Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 5:00 a.m. in "The City." We have a current temperature of 45° as we relentlessly move towards sunrise at 8:11 a.m. According to the National Weather Service, we have a 40% chance of showers this morning. Right now, a quick glance out the Weather Window shows dry streets and dark skies. However, that 40% chance of showers will be accompanied by a chance of T-storms at 11:00 a.m. That is also the time I have to walk with Sugar the Weather Dog to visit her doctor for a pawdicure and Bordatella booster. Since Sugar is occasionally boarded, she must have a Bordatella vaccination to be accepted by the kennel. I wonder if they have a vaccination for fear of T-storms and loud noises?

I mention that, because when Sugar and I went for our morning constitutional yesterday, some fool set off a series of fireworks on a generally quiet Sunday morning and Sugar was off to the races. I had a nice walk in mind, but some fool with the right to be a pyromaniac, took that away from Sugar and me. What happened to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? I'm certain Sugar would agree.

Once we got home, I raked and bagged some leaves and then it was time to go for a drive to the north. We had a destination in mind when we left, and we did get the items that we wanted, mostly for free, and then we decided to go east and find the shoreline of the Big Lake. We did, and it was beautiful. I took some pictures to commemorate the journey, and I'll include those later in this blog.

The southbound train went by at about 1:20 a.m. I only felt and heard it, I didn't see it. The return trip north, just occurred at 5:25 a.m. The regular contingent of locomotives, towing a mix of 28 covered hopper cars, two Union Pacific™ box cars, two of those dreaded black tank cars, and one lone white tank car, contents unknown.

In sports, the MSU/Michigan game on Saturday turned into a rout, with MSU defeating Michigan, 35 - 11. We had a great time at the Post. The Northern Illinois Huskies fell asleep for a few quarters, but came to life and defeated Eastern Michigan, 28 - 17. Yesterday morning, the Lions were also asleep, in England, before they too came to life and defeated the Falcons, 22 - 21, on a last second field goal. The Bears, were in hibernation, as they fell to the Patriots 51 - 23. The rotund lady is singing on their season. The World Series™ is now a two game series, as the Giants hold a 3 - 2 lead over the Royals.

Today I'll be taking the morning constitutional with Sugar to her doctor, and then we'll return to make potato-leek soup. Sugar can't have leeks, but she can partake of the potato part of the recipe. That is dependent on her doctor's visit. If she has gained a few pounds, as Mary and I suspect, then she'll be on a calorie restricted diet, and no soup for her. After that I'll continue to read the book I started. The book is still good. While Sugar was in the bone zone yesterday afternoon, I read some and listened to the oldies. Then I came in to watch some television and head for bed. But I digress. No additional activities that don't incidence reading or playing the girls are planned for today. So without further ado, here are some of yesterdays pictures. Ciao.

When we finally reached the shoreline, this is what we found. 

It turns out that we were at Coast Guard Station Muskegon.

Mary took this shot that beautifully captures my late afternoon activities.

Sugar in the "Bone Zone."

Sideways, but like O'Henry's Last Leaf, this petunia is hanging in there in Central Park.