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

A current temperature of 46° per the NWS is quite chilly. I like the 50° shown on the DTWS. Today's high is forecast to be 73° under cloudy skies. There is also a chance for showers later this evening, but that is nebulous as of this writing. Our best chance for rain is Saturday, with a 60% chance of T-storms in the morning. I believe that we will be watering this afternoon after we get back from the orthopedist. I'll be having X-rays done on my thumb prior to the doctor's examination, and then my final knee treatment.

I had only one-half of a train spot yesterday, when locomotives 2057 and 2019 passed through "The City" at 12:42 on their way south. In tow were 18 CHCs, all empty, four DBTCs, two extra long, one at the end of the train, two DWTCs, and one GTC. We were out on our errands in the later afternoon, so I did not witness the northbound run.

Speaking of those errands, they all were fruitful. A stop at the local hardware and home center allowed me to get the items I wanted. Then a stop at the vacuum store where we retrieved the newly tuned vacuum. Finally, the big-box nursery and garden center where everything was on sale. That leads me back full circle to the watering and the planting that needs to be done.

The plants may wait until Friday, but the watering cannot wait. I can't count on the rain that may or may not occur. We have to amend the soil in the intended location for the plants, so that is one reason that we may have to wait to place the plants in their new homes. I did get the trimming done following Mary's lawn mowing session on Monday afternoon.

We ate lunch in, more roast beest and Coleslaw washed down by almond milk. Dinner came after our trip to the big-box nursery and garden center. We ate dinner at our favorite watering hole and watched the end of the Cubs game. More on that in the next chapter. As often happens, I fell asleep in the La-Z-Boy when we got home, and then moved upstairs to watch some TV in the media room.

Now for that aforementioned sports report. The Cubs handily dispatched the Phillies 8 - 1, behind another strong game by John Lackey. Ben Zobrist and Kris Bryant homered as the Cubs took two of three from the Phillies to run their N. L. Central record to 41 - 17, 9.5 games in front of the Pirates. The Cubs have the day off before meeting the Braves in Atlanta on Friday night.

The Tigers lost to the Blue Jays, a game we also watched at the favorite watering hole, 2 - 7. Oddly, the Tigers record of 30 - 29 still finds them in 2nd place in the A. L. Central, 2.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers also have the day off, before they are off to NYC to meet the Yankees on Friday night.

My beloved Red Sox finished their game against the Giants on the west coast just a short time ago. The Sox lost to the Giants, 1 - 2, as David Price surrendered two home runs to the Giants as the Sox' bats went to sleep. A rookie outfielder for the Giants hit his first major league home run in the bottom of the 8th to give the Giants the lead. He tried to give it back when he dropped a ball in the top of the 9th, but the Sox were unable to capitalize. That leaves the Sox 1.5 games in back of the red hot Orioles in the A. L. East, with a record of 34 - 25. Like the other teams in my little MLB™ group, the Sox have the day off and then they too are on the road to Minnesota to face the Twins Friday night.

The Caps fell to 3rd place in the M. W. L. East with a record of 33 - 23, following a loss to the Great Lakes Loons by a score of 2 - 6. They are the only team in action tonight, once again against the Great Lakes Loons.

That looks like a full day for me. Having finished my last novel, I am now starting a non-fiction book entitled The Court Martial of Paul Revere, by Michael M. Greenburg. This is the second of nine books that I will be reading as Mary and I read towards our goal of finishing the library's summer reading activity, Beachcomber Book Bingo, and receiving our nifty book bags as our reward. I did this activity two years ago and got a nice bag then too.

Naturally, we'll be taking the morning safari with STWD and then we are off to the hospital. If time permits, we will walk to get in some of the steps on our virtual journey from St. Ignace to Grand Haven. My thumb repairs have made it less likely that I'll make the 288 virtual miles, but the steps are always a good thing to accomplish anyway. 10,000 steps a day, the equivalent of five miles, is the goal for each day for this activity and for all people on a regular basis.

The sun will rise @ 6:05 a.m. and set @ 9:23 p.m. Ciao.