Good evening GH. It is just past 12:00 a.m in "The City." I decided that I could get an early start on my blog and them finish it up early this morning. Since I am wide awake, I guess you could call it a win-win for me.

I think I'll start with the weather report. The forecast from the NWS calls for a rainy Saturday following a 41° overnight low. We have a current temperature of 43°. The high today will be 52°, which doesn't bode well for the ghosts and goblins. They will be trick or treating all of the downtown businesses here in GH between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. Then, if they aren't overly cold and wet, they will be visiting the neighborhoods until 8:00 p.m. in search of goodies. We are prepared, but we don't expect to see too many costumed characters.

As of now, the NWS has forecast that the rains won't begin in earnest until noon, so we might make the final visit of the season to the farmer's market with the intrepid weather dog prior to then, if that forecast becomes reality. After noon, all bets are off, as the chance of showers increases to 45% at 1:00 p.m., and then 100% by 3:00 p.m. No let up is in sight until early Sunday morning.

Yesterday, we started the day with the world's most expensive pancakes. I do have to mention that they were delicious and Mary knocked it out of the park with this breakfast/lunch. See below for the pictures.

Still hot on the griddle of the new range.

On the table and ready to eat.

We then took the morning walk with STWD to the newspaper office and then back home. I spent about an hour in the back forty of the PE blowing and raking the leaves and placing them in a bag.

Not bad, since Mary and I bagged many of the leaves previously.

Courtesy of Adam and Steph, I had a Warp Drive leaf blower to start.

Unfortunately, before I finished, I had to switch to the Impulse Engines to complete the job, because the Warp Core went off line.

As previously noted, I had to leave the bags on the porch due to the rain Wednesday into Thursday.

Mary raked the front yard, but then she had to get to her chat session, so I finished up the job. Since she was upstairs, I commandeered the kitchen and made an apple pie for which I pared the apples, made the crust from scratch, and baked the pie in the new oven. We took a piece to Sally at the Post.

I think it looked great and I know it tasted great. In the background is the new tea kettle.

Mary and I shared some pie after the excellent dinner she made that was the Okinawa style taco of lettuce, and tomatoes with lentil filling on top of rice. Mary had hers with some Tofutti™ sour cream substitute, and salsa, while I added jalapeno peppers to the same mix. 

As I predicted, the trains made an early appearance yesterday. The southbound run came through at 8:54 a.m. with EMD GP 38 locomotive numbers 2057 and 2019 towing a lone BC, six CHCs, one very rusty, and one long DBTC followed by three DWTCs to bring up the rear.  It wasn't long before the northbound run came through at 11:43 a.m. Same locomotives, but only a single BC, with a single DWTC bringing up the rear. 

The sun will rise on Halloween at 8:17 a.m. and set at 6:38 p.m. 

The 5 - 2 Wolverines of Michigan will play the Golden Gophers of Minnesota at 7:00 p.m. The Huskies of NIU don't play until Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. against the Rockets of Toledo. The MSU Spartans have a bye week before meeting the Cornhuskers of Nebraska on November 7, at 8:00 p.m.

I have no specific plans other than to avoid the rains, play with the girls, and read the Grand Haven Tribune before I attempt to work the crossword. I may also read a pulp novel that I have on the shelf. Ciao.