Good morning GH. It is just past 4:30 a.m. in "The City." Our current temperature is 67° according to the desktop display. I am sitting near the open Weather Window, and I concur. The wind is negligible, so that isn't a factor. By the time that sunrise occurs at 6:08 a.m., the temperature can be expected to fall to 62°. Then as the day progresses, it is supposed to rise to 76°. Will it? Only if you believe the National Weather Service forecast.

What I can testify to, is that Saturday was a beautiful day and the wedding that was held in Central Park in the later afternoon must have been beautiful too. By the time the wedding occurred, I was back on the deck and Sugar the Weather Dog was in the "Bone Zone." I finished my latest book, which I enjoyed immensely. Now all I have to do is look through my pile of remaining books and decide which one to read. I also ordered a few more books to read, so I'd best get busy. Of the books remaining in my reading stack, one is fiction, two are non-fiction, and one is an autobiography. I tend to gravitate towards non-fiction, which is a direct result of my personal interest in history and politics. I toss in a few fiction books for a quick burst of pleasure. Mary did talk to her brother, Ed, and his moving plans are on schedule. Lot's of driving, but that's why I have a personal driver. Well that, and the fact that my driver prefers having control over the car if I am in it.

Today I don't have any plans. I still need to walk less, and water more in the gardens of the palatial estate. I had hoped to get to the mulch in the large garden, but with my baking yak, that may have to wait. Or, I'll have to be a spectator to Mary's efforts. We'll see. Right now I am just playing it by ear.

In sports, the boys in blue succeeded in blowing out the Brewers, 8 - 0. Which team is real? Probably the one with the 20 - 33 record. Someone once said that on any given day, any team can beat another; the true mark of a professional is the long-term results. I think those results speak for themselves. The Tigers at 31 - 21 fell to the Mariners 2 - 3. Their record also speaks volumes. My beloved Red Sox won their sixth in a row, once again over the Rays, 7 - 1. Like the boys in blue, they had a long record of losing.

Unlike the boys, they made it to the World Series more than once, and they have won it, most recently, last year over the Cardinals in six games. Instead of being 13 games down, the Sox are now three games down. I have to temper my enthusiasm, since the Rays are 10 games under. But, the Sox did recently sweep the Braves, a team that is five games over 500, in their last series. The Caps at six games over 500, fell 6 - 8 to Fort Wayne, a sub 500 team. See what I mean about winning and losing as a general rule?

That looks like enough for today. More deck sitting, possibly mulching and certainly more reading. I think I can handle it. The sun will set at 9:16 p.m. Ciao.

Good morning GH. I'll dispense with the early part, because it is now past 3:30 a.m. in "The City." The current temperature indoors is 76°. That's according to the digital readout available in the Weather Office. Outdoors and near the Weather Window, it is 63°. If the forecast is accurate, yeah right, the temperature will fall to a low of 55° later this morning as we near sunrise at 6:05 a.m. Today promises to be a sunny 72° and tomorrow about the same, albeit with a few more clouds. Monday we may see a 60% chance of T-storms. That means that I'll have to make a game time decision whether to water the gardens before then.

Speaking of watering, I accomplished that task after returning from our morning walk with Mary and Sugar the Weather Dog. We have been getting good temperatures for growing vegetables, so that means that the water is evaporating more quickly. The upside is that the weather is good for walking too. I discovered that my aching back doesn't like to walk great distances in my sandals. If I wear my walking shoes, I can go for more distance. Still, it isn't perfect yet. Everything that Mary read from the internet about how to treat my back are things that I already knew. Mostly it is just about rest and exercise.

Friday found me playing an extended amount of guitar in my music room/weather center/office. That may explain why my shoulder is a bit achy right now. However I was playing well, so I didn't want to stop. Mary had gone out shopping to the mall and the bog box store, so I had an uninterrupted time to just play. Once Mary got home, I helped unload the car and then did some reading. Sugar the Weather Dog wanted to go to the "Bone Zone", but that will happen today after we get back from the farmer's market trip this morning.

While in the "Bone Zone", I'll read and listen to the radio. Mary says that the radio distracts her, but I just put it into the background. There is an advantage to having a singular focus. Now that the weather is cooperating, we can spend time on the deck without a parka or other heavy clothing. I can even spend time shoe-less and in my summer uniform of shorts and a T-shirt. What's not to like?

I anticipate that Sunday will be about the same, except that our intrepid Weather Dog will not get a bone two days in a row. She'll be disappointed, but sometimes it's tough being a dog. She does like being able to lay in the sun, so she'll have to make do.

