Good mornig or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 2:30 a.m. in "The City."

It is a sad day in America. 50 of our fellow citizens were slain and over 52 more were wounded by a hate filled crazy man with an automatic-type rifle early yesterday morning. A moment of prayer is good, but action on the root cause of this massacre is better.

But that's enough on a topic that is too serious for my generally lighthearted blog.

Yesterday, the Cubs crushed the Braves, 13 - 2, to go to 25 games over .500, their best start since 1907. That keeps them 9.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Pirates in the N. L. Central. Jon Lester won his 4th in a row as the Cubs' bats came to life once again. Next up, the Nats in D.C. tonight.

Did I mention that that other team from Chicago is now under .500 with a record of 31 - 32 in the A. L. Central, following a loss to the Royals. That means that the Tigers are 1.5 games ahead of them. "Put it on the board, Yes!"

The Tigers are now at 32 - 30 in the A. L. Central, following a 4 - 1 victory over the Yankees. The Tigers aren't dead yet, and they are in 2nd place in their division. Next up, that other team from Chicago tonight.

My beloved Red Sox fell to the Twins, 4 - 7. Ouch! That gives them a record of 36 - 26 in the A. L. East, tied with the Orioles. The Sox host the Orioles Tuesday night.

The Caps fell in 11 innings to the Lansing, MI Lugnuts, 0 - 2. That drops the Caps to 3rd place in the M. W. L. East with a record of 35 - 25. Also Ouch!

Yesterday, we grilled out and ate on the deck of the PE for the first time. Before and after lunch, I finished non-fiction book,  The Court Martial of Paul Revere. Now I am on to pulp fiction, Mickey Spillane's The Legend of Caleb York. Although Mickey Spillane died in 2006, his estate asked a friend and fellow fiction writer, Max Allan Collins to complete many unfinished manuscripts found in Spillane's treasure vaults. None were found by Geraldo Rivera. So, I now know that there are other books in the Mike Hammer series that await my reading.

One handed grilling is a challenge

Mary's preparations made the task easier.

Unfortunately, our high hopes for the Jerk Seasoning recipe used on the tofu, were dashed. 

Later, after I spent some time reading, we walked downtown to add to our step count and to get a pitcher of adult beverages. Along the way, Mary used her two hands and took some pictures at my direction with our shared camera.

One of the first signs of summer in "The City", the fountain in Central Park is running daily.

Plus, the trolley is also in daily operation. 

Downtown, the expanded "Before I die wall" is attracting people, also daily.

Once our thirsts were slaked, we headed home where Mary took some pictures, without direction, of the gardens, old and new on the PE. We both think that our efforts are paying off nicely. The latest gardens were planted one-handed.

The view from our recently stained deck, with horseradish and some of our veggies in the foreground.

The newest addition of shade tolerant plants to the ever expanding garden space. 

Mary's gnome garden directly at the back of the gardens, also shade tolerant. 

At home again, I sat on the front porch and read. Sadly, earlier in the day while we were outside grilling and eating, STWD got spooked by the thunder of cannons, as the Feast of the Strawberry Moon closed for what may be its last feast. Sugar shook, scratched at the door, and when I let her in, ran to her hide-e-holes, downstairs and up. She was still there when we returned from our walk downtown. It took several hours before she would venture forth for anything but dinner.

Today, errands, reading, household chores, watering, unless the 10% chance of rain comes to fruition, and further adventures in indexing. I also have a P/T appointment for my thumb and we both have appointments at the chiropractor. I'm once again worn out just thinking about our day. The current temperature is 54° per the NWS, which is also forecasting a high for today of 77° under partly cloudy skies. Tuesday's forecast shows a 40% chance of showers and Wednesday's forecast is for an 80% chance of T-storms. Poor Sugar. 

The sun will rise once again at 6:04 a.m. and set at 9:25 p.m. Ciao.