Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 7:00 a.m. in "The City."

Today and tomorrow, we will experience high temperatures of 77° and 73° respectively, probably the last for 2019 here in GH. However, that gives me two more chances to enjoy my "summer uniform" as I like to think of shorts and a T-shirt. However, the chance to enjoy our patio umbrella will only exist today, as tomorrow, the NWS is predicting an 80% chance for scattered T-storms in the morning morphing into widespread T-storms in the afternoon. My uniform should be good for one more day.

The current temperature is 59° under clear skies. Today's high will be a full 17 degrees warmer than yesterday. The sun will rise today @ 7:41 a.m. and set later @ 7:28p.m.

Whew, what a weekend and I don't mean the Lions 30 - 34 loss to Patrick Mahomes in the last two minutes of yesterday's game, nor the Bears 16 - 6 win over the visiting Vikings, a win that will cost them the services of QB Mitchell Trubisky for several games, but which is not likely to be season-ending for Trubisky.

But on to more interesting events. We traveled to the beautiful lakeside town of Harbor Springs, MI Thursday through Sunday to attend the 4th annual Harbor Springs Festival of the Book. The festival and the village of Harbor Springs were so terrific, that we are already making plans to attend again next year. Collectively, we attended seven or eight events/panel discussions and came away with ideas and information from many nationally and internationally awarded authors. Plus, we were able to eat our lunch at a small place called Turkey's one day and on the magnificent waterfront of the village the next.

Of course, in our usual fashion, we found some places en-route that were also very scenic and photogenic too, like the Historic Pathways, Gardens, & Waterways located in the Manton, MI area.

A small roadside sign that we nearly missed on the road to Harbor Springs, announced the location.

Since it is fall, the plants are shedding their summer colors in favor of the winter seed pods.

This plant, which I assumed to be a mushroom was growing next to the gravel  parking area.

As inviting as any pathway we've ever encountered.

Another relative of the mushroom near the parking area?

A pathway that led deeper into the gardens.

Too bad there is no sound for this picture of a real "Babbling Brook."

As an amateur artist, I found this grove of aspen trees very photogenic. Once again, the lack of sound leaves only your imagination for complete enjoyment.

At least this plant was recognizable as a mushroom.

But I digress, as we drove through Petoskey, MI on our way to Harbor Springs on the other side of Bay Harbor, the view of the harbor was spectacular, albeit somewhat blocked by the local medical center.

Once again, a picture can't do the view justice.

Our hotel, chosen at random, turned out to be very comfortable and travel to and from the festival was easy if you followed the detour signs.

The renovated Lyric Theater in Harbor Springs was one of the venues for the panel discussions.

As was the Methodist church.

But, the local library was also used for that purpose too. We didn't attend a session there, but the library had an old-fashioned card catalog that has been replaced by a computer system. The library was established in the late 1800s atop what was the local post office, but which is now a fudge shop.

As Mary sadly laments, a computer search takes away the "opportunity" to "discover" books that are in the card catalog near what you were originally seeking.

As I mentioned, lunch on Friday was at Turkey's.

Turkey's

And on Saturday.

The picturesque waterfront of Harbor Springs.

Just before the panel discussion on The Many Faces of Speculative Fiction at the Lyric Theater.

The authors signing their books afterwards in the lobby of the Lyric.

But, there were so many things to see and photograph, that there just isn't room for them all. I did take some shots of the local Farmer's Market on Saturday before we visited the local Catholic church, also a venue site, for what are some great pix.

A well attended Farmer;s Market on Main St.

The altar of the Holy Childhood of Jesus Catholic Church.

And a view of the window area near the altar.

However, it is time to say adieu to our weekend in Harbor Springs for this year. The trip was a mini-vacation for us and when we returned to GH, it was time to pick-up the fur-children from their lodgings at the Grand Haven Animal Hospital. I think that they had a comfortable visit, but like us, I believe that they wanted to just click their heels and find that there really is "No place like home."

Ciao.

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."

The current temperature is 63° under clear skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 66°, a full five degrees colder than yesterday. The sun will rise today @ 7:36 a.m. and set later @ 7:35 p.m.

