Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:30 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 56° according to the NWS, while the DTWS and its FPMS (front porch mounted sensor), is showing 60°. In either case, there are mostly clear skies. Today's holiday high is forecast by the NWS to be 79° under partly cloudy skies. That forecast comes with a main course of pyromania, courtesy of the locals with their penchant for bright lights, loud noises, and general craziness.

Like STWD, I don't much like the loud noises, but I don't hide out in a hide-e-hole as she does. Last night, it was already loud due to the fireworks in the overall Tri-Cities area. Tonight the fireworks here in GH will draw thousands of visitors and the intrepid one will be forced to repair to her lair, either upstairs or down. We'll do our best for her and put her Thundershirt™ on to her quivering body. I feel sad for her, especially with the weather forecast. We are still on track for T-storms Wednesday evening @60% and Friday @ 90%. It will be a trying week for Sugar.

Let's see if this is far enough into this blog to bury the pathetic play of the Cubs on their just concluded road trip. They were pummeled by the Mets and swept after the Cubs bats failed to come to life and they lost 3 - 14. That means that the team is still in 1st place with a record of 51 - 30, but now, they are only up by 8.0 games over the Cardinals who won in the N. L. Central. The Cubs greet the Reds this afternoon.

Worthy of note, was the 1 1/3 innings pitched by starting pitcher Jon Lester. He was the National League™ pitcher of the month in June. He was expected to be able to halt the slide. In his 1 1/3 innings, the shortest start of his career, Lester surrendered 8 runs. The rest of the runs were given up by the bullpen.

Cubs' manager Joe Maddon says don't worry, be happy. I'll be happy if the Cubs bats come back to life and they start hitting the ball all over the Friendly Confines, and stop relying on the home run. The Cubs were outscored by the Mets in their recent series, 32 - 11.

The Tigers fared better, as they beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5 - 1, on the strength of Ian Kinsler's base running and slugging. The Tigers are now alone in 2nd place in the A. L, Central. They have a record of 44 - 38, just 5.5 games behind tonight's opponent, the Cleveland Indians, who have now lost 2 in a row. I like being able to jump back on the bandwagon.

My beloved Red Sox righted the ship at Fenway, as they pounded the Angels, 10 - 5. OF Jackie Bradley Jr. started 2 double plays from the outfield and also hit an RBI single in the Sox' 7 run 5th inning. The Sox have a solid hold on 2nd place in the A. L. East, 3.0 games behind the Orioles who lost yesterday. The Sox next opponent @ Fenway, is the Texas Rangers tonight.

It looks as though the winning pitcher from yesterday's game, Sean O'Sullivan, who at 28 years of age is being called a journeyman, not necessarily a good label in baseball, may replace Clay Buchholz in the Sox' rotation. That's after Buchholz lost his 9th game on Saturday. O'Sullivan has pitched for four teams, including the Sox, in his short career. He says he wants to settle down and that Boston is his kind of home, California life is just too hard to take. Oops. I was channeling Dave Loggins there for a minute. O'Sullivan is a native of San Diego, CA.

The Caps were postponed by inclement weather, so they still have a 4 - 6 record, and they are in 6th place .5 games behind their next opponent, the Great Lakes Loons. whom they Caps face tonight at home in a Midwest League East match-up.

I never got to the watering yesterday, so I have to put that on my To Do list for today. I am getting bored watering the lawns, as the grass seeds simply refuse to grow in front. Our veggies are all doing well, but the ones in the large pots at the edge of the driveway need more water as they lose moisture quickly. I did get the indoor chores done and Mary did her kitchen thing in the a.m. and p.m. I was tired after a long walk to the downtown area, including a stop at the Post and Double Deuce before we returned home. I think Mary also did  some knitting, and TV watching as I could hear the TV as I was falling asleep. She had sent me up to the media room with Sugar and some vegan cheese and crackers so that she could take command of the La-Z-Boy.

I hope to dial it back a bit today after the morning safari and the watering. We will likely make it to Washington Ave. later tonight to watch the fireworks, before returning to the front porch to watch the exodus from "The City" following those fireworks. While there were many places to park in town yesterday accompanied by light traffic, tonight a shoehorn would be needed to get any cars into GH. Many people park across Route 31, Beacon Blvd., to avoid being trapped in the traffic jams of cars and pedestrians that follow the fireworks on the Fourth of July and the annual Coast Guard Festival™ which starts later this month, and runs into August.

The sun will rise into partly cloudy skies @ 6:11 a.m. and set @  9:27 p.m. Ciao.