In sports, the boys in blue were down 0 - 5 to the Brew Crew when I tuned in. They eventually lost to the Brewers 5 - 11. The Tigers topped Seattle 6 - 3. My beloved Red Sox won their fifth in a row, this one over the Rays, by a score of 3 - 2. They Sox are on a roll. I hear that there is infighting in the clubhouse, but if that's what it takes to win, so be it. The Caps are now just 3.5 games back of South Bend, having beaten the Dayton Dragons 1 - 0. I also heard the Blackhawks defeated the Kings in L.A. 4 - 3, to tie their playoff series at three apiece, and force a seventh game in Chicago on Sunday. The Red Sox and the Tigers play again tonight, while the boys in blue play later this afternoon. The Caps play tonight in Ft. Wayne.

That looks like enough for today. The sun will set at 9:16 tonight. Ciao

Good early morning GH. It is just past 1:30 a.m.in "The City."  We have a current temperature of 65° that feels like 65°, because there is no wind. Our low is expected to get down to 56°. No precipitation is in the forecast until Monday's 70% chance of T-storms, so I'll be back in the gardens with my water hose today. That's it though. We expect that temperatures will be in the upper 60s or lower 70s for the next several days.

Our little family went for a morning walk yesterday. Sugar the Weather Dog always likes those and the temperature yesterday morning was nothing short of beautiful. I had thought about riding my bike, but my aching back told me not to. Instead, I did some home maintenance kinds of things. That probably wasn't good for my back either. Today nothing beyond a morning walk. I will not be tempted to walk further, no matter what, as I know that walking too much can also have a negative effect. I love to walk, but like those 95 mph fastball pitchers, I have to let my muscles rest and recover or suffer the consequences. Sorry Mary.

We walked down to see Sally at the Post in the afternoon. She is feeling well. Nothing to report there. The afternoon walk was also beautiful, but I have to stop for a rest today. Pulling the hose out will be enough for one day.

I did get the strings changed on Bridget. She sounds incredibly bright as compared to the old strings. While I was at it, I polished the areas that can't be reached when Bridget is strung. So she should be good to go for a while.

I heard the southbound train earlier, but I didn't get up. It was only a fleeting recognition of the passage. I hope to not be awake for the return trip.

In sports, the boys in blue had the day off to travel from San Francisco to Milwaukee for a night game. The Tigers pulled out what became a close game. They just beat the As in regulation play, 5 - 4.  My beloved Red Sox were on TV when I fell asleep. But I am here to report that they swept the Braves, 4 - 3, for the Sox' fourth win in a row. Now they await the coming of Tampa Bay on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for night games. The Caps once again handled Dayton, 4 - 2 this time. Unfortunately, the South Bend Silverhawks are red hot right now, and lead the Caps by 4.5 games in their division.

We can tell that it is the "Season" once again. We don't really mind, except for the out of state drivers going the wrong way on one-way streets and driving like lost sheep. The city has placed one of those radar speed checking devices on the hill near our house. The speed limit is 25 MPH. It is fun to watch people hammer the brakes as they see how fast they are actually going, be they out of towners or locals.

Mary made a new fried rice recipe for dinner yesterday.She calls it down and dirty, but I call it perfect. A little garlic, some onions, corn and day old rice, and a dash of soy sauce mixed with tofu. No additional seasoning was required. Like I said, perfect as it is. In this case, Mary was concerned that if she didn't follow the recipe closely, it might not go right. Her only concession being using peanut oil versus the coconut oil that the recipe called for. I didn't even know there was oil in coconuts.

Like I said, not much on tap for today. The sun will rise at 6:09 a.m., and set at 9:14 p.m. For those of us who are getting up in years, sunset happens when we are sitting in our rockers or regular chairs. Ciao.

Good morning GH. It is just past 2:00 a.m. in "The City." Currently the analog thermometer in the Weather Window is showing a temperature of 60°. The National Weather Service is predicting that our low this morning will be 51°, or is it 50°. They are also predicting that our high today will be anywhere from 71° to 78°. Yesterday they predicted that it would rain, but it never did. Somehow I doubt that the predictions for the rest of the week will be any more accurate. I guess I'll have to skip the daily predictions for a while. Nonetheless, Sugar the Weather Dog will get a a morning walk in a few hours. That's after the sun rises at about 6:08 a.m. I say about, because the source for my times is that same National Weather Service site. That's also true for my sunset time of of 9:10 p.m.

Speaking of Sugar, we were sitting about the living room reading yesterday afternoon when something caused her to leap up and run to her hide-e-hole. No explanation seemed plausible to us. One thing about Sugar is that she is never at a loss for a surprise. Maybe it had something to do with our getting up at noon and her walk coming at about 1:00 p.m. Mary's system of having biscuits upstairs is apparently satisfying to Sugar. I got some fish oil for Sugar at the health food store the other day to help in her shedding. We apply it to her dinner food, and she seemed to really likes it. I think that Mary discovered why. This bottle of fish oil has a fruit flavoring to make it more palatable. Apparently Sugar finds it to be so.

