Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 7:00 a.m. in "The City."

What a whirlwind day we had yesterday. By the time we arose, it was nearing noon here at the manse. The fur-children, as always, were ready for their brunch and I was eager to get on with my day.

As I had anticipated, after lunch, I spent some time in the kitchen making vegan food and cleaning up after myself. It's not that I have an insatiable need for cleanliness, it's just that when you spent as many years as I did working for a company that stressed, "If you've got to time to lean, you've got time to clean", that it is ingrained in my psyche. I also find it hard to work with clutter in my working environment.

Fortunately, I had my sous-terrier, Ginger, on hand for assistance and she and her sister STWD, were at the ready when I chopped up the mushrooms. All in all, a good couple of hours.

Later, Mary used some of my efforts to make her secret-recipe pasta sauce for dinner. Our sous-terrier was also delighted, as she loves, and I stress the word loves, uncooked whole-wheat pasta, especially spaghetti noodles, for a snack. Mary was quick to mollify Ginger. As you may recall, Ginger won't touch the chickpea variety, while STWD will gladly take whatever she is offered. Who says that dogs have no sense of taste.

Later, we spent some time reading while the fur-children waited "patiently" nearby. They were awaiting the "signal" that it was time for a walkabout. The "signal" is our closing our reading material. At that juncture, Ginger is off to the races, as she rockets to pin herself by the backdoor so as not to be forgotten. STWD, as befits her dowager status, gets there too, but she just strolls to the backdoor. Ginger is a youthful five-year old, while STWD is a more mature 15.

Speaking of that walkabout, we took our usual drive to the Lake Forest Cemetery. Ginger has the route memorized and grows more agitated as we approach the gate. When you vary the route, or go somewhere she isn't anticipating, she tends to freak out a bit. STWD just sits quietly in the backseat, hopeful, but not overly excited, at least until I help her out of the car.

At any rate, I didn't take along my camera, but Mary, our Senior Staff Photographer, took hers and snapped some great pix of the wild turkeys that call the cemetery home. Unlike their domesticated cousins, these turkeys can, and do, fly.

I thought that this was a good place to insert that infamous "Turkey-Drop"scene. as narrated by fictional WKRP newsman, Les Nessman, from the sitcom, WKRP in Cincinnati, as a nice segue to those pix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p00nBSNIPwg

The turkeys were aware of our fur-children, and they gave us a wide berth.

But, they continued to graze amongst the markers. 

In addition, our Senior Staff Photographer took some additional pix of the flora at the cemetery from various angles to best capture the vibrant colors of this beautiful fall day.

As is all too often the case, the naked eye sees more than the camera lens.

But, I hope you get the idea.

Sunlight through the trees as a backdrop to the colors of fall. 

I decided to torture myself last night, sitting down upstairs in the media room after dinner to watch the Bears and the Buccaneers, while Mary worked on some knitting downstairs. To my surprise and delight, the Bears defense stymied Tom Brady and the Buccaneers offense, as the 4 - 1 Bears took control of the clock and kicked a last minute field goal for the 19 - 18 win. Not baseball, but a good way to end the day.

We have a current temperature of 47° under clear-skies with a 7 mph wind that makes it feel like 43°. In addition, another if those seemingly ever-present advisories will go into effect @ 8:00 a.m. today and last until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. This advisory is yet another Small Craft Advisory that will start out with southerly winds @ 15 - 30 knots and switch over this afternoon to southwesterly winds that will produce waves of three to five feet south of Holland and four to eight feet north of Holland. Is it time for more pix? I dunno.

We have an appointment for the fur-children at their doctor's office this afternoon for their annual exams. Plus, Ginger is due for a renewal of her Ottawa County license too. STWD just needs her Senior Wellness Exam. In both their cases, they have some vaccinations due, but we have to return another day for a second round, since neither of our fur-children seem to fare well with a massive infusion of the various drugs in one visit. 

Otherwise, I have to make a stop in the man-cave today to install our water leak detector. According to the description on the website, it should be an easy installation, but rarely is that the case. 

I am about to re-engage with my harmonica lessons and also take some time to play with my "girls" too. I love these early morning hours when I can just relax and play. 

The sun will rise today @ 7:52 a.m. and set this evening @ 7:11 p.m. Ciao.