Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 12:30 a.m. in "The City."

Well, so far it appears that the plan to restrict STWD's movements in the back-forty are a bust. She quickly figured out that she can jump the 10 inch tall fence sections that I installed and so they are now more of a bother to us than they are to her. I am at a a loss regarding future options, as anything taller will not look good in the gardens of the estate. I guess I'll have to sleep on it. 

I had a great appointment at the podiatrist yesterday. I got the all clear and only have to do minimal maintenance/care for the next two weeks and I'll be good to go. Mary went along for my appointment, but opted to stay in the car rather than sit in the waiting room that smelled of fresh paint. Since we had brought along our camera, she decided to take some pix of the scenery surrounding the doctor's office. I've included a few of those shots that I found appealing.

Looking due east.

Same direction, different angle.

Looking northeast.

Once I had finished, we headed to Taco Bell for lunch and then down to the beach @ Grand Haven's City Beach, which is adjacent to the Grand Haven State Park. Once again, Mary took multiple pix, so I've included some that caught my fancy.

The local surfers had also read the weather forecast from the NWS and were in the waters of the "Big Lake" hoping to catch a wave, which several did.

This kite boarder didn't have to wait for waves, as the winds propelled him across, and sometimes above the waves.

That kite boarder and one or two of the surfers who wiped out.

In the background is the smokestack of that power plant that I had previously taken with my telephoto lens. With our regular lens, that smokestack is nearly invisible. You can barely see the steam rising out of the top. Still 10 miles to the south, but without the magnification of the telephoto lens, well you get the idea.

This is that same stack viewed with that telephoto lens, albeit with more overcast skies that I took several days ago.

With the exception of this gull, those surfers, ourselves, and a few people eating their lunches, the beach was mostly deserted. Footprints in the sand left by us and other visitors.

We have a current temperature of 50°. According to the NWS, that will be our high temperature today after whatever the overnight low falls to. The skies will be cloudy as they are now, but there is no rain in the forecast until Sunday. The sun will rise this morning @ 8:19 a.m. and set later @ 6:36 p.m.

I made more of my famous vegan Italian meatballs yesterday. We had some for dinner with the Cole slaw I made yesterday.

Today, I plan to get down to the man-cave to do that check on our Christmas tree lights and change the furnace filter. If I am successful in my work, our tree will return for another year. If not, then an able replacement will be found. Even if I am successful, Mary is considering donating the current tree to a resale store and getting a taller tree.

I finished my novel that I had been reading and now I have to get back to reading my non-fiction book for our book club.meeting next Wednesday. Mary has some plans to do something, but I don't recall those. My bad, because I have been distracted of late. Otherwise, walk the fur-children, buy a newspaper, check that tree, and relax. Ciao.