Speaking of Mary, she detoured on our morning walk and went to the health food store and the local independent book seller near our home. She got a different brand of sauerkraut. At the bookstore, she got a copy of the N.Y. Times book review and a magazine of some type. She shared some info from that magazine that sounded interesting, so now I"ll want to read that too along with the book review. I came home and did a little weeding and watering. Then I settled in after walking to the guitar store around the corner for replacement strings for Blue and Ivy.

Since we didn't have any plans for the balance of our short day, Mary used what she had in the house for a tasty dinner of linguine with spinach and olive oil. Or maybe it was fettuccine. Either way, it tasted good. That was a follow up to her lunch meal of sandwiches of faux meat and cheese for me and Swiss cheese with mustard for her. Both sandwiches had fresh tomatoes for garnish. She also found a way to use the spinach dip she made the other day as a side. It tasted great.

I must have missed the southbound train earlier. The northbound train passed while I was still up, so here are the numbers. The usual twin EMD GP 38 locomotives towing 46 covered hopper cars, four of those dreaded black tank cars, and one lone white tank car.

Since I'm on the subject of transportation, and for those of you into ships/boats, I am going to add some information from Dick Fox's Grand Haven Tribune column, Ships Log. According to Mr. Fox, all four of our active local docks have now received visits from cargo ships, carrying coal or other aggregates. .

In sports, the boys in blue found another way to lose to the Giants, this time by a score of 0 - 5. The Tigers also fell, in their case to the As, 1 - 3. However, my beloved Red Sox are on a roll, as they once again defeated the Braves with a score of  4 - 0. That's three in a row for those like me who are counting. The Caps also were victorious over the Dayton Dragons by a score of 8 - 1.

Today a walk with Sugar whenever we get up, followed by reading. I have to finish changing the strings on Bridget too. I may change out the screen for the front storm door once I apply the tape to the Sugar proof Plexiglas™ panel. I've tried various fixatives that haven't held, so I am going for the tape that I believe will.

Mary is enjoying her time off before her next project. Me too. Ciao.

Good early morning GH. It is nearly 5:00 a.m. in "The City." Our current temperature is 52° as we drop to our morning low of 51°. If we don't get any rain today, we won't get any for at least five days as the temperatures stay right around 70°. I suspect that Mary or I will be out watering the gardens on the palatial estate today, and probably Friday for sure.

Just to change things up a bit, the trains did go by this morning. One, traveling south, about 12:30 a.m., and the other going north, at about 3:45 a.m. The sound made by the southbound train told me that it was a long one, while the sound made by the northbound train was likely just the two locomotives. In both cases, I didn't feel like looking.

In sports, the boys in blue fell to the Giants, 0 - 4. The Tigers eked out a win over Oakland, 6 - 5. My beloved Red Sox are on a roll, having beaten the Braves for the second game in a row, 6 - 3. The Caps were once again hammered by Bowling Green, 2 - 10. The Blackhawks return home tonight, down 3 - 1 in their series against L.A. Can they repeat as Stanley Cup champions? We'll know more tonight.

Yesterday, Mary and I collectively placed the flag stones in the gardens of the palatial estate. They are a gorgeous shade of red, or pink, or? Mary will tell me later. Whatever they are, I like the look. Very random and rustic looking. Mary wants to put in mulch, but my back says it can wait. One of the reasons that we need to water today is that Mary had to move a few plants that would have been covered by the stones.

Afterwards, we went to the newly opened farmer's market in Muskegon. It has the potential to hold dozens of vendors, but on a Tuesday in late May, it was only about 1/3 occupied. We did get some eggs and peppers. Oh, we got chives to plant, which is another reason we have to water.

Since we were near to our favorite north of the bridge watering hole we stopped in, ate lunch, and then headed home. I discovered that the book I am reading is mostly accurate historically, as one of the characters referenced is now known to Mary and me. We both learned of this person and his organization and work during the completion of a recent project. As students of history, we were both surprised to learn how little we knew of his activities and their results.

Today we'll walk downtown with Sugar the Weather Dog for a loaf of bread, no jug of wine, and the newspaper. That should make for a complete day. I am going to read more from that book I just mentioned and change the strings on Bridget after which I will get in some playing time. I may also stop in at the local guitar store to get a back up set of strings. Like I often say, when possible, I try to buy locally in order to support the efforts and continuation of our local merchants. If we allow the big box stores or on-line e-tailers to put them out of business, we will regret it.

