Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 7:00 p.m. in "The City", where under cloudy skies, the current temperature is 37° and it feels like 37° with a slight wind out of the east @ two mph. 

Our overnight low temperature tonight will drop to 29“ before we rebound to tomorrow's high temperature of 40° under partly cloudy skies with the low-temperature tomorrow night forecast by the NWS to once again fall to 29°. 

The sun will rise tomorrow @ 8:07 am. and set tomorrow evening @ 5:10 p.m. We have no watches advisories, alerts, or warnings in the forecast at this time.

What a day in sports if you are a Detroit Lions fan, as the now 6 - 7 Lions rode the over 300 plus-yard passing performance of QB Jared Goff to a stunning 34 - 23 win over the 10 - 3 Vikings! Are the Lions showing some life? Will they make a run into the playoffs? Or, will they fall back to earth and become those Lions that we've all come to know and love? Stay tuned, as the Lions have a bye week next week before taking on the 4 - 8 Panthers on Christmas Eve. 

As for that group of men who like to pretend that they are a professional football team, one that more closely resembles the group which was once called the "Spare Bears", they had a bye week today and they will face the 12 - 1 Eagles next Sunday @ 1:00 p.m.

We managed to do myriad indoor chores today, listen to more of our shared ear-read, travel to the downtown area, stop for petrol, and make a donation at the Goodwill Store™ before we stopped at our own City Beach for a Mary and Ginger walkabout and a personal photo shoot for me.

The afternoon skies at the City Beach were very overcast, partially obscuring the outer lighthouse.

And the inner one too.

This gull was slicing his way through the foggy skies.

And way out there, these people were probably fishing, I believe.

This gull didn't bother to waste energy trying to fly.

And the beach by the State Park was mostly deserted.

With the exception of a few brave souls, Mary, and Ginger.

Tomorrow I have a visit to the lab at Trinity NOCH for some tests and that's about it. I probably have not mentioned it previously, but I am scheduled for a left-knee replacement one week from tomorrow, with a right knee replacement about ten weeks after that. 

71 years of living, walking on concrete, and bike riding took a toll on my knees. I've escaped knee replacement for the last several years with injections that provided a cushion between the bones in my knees, but those are no longer working, so....

Later tonight, I will be sitting in on my regular Sunday night Simple Songs for Ukulele session. So that is something to look forward to. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:30 p.m. in "The City", where the current temperature is a seasonal 40° with foggy conditions, although it feels more like 34° with a wind out of the northeast @ 10 mph. Our overnight low-temperature forecast from the NWS calls for 29° before we hit tomorrow's high temperature of 41° under partly cloudy skies. Sunrise tomorrow will occur @ 8:03 a.m. and sunset @ 5:09 p.m. with a low temperature to follow of 30°.

We didn't accomplish much today. Ginger got groomed, and I had an appointment at the hospital. We also found time to ear-read more of our shared ear-read of, The Road to Little Dribbling, by Bill Bryson. 

I have another print book to read, but I am holding off, as I just finished another book two days ago and I am not inclined to read another just yet. 

Oh, I also played my guitar early this morning, and I guess that was an accomplishment too.

We also read two newspapers and I completed three crossword puzzles and the daily crypto quote in the Grand Haven Tribune. Oh, I can add floodlight bulb replacement technician to my list of skills too. With Mary's assistance, I changed out the burned-out flood light in the back forty.

Not to be stay-at-home types, while Ginger was being groomed, we traveled over to Linear Park for a photo shoot. 

I took some random photos of the water. the scenery, and the waterfowl there, while Mary took a short walk down the lane.

Ginger will be upset that she was not along for Mary's walk.

As previously noted, I also took some photos of the water, the waterfowl, and the scenery.

With the leaves mostly down, the starkness of the channel is also photogenic.

There were so many Canada geese, that we believe they were taking a break from their southbound journey.

Sadly the high water levels and gales have badly eroded the paved paths in Linear Park.

But, plants and/or invasives still find a way to thrive there. 

Our coal tipple has neighbors across Harbor Drive, as these new apartments are now open for renters.

These Canada geese paid no heed to the sign that told them that their destination was a private marina with no outlet. Naturally, the playground across the channel was not in use today.

In Linear Park, monitoring wells have been installed to check for seepage of carcinogens from the site of the demolished Sims II power plant. 

As I noted, much of Linear Park is in need of rebuilding and so the city has taken the first steps to apply for a grant to pay for the expensive repairs/rebuilding.

But trees being what they are, many continue to grow.

Tomorrow, we hope to do as little as possible. I still have to get to check the air pressure in the tires of our Jeep™ Renegade. Otherwise, we have no plans. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It has just passed 11:00 p.m. in "The City."

Our current temperature under cloudy skies is 40°, although it feels more like 35° with a wind out of the northeast @ six mph. We have no alerts, watches, or warnings in the forecast.

Once the sun rises @ 8:00 a.m., the daytime temperature tomorrow is forecast to reach 44°, before it drops after sunset @ 5:09 p.m.. when we are forecast to drop to an overnight low of 33°.

