Good evening GH. It is just past 10:30 p.m. in "The City." Sugar the Weather Dog is lying beside me and all is well. Outside the Weather Window, the city is just beginning to close its sleepy eyes.

We had a remarkable day today. We got up early, well early for us, and journeyed north to pick up some soil additive for amending the soil in the gardens of the palatial estate. As I said yesterday, April 1, is the first day for most of the garden centers to open their doors. Others will open in the next one to two weeks. Here in MI, we know when to get ready for planting. We stopped at the local purveyor of inexpensive tools too, so that I could get a few small items to finish the cold frame. Time and ambition willing, I'll get back to that task tomorrow. That may not happen with my appointment at the orthopedist in the afternoon. The beauty of being retired is that there is always another day.

Speaking of planting, Mary just had to get a flat of Violas for her gardens. I agree that a splash of color in the gardens helps to brighten the yard. However, erring on the side of caution, Mary brought the Violas into the mud room for warmth overnight.

Once we got back and had lunch, I spent the afternoon outside on the spacious grounds of the palatial estate. There were leaves to be raked and bagged and then placed at the curb for tomorrows pickup. Here's hoping that the pickup of garden waste bags came with the arrival of the first day of April.

The beautiful weather made us walk to the Post to see Sally when Mary got back from her hair salon.

I've been in my office/music room/weather center reading part of the evening. I'm working my way through a book called The Arsenal of Democracy by A.J. Baime. It is the story of the Ford Motor Company's rise to power and influence. So far, I am at the part where Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford have amassed huge sums of money and the birth of Edsel's four children. At this point, Henry and Edsel are at odds over how to run the company that bears their name, and how Edsel should live his life. Apparently everything that has been said of Henry Ford is all too true, so far anyway.
One thing is for sure, Henry had plans for how everything and everyone should operate.

Tomorrow, after the sun rises at 7:26 a.m. and before it sets at 8:11 p.m., I plan to do not much of anything. The forecast calls for an 80% chance of rain and possible T-storms. Sugar will not be happy. That looks like enough for now. Ciao.

This just in: The southbound train just rumbled through at 11:20 p.m. Locomotives 2057 and 2019 were towing six covered hopper cars, four of those dreaded black tank cars, one more covered hopper car, and finally, seven more of those dreaded black tank cars.