to go to Mary's blog at:

http://marygoeswalking.blogspot.com/

There you can get the latest updates regarding her gardens and those within the greater Grand Haven area that she found interesting. In addition, other pertinent details on our lives in GH that I don't report on can be found there too.

It was about 12:30 a.m., when the southbound train went through. Two locomotives towing 27 covered hopper cars of varying ages. One car was old enough to have the old Seaboard Coast Line livery still painted on it's flanks. Since those cars don't generally carry hazardous materials, at least none that I know of, I don't' worry too much about them being older. However if they fall off the rails, they can cause a problem for the dreaded black tank cars that I often see rolling in their midst. The next train heading north is not due for about two hours.

Update:

It turns out that I was awake at 3:15 when the northbound train rolled through. The regular pair of EMD GP 38 locomotives towing eight covered hopper cars, and more importantly, three of the dreaded black tank cars separated by one of those covered hopper cars and one white with a black stripe tank car. Not a long train, but it only takes one derailment for disaster to strike.

In sports, the boys in blue found another way to lose to the Cardinals, this time 3 - 5. They travel to Milwaukee to face the division leading Brewers this afternoon. The Tigers once again whooped it on the Orioles by a score of 7 - 5. Now they are off to face my beloved Red Sox in Boston tonight. The Sox fell to the Twins 3 - 4 on Thursday afternoon. They just can't get on a roll. However, they are staying even with the league at 20 - 20. The Caps beat the Lake County, OH Captains by a score of 5 - 2. They remain tied for the division lead in the Midwest Division with the Dayton, OH Dragons.

Today I have to go for that appointment with Sugar the Weather Dog. That takes about two to three hours, so I will return home after I drop her off. While in that part of town, I'll go to the grocers there and get a fresh supply of bones for the "Bone Zone," along with some things for our personal larder. One of those things turns out to be bread, because the bread we had in the cabinet has penicillin growing on it. Oops.

Otherwise, that's about it for the day. I want to remain inert after all of the walking with Sugar. Mary will be working on her project, so she will remain home as Sugar and I travel. I finished my part of the project yesterday afternoon. It wasn't difficult and certainly not extended in length. I want to get in some additional playing time with the girls too, since I got sidetracked yesterday and didn't get to that activity.

So when the sun rises at 6:20 a.m., I hope to still be in my bed. When the sun sets at 8:59 tonight, I may once again be there. I fell asleep in my media room chair last night while watching TV, and that made my bed time about 9:00 p. m. then too. I have to remind Mary that I have that dentist appointment next Tuesday when our guests will be in town. That's at 10:00 a.m. Ciao