Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:30 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 44° under clear skies. Winds of 13 mph make it feel like 37°. Today's high-temperature forecast of 56º, under mostly sunny skies, will be about 6º warmer than yesterday. There is no chance. for precipitation today.

Our next chance for consistent temperatures in the 60s is probably May 15 or 16. Sigh.

The sun will rise today @ 6:32 a.m. and set later @ 8:51 p.m.

Sad news from yesterday. Retirees from the district where I used to teach, received the news that a gentleman who worked in our school district, Bob Gerry, passed away. Bob was a genuinely nice man who passionately cared about the district and its students. Everyone always said Bob was a joy to work with and to just be around. He will be missed.

Speaking of being missed. Here in GH, our own Musical Fountain Show, which was originally set to begin Friday with the season opener for 2020 will be delayed, indefinitely.

According to an article in the Grand Haven Tribune, “Traditionally, the Grand Haven Musical Fountain opens the first weekend in May,” the fountain’s committee said in a press release. “Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the fountain will not be operating until further notice.” The Musical Fountain is one of the major tourist attractions here in Grand Haven. The "Tourist Season" itself is in jeopardy, so there seems little point in allowing locals or tourists to gather in close quarters and take the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus.

In more Grand Haven news, I received an email from a young man whom I have known for most of the many years we've lived in Grand Haven, Larry Halvorsen. Larry is currently the Public Relations and Community Outreach Director for our own Loutit District Library and also the coordinator of the monthly Irish Jam Sessions that I have attended each month for many years.

I was informed by Larry that he will be retiring on May 15. In addition, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the library has elected to not offer any in-house programming for the remainder of 2020. Since those Irish Jam Sessions are one of those programs, Larry has made the decision to retire those too. The jam sessions will come to a permanent end after seven years. I have truly enjoyed the time to play and sing along with other local musicians. AI consider myself one of the "Founding Members" of the Irish Jam Sessions after Mary strongly encouraged me to attend seven years ago. In addition, we consider Larry a good friend. He will be missed even more than the sessions themselves. Bon Voyage Larry.

Since we had the opportunity and the time, we once again took the fur-children to the Lake Forest Cemetery to give them and ourselves some much-needed exercise in an area generally devoid of other people. In addition, we also spent time wandering through the cemetery grounds in search of the gravesite of one of the former owners/occupants of our home, Miss Marian Klaussen. She passed away in 1973, after having lived here in the manse her entire life. She was never married. We found her and we hope to visit again and maybe tidy up her gravesite, as no other relatives live nearby.

Since we were there, I took more pix of the many interesting headstones and the grounds of the cemetery itself. Here are some random samples.

This is the site of the three Klaussen family members interred at Lake Foret Cemetery. Seen, are the headstones of Marian and her parents, Joseph and Mary. The site needs some TLC.

Although it is hard to see, this is a monument to a young man who was lovingly called, "Our Little Drummer Boy." This site too is in poor condition, indicating that there is probably no one to tend to the site.

 As I noted, I took a lot of pix at the cemetery, so here are a few more.

As we walked the grounds, this was a nice view.

Simple shots can be attractive too.

This is a long view of the site of the Klaussen family burial plot.

When we returned home, I snapped some pix of the flora that is growing in the Vast Gardens of our own Palatial Estate. Here they are in no particular order.

Like many of the blooming flowers in the Vast Gardens, our tulips have yet to bloom.

But, Mary's roses are quickly sprouting new leaves. Can flowers be far behind?

Both the fur-children and we were tired after our outing, so we settled in for some TV viewing. Mary still had some energy, so she repaired to her kitchen to finish the 13 bean soup she had started the night before. She created three quarts of what should be a delicious repast.

Can you ever get enough soup? Nah!

Today, we have no plans other than to color, work Friday's crossword puzzle, read, write, play some music, and allow me and the fur-children the opportunity to watch Mary depart for the Fast lane™ grocery pick up and then to welcome her return. Ciao.