Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 5:00 a.m. in "The City."

As of now, the view out the Weather Window, (WW), is a confirmation of the forecast by the National Weather Service, (NWS). The street is wet and their forecast calls for steady showers most of the day, with a chance of T-storms this evening. Of course, the NWS issued a weather alert for yesterday evening that gave a 65% chance of rain starting at 5:00 p.m. too. When Mary and I went down to see Sally at the Post, we took umbrellas that ensured that the forecast would be unfulfilled.

Trainspotting yesterday was interesting. On both runs, the trains were headed by locomotive #2057 of the Mid-Michigan Railroad, (MMRR) fleet. Locomotive #2019 has been missing in action (MIA), the last few runs. The southbound run at 10:50 a.m., consisted of a single box car (BC), four covered hopper cars (CHCs), one Dreaded Black Tank Car (DBTC), two white tank cars, (WTCs), and one lone gray tank car (GTC). When the train returned north at 2:25 p.m., the box car was gone, there were six CHCs, two, DBTCs, and that was it. The train was moving quickly through town, which is unusual.

Speaking of locomotives, Adam and Steph remembered my upcoming 64th birthday with a great gift, a book that identifies the various locomotives in use throughout the United States, (U.S.). Adam recommended that I carry it with me in the car as we travel, since the same locomotives seem to ply the route that passes the Palatial Estate (PE). As I noted the other day, the exception was the inclusion of locomotive #1216, a General Motors Electro Motive Division EMD-SW 1200, with SW standing for switcher, as it passed through on its way to the yards south of here somewhere near Holland. I have not seen it return. That locomotive is over 50 years old.

In sports news, the boys in blue are back, as they dropped their third straight, this latest one to the Dodgers, 1 - 4. The Tigers had no better fortune, as they lost to the Blue Jays, 3 - 5. My beloved Red Sox are doing better, as they beat the Mets, 6 - 4 in 10 innings. The Caps also had an oops. In a battle of Michigan teams, they lost to the Lansing, MI Lug Nuts, 5 - 7. The Lug Nuts call Cooley Law School Stadium in Lansing, MI, home. Oddly, the stadium has one name, but the field has another, Jackson Field. Here's a link to that stadium, http://www.milb.com/content/page.jsp?ymd=20130228&content_id=42085626&sid=t499&vkey=team1.

The Caps, shorthand for West Michigan Whitecaps, play at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park, MI., even though they are listed as being in Grand Rapids, (GR). Here is a link to the Caps and their home ballpark. http://www.fifththirdballpark.com/about-us/history.php

Today, with the rain expected to continue, our plans to walk with Sugar the Weather Dog, (STWD), to the farmer's market, may have to be altered. To use a sports metaphor, it will be a game time decision. We had also planned to visit a local garden center, but the rain may make that a no go, another game time decision,

At least I should not have to water the gardens of the PE. I have to be careful to budget my time, as the days always seem to get away from me lately. Mary also has plans to go to her craft room and work on the new valances for my music room/weather center/office. The fabric has a guitar motif. We picked up the fabric in Plymouth, WI, last summer when we visited nearby Elkhart Lake, WI, and the Road America facility for Mary's birthday. LOL.

When the sun rises today at 7:03 a.m., our plans should become more clear, pun intended. The sun will set at 8:28 p.m. Ciao.