Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 1:30 a.m. in "The City."

Since the view out the WW is relatively calm right now, the "Calm before the storm" so to speak, I'll start with some basic news about happenings here in GH and the Tri-Cities area.

With some assistance from Mary, I did some additional indoor chores and made a vegan stir-fry for lunch. Tofu, portabello mushrooms, onions, garlic, ginger, the herb, not the dog, water chestnuts, celery, bean sprouts, and black-strap molasses combined together and then served over rice and also over chow mein noodles for me. Of course, I always make too much rice so that Mary has a chance to make some form of rice salad or fried rice in the near future. Naturally, the fur-children were there to provide any support I might need.

Speaking of the fur-children, they were "invited" to go out several time yesterday and once the thunder started, STWD was unwilling to go past the end of the deck. She has left  her hide-e-hole upstairs and returned to her regular post guarding our bed.. Yes, we had/have it all here in W. MI late last night and early this morning.

We have a current temperature of 37° that feels like 29° with the light winds that are currently blowing across our fair city. However, starting about 7:00 a.m. this morning, that's slightly before the sun rises @ 7:28 a.m., and before the sun sets @ 6:27 p.m., the winds are expected to pick up significantly and deliver gusts of between 55 and 65 mph! Those winds will cause something I haven't seen before, a Lakeshore Flood Statement.

According to that statement issued by the NWS, along the shore of the "Big Lake", 14 to 18 foot waves are likely. Those waves will produce erosion of local beachfront properties and the beaches at Grand Haven State Park.

In addition, concurrent with that Lakeshore Flood Statement, the NWS has issued a High Wind Warning. Those winds are likely to cause tree limbs to be ripped from trees, after which they may  fall upon power lines and produce widespread power outages. We saw and heard many crews the last few days taking down trees that pose a threat to power lines.

The threat of power loss has also caused the NWS and local authorities to strongly urge people to have on hand, flashlights, extra batteries and food that does not require heating to prepare. Ain't that a sign of a first-world country, when a storm turns our authorities into so many Chicken Littles.

Did I mention that along with those other warnings, there is also a warning of snow accumulations of from one to three inches to add to the ice that will form as temperatures drop tonight into Monday. We have no plans to go anywhere today and nothing on tap until Monday's P/T appointment in the early afternoon.

Yesterday afternoon, we once again journeyed to the Nature Education Center @ the Hemlock Crossing County Park, to see a presentation by one of the Ottawa County Park's naturalists who moonlights as a National Park Ranger in the summer months. This presentation was about her past summer in Grand Teton National Park. Her photos were breathtaking and her description of her experiences with the local flora and fauna along with other park personnel and the 5,000,000 visitors were very interesting and enlightening.

I didn't forget, the current temperature in Lakeland, Fl is 73° under partly -cloudy skies. Today's high will be 85°, also under partly-cloudy skies.

In Ft. Myers, Fl, the current temperature is 74° as they rise to today's high temperature of 84°, both under partly-cloudy skies.

In Mesa, AZ, the current temperature is a relatively warmer 43°. Today's high temperature forecast from the NWS calls for a high of 63°, with the high on Tuesday reaching the lower 70s.

So today, more reading in my current book, How Democracies Die, along with finishing Friday's crossword puzzle and reading the weekend edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.

Mary eschewed her usual fare of post-apocalyptic movies. Instead, she is reading an apocalyptic book. I think mine falls into that category too. Ciao.