Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 60° under clear skies. The sun will rise today @ 7:05 a.m. and set later @ 8:24 p.m. Between now and 8:00 p.m. Thursday, the NWS has extended those three advisories and/or statements already in effect.

We still have that Beach Hazard Statement in effect. That means that north of South Haven, high/strong-winds and rip currents preclude swimming in the "Big Lake." So naturally, people are strongly encouraged to avoid the water and/or walking on the piers.

In addition, there is still that Small Craft Advisory in effect, also until 8:00 p.m. tonight. Winds of 10 - 20 knots will diminish oduring the day today and then return with a vengeance later tomorrow, increasing to 30 knots and producing increased wave heights up to eight feet! Small craft, inexperienced sailors, and ships without a good crew and a good captain well seasoned should not leave the dock.

Let's not forget that the wind and waves also necessitated yet another Lakeshore Erosion Statement, also in effect until 8:00 p.m. tonight. Piers, docks, and other lake shore properties may become submerged.

There is a 50% chance for T-storms this afternoon too, with wind gusts of 20 - 30 mph!

You would think that any one of those warnings/statements/advisories would be enough to keep people out of the water and oft the piers. But no, you can't fix stupid as evidenced by some of the pictures I am adding below.

Red flag means: DON'T GO INTO THE WATER!

When you snap enough pictures with a digital camera, sometimes you get one like this.

At any time, waves might break over the railings of the boardwalk leading to the south pier.

What was it I said about trying to fix stupid?

Like Mother Ocean, the "Big Lake" can be very angry!

Indeed!

A little ray of sunshine.

One very foolish couple waded into this surf and the riptides with their small child.

We even saw a large group of young people way out on the pier.

Since we were both out with cameras in hand, we took pix of whatever caught our collective fancies. I had to stop and wipe my lens periodically so that the images came out crisp and clean with no...Oops!

As is almost always the case, I like to take pix of unused playground equipment.

What children were at the Grand Haven State Park Campground were hiding inside their respective campers.

Since we were out and about, we stopped in at Duncan Woods for some additional photos. Mary employed her new Olympus TG-6, while I tried the black and white function that I learned about on Tuesday.

Oddly, an old sign in Duncan Woods calls the place Duncan Park.

Normally Mary is rightfully afraid of spiders due to her allergic reactions. But this one was on something else she had chosen to photograph.

The fine details that her TG-6 can photograph are amazing!

Another angle on that spider and the veins of the leaf upon which he was sitting.

I sat on a bench biding my time and taking pix of whatever I chose, some in color and some in black and white.

Color.

Same shot in black and white.

Clouds seem to look more ominous in black and white.

Truly amazing what color can add, or take away!

But I need to move along or I'll be here all night, or is it morning?

In baseball news, the Cubs scored six runs in the first inning last night, en route to their final victory over the Mets, 10 - 7. Kyle Hendricks started the game, but was lifted by Joe Madden before he could qualify for the win, as he became very erratic in the 5th. One of his replacements, Kyle Ryan, got the win. The Cubs and the Mets reprise their rivalry again tonight @ 7:10 p.m. when Jon Lester makes the start. This being 2019, it marks 50 years since the Cubs fell out of contention late in the season as the "Miracle Mets" surged to the World Series. Here's hoping that history doesn't repeat itself.

My beloved Red Sox are still in 3rd place, 15.5 games behind the AL East leading Yankees following the Sox win over the Rockies, 7 - 4. The X-Man, Xander Bogaerts, got two home runs to propel the Sox offense and hand Eduardo Rodriguez his 16th win! Tonight's Red Sox game against the LA Angels will commence @ 10:07 p.m. when Nathan Eovaldi takes the hill.

Sadly, although Jordan Zimmerman had a "Quality Start" againt the Indians, the Tigers lost the game, 2 - 4. So, while the Tigers are still way deep in 5th place in the AL Central, 41 games in back of the division-leading Twins, the Indians are only 3.5 games behind and 37.5 of the Tigers in 2nd place. Today's Tigers' game against the Indians will start @ 1:10 p.m.

The West Michigan WhiteCaps had another oops last night, losing to the Lansing Lugnuts in Lansing, 6 - 8. The Caps and the Lugnuts play another one tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

We made it to my orthopedic appointment in Muskegon yesterday with minutes to spare. Unlike most doctors, this orthopedist values their time and ours and we were in and out in under 25 minutes. We got grat news, as the injections I received two weeks ago are doing as anticipated and I should be able to avoid any more serious and invasive procedures for a while.

Mary crafted another cast-iron pan pizza last night that tasted great. Tonight, she has a session at the library @ 6:30 p.m. regarding the making of centerpieces. I had thought about going on the Wicked Grand Haven Township Cemetery Tour tonight, but that is not a local event near GH, but out in the township of GH, almost six miles away. Since I am not much into driving anymore, I doubt I'll be going, especially with the threat of T-storms. Ciao.