We did some ear-reading today, but mostly, we watched as the fall clean-up took place and the landscape crew cleared away the fallen leaves that came from our few trees, our neighbor's trees, and most of all, the leaves that blow in from nearby Central Park every year. 

This year, I wasn't up to the task and neither was Mary, so the leaves continued to pile up here on the palatial estate. 

At any rate, I took several pictures of the leaves in various piles, both in the back forty and out in our front and parkway gardens. 

The back forty pile grew as the men worked with leaf blowers.

Gas-powered machines like these were employed. If Mary were Queen, she'd ban them all!

Until it was a huge mound of leaves.

Which along with the leaves from the back, were drawn into this machine and trailer.

But once the work was all done, the area was clear of leaves. 

Which included all of the vast gardens. 

The men had difficulty closing the gate on their trailer as it was so packed with our leaves. 

But everything is s now leaf free, and the foliage is neatly trimmed.

Tomorrow, we have more ear-reading to do, more indoor chores, more newspapers to read, and more walks to be taken by Mary and Ginger. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. across the nation and across the world It is just past 6:45 p.m. in "The City." 

The skies are clear with a current temperature of 37° which will also be our overnight low tonight. We have passed the sunset today. Tomorrow's sunrise will be @ 8:00 a.m. with sunset @ 5:10 p.m.

The NWS has continued the Small Craft Advisory until 7:00 a.m. tomorrow, from St. Joseph to Manistee, with wind speeds from 15 to 25 knots and gusts possibly up to 30 knots that may produce waves from four to eight feet in height.

Tomorrow's high temperature will reach 44° with an overnight low temperature of 32°. In between, the NWS is forecasting cloudy skies with windy conditions. 

I watched enough of the 5 - 7 Detroit Lions game to see improvement, as they defeated the 4 - 8 Jacksonville Jaguars, 40 - 14.

I eschewed watching any of the fiasco that saw the 3 - 10 Chicago Bears lose to the 5 - 8 Green Bay Packers, 19 - 28.

Since I had the time afforded to me by not watching pro football, I took time to vacuum the upstairs. When I came down, Mary had just returned with Ginger from their safari to the waterfront, where they took some pictures of the calm channel, the deserted recreation area nearby, and the ongoing construction at the former site of the Grand Haven Tribune.

Here is what they saw and what our Senior Staff Photographer photographed using Mary's Olympus TG-6  Tough DSLR camera. 

Unlike the last few days, the channel was quite calm in spite of that Small Craft Advisory.

But the temperature was cold enough to deter anyone from playing "Bags."

Ping Pong, or Foosball.

It always seems to take forever to get a new building up and out of the ground. Any tall building starts with underground plumbing and an elevator tower, as shown in this picture.

Here at the manse, along with my vacuuming, I took pictures of our decorated Christmas tree utilizing my own Olympus E-M10 III DSLR camera using two different settings.

I used the Auto function, which selects the best settings for the shot.

While for this shot, I used the Scene setting with the multi-shot Backlight HDR function, which compiles several shots to create a picture with the ambient lighting. 

I almost forgot to mention, that Mary requested that I look at our large cordless vacuum because it seemed to have lost its ability to vacuum. It turns out that I had to get some tools from the man cave and extract a clog from the inlet of the machine. It works much better now and I can add Vacuum Repair Technician to my list of skills.

We have continued to ear-read our collective book, The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson. This book is a chronicle of Bryson's walking tour of his adopted country, Great Britain, and is a sort of sequel to his previous book, entitled Notes From a Small Island. In that book, Bryson chronicled a motor tour of the island he had taken about 20 years earlier. His goal was to see how much things had stayed the same and how much things had changed. We are enjoying The Road to Little Dribbling very much.

I have my Sunday night Simple Songs for Ukulele Players session tonight @ 9:00 p.m. 

Tomorrow, we have hopes that our fall/winter clean-up will take place. Otherwise, not much is planned. Ciao. 

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" under a Gibbous Moon, which means that the side of the moon that faces the earth, appears more than one-half lit by the sun. As December progresses, the moon will appear more full as we head through December and toward the new year.

But, I digress, as is often the case. 

We have a current temperature under clear skies of 30°, although it feels like 21° with a  brisk wind out of the southeast @ 12 mph. That wind is the vestige of the Gale Force Winds that propelled 18-foot waves on the "Big Lake" and totally inundated the piers and the lighthouses here in GH and swamped most structures up and down the shores of Lake Michigan Friday into Saturday.

Plus, we have a Small Craft Advisory in effect from St. Joseph to Manistee until early Monday morning, with winds of 15 to 25 knots and gusts up to 30 knots that will produce waves up to eight feet in height.

Fortunately, the high-temperature today will increase after sunrise @ 7:59 a.m. to 38°, with an overnight low temperature after sunset @ 5:10 p.m., of 37°. That 38° high temperature will make it five to six degrees warmer than yesterday. Tomorrow will be even warmer, with a 44° high temperature under cloudy skies. We're hoping for a final fall clean-up of the grounds of the Palatial Estate tomorrow.

