Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 8:00 a.m. in "The City."

A quickie weather report shows that our current temperature is 34°, which coincidentally, is also the low from last night. However, it feels like 28° with a wind out of the south @ eight mph and slightly hazy/foggy conditions. Today's high will reach 39°, so that light dusting of snow that we received overnight will melt away very soon. The sun rose this morning @ 7:23 a.m. and it will set this evening @ 6:32 p.m.

We gave our fur-children that much needed pawdicure yesterday afternoon and then set out for the Grand Haven State Park and a walkabout in the mostly clear parking lot. I took along my camera and snapped some pix for posterity. 

We were not alone on a sunny Friday afternoon.

Sometimes, you find subject matter that sneaks up on you and your camera.

I can never resist a chance to snap a pic of an empty playground.

Or Two.

I wish I could paint this scene as well as I caught it digitally.

Same here, and yes, there are people on the pier, even beyond the outer lighthouse..

This one captured the colors of the sky and both of our lighthouses.

When this concrete sidewalk was laid many years ago, a maple leaf was captured for posterity.

If you snap often enough, you can get a great shot of a gull in flight behind the barren tree branches.

Soon, post Covid-19, the park will be teeming with campers and tourists.

Sometimes your own deck is a great source of material. 

I mentioned the falling ice the other day. Here is one of the chunks that fell on our A/C unit.

And on our neighbor's yard waste bin. Ouch!

I was trying to capture another of the things on our deck. These are some glass beads/marbles that Mary arranged under one of our planters.

Mary adapted a recipe for vegan Jambalaya that I found on the internet. It took some work, and it took some time, but the end result is definitely a keeper. Dinner was delicious.

Today, we have to do some indoor chores, play some music, do some knitting, and I have been tasked with making some vegan bratwursts from our old family recipe. I think that the taste is always spot on, but of course, the vegan version lacks that greasy sensation that brats made from animal products have. I like these better.

Otherwise, I have signed up for an online workshop with Mike Amica from Olympus. This one is covering macro photography, so I have brought up both my own macro lens that interchanges on my own Olympus DSLR camera, and Mary's Olympus Tough, TG-6 camera, which is great for macros as that is what it was designed to shoot.

Otherwise, not much is happening today. Ciao. 

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 best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. I think that phrase best describes yesterday here at the PE. We had plans that got sidetracked by fur-children, crossword solving, hat finishing, pom-pom creation, and internal yarn questing here at the manse. My personal favorite is the finishing of my latest hat and the creation of the multi-colored pom-pom for its topper. I'd include a picture of me wearing my newest hat, but unfortunately, the picture that Mary took looks too much like me, so...

At any rate, after two crosswords, one hat, one pom-pom, and a lot of yarn questing in Mary's stash, our fur-children never got their pawdicures. I did manage to Furminate STWD twice yesterday, so there is that.

We have a current temperature of 27° under somewhat foggy skies, that feels like 20° with an east wind of five mph. Once again, there are no alerts in effect. The NWS forecast for today calls for partly-cloudy skies and a high-temperature of 40° with an overnight low of 33°.

The ice continues to melt and drip. But, the alternative is icicles and chunks of ice that could sink a ship hanging from the roof. It was one of those ice-chunks that last year crushed our air conditioning unit and which this year produced large pieces that crushed the top of our neighbor's yard-waste bin. So...

The sun will rise today @ 7:25 a.m. and set this evening @  6:31 p.m.

I was awake last night, unlike my vaccine-induced fatigue the night before from Wednesday's first Covid-19 vaccination. At least one more vaccination to go, which will be on St. Patrick's Day.

Since I was awake @ 8:39 p.m., I watched as MMRR EMD GP 38-2 locomotives 2019 and 2170 passed by heading south, towing eight CHCs, five DBTCs, one DWTC, and 11 CGCs, all seemingly empty. 

Later, I had just gone to bed, when I heard the passage of those same locomotives as they headed north, deadheading.

