Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 12:00 a.m. in "The City."

We have a current temperature of between 76° per the NWS and 80° per the DTWS. In either case, it is warm here in West Michigan with fair skies. There is also a Beach Hazard Statement for Ottawa, County issued by the NWS due to the windy conditions that are producing high waves on "The Big Lake."

Later today, the NWS is forecasting a high temperature of 81° under partly cloudy skies. Our next chance for significant precipitation is in the form of rain/T-storms @ 50% on Tuesday and 80% on Wednesday. We shall see.

I had to water yesterday so that the lawns and gardens of the PE didn't perish. Right now, our veggies are looking fine, but the lawns are looking parched and brown. I'm watering the backyard lawn in hopes that Ginger won't entirely kill it before fall.

Major announcement! Mary and I had a collective fail for dinner. My homemade sausage buns turned out inedible and Mary's Polish sausages turned out likewise. In addition, the Coleslaw that I made, while edible, was not up to my usual world-class standards. In the case of my sausage buns, the use of potato starch versus potato flour is the likely reason. Mary's sausages? We don't know. Mary has very few failures, but when she and I do, they are doozies.

Mary did redeem herself with the sloppy Joes that she finally made for our dinner and some tofu bacon she made for another purpose. Mary has assured me that dinner tonight, whatever it may be, will be a vast improvement. The sausages and the buns have now been consigned to the ash heap of history, to paraphrase Vladimir Lenin.

Sports news yesterday was mostly good, depending on your perspective.

The Cubs righted the ship and beat the Rockies 7 - 5 on the strength of four home runs and some solid RBI producing hits. Jake Arrieta, in his shortest outing this season, lasted 4 1/3 innings, surrendering five hits, and four earned runs while striking out three and walking three. One baseball pundit opined that Arrieta should pursue free-agency this winter and take the money from any other team willing to pay him. Brutal? Maybe, but right now, Arrieta is not a Cy Young caliber pitcher and should not be looking for the kind of money his agent will be expected to demand.

The Cubs are now @ 31 - 31 in the NL Central and one game behind the Brewers in a very weak division. The Cubs and the Mets meet tonight @ 7:10 p.m. in NYC.

The Tigers pounded my beloved Red Sox, 11 - 3 en route to a 29 - 32 record and 3rd place in the AL Central. The Tigers have the day off today before hosting the D'Backs @ Comerica Park Tuesday night @ 7:10 p.m.

Conversely, the Sox were pounded by the Tigers 3 - 11. That loss gives theSox an AL East record of 34 - 28 in a strong division. The Sox trail the 1st place Yankees by 3.5 games. The Sox don't have the day off as they host the Phillies tonight @ Fenway Park @ 7:10 p.m.

The Caps had a great day in front of the kids as they defeated the Dayton Dragons 9 - 2 to move to 42 - 21 and a solid hold in the MWL East division with a full four game lead over the Dragons. The Caps and the Dragons close out their series today @ 12:00 p.m.

We'll be taking the fur-children for an abbreviated walk later this morning. The warm temperature expected today is too much for STWD. Even Ginger slows down in the heat. I hope to try again soon on those sausage buns. I also need to powerwash the deck. I'd like to continue reading and get in some time with the girls too. Like yours truly, Mary has a need to redeem herself in the kitchen along with some crafty things.

I also have an appointment to have a few hairs cut today.

The sun will rise today @ 6:04 a.m. and set @ 9:25 p.m. Ciao.