We had a very productive day yesterday. 

Mary got a lot of cross-stitching accomplished, we read the newspapers, and I finished the crosswords and the Cryptoquote from the Grand Haven Tribune and the crossword puzzle from USA Today. I also decorated our Christmas tree. Collectively, we did more ear-reading. Mary also solo ear-read her novel, while I used my time to finish a novel recommended by Mary entitled The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson. While this book was different than my usual reading genres, I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

This novel was based on the real-life exploits of the WPA-sponsored Kentucky Pack Horse librarians prior to WWII. Those brave librarians were part of President Roosevelt's New Deal Acts designed to bring books and jobs to the people of rural Kentucky and also based on the blue-skinned people of Kentucky, who suffer from a genetic affliction called Methemoglobinemia, which causes them to appear blue and to be shunned by most people. 

In Kentucky in the 1930s, blue-skinned people were considered "Colored" and were barred from using public facilities like restrooms, marrying people outside their own "race", and too often were hunted by zealots who meant them harm. 

While I was decorating our tree, Mary was cross-stitching upstairs, and then later, she walked with Ginger downtown where she witnessed the staging of the annual Jingle Bell Parade and the lighting of the community Christmas tree in Central Park. That parade and lighting always draw big crowds to GH and this year was no exception, judging by the traffic both pre and post-parade.

Later, I watched the 13 - 0 Big 10 Champion Wolverines of Michigan come to life in their usual second-half style and finish off the Big 10 West 8 - 5 Boilermakers of Purdue. As requested, Mary made popcorn for my viewing while she stayed downstairs and did more ear-reading and whatever else she chose to do.

Today, I hope to do less and relax more. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 11:00 p.m. on a blustery night here in "The City", with a 14 mph wind out of the south making the current temperature, 35°, feel more like 26° under cloudy skies. 

We expect a low-temperature tonight of 35° before we rebound one more time to tomorrow's high temperature of 48°, which will be about seven degrees warmer than today.

We currently have a Small Craft Advisory in effect from St. Joseph to Manistee, with winds of 15 to 25 knots and gusts possibly up to 30 knots propelling waves up to eight feet, until 12:00 p.m. tomorrow, when that Small Craft Advisory will be superseded by a Gale Warning, also from St. Joseph to Manistee, with wind speeds of 25 to 35 knots and possible gusts up to 45 knots that will propel even higher waves up to 14 feet! 

I don't know if the surf will be up, as those waves may be too harsh for even the most die-hard surfers.

The sun will rise tomorrow @ 7:56 a.m. and set tomorrow evening @ 5:10 p.m. In between, the skies will be cloudy and winds are forecast to blow @ 22 mph.

A quick note on sports. The 12 - 0 Wolverines of Michigan will travel to Indianapolis, IN Saturday night, to face the 8 - 4 Hoosiers of Indiana @ 8:00 p.m., to decide which team will be the Big 10 champions. 

The Huskies of NIU and the Spartans of MSU are done for the season.

We collectively got our new modem up and running today. I think that Mary was more diligent than me, and her perusal of some websites told us that although our overall internet speed improved dramatically, the speed of our ancient PCs only improved a small amount, due to their aging hardware. So, we discussed what to do, and Mary agreed that I needed a new PC. She graciously ordered a new one for me to do that voodoo that I like to do and I'll be getting it next week.

While we were sitting in Mary's office doing that computer research, I espied an interesting effect being produced by the prisms hanging in our upstairs window. A Stonehenge photo that Mary purchased during a trip we took to England several years ago, and which is displayed on her bookshelves, had one of the rainbows produced by one of those prisms superimposed on it. 

 

I thought I was seeing things, but I like to believe it was an omen of good things to come. 

 

We've begun the set up of our new Christmas tree, something that I wanted and which Mary also graciously agreed to let me purchase. I have a thing about Christmas.

Be that as it may, I was not inclined to take an afternoon walk, so Mary and Ginger set out to get to the waterfront in spite of the inclement weather conditions. Mary was dressed in her new long winter coat and Ginger was styling her new sweater.

Here is Ginger on our deck modeling her new sweater after their return.

While they were on safari, they spotted the freighter Calumet transiting the channel, heading toward one of the docks in Ferrysburg. Mary snapped a few pictures of the Calumet with her Smart Phone. The Calumet is a Great Lakes freighter built in 1973. She measures 630 feet in length and she is 68 feet wide. She is capable of carrying almost 20,000 tons of dry cargo at 14 knots, propelled by twin 12-cylinder diesel engines.

This is the wheelhouse of the Calumet with the setting sun as a backdrop.

This is the Calumet in all her glory, with the Lynn Sherwood Stadium in the foreground and that same setting sun in the background.

One thing is for certain, the Calumet, like many of the ships that visit the Tri-Cities docks, fills the channel and attracts a lot of attention and photographers.

Since we finished the indoor chores today, tomorrow is set aside for some phone calls, cross-stitching, reading of both varieties, crossword solving, and that's about it. Ciao.