Otherwise not much is happening. Our intrepid weather dog got her first upstairs biscuit yesterday, so now she is sleeping next to the bed n anticipation of a repeat. As long as Mary and I don't have to go downstairs to complete the morning biscuit charade, I don't mind. Sunrise today will be at 6:08 a.m., and sunset at 9:12 p.m. Ciao

Good early morning GH. It is just past 3:30 a.m. in "The City."  Our current temperature is 68° following a day when the skies were partly cloudy and the trip that Mary and I took to GR/Kentwood was both uneventful and fruitful. The high today was a beautiful 74°. The forecast for later this early morning is a 60% chance of isolated T-storms/rain. But I have yet to see or her them. Today calls for a 40% chance of the same. I know that forecasts are just that, forecasts, but some accuracy would be nice. After the mostly inaccurate snowfall forecasts of last winter, no one knows how to make plans for outdoor work or play anymore. That forecast for today was the main reason that Mary and I decided to make our GR trip Monday to avoid the rain and the extra traffic that seems to be on the roads in that area on a regular weekday. Once we get past today, the forecast shows clear skies through at least Saturday.

Our trip to GR netted us some flag stones for one of the gardens on the palatial estate. Mary has a vision, so all I need to do is supply the labor. I did that earlier today too, as I mowed the lawns and pulled the weeds. Everything that was on my to do list got done before we left. I even found a nail to repair the molding in the upstairs hallway. All I had to do was straighten it. My dad would have been proud of me for re-purposing a perfectly good nail. He was a child of the depression, so unless a nail was actually broken or bent beyond repair, he made it work. He might even have used it in a shorter version if that were possible.

Mostly good news in sports. The boys in blue got the first win for their hard-luck pitcher Jeff Samardzija, over the Giants, 8 - 4. My beloved Red Sox ended their losing streak at 10 games with an 8 - 6 win over the Braves. The Tigers didn't fare so well, as they lost another game, this time to the Oakland Athletics, 0 - 10. The Caps were hammered by the Bowling Green Hot Rods, 0 - 15. Ouch!

I heard the southbound train this morning at about 12:30 a.m. I failed to hear the northbound train, or it hasn't been by yet. Actually, it didn't come by until 5:15 a.m. I didn't get up to look, but by the sound of it and the vibrations that passed through the earth, it was long and loaded.

Today I don't have plans to do anything, other than take a walk with Sugar the Weather dog. She enjoyed her trip to the "Bone Zone" yesterday afternoon. I do have to finish the trimming left over from the lawn mowing, but that should take about 10 minutes. If the weather permits, I may have to place those flag stones for Mary too. Speaking of the intrepid Weather Dog, our neighbor went out and came back while Sugar was chewing, and she didn't even raise her head. Mary says that I am all too often singularly focused like that, so I know what Sugar was feeling.

So that looks like enough for today and yesterday. The sun will rise at 6:10 a.m., and set at 9: 12 p.m. Ciao.

Good early morning GH. It is just past 3:30 a.m. in "The City", and the current temperature is 56 dark degrees. Outside the Weather Window, there are only a few vehicles on the move, probably those of the late workers at the local restaurants. Last evening, when I was trying to hear the TV, the motorcycles and their riders were proving that the only difference between most large and small motorcycles is the amount of noise they can produce. Unfortunately, the amount of noise makes them more or less noticeable, not more or less powerful. Here in GH, Mary and I believe that the muffler shops have to do other work, because nobody buys a replacement muffler for their car or truck.

Today, we anticipate a high of 71 cloudy degrees with a 30% chance of isolated T-storms. That should allow us plenty of time for a morning walk with Sugar the Weather Dog, as well as the other outside work we have scheduled for today. It's a good thing these holiday breaks are available so that we can get things done. As I've noted, when you are retired, work expands to fill your time. If our luck holds, the afternoon should be nice on the deck of the Palatial Estate, and Sugar will get a treat in the "Bone Zone." I'll listen to the radio and read one of the books I checked out of the library last Saturday. So far this book seems interesting, while two others seem less so upon further examination. Mary will probably putter around in the kitchen or knit more. Or, she may just join us on the deck. As I noted in yesterday's blog, she likes having a few down days.

In sports, the boys in blue were sailing along behind Jason Hammel until the bottom of the sixth. That's when anything that could go wrong, did. As usual, the boys rallied late, but still lost once again. Their attempt at a comeback fell short as they lost, 3 - 4. The Tigers lost another one to the Rangers, this time 4 - 12. They are still fine, but this has to stop. My beloved Red Sox lost to the Rays, 5 - 8, for their tenth loss in a row. They really are in free fall now with a record of 20 - 29, only slightly better than the boys in blue at 18 - 30. The Caps eked out a close win over the Bowling Green Hot Rods 3 - 2. They play again this afternoon against those same Hot Rods. The Blackhawks play again tonight in L.A. as they try to even their series against the L.A. Kings in L.A.

That looks like enough for today. I've already noted our plans for today and they will fill all of our time. The sun will rise at 6:10 a.m. and set at 9:10 p.m. Ciao.