Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "The City."

Sad news came in my email early this morning. Ellen's mother, Sylvia Greenfield, passed yesterday. Ellen has long been a friend and a mentor to me, so in some ways, her loss is also a loss to me. I know how important family was and is to Ellen, so please take a moment to remember both women in your thoughts and prayers.

Here in GH, life continues as we enter the start of "The Season." For the next three months, the lifeblood of our little city will be the tourists who support the merchants, restaurants, and cultural activities that make "The City" what it is throughout the year.

Our weather went from late winter to full blown summer without stopping at spring. Our temperatures will be in the 70s and 80s and the precipitation will be isolated and sometimes severe, more like spring. As we discussed at our favorite watering hole during a stopover yesterday, this is Michigan.

The current temperature outdoor temperature is 62° per the NWS, but 70° per the DTWS. It is warmer inside than out right now, but the relative humidity is much lower. Today, isolated T-storms are expected later with a 30% chance. I think we'll be watering again.

Speaking of watering, we traveled to the big-box garden center yesterday to pick up some additional shade tolerant plants for the gardens of the PE. I get to help water them one-handed, while Mary employs the hose for the vast plantings in on the PE. In a strange role reversal, I also get to kibitz about the digging for the new plantings as Mary does the actual work.

As an aside to the gardening tale, we also stopped at our local garden center and actually redeemed some points that we accumulated to buy some additional plants and other items for the gardens. We came away with no cost. In that same vein, we also stopped at the medium-box hardware/home center to return some items that we didn't need. While there, we traded in our defective watering nozzle and got a new one, for free. So, we came away from there with money too. I like free.

Last night, I walked to the library for another in their series of informational presentations about GH and the Tri-Cities area. Last night, Paul Trap utilized a Power-Point™ presentation and personal anecdotes to present on Grand Haven's Railroad Heritage. I learned about our coal tipple, the ferries that plied the waters of the "Big Lake" between here and Wisconsin in the early part of the 20th century, and the demise of passenger rail service here in GH by the mid 1950s. As a regular chronicler of the current rail traffic here on the RSTL, I found it a fascinating experience.

Sports won't take long. All my teams either had the day off or were postponed due to rain.

I am feeling the stares of "The Girls" as I sit at my desk. They are crying out to be attended to, so I have assured them that I'll be back as soon as I am able, so hang in there.

This being the holiday weekend, we have no plans to go out in the car until at least Tuesday. We can walk with caution, but we have to be wary of the tourists. Other than the previously mentioned items, not mush is in the plans. I will be watching "The Greatest Spectacle in Motor Racing" on Sunday. Mary has promised some race day treats to enhance my viewing pleasure. I'm betting she will have to go to Health Hutt for some of those, like vegan cheese.

I must mention that I returned from the library last evening to find that Mary had made her special, and also one of Adam's favorite dishes, "Spaghetti Roll Casserole." I loved it down to the last bite. As Adam used to say, "Do More!"

The sun will rise in a few hours at 6:10 a.m. and set at 9:14 p.m. Ciao.