Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:30 a.m. in "The City.

Well, what a difference a day makes. No Weather Warnings of any type are in effect for the Tri-Cities area. We have a current temperature of 22° that feels like 16°, with some light snow-showers in evidence this morning. While those are in the forecast @ 60% there is little actual snow falling. It seems that we have once again been spared by the snow goddess. Our high today will be 26°. The sun will rise this morning @ 7:22 a.m. and set this evening @ 6:32 p.m.

Apparently, the authorities have issued a  local State of Emergency for parts of Northern, CA, that include the areas adjacent to the Russian River. Authorities there have been quoted as saying, "Leave Now!" Heavy rains, saturated ground, and  heavy snow in higher elevations have made mud-slides, exacerbated by wildfire damage, a real concern. That concern is real enough for the local authorities to ask CA Governor, Gavin Newsom, to issue a State of Emergency declaration, which makes state funds available for assistance in rescues. However, our illustrious POTUS, has threatened to "Cut Off" emergency federal funding used to fight wildfires until CA, "Gets its act together!" I guess he needs that money to "Build The Wall", you know, the one that Mexico was supposed to pay for. Just saying.

In baseball news out in Mesa, AZ, the Cubs' $126 million man, Yu Darvish, is feeling well enough this spring to speak directly to reporters without an interpreter. While he lost his first start against the D'Backs, issuing four walks, the velocity for his fastball was clocked @ 94 - 96 mph! Here's hoping that he stays in the rotation and gives the Cubs what they had hoped for last year. In Mesa, AZ, the current temperature is 49° with today's high expected to reach 75° under sunny skies.

My beloved Red Sox will be enjoying today's high temperature of 80° under partly-cloudy skies in Ft. Myers, Fl. Plus, they will be enjoying seeing top Sox prospect, Michael Chavis, continue his bid to join the Sox early in the 2019 big-league season, just long enough along to give the Sox another year of non-arbitration eligibility.

The Tigers will be enjoying 81 partly-cloudy degrees in Lakeland, FL today. They look to be on track to have an average season in 2019. Sigh. Oh well, maybe pitchers like Michael Fulmer and Matthew Boyd can join newcomer Reed Garrett to makes the Tigers respectable this year. Did I mention that the Tigers' farm system is coming along nicely and in another few years...?

The Tigers' "A" level farm team, our own West Michigan Whitecaps, open their 2019 season on April 4, against the South Bend Cubs in South Bend, IN. They are hoping for a bounce-back season under manager Lance Parrish.

No news on our own Grand River Loggers, yet.

We had a good day yesterday. Got up late, read the newspaper, went to that alternative big-box nearly everything store, and retrieved our order. The process went smoothly but the store had few customers as compared to our locally MI owned big-box nearly everything store just across the street.

We made a stop @ Stan's on the way home. However, instead of toona casserole when we got home, Mary says I shamed her into using the portabello mushrooms in the refrigerator on another of her famous vegan pizzas. She wants to wait until she can make the toona casserole just as she remembers it. If shame was the motivator, that's okay with me, as I like her pizza.

It is so dry in the house, that Ginger is having lots of "Bad hair days", as exemplified by the picture taken by our  Senior Staff Photographer, Mary, with her Smart Phone.

Terriers need lots of grooming to stay looking their best.

With Ginger's assistance, I espied only the northbound train run yesterday. There didn't seem to have been a southbound run. At any rate, @ 12:20 p.m., locomotive # 2025 was spotted by Ginger and me towing eight CHCs, six, DWTCs, five DBTCs, and one lone GTC

Today, more P/T is in the offing. I'm hoping for progress. Ciao.