Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 8:30 p.m. in "The City", where the current temperature is a very comfortable 75° under partly cloudy skies. However, the NWS has issued a warning that there is a "Marginal Risk" for sever weather conditions beginning soon, with possible T-storms and small hail. 

If that isn't enough, the NWS warned that until 12:00 p.m. tonight, an Air Quality Alert will remain in effect for Allegan, Kent, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana, Ottawa, and Van Buren counties. You know what that means, don't you? It means that we should all be like the proverbial ostrich and stick our collective heads in the sand and pretend that it won't happen because we need to keep burning those fossil fuels and drilling for more. 

Plus, tomorrow brings the following. A Beach Hazard Statement for Allegan, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana, Ottawa, and Van Buren counties from 2:00 p.m. tomorrow until 11:00 p.m. tomorrow night. In short mit would be a bad idea to go into the waters of Lake Michigan unless you are a fish.

Finally, the NWS has also issued a Small Craft Advisory from St. Joseph to Manistee, with the possibility for 10 - 20 knot winds and waves up to five feet in height. What's that old saying? "Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water. 

Oh, the sunset tonight will be @ 9:27 p.m.

Tomorrow, the high temperature will only reach 74° before an overnight low and chilly temperature of 58°.

All of that being said, I had a great day today in Holland, MI, at Centennial Park, with members of the West Michigan Urban Sketchers. We talked, we sketched, we shared and we had a great time. Here are some pix from today's activities.

It pays to be retired. Time to sketch, time to relax and time to do whatever feels right. 

Our "Throwdown" taken at the end of our gathering. 

We had a great setting and perfect weather for sketching.

Once I arrived back at the mane, I filled Mary in about my delightful morning/afternoon, and then we had an afternoon snack of cookies and lemon tea as we listened to more of our latest ear-read. Speaking of reading, Mary read a great number of pages in her current novel while I was out.

Dinner time rolled around, and we did more ear-reading before Mary went upstairs. 

She soon told me to grab my camera and take some pictures of the deer that has been visiting and eating in our vast gardens salad bar. Here he or she was, totally nonplussed by our presence.

I stared through my camera and the deer stared right back as he/she finished chewing. 

Then, the deer nonchalantly turned around to leave. 

Up behind our garage and into our neighbor's yard. 

Leading to a leisurely stroll behind the mostly decimated planters at the rear of our estate.

I guess you might say that the deer had a good evening of grazing, but our plantings are not faring very well. Alas, that's life in Michigan for one day. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 2:00 p.m. in "The City." The NWS has forecast a 49% chance for showers around 3:00 p.m. today. 

What does that mean? Well, within a given area, 49% of the area may receive some showers. What it really means is that I will be either spared watering duties today, or I won't. Oh, the forecast also calls for a possibility of T-storms any time now. Guess what? I haven't heard any thunder, so far. 

The current and apparently high temperature for today will reach 74°. Much the same for tomorrow. The sunset tonight will be at 9:28 p.m.

In spite of my never-ending hope as a die-hard Cubs fan, things do not look good on the northside of Chicago. The Cubs spent a boatload of money this past winter on free agents, and they extended the contracts of several players this year, but, so far, they are five games under .500 as they near the midseason mark. 

I told Mary that she heard it here first, David Ross, the Cubs' manager, will soon get the axe. Is it his fault that a free-agent pitcher who was supposed to be a proven winner can't seem to get any left-handed hitters out? Is it his fault that the bullpen has been mostly terrible? Perhaps not, but you can't fire players with huge contracts, so guess who that leaves.

Otherwise, I have been spending time in my studio, doodling, coloring, listening to music, and staying inside out of the smoky air that the Canadian wildfires have been sending our way. 

Mary has been happily print-reading of late and we have been enjoying a collective ear-read over meals. She has put down her cross-stitching for a while. She tried coloring, but that didn't prove satisfying. I think that the problem is that she likes to take long walks with Ginger and this foul air has made that impossible. I need to walk more too, but even short walks outside the manse have not been very enjoyable. Sigh.

Tomorrow looks like more of the same, at least for me. I had hoped to spend some time taking photos around the area, but this looks like it will be one of those years where none of my hoped for outdoor activities will be achieved, at least in the short-term.

I think that's enough for my first blog in a while. Ciao.