Today, we have to get to those pawdicures and some walking with the fur-children. They are okay with the grinding of their nails, but they love going for walks. Who can blame them?

Otherwise, we hope to get in some time reading, making some vegan dishes, and doing some of those  chores and things that we put off yesterday. Ciao. 

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." 

I've been busy the last couple of days, so I had no time to add to my blogs. But, today should be a bit slower paced and so I can get some things done and still find time to relax.

One of the things that has kept both of us busy was getting signed up for our first Covid-19 vaccinations. We had appointments set when a better opportunity was posted in our emails, so we jumped on those and received our first doses @ our local hospital wo weeks until those vaccinations are considered effective. 

I slept through the night as was predicted, from the effects of the Covid-19 vaccinations. While my arm is a tad sore at the injection site, I am otherwise doing fine. I can't attest to Mary's vaccination related issues until later this morning when she wakes up. 

Perhaps her sleeping in today is due to the vaccinations or just the need to stay on her regular schedule. Generally, she likes to stay up late and watch TV, let the fur-children out for their final visits, and knit, while I like to get to bed early after watching some inane TV  in our Media Room and just doing as little as possible. 

Call it the Luck of the Irish if you will, but our second vaccinations are set for March 17, St. Patrick's Day! With some calculations, Mary determined that our "Independence Day" will be April 1, 2021 when we are considered sufficiently safe. 

But back to the present and the future.

We have a current temperature of 24° that feels like 24° with only a two mph wind out of the west. Today's high temperature is forecast by the NWS to reach 35° with an overnight low of 27°. So, we will be having a few of those freeze/thaw days for a while along with some improving daily high temperatures in the 40s. I'll take it.

Our current barometric presure reading, as supplied by the NWS, is 30.29" of Hg and rising, while my own DTWS is displaying 29.60" and steady. We have no alerts in effect at this time.

The sun will rise this morning @7:26 a.m. and set this evening @ 6:29 p.m.

We have some maintenance to do on our fur-children today and that's about all. Sugar is in her own freeze/thaw cycle and she is shedding like all dogs do at this time of the year. My thanks to whomsoever invented the Furminator™ dog brush and the vacuum cleaner.. However, if you have a dog in your family, you know that this is life with your fur-children. Of course, Ginger being a terrier mix, she doesn't shed. Instead, she requires regular grooming and bathing. When you adopt, you get great dogs as  companions, but you also get their specific breed characteristics as part of the package. 

Otherwise, we have nothing on tap for today. Perhaps more reading, more painting, more music, more knitting, and more TV viewing, but those are easy when compared to the lives of many working people. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 5:15 p.m. in "The City."

We've just returned from a library pick up, a photo safari, and a reconnoitering of the location where I will be getting my first Covid-19 vaccination on Wednesday. Yes, my friends, the chance to actually make an appointment arose yesterday morning in an email and I jumped on it. Later that same afternoon, Mary jumped on a chance to make an appointment at an entirely different location next Friday. My chance was due to a local medical group, while hers was courtesy of a chain pharmacy with a location in Spring Lake. All good. 

But back to the local news. 

We have a current temperature of 34° under mostly cloudy skies. The 18 mph wind out of the east makes it feel like 23°. My DTWS is showing a barometric pressure reading of 29.54" of Hg and rising, while the NWS is reporting 30.12" and falling.

Our overnight low is forecast to be 30°, but that is accompanied by two Advisories, the first for a Winter Weather Advisory that goes into effect @ 8:00 p.m. tonight for portions of central, southwest, and west central MI. The forecast calls for two to four inches of heavy wet snow, with the heaviest snow fall occurring between 9:00 p.m. tonight and 5:00 a.m. tomorrow. That's accompanied by the usual hazardous driving conditions. Once again, thanks for our snow service.

In addition, there will be a  Small Craft Advisory in effect until 10:00 p.m. Tuesday from St. Joseph to Manistee. 15 to 30 knot winds will cause five to eight foot waves on the "Big Lake."

