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."

The NWS is reporting a current temperature of 67° that feels like 67° with a wind out of the northeast @ 7 mph, under partly-cloudy skies. There was a 46% chance for rain in the forecast, but that has been downgraded to less than 15%. It's a good thing that I watered yesterday. Mary and Ginger may have to head over to the auxiliary gardens today to give those green-children a drink too.

Our overnight low is forecast to be  66° with the high temperature today reaching 76° under mostly-cloudy skies. An overnight low of 66° is in the forecast for tonight too and the next best chance for rain is Tuesday.

The sun will rise shortly @ 6:15 a.m. and set later tonight @ 9:24 p.m.

What can I say, baseball news yesterday was mostly bad. 

The 44 - 46 Cubs fell to the also 44- 46 Cards last night, 0 - 6. RHP Zach Davies looked good for a while, but the usually reliable Cubs' bullpen imploded when Davies was removed. It looks as though the Cubs will head into the All-Star break with at least five players on the trading block, IF/OF Kris Bryant, IF Javier Baez, 1st Baseman Anthony Rizzo, Closing Pitcher, Craig Kimbrel, and Catcher Willson Contreras. Yes, those players, with the exceptions of Contreras and Kimbrel, were the core of that 2016 World Series team. The Cubs and the Cards are up again today @ 2:20 p.m. when RHP Trevor Williams, 3 - 2, takes the mound.

My beloved 55 - 35 Red Sox were woeful, as they lost to the 43 - 44 Phillies,.2 - 11. LHP Martin Perez, 7 - 5, took the loss for the Sox. Today's game versus the Phillies begins @ 1:10 p.m. when RHP Nick Pivetta, 7 - 3, takes the mound. 

The 40 - 50 Tigers looked good for a few innings, but then they succumbed to the 38 - 50 Twins, 4 - 9, as RHP reliever Joe Jimenez, 2 - 1 took the loss for the Tigers. The Tigers and the Twins play this afternoon when RHP Wily Peralta, 2 - 1, tosses the first pitch. 

The 26 - 31 White Caps snapped their four-game losing streak with a 4 - 1 win over the 34 - 24 Dayton Dragons. The Caps and the Dragons play this afternoon @ 2:10 p.m. The Caps are off until Tuesday night, when they welcome the Ft. Wayne TinCaps to the Lake Michigan Credit Union Ballpark for a 7:05 p.m. start.

All of the Major-League teams will be off for the All-Star break until Friday.

Mary and her wing-gal Ginger, traveled to that big-box nearly everything store for a pick-up while STWD and I made some vegan Italian meatballs, some of which were added to Mary's wicked homemade sauce for our dinner. 

After that, I trimmed back some of the overgrown plantings in our parkway garden in addition to that aforementioned watering. 

Later, I watched TV in dismay in the Media-Room, as the Cubs imploded and I easily fell asleep. 

Mary stayed downstairs to needlepoint and watch another episode of The Underground Railroad, a series which I found to be enlightening, but which I also found to be too gut-wrenching for my tastes. I am not denying the reality of the series, I just don't like to watch one of the many sad parts of our history. I am enjoying our latest series, Tin Star, set in a small town in the Canadian Rockies, a town rife with corruption. 

Today, I hope to kick-back, read more, paint more, and just be retired. Mary will craft more, perhaps walk with Ginger to the auxiliary gardens, and do more needlepoint. Ciao.