Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 4:30 a.m. in "The City."

Our current temperature is 68° under partly-cloudy skies. The NWS based in GR, is forecasting today's high to reach 78°, with partly-cloudy skies in the morning giving way to mostly-sunny skies in the afternoon.

There are currently no watches, statements, nor warnings in effect for the shores of the "Big Lake." The sun will rise today @ 6:54 a.m. and set later tonight @ 8:41 p.m. Yes my friends, summer is winding down to its inevitable passing on September 23, 2019, the start of the autumnal equinox, which officially begins @ 3:50 a.m. that day. Meanwhile, Let's enjoy the weather and the change of seasons that are part and parcel to living in the Midwest.

 

We had quite a storm early yesterday afternoon, as thunder boomed and torrential rains pelted the manse and the GH area. The storm terrorized STWD for about two hours and then it was over. While the skies looked more ominous than they were, they cleared quickly, so I took some pix of the cloud formations visible in the eastern and northern skies.

A southeastern shot

The same, a few minutes later.

Due north about the same time.

I'll dispense with the world of baseball by summing it up thusly, The Cubs are once again tied for 1st place in the NL Central following their win over the Pirates yesterday, 7 - 1. The Cubs welcome the Giants to Wrigley Field Tuesday night @ 8:05 p.m. EDT.

My beloved Red Sox are still mired in 3rd place in the AL East, in spite of their 13 - 7 win over the Orioles. The Sox are now awaiting the prognosis for Chris Sales' pitching elbow ailment before opening their next series against the Phillies Tuesday night @ 7:10 p.m. IF Rafael Devers continues to shred the baseball for the Sox, getting four hits and four RBIs yesterday. Devers became the first player in the Major Leagues to reach 100 RBIs this year!

The Tigers are still in last place in the AL Central. Matthew Boyd pitched well, but the Tigers couldn't hold the lead over the Rays, losing in the end, 4 - 5. The Tigers travel to Houston tonight to open a series against the 1st place in the AL West Astros @ 8:10 p.m.  as Edwin Jackson makes his next start. 

The West Michigan WhiteCaps are in last place in the MWL East, also in spite of their own win over the visiting Lake County, OH Captains, 4 - 2 yesterday afternoon. The Caps and the Captains resume play tonight @ 7:05 p.m. Too little, too late?

Today, we have nothing much on our agenda. I accomplished a lot yesterday, even though I felt like I didn't get anything done. It took Mary to point out that doing the indoor chores, baking some soy curls, cleaning up the kitchen, and helping to carry in the groceries that she had purchased was quite a bit.

I should mention that my baking yak is baking a lot less the last few days. In fact, it felt good enough for us to journey on foot to that nearby big-box home improvement store before stopping at Don Luis for dinner. Mary observed that I was "Trucking" along pretty well. I'll take it and hope that it is the harbinger of better days to come.

I also finished the Saturday/Sunday L.A. Times crossword from the weekend edition of the Grand Haven Tribune with only minimal assistance from Mary. We collectively began reading the Sunday  N.Y. Times too. I have to wait for the crossword, as it is in a section that Mary and I have yet to read. That section has a portion of the 1619 Project, a story of the contributions made by African-Americans to the building of America. It should be interesting. Ciao.