Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 12:30 a.m. in "The City", where the current temperature is a very comfortable 70°, as we head down to an overnight low of 64°. Today promises to top out around 71° with a 10% chance of showers under partly cloudy skies. Tuesday has a forecast of the same temperature, but with an 80% chance of T-storms. I may not have to water again until Thursday or Friday.

In other news, I returned that book I mentioned and finished a pulp fiction novel I'd checked out in about three hours. I have another similar novel that I'll finish in about the same time. I have to pick up my latest library request by Friday. It won't take long either.

I hear a train a'comin, it's rolling round the bend, heading south. I am not usually up at this time and lately we haven't had the windows open, so I can report on the southbound run this time. The train has the usual twin EMD GP 38 locomotives in the Mid-Michigan Railroad livery, followed by a single box car and 20 covered hopper cars. The locomotives and the cars squealed on the rails like a Chicago "L" train as they passed. The horn happy engineer was definitely not at the throttle. This guy used the horn judiciously.

As often happens, sometimes plans go awry. I hadn't planned to be up now, but I had stayed awake to watch some of the coverage from MO, and then I was snug as a bug. However, something awakened me, and then I heard the horn of the northbound train. The same EMD GP 38 locomotives and a similar mix of rail cars. However, there were now 32 covered hopper cars, no box car, and two tank cars, one white and one that dreaded black. Same squeal though and same engineer. Oh, the hopper cars were a mixed bag too, with some very rusty.

Sunday was a day of rest here in GH. Sugar the Weather Dog and I went walkabout while Mary went to the local health food store after breakfast. It was after I returned from that walk that I finished about 3/5 of that aforementioned novel. I finished the balance after we came back from an unrequited trip to the downtown for some spice that Mary wanted. I have been tasked to procure the spice today as Mary continues her work. She also added a few things to her list of wanted items.

I also finished a crossword after Mary cued me on how to download a free app that offers answers to crossword clues. Mostly I didn't do very much, which is always the best cure for my baking yak. After the rain early Sunday morning, everything in the gardens seems to be doing just fine, hence the feeling that I won't have to water until later this week.

In sports, the boys in blue rebounded to beat the Mets 2 - 1 on a ninth inning home run by Starlin Castro. That was after losing a few games. My beloved Red Sox fell to the Astros, 1 - 8. By an eerily similar score, the Tigers also lost, in their case to the Mariners, 1 - 8. The Tigers are in disarray and they are quickly falling out of contention in their division. The Caps defeated the Loons, 7 - 5.

Today I may get to that outdoor painting if the rain holds off. The paint will dry before the rain if the forecast is correct. But as we know, that's always an iffy situation around these parts. In addition, I have to find time to play the girls whom I have been ignoring for a few days.

If you check out Mary's blog at: http://marygoeswalking.blogspot.com/, you'll find pictures of the recent GH Pirate Fest, me playing Abaigael on the waterfront with our Irish Jam group, and other sundry photos. Unlike me, Mary is a woman of few words.

The sun will rise at 6:53 a.m., and set at 8:43 p.m. Ciao.