Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 7:30 a.m. in "The City."

The sun rose into what is best described as a leaden-sky this morning @ 6:31 a.m. It will set later into cloudy-skies @ 8:52 p.m. In between, we may have rain-showers off and on this morning according to the NWS.

Our current temperature is 44° that feels like 44° with a wind out of the north @ four mph. Our overnight low was/is that same 44°. Today's high will reach 50°, that's about three degrees cooler than yesterday. It looks like it will be one-week from today, May 14, 2021, before we see the 60s plus. We might flirt with that the day before, but this being Michigan and with the whacky spring we've been having, there is no guarantee.

We have no alerts in effect @ this time, but while we were out yesterday afternoon, we did a drive-by at the waterfront and the wind was blowing strong enough to bring out a few kite-boarders/surfers.

I spent the last two nights watching the now 15 - 16 Cubs sweep the 17 - 15 Dodgers. Last night's win by the boys in blue went 11 innings and featured some odd plays/errors. The Cubs and manager David Ross were giving 1st baseman Anthony Rizzo the night off, but he was pressed into service as a pinch-hitter late in the game. He stayed in to play first-base, where he made a very rare mistake, as his attempt to start a double-play failed due to his having his foot off the bag. 

Oh well, he redeemed himself in the bottom of the 11th with a walk-off single that drove in the winning run, giving RHP Alec Mills, the 6 - 5 win. The Cubs have the day off today before they welcome the 13 - 17 Pirates to the Friendly Confines for a game @ 2:20 p.m. EDT Friday that will feature RHP Zach Davies, 1 - 2, going for the Cubs as they attempt to go even with the league.

A side note was delivered during last night's telecast. In the view of one commentator's, one I share, if the Cubs are not well over the .500 mark by mid-season, they will be trading many of the players that got them to their first World Series in over 100 years in 2016. The 2016 Cubs should have been perennial contenders, just like the 1985 Bears, but they have not lived up to expectations and so there are no untouchables on the squad. I have to agree. Sigh. 

My beloved 18 - 13 Red Sox fell to the woeful 9 - 22 Tigers last night, 5 - 6 as the Tigers enjoyed a rare win. The Tigers starter, RHP Casey Mize, did not get the decision, but he provided a glimpse into the future of the Tigers and the future looks bright. The Tigers and the Red Sox close out their series today @ 1:10 p.m. when RHP Nathan Eovaldi, 4 - 2, goes for the Red Sox versus RHP Spencer Turnbull, 1 - 2 for the Tigers. 

We did some plant shopping yesterday for our vast gardens and we may get those plants in the ground/planters tomorrow due to today's rain possibilities. In addition, we received our shipment of tomato and sweet pepper plants from Territorial Seed™ out of Oregon. Mary ordered the plants a long time ago and they arrived via Fed Ex™ late yesterday afternoon. If all goes well, they'll be in the ground along with our cucumber seeds by Sunday, Mother's Day, May, 9.

Otherwise, not much is happening here at the manse. I am playing music and learning the harmonica. I finished two crossword puzzles yesterday and did a lot of reading. We watched more of Primeval and listened to more of Heather McGhee's book, The Sum of Us, as read by the author. 

Mary has been hard at work on her latest needlepoint project and she seems to be nearing the finish line based upon my observations. Like yours truly, she has more projects to accomplish and more ideas in her head than there seems to be time to complete. Yes Virginia, retirement is a very busy time. Ciao.