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

We have a current temperature of 63° that feels like 62° with light winds out of the east @ 5 mph. According to the NWS, we should be having light-showers right now with a 48 - 52% chance, but my glance out the WW shows dry pavement in front of the manse. More often than not, the precipitation, whether in the form of rain or snow, splits up over the lake and that is apparently true this morning too. That 62° figure is also our overnight low before we rebound to a high-temperature today of 75° under cloudy-skies this morning with clearing-skies this afternoon. At any rate, it should be a pleasant day here in the Tri-Cities area.

We did see some light rain yesterday afternoon. Not a lot, but enough to wet our plants, to paraphrase local West Michigan gardener and one of the hosts of the local radio show on WOOD AM radio, The Flowerland Show, Rick Vuyst. Rick is the Sales and Marketing Specialist @ Flowerland garden centers, a frequent contributor to local ABC Tv affiliate WZZM, and author of several books, including I Just Wet My Plants. 

Oh, after all of that, the sun will rise this morning @ 6:16 a.m. and set tis evening @ 9:07 p.m.

With little assistance, I finished two crossword puzzles yesterday and also finished reading a book entitled Killing Town, a novel begun by the late Mickey Spillane many years ago and finished by a friend of Spillane's, Max Allan Collins. Collins is a mystery writer in his own right and his own graphic-comic series, Road to Perdition, was the basis for a 2002 movie of the same title starring Tom Hanks. No surprise, I enjoyed the read as this book was of my favorite genre. 

The 21 - 21 Cubs looked good Monday and Tuesday nights. However last night, the banged-up Cubs, minus slugging 1st baseman, Anthony Rizzo, and SS Javier Baez, were  unable to score enough runs versus the 17 - 22 Washington Nationals, and fell 3 - 4, as RHP Jake Arrieta, 4 - 4, took the loss. The Cubs and the Nats go again today @ 2:20 p.m. EDT, when RHP Trevor Williams, 2 - 2, tries to give the Cubs the win. 

Worthy of note, is that regular right-fielder Jason Heyward, was removed from the game with a hamstring injury. As is all too often the case, Heyward is a great defender, but his plate appearances are often lacking. 

My beloved 26 - 18 Red Sox, were down in Florida last night to take on the 23 - 18 Blue Jays, and the Sox came away with a 7 - 3 win for RHP Garrett Richards, 4 - 2. Tonight, the Sox and the Jays try again, as RHP Nick Pivetta, 5 - 0, goes for his sixth win @ 7:37 p.m.

The  17 - 26 Tigers actually looked like a Major League team again last night, as they followed Tuesday night's no-hitter by RHP Spencer Turnbull, 3 - 2, with another win over the 21 - 23 Mariners in Seattle, 6 - 2, as LHP Tarik Skubal, 1 - 6, got the victory. The Tigers are off today before a stop in Kansas City for their first game against the 20 - 22 Royals with Jose Urena, 1 - 4, taking the mound for an 8:10 p.m. start. 

The 6 - 7 Caps came away from their game last night against the 6 - 8 Wisconsin Timber Rattles in Wisconsin, 6 - 4. The Caps and the Rattlers play again tonight @ 7:35 p.m. when the Caps try to get even for the season.

Mary took Ginger to the spa for her visit yesterday and Ginger came home a few hour later looking beautiful. That's not to say that Mary and I didn't try our best at grooming during our nearly 14 months long Covid-19 isolation, but Ginger requires special efforts that only a professional groomer can provide. STWD wanted to go with, but when she sniffed Ginger upon her return, we think that Sugar felt she got the better end of the deal. 

Throughout the day, we did the bed linens as we exchanged old for new and washed everything. Mary did most of the work and she was tired by the end. However, she still found time and energy to make a terrific dinner of vegan barbecue ribs with crinkle fries. Mary loves chopping, mixing, and prep work with herbs and spices, so it was very relaxing for her. 

Today, we have no specific plans. Maybe a photo-op, probably south or lakeside, as the traffic on Beacon Blvd. is a total mess as the work continues on the bridge over the Grand River and reduces the lanes from three to one. Current plans call for the work to be done by Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start of "The Season" here in West Michigan. 

We are still being cautious about mask-wearing, as here in Michigan we have not reached a 70% vaccination rate for the deadly Covid-19 virus. We've come too far to eschew mask wearing now, in spite of the calls by the GOP led legislature for a full reopening of the state. I think that's enough for one blog. Ciao.