The sun will rise tomorrow @ 7:32 a.m. and set later @ 6:24 p.m.

Now I can get to the video of the SIMs II power plant and Smoke Stack  that fell last Friday. We heard and felt the rumble from the demolition just after 8:00 a.m. The plant is about one mile from the manse as the crow flies, so to speak. 

https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/lakeshore/ottawa/grand-haven-smokestack-scheduled-for-demolition-friday-feb-19

As you may recall, I took some pre-demolition pix late last week and some post-demolition pix today.

Late last week.

The same.

And today.

Also today, just a pile of rubble.

Of course, since we were out, Mary drove us through Spring Lake for some additional pix of things we had nor seen for a while.

Even the birds were resting.

I actually managed to capture the colors in the wintry sky.

The entirety of Spring Lake is a frozen tableau. 

Another sky show with the lake in the picture. 

Lest you think we weren't busy today, we gave Ginger a bath after yesterday's grooming session. She was very cooperative both yesterday and today.

I also finished the Friday crossword puzzle and that was about the extent of my ambitions for today. 

Tomorrow, Mary plans to go to that big-box nearly everything store for a pick up. Since it will be later in the day, the roads should be clear. 

Otherwise, I hope to get to play more music, read more, and just be retired. Mary has several projects in the works right now, so she has no need to add to her schedule. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. across the nation and across the world. It is just pas 9:15 p.m. in "The City."

We have a current temperature of 23° under cloudy-skies, that actually feels like 23° with only a one mph south wind blowing. Tonight's low temperature will fall to 16°, while tomorrow's high will reach 26° with a 41% chance for a.m. snow showers, before falling to an overnight low temperature of 19°. The sun will rise tomorrow @ 7:37 a.m. and set tomorrow evening @ 6:20 p.m.

There is good news from the NWS with regard to the upcoming daily high temperatures. We will get to 33° on Sunday and continue in the 30° range for the foreseeable future. Is spring springing?

The NWS is reporting a current barometric pressure of 30.35" of Hg and rising, while my own DTWS is showing 29.74" of Hg and steady.

We decided to take a short trip around GH this afternoon to do some sightseeing and picture taking. We should have headed to the Grand Haven State Park immediately, but we didn't, so we arrived there as a secondary destination. I took some pix there and later at our third destination, Harbor Island and Linear Park, which is adjacent to the BLP Sims II power plant. That stop also also yielded some good pix. 

We didn't see any birds in flight, but we did see this drone.

What's a stop at the State Park without a picture of the outer lighthouse on the south pier.  

One of the sculptures that line the channel along Harbor Drive.

Linear Park is part of the GH Parks and Recreation Department.

I used the trees as a frame for the partially demolished power plant. 

And also for the Coal tipple too.

The Pere Marquette locomotive #1223 is partially snow covered. 

I took some time today to work in the kitchen and my efforts produced the vegan Italian meatballs that Mary incorporated into our dinner. More simmer time for her secret recipe sauce means more flavor at dinnertime.

While I was in the kitchen. Mary was boxing up our donations to the local Goodwill Store here in GH. Then, I sat down to do some crossword solving and also read several chapters from the Last Days of John Lennon. We have learned a lot from our reading.

I just watched the southbound passage of MMRR locomotives 2170 and 2019, as they towed seven CHCs, and 11 CGCs. I have heard the northbound runs several times recently, but I have not reported on the runs in either direction. 

Tomorrow, I hope to get back to my painting. I  have some ideas that I want to incorporate into my current effort. I need to get back to my guitars too, as I've been neglecting the girls for several days. I have been more respectful of my harmonica practice.

Otherwise, we plan to make that donation run, do more reading, more crossword solving, more cross stitching, more knitting, and more retiring. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 10:00 p.m. in "The City."

My DTWS is showing a current barometric pressure of 29.65 of Hg and falling, while the NWS is broadcasting 30.27" of Hg and rising.

