Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 12:00 a.m. in "The City."

The NWS shows a local temperature of 31° under cloudy-skies. Today, the high temperature will reach 36° under cloudy-skies in the morning and sunny skies in the afternoon. The sun will rise @ 7:41 a.m.and set later @ 5:18 p.m.

College football yesterday was a bust for the Spartans of MSU, as they fell to the Cornhuskers of Nebraska, 6 - 9. The Spartans finish up their regular season next week when they welcome the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers beginning @ 4:00 p.m. Is a bowl bid in their future? Somehow, I doubt it.

The Wolverines of Michigan dispatched the Hoosiers of Indiana yesterday, 31 - 20, in a game that saw far too much dirty play on the part of the Hoosiers. Running back Braylon Edwards was targeted by a Hoosier player who was thrown out of the game. Edwards suffered a severe concussion, but he should be OK pending further testing.

In addition, defensive end, Chase Winovich, was down on the turf when an Indiana player jumped on him and exacerbated the injury to Winovich's shoulder. Winovich has been the heart and soul of the Michigan defense all season after deciding to return this season rather than join the NFL. The Wolverines play the Buckeyes of Ohio State next Saturday @ 12:00 p.m.

In baseball news, Javier Baez of the Cubs finished 2nd in the NL MVP contest, behind Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers.

I had a great time at our well-attended Irish Jam session yesterday. Lots of players and a good sized audience. Did I mention that that extended session played havoc with my own aching shoulder?

While I was jamming, Mary was learning more about taking pictures with her Macro Lens at the Camera Shop in Muskegon. She then proceeded to Hemlock Crossing County Park and learned about sand and other things. While she was there, she took some fabulous pix of sand, flowers, and believe it or not, water on some of those plants. In close-up detail, the shots look great. I've chosen a few of her pix to give a flavor of what can be done with diligence, patience, a god eye, and the right equipment. Don't forget, if you click on any pic, they get much larger.

I just like this one.

I like how the background takes a backseat to the leaves of the plant.

Sky through the mostly leafless trees.

No real need for a caption. Just notice how the water is beading on the leaves.

Details, details.

Likewise on the water beading.

Sand in close-up detail.

Thousands of years of wind, rain and sun turn rocks like these into sand.

Today, Mary plans to do her Thanksgiving grocery shopping. She has been diligently making a list and checking it twice to be sure that her menu planning will include all of the necessary ingredients for a scrumptious vegan Thanksgiving feast. As long as I get Ocean Spray™ jellied cranberry sauce, everything will be fine. However, I believe that she also plans to have dressing, green beans, smashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, biscuits, and of course, a vegan roast. I can hardly wait.

Today, I have some work to do in the creation of a tree-topper for our outdoor Christmas tree. I have some ideas, but I'm not sure how they will turn out. Only time will tell. If my ideas don't work, Mary has some ribbon to make a bow for the tree. That's all folks. Ciao.