Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 2:28 a.m. in "The City."

Here in the GH Weather Center, home to The Weather Window One Report, we have a current temperature of 74° under partly-cloudy skies. The sun will rise today @ 6:21 a.m. and set tonight @ 9:20 p.m. In between, the NWS has three warnings/alerts in their forecast.

First, there exists a Beach Hazard Statement that will be in effect until 8:00 p.m. Friday night. Strong winds, rip currents, and high waves are all possible and highly likely.

Second, there is also a Small Craft Warning for the "Big Lake" in effect until 8:00 p.m. Friday night. Those same high winds, 10 - 15 knots, and large waves, 3 - 5 feet in height, will once again make sailing the waters of Lake Michigan hazardous for inexperienced sailors, small boats, and any watercraft without instruments.

Finally, there also exists an Air Quality Alert for today. Once again , refueling of vehicles, operation of gasoline powered equipment, and topping off their gas cans is strongly discouraged, while biking to work and other activities, using water-based paints, and combining errands are strongly encouraged.

UPDATE!

A Severe Weather Alert/Excessive Heat Warning has been issued by the NWS that will be in effect from noon today until 8:00 p.m. Saturday! Heat indices will approach 100° today and exceed 105° Friday and Saturday! Overnight lows will be in the mid to upper 70s with continued muggy conditions. Pets, older people like us, children, and people who work outdoors should take extra precautions. In fact, people who work outdoors should schedule extra rest breaks! Car interiors will quickly get unbearable and dangerous for pets and other living things. 

Baseball news yesterday was mostly positive.

The 52 - 44, 1st place in the NL Central Cubs, lead the Brewers by 2. 5 games, following the Cubs win over the 43 - 52, 5th place Reds, 5 - 2. Worthy of note, is that Yu Darvish, 3 - 4, got his first win @ Wrigley Field. The Cubs are off until Friday @ 2:20 p.m. EDT, when Jon Lester and the Cubs welcome the 46 - 49, 4th place in the NL West Padres.

My beloved, 52 - 44, 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox, eked out a win over the 36 - 61, 4th place in the AL East Blue Jays, 5 - 4. Eduardo Rodriguez notched his 11th win against only 4 losses. The Sox play the Jays again today @ 1:05 p.m., when Chris Sale,  3 - 9, takes the mound.

Sox 3rd baseman, 22 year old Rafael Devers, continued his breakout year, getting a home run and 4 RBIs, en route to his league leading 70 RBIs and a great total of 18 home runs.

The 29 - 62, 5th place in the AL Central Tigers lost once again to the 54 - 40, 2nd place in the AL Central Indians, 2 - 7. Spencer Turnbull, 3 - 9, had nothing as the Indians romped over the hapless Tigers. The Tigers and the Indians play again tonight @ 7:10 p.m., when Matthew Boyd, 6 - 7, gets the nod from Tiger's manager, Ron Gardenhire.

The 34 - 63, 7th place n the MWL East West Michigan WhiteCaps, hung one on the 34 - 58, 7th place in the MWL West Beloit Snappers, 13 - 8. Bothe teams take the field tonight @ 7:30 p.m.

I finished reading my latest novel yesterday and started a new one that may or may not be to my liking, So far it is good, but the jury is still out, if you'll pardon the legal reference.

Otherwise, we had an uneventful day. STWD is still being weird, eating only one meal per day. She eats that one meal at dinner time with gusto, so I don't know what her problem may be. Perhaps it is just old age. She seems fine and active otherwise, so who knows?

No pun intended, but here is a short report on the train runs on the RSTL from yesterday. At 9:00 a.m., I espied locomotives 2019 and 2025 heading south, towing 8 CHCs, 1 DBTC, 2 DWTC, and 1 GTC. Later @ 2:47 p.m., I saw those same locomotives heading north, towing 9 CHCs, 3 DBTCs. amd4 DWTCs.

I picked our first tomato yesterday. This one was from the "Early Girl" plant and is right on schedule. Many more to come. The tomatillo plants, and the Roma tomatoes are growing like gangbusters. Our sweet pepper plants, not so much. I completed the indoor chores while Mary tackled the meals. That looks like enough for one day. Ciao.