Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and around the world. It is just past 6:00 a.m. in "The City."

We have a current temperature of 73º under partly-cloudy skies. A wind-speed of 16 mph makes it feel like 73º. I guess that once the temperatures got warmer again, the wind-speed was no longer a factor. Today's high-temperature forecast of 69º will once again be accompanied by a 100% chance for showers this evening with a one-quarter inch accumulation. However, like those threats from the bully on  the playground, last night's threat of heavy T-storms was not backed up by any real action, as the showers that did materialize were not very significant. STWD spent her time hiding from the very real lightning and the very real thunder, but she had no worries about getting wet when Mary let her out late last night.

The sun will rise this morning @ 7:16 a.m. EDT and it will set later this evening @ 8:08 p.m. EDT.

My DTWS is showing a Barometric Pressure of 29.09" and rising while the NWS in GR is reporting a Barometric Pressure of 29.68" and also rising. That does not seem to bode any real chance for those showers in the forecast for tonight. Time will tell.

I'm going to hold on more watering today, as tonight's low temperature forecast for 54º should leep evaporation to a minimum, especially if those showers come to pass. 

We still have a Beach Hazard Statement in the forecast from the NWS in GR, for Mason, Oceana, Muskegon, Ottawa, Allegan, and Van Buren counties until 4:00 p.m. today. The beachgoers we saw yesterday on our return fom our cemetery walkabout didn't seem to mind the high waves nor the temperatures in the low 70º range.

The Gale Warning has been canceled. However, a Small Craft Advisory has gone into effect from St Joseph to Manistee, with wind-speeds of 15 to 25 knots and possible gusts to 30 knots, with wave heights from five to eight feet! Surf's up!

As I noted, we went walkabout at the Lakeforest Cemetery yesterday afternoon. While we didn't take any pix, we did see some deer grazing among the headstones. That walkabout was after we had spent two pleasant hours in the media-room watching the Downton Abbey movie, which nicely wrapped up the lives of the ficional Crawley family, the occupants of the manor and estate. We liked the movie immensely.

Later, over a dinner of slow-cooker fried-rice with a side of garden-fresh sliced tomatoes, we watched another episode of The Man In The High Castle. Finally, it was time for me to return to the media-room and watch more baseball.

Sadly, the 23 - 18 Cubs are still in a slump, as they fell to the 17 - 15, 2nd place Cardinals, 7 - 3. Starting LHP Jon Lester struggled mightily and seemed to have very little giddyup on his pitches. Right-fielder Jason Heyward lasted four innings before he was pulled out of the lineup and sent to a local hospital fpr tests. He told Cubs' manager David Ross, that he was feeling light-headed and was having trouble catching his breath. Oh Oh!

The Cubs and the Cardinals hit the field once again today @ 4:10 p.m. EDT when RHP Kyle Hendricks, 4 - 4, takes the mound.

My beloved 14 - 28 Red Sox were defeated by the 22 - 18 Blue Jays yesterday, 8 - 10. Lots of offense from both squads, but the final score was not very favorable for the beloved. The Sox are mercifully off today before traveling to Philadelphi to face the 19 - 17 Phillies @ 4:05 p.m. Tuesday, when LHP Martín Pérez, 2 - 4, takes the mound for the Sox.

The 18 - 20 Tigers handled the 25 - 17 Twins yesterday, 10 - 8, with the strong play of a trio of Tigers which included rookie IF Sergio Junior Alcántara Hernández, who got his first dinger after seeing only two major-league pitchee, catcher Grayson Greiner, who also got a dinger, and RHP Bryan Garcia, who got the win in relief of rookie RHP Casey Mize. Don't give up onthe tigers yet, they still have some game left in them. Today's game versus the Twins will feature RHP Michael Fulmer, 0 - 0 for the Tigers @ 2:10 p.m. EDT.

Today, we have some housecleaning to do, some reading to accomplish, some music to play, and some crafting to enjoy. Ciao.