Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 5:00 a.m. in "The City."

I've just finished updating the software on this computer and also uninstalling and reinstalling the anti spyware program that I use. That's an hour of my life I'll never get back. I won't know how successful I've been with the recommended repairs until I see the results of the next regularly scheduled scan this evening. Sigh.

We have a current temperature of 61° under cloudy skies. STWD was just settling down next to the bed last night when a crack of thunder sent her to the bathroom, where she is currently in residence. Her little sister, Ginger, is unafraid of the thunder and lightning, however, she doesn't much like the rain, so once she was done last night, she was done.

Today. the high temperature will rise to only 62° with scattered T-storms in the area. In addition, there is a Flood Advisory in effect until 11:45 a.m. today. According to the report from the NWS, we received anywhere from one to two inches of rain last night/early this morning. Campers at the Grand Haven State Park campground must have received quite a show and quite a blow on the shores of the "Big Lake." The sun will rise @ 6:12 today and set later @ 9:11 p.m.

I was up early yesterday, which allowed me to take some pix of the sunrise over GH. I think that they turned out very nicely.

Looking north from the front porch of the manse.

Same here

A reminder, if you want to view the full-size version, just click on the pic. Hmm, a nice bit of alliteration there.

Baseball news yesterday was a .250 hitter. The 29 - 20, 1st place in the NL Central Cubs, managed to once again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, as they squandered an early lead when their bullpen imploded, leading to the 5 - 6 loss to the 23 - 27, 5th place Reds. The Cubs wasted home-runs by Schwarber, Bryant, and Rizzo en route to that dismal outcome. Today's game is once again an afternoon contest beginning @ 2:20 p.m. EDT, when Yu Darvish, 2 - 3, takes the hill trying for his first May win, against the Reds Tyler Mahle, 1 - 5.

My beloved, 27 - 24, 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox, also squandered a great pitching performance in their loss to the 34 - 18, 1st place in the AL West Astros, 3 - 4. Starting pitcher, Chris Sale, once again looked like the Chris Sale of old, but the Red Sox bullpen just couldn't hold the lead. The Sox and the Astros go again tonight @ 7:15 p.m., as David Price, 2 - 2, takes the ball against the Astros Brad Peacock, 5 - 2, @ 7:15 p.m.

The Tigers, 19 - 29, in the AL Central, were the lone bright spot, as they used a great day at the plate by JaCoby Jones, to win over the 24 - 26, 3rd place in the NL East Mets, 9 - 8. Today's game features the Tigers' Ryan Carpenter, 0 - 2, goes against the Mets' Jason Vargas, 1 - 2 @ 4:10 p.m. this afternoon.

Sadly, the 18 - 29, 7th in the MWL East West Michigan White Caps, dropped one in South Bend, IN to the 25 - 21, 4th place South Bend Cubs, 0 - 4. Sadly, the Caps do not seem to be developing any players on the A level for their parent club, the Tigers. The Caps and the South Bend Cubs play again tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

We made a nice trip to the New Ewe in Newaygo yesterday and made some purchases for my use and Mary's stash. She says she came for herself and I got all the rewards. I'd like remind her that the joy is in the journey, regardless of the recipient. We also stopped in at their local art/craft fair and purchased a small piece of yard art too. We made it back to GH jut before the rains came in last evening, where we stopped at our favorite watering hole and then came home. That's where Mary prepared my dinner request, vegan mac and cheese. I got tired after watching James Holzhauer win at Jeopardy, again. I came upstairs, fell asleep in my chair, woke up and then toddled off to bed with the fur-children.

Otherwise, today is a game-day decision for me regarding whether to go to Hemlock Crossing for a Bird Talk/Bird Walk this afternoon. One side of me wants to stay home and do some art, while the other wants to go and get some fresh air. Thus, the game-day decision. I love taking pix @ Hemlock, but I don't much savor the idea of facing the burgeoning tick population in the woods.

We do have to go to the grocery store too, but that is not something I need to do with Mary.

Ciao.