Neither of those readings were useful in predicting the four inches of snow that fell on the GH area and the PE specifically. In fact, I was up early enough this morning to get some pix of our deck, the porch,  our trash bin area, and our shared driveway prior to the arrival of our snow removal service.

This is where I have to place the trash bins before the area was cleared.

And after clearing. 

The city plows left the entrance to our shared driveway snow filled.

But our snow removal service cleared the entrance just after noon today.

The snow continues to pile up on our deck furniture.

And on our trees and pergola. 

We got an early delivery today that required the delivery person to traverse the mounds.

But now the area is all cleared and ready to receive more deliveries. 

We have a current temperature of 9° under partly-cloudy skies, that feels like 9° with only a 1 mph wind out of the east. The low temperature forecast for tonight calls for 7° before tomorrow's high temperature forecast of 23°. 

We have no watches, advisories, not alerts in effect at this time.

I accomplished quite a bit late last night and today. I finished a 744 page large-print novel that was just compelling enough to keep me reading, but not compelling enough to make me recommend it to others.

I started a new novel today. I also did the indoor chores, worked the weekend crossword puzzle, added some paint to my canvas, and made more vegan Italian burgers which Mary used to make part of our dinner. She added some sautéed mushrooms to the burgers and they were a nice change from our regular onions.

Tonight and tomorrow, Mary will continue to cross stitch on my artist's apron, we'll read more of our collective non-fiction book, The Last Days of John Lennon and I'll read more and perhaps get to other things that await my attention. Ciao. 

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

We have a current temperature of 14° that feels like 1° with winds out of the north @ 10 mph. I was just outside with our fur-children for their post-evening meal visits, and I was cold. 

But be that as it may. Overall, I like that when I do go out, our snow service has cleared the porch, the deck, and the driveway. 

Tonight's low will drop to 8° before tomorrow's high temperature of 15°. Tomorrow night's low temperature will also be 8°.

My DTWS is showing a barometric pressure of 29.83" and falling, while the NWS is reporting 30.47" and rising. I have no explanation for that huge discrepancy except for the effects of Lake Michigan. 

The sun will rise tomorrow @ 7:43 a.m. and set tomorrow evening@ 6 :15 p.m.

We are soon to be under two Weather Advisories, a Winter Weather Advisory that goes into effect @ 10:00 p.m. tonight for Central, South Central and Southwest Michigan beginning @ 10:00 p.m. tonight and continuing until Tuesday afternoon 12:00 p.m. I should mention that the driving conditions for the morning and evening commutes will be treacherous. The Winter Weather Advisory will still be in effect tomorrow during the day tomorrow, but apparently the snow will let up during the daylight hours. Go figure.

Our own Tri-Cities area may see between two and four inches of additional snow. I took some pix to illustrate how the snow is piling up here at the manse. I'll add those now.

Taken looking due south from our deck.

A close up shot of our non-functional water pump near the garage. 

Of course, the evening wouldn't be complete without another Weather Advisory this one for a Small Craft Advisory from St. Joseph to Manistee. 15 to 25 knot winds may produce waves from three to six feet in height in open water areas. So, where the water is open near the Grand Haven State Park, there will be waves to photograph for the photographers more brave and hearty than I.

Too many of those brave people were already there this afternoon, so we continued on to the Lake Forest Cemetery.

At any rate, we had gone out to pick up some books at the library and I took along my camera for some pix at the aforementioned state park. So, instead of stopping there, we continued to the Lake Forest Cemetery for a photo op.

Luckily, we espied some deer roaming through the grounds of the cemetery and so I shot some pix of them.

The deer had blazed their own trail into the hills at the cemetery.

Those deer were very aware of our presence.

I snapped a shot of this yearling, who was favoring an injured right rear leg. How badly was he or she hurt? I don't really know. But it could be a break or just a laceration. 

We thought about climbing theses stairs, but discretion is the better part of valor as they say, so...

I have a picture somewhere in my collection of this fallen tree in the warmer weather, but for now, this is an interesting shot. 

