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

Here in the weather office/art studio/music studio/command-center, the indoor temperature is quite comfortable and the view out the WW is dark, with cloudy conditions prevailing. The Weather Window One Report using the NWS information from GR, will report that the outdoor temperature is currently 65° as we  head towards today's much more comfortable high temperature of 76° under partly-cloudy skies.

However, to paraphrase the movie, Poltergeist II, "They're back!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOkSvLqkafU

By they, I mean the seemingly never-ending warnings and alerts about conditions on and near the "Big Lake."

First, there is a warning about Rip Currents near the piers. That means that strong winds and waves combined with proximity to the piers, can produce dangerous currents that can challenge even the most experienced swimmers.

Secondly, along with those Rip Currents, there is a Beach Hazard Statement in effect from 12:00 p.m. today until 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. With winds that may reach 10 - 20 knots, and wave heights beginning @ two to four feet and building to five to seven feet, the Red Flag will be flying to warn people about the dangers of going into the water.

Naturally, the third warning is a Small Craft Warning, necessitated by those same winds and waves. Small boats, or boats of any size, or inexperienced sailors, should avoid going out into the lake. While we were out running some errands yesterday, we saw a large vessel that we had never seen visiting before, self-unloading at Verplank's Dock. When I read the Wednesday edition of the Grand Haven Tribune and peruse the Ship's Log column written by Sam Hankinson, I should be able to supply that identification information. The sheer size of that ship means that the captain and his officers have the appropriate Coast Guard licenses, and crew has the necessary experience. The ship must have all the appropriate instrumentation for navigating the often dangerous waters of Lake Michigan.

The sun will rise this morning @ 6:25 a.m. and set later @ 9:17 p.m.

Speaking of the U S Coast Guard, the annual Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival begins on Friday, but the ships of the USCG and perhaps some ships from the Canadian Coast Guard, won't be visiting until Tuesday, July 29 2019 for an extended stay and tours. This year's festival has been truncated and the schedule has been changed. Why? Perhaps to cut down on the disruption to businesses in our fair city. Who knows?


Baseball news yesterday was not so good.

The 64 - 45, still 1st place in the NL Central Cubs, had no offense yesterday as the 47 - 52, 4th place Padres took one game from the Cubs over the weekend, 5 - 1. The Cubs still maintain a two game lead over the 2nd place Brewers. The Cubs travel west to San Francisco to face the Giants tonight @ 9:45 p.m. EDT as Alec Mills makes his second start for the Cubs.

My beloved, 54 - 46, 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox, also had no offense in their game against the 31 - 67, 5th place Orioles, as the Sox and Andrew Cashner lost the game 0 - 5. The Sox are in Tampa Bay tonight @ 7:10 p.m., as Eduardo Rodriguez takes the mound for the Sox.

The hard-luck, 30 - 65, 5th place in the AL Central Tigers, needed 10 innings and a walk-off home run by Nick Castellanos, who may be traded soon, to win their game over the 38 - 63, 4th place in the AL East Blue Jays, 3 - 2. The Tigers welcome the 52- 48, 3rd place in the NL Central Phillies to Comerica Park tonight @ 7:10 p.m., as Jordan Zimmerman gets the nod from Ron Gardenhire.

The even more hard-luck, West Michigan WhiteCaps, dropped two to the Wisconsin Timber
Rattlers yesterday, 3 - 6 and 4 - 6. The Caps are still in 7th place in the MWL East and they have one more game against the Timber Rattlers today @ 1:05 p.m., before getting the day off Tuesday. The Lansing Lug Nuts come to town @ 7:05 p.m. Wednesday night.

We had a great brunch yesterday that consisted of a bagel with a schmear, topped with a slice of onion and our first tomato of the year. There is nothing like a garden-fresh tomato.

Tasted even better than it looks!

Indeed!

As I mentioned, we ran some errands yesterday, that included a stop at the big-box home center and the big-box craft store in Norton Shores, followed by a stop @ the Village Baker in Spring Lake. We were on our way back from Spring Lake, as we headed for our favorite watering hole, when we spotted that large vessel. The Tip-a Few Tavern was crowded, as usual, but we got a table in the corner after scoring the only nearby parking place right in front. Shortly after our arrival, there was a lengthy waiting list for tables or seats at the bar.

Today, I have an appointment at the podiatrist just before lunchtime. I should do some work around the PE, but that has yet to be determined. Mary is planning on starting my new kitchen apron, which features a visage of my trusty stand mixer. Ciao.