Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation, and across the world. It is just after 4:00 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 70° under clear skies. My DTWS is reporting 72.0º on the front porch and 72.0º on the deck. According to the NWS, light winds of 5 mph make it feel like 70°. Today's high temperature is forecast to be 87º under sunny skies with a relative humidity index of 65% and only a 5% chance for additional precipitation. More watering tomorrow.

According to my DTWS, the barometric pressure is 29.33" and steady, while the NWS is reporting 29.94", also steady.

The sun will rise this morning @ 6:09 a.m. and it will set later @ 9:28 p.m.

The local pyromaniacs are still tormenting STWD. Sigh. Therein lies a tale for later in this blog

I drove to GR yesterday for that appointment and everything went well, that is unless you consider the fact that these days, I like being a passenger more than a driver. The other day, Mary asked if I needed to practice my driving skills. I told her no, my skills are fine, however, I don't feel a need to drive anymore. My trip yesterday confirmed that to me. Too many lane narrowings, stalled cars, detours, and a souped-up Mustang that looked like something out of the movie Road Warrior to make driving enjoyable. I could tell that the Mustang had been modified by the huge intercooler visible in the car's nose and the sound it made as it passed my Jeep™ when he got tired of being behind an old guy doing the speed limit. I don't know if everyone gets to this point, but I have.

I think from now on, and whenever possible, I'll follow that old commercial from the Greyhound Bus Company™, and leave the driving to Mary. As a driver, I am now a much better navigator. Here is a promo commercial from Greyhound™ to illustrate my sentiments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfh-2zcm7BA

The A/C installers arrived yesterday afternoon to start the demolition/removal of the old central A/C system. They seem to have made significant progress, much to the consternation of STWD. As you may recall, she does not deal well with loud noises, and the banging required to remove the old equipment was too much for her.

As previously promised, here is the balance of that aforementioned tale about my trip.

Along Lake Michigan Dr., the non-expressway route to GR, I espied multiple tents and stores hawking fireworks, including one that advertised commercial-grade displays/munitions. Almost all of the local towns, villages, and cities won't be having their Fourth of July displays this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is getting worse by the day. So, I believe that all too many pyromaniacs will begin their own displays starting late tomorrow night and continuing through Saturday night. We'll have to put Sugar in her Thundershirt™ and hold her paw as much as we can. I feel so bad for her as she can't understand the whole fireworks thing.

Here is a pic of the "Cutest Dog on the Planet" in a more tranquil time.

In-person she is even cuter!

Today, the A/C installers will arrive around 8:30 a.m. to begin their day. Hopefully, they can get the system up and running by day's end.

Otherwise, we will do our best to conserve whatever cool air we can find here at the manse. That may mean that we and the fur-children spend a lot of time in my studio where I have a window A/C unit purring away. Ciao.