The squirrels know how to stay out of the way of predators as the rest high atop the trees in this nest. 

We were going to watch the Daytona 500 Taxi cab race, but it came to an abrupt halt following a 16 car crash and also a rain event. 

Tomorrow, Mary has a grocery store pick up at that big box nearly everything store. She will also be continuing with her cross-stitch efforts on my artist's apron, speaking of which, I hope to get back to my artistic pursuits and read more. Being retired is such a busy time of life. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 8:45 p.m. in "The City."

We have no watches, advisories, alerts, nor warnings in the current forecast from the NWS. They are reporting a current barometric pressure of 30.46" and falling, while my own DTWS is showing 29.86" and also felling. Perhaps those readings are the impetus for the 47% chance for precipitations tomorrow. 

The current temperature here in GH is 19° under cloudy-skies, but it feels like 10° with a south wind blowing @ 6 mph.

Tomorrow's high temperature forecast calls for 23° and a low temperature of 15° tomorrow night. 

The sun will rise tomorrow into cloudy-skies as that 47% forecast for precipitation brings us a chance for less than one-inch of additional snowfall either after the sun rises @ 7:47 a.m. and before it sets @ 6:11 p.m.

We are still in the queue for our Covid vaccinations. However, we are hopeful that we will be be receiving news very soon.

I have no pictures for this blog, however I can say that I found a recipe on the internet for vegan barbecue ribs, which Mary translated into a great dinner meal. The times listed for baking in the oven were a bit optimistic, but the taste was spot on and the texture was excellent. A keeper!

I was busy today, working in the man-cave, coloring, practicing my harmonica, and taking care of our fur-children. 

Mary was also hard at work, cross stitching on my artist's apron and watching the impeachment hearings on TV. I know that I should be paying closer attention, but sometimes, I get to a pout of sensory overload.

Tomorrow, I hope to paint more, color more, read more, do a crossword puzzle or two, and then relax and retire. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 9:15 p.m. in "The City."

We had an interesting and productive day. We successfully picked up our library books, made a quick trip to the Grand Haven State Park for some picture taking, Mary did some cross-stitching and cooking, at brunch time and she is prepared a secret dinner. More on that later.

I painted, colored, played my Ovation 6-string guitar and sang along, finished a crossword puzzle, and accomplished those indoor chores. Phew, another one of those days where just writing about it makes me tired. 

Let me dispense with the mundane details of life here in GH.

We have a current temperature of 15° that feels like 5° with a wind out of the east @ 7 mph. The NWS is reporting a barometric pressure of 30.39" and rising, while my own DTWS is showing 29.80" and steady. 

Tonight's low temperature will be 13° as we head towards tomorrow's high temperature of 20° and tomorrow night's low of a frosty 6°. There are no watches, advisories nor warnings in the current forecast.

As I said earlier, we traveled to the Grand Haven State Park and beach for some pix of the lighthouses, the sky, the south pier, and the clouds. I think I got some good pix that will help with my painting and also provide some visual interest to this blog, so here goes.

Blue skies, a rare sight lately.

Mary suggested this shot that captured the clouds over the lighthouses. 

Yes, there are more foolhardy people out on the icy pier.

A lucky shot of great sunbeams and a passing gull. 

A hazy day pic of the stack at at the power plant near Holland.

I really like how the colors of the sky back up this gull in flight.

Of course, I had to get a playground shot.

The snow in our back forty is getting deeper every day. It is great to have a snow service.

These icicles in our eaves continue to lengthen each day.

Mary and I watched NCIS over her secret dinner of spaghettirole casserole made from some leftovers in the refrigerator along with some of the regular ingredients. I liked it. 

Tomorrow,  we have nothing scheduled. I may get more paint on canvas do some coloring, and I should get to my harmonica lessons, but like all plans, they are subject to change. 

The truth is, that I have a lot of time on my hands and no place to go. Oh, I am starting a new book too. But, I have three weeks to have it back at the library. Ciao.