Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It just past 3:30 a.m. in "The City." Today's weather will be much different from yesterday's. The threat of severe storms finally became reality at about 9:00 p. m. last night. Like the Wizard's Kansas, the winds they blew, and then the dirt it flew etc. The skies darkened, and what appeared to be the beginnings of a twister soon appeared. I took some pictures from the front porch standing next to Mary, as evidence of what we were seeing.

The clouds were literally rolling looking west. 

The skies were not all that threatening, yet.

That didn't last.

The street was empty, until the people attending the services on the waterfront started to leave town.

STWD had repaired to her hide-e-hole upstairs by the time the worst of the storm moved through. Gusts of wind that lifted dust and debris from the recent Coast Guard Festival™ activities were flying through the air. Mary and I watched the storm move in, until one gust threw so much dirt into the air that we knew it was time to go inside. 

Prior to all the storm action, Mary and I walked downtown to our favorite watering hole. The forecast had changed by then to one that made us think that would be fine. However, the winds were already blowing by then. We made it there and back safely, but the tourists were still in evidence in the city's restaurants. That's okay, as their presence is good for those restaurants and the other businesses in and around GH. It is weird to see empty streets and sidewalks after the hoopla of the festival activities.

In sports, the boys in blue swept the Brewers by winning the final game in their series 4 - 3. The Tigers too were victorious, defeating the Orioles 6 - 1. My beloved Red Sox let one slip away as they fell to the Rays, 3 - 4. Sadly the Caps also let one slip away, as they dropped one to the TinCaps. 2 - 3. 

Today, I'll get in more time with the girls and do some additional reading. STWD and I will take the morning walk to the newspaper office, and that should be enough for the morning. She is happily resting next to the bed right now, so I know what her forecast will be for the morning. 

I'll get back to highlighting today too, and that is turning out to be more interesting than I expected. That means more comments from yours truly. Oh well, the best laid plans etc.

Speaking of the tourists, many years ago, singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett penned and sang a song entitled When the Coast is Clear. One of the lines goes something like this, "They're closing down the hangouts, the air is turning cool, they're shutting off the super slide, the kids are back in school. The tourist traps are empty, vacancy abounds, almost like it used to be before the circus came to town." So we'll be getting our little corner of the world back after Labor Day, and things will be quiet until Memorial Day, 2016, when it all begins again. Those tourists make this city and its numerous eateries viable. 

The sun will rise in a few hours at 6:37 a.m. Today will be in the upper 70s with sunny skies, before it sets at 9:04 p.m. The days are getting shorter. Ciao.