A Small Craft Advisory remains in effect until 4:00 p.m. this evening, along with a Beach Hazard Statement. The usual rip currents, and waves will make swimming and boating in the "Big Lake" hazardous.

I'll be taking a few days off from blogging, as I have other, more urgent things to do in my life. But not to worry my loyal readers, I should be back at the keyboard early Monday or Tuesday.

I took yesterday off because I am in mourning. I have spent nearly every night at my blog since spring, trying, apparently in vain, to see the Cubs make it to another World Series. Sad to say, the proverbial Fat Lady has sung and the Cubs are officially eliminated from post-season play this again this year. They can take their collective places on the couch this fall alongside the Red Sox and the Tigers as the brass for each of them ponders what to do this winter.

I have to wonder about my own future too, as I truly believe that Baseball is Life!" I've managed to live long enough to see the Cubs win one World Series in my lifetime, but what coulda, woulda, shoulda been has not happened since 2016. Not to despair, I have plans to be around for many more years, so if the Cubs', the Red Sox, and the Tigers can stop reliving past-glories and make some solid trades, signings, and promotions from their farm systems...

Will Joe Maddon be back to manage the Cubs? Right now, I am giving that a 50/50 chance, at best. I have never seen a team collapse so quickly as the Cubs sine 1969, when they needed to step up and win the games they should have won. Sure the team brass deserves some of the credit/blame for boneheaded trades and less than fruitful big-contract signings, but Maddon is the guy who will take the fall, as field-managers often do.

To demonstrate what I believe is a "Loser's Mentality", the Cubs have issued a commemorative video of the infamous 1969 season entitled Timeless: 1969 Cubs, the story of that fateful year when they faded away in September and watched the"Miracle Mets go to the World Series. 1969? What's to celebrate about 1969 other than my long-gone 1969 Camaro Super Sport, my high-school graduation, and... It would be several years before I met and married Mary and we had our only child, a young man who has become a terrific adult, Adam.

Oh well, stay posted as I'll try to keep everyone updated until I am born again and there is  "New grass on the field." For now, I'll have to drown my sorrows with memories of what coulda, woulda, shoulda been. I'll mark those memories with two songs, John Fogerty's Centerfield, and Steve Goodman's A Dying Cub Fan's Last Reauest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnWQd70br9g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK5m_fETGuQ

But, I'd be kidding myself if I didn't also pay homage to the 2016 season when the Cubs "Won it All!", epitomized by Steve Goodman's Go Cubs Go! Too bad that it had to end. "Wait til Next Year!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtyOq-SU0Ec

As I've mentioned, the Red Sox and the Tigers are heading home for the winter too. But not to fear, it will be February 2020 before you know it and I'll be following every stat and every at-bat for all of my teams. Plus, it will soon be time for the annual Baseball winter meetings and the Cubs Convention, when fans get to commiserate about what coulda. woulda, shoulda been as they listen to Theo Epstein, the rest of the Cubs brass, and the team ownership along whomsoever the Cubs have as manager try to explain away what coulda, woulda, shoulda been. Til then, I'll have to make do. Sigh.

I watched as the MMRR sent locomotives # 2019 and #2025 south, towing one CHC @ 12:00 p.m. yesterday. Later, I heard that lonesome whistle blow again @ 3:50 p.m., as those same locomotives passed by heading north, towing 12 CHCs, five DBTCs, two DWTCs, and four GTCs.

I was in the kitchen yesterday making more vegan treats. Mary was hard at work around the manse too, along with a visit to the chiropractor and her beautician. Oh, we also watched the craziness in New York and D.C. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 7:00 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 65° under partly-cloudy skies. The sun will rise today @ 7:34 a.m. and set later @ 7:39 p.m. The NWS is forecasting T-storms with a 70% chance for Wednesday morning.

As seems to have become the norm, there are several NWS advisories and watches in effect from 5:00 p.m. today until 8:00 p.m. Wednesday. You know, the familiar Small Craft  Advisory, the Beach Hazard Statement, and our old standby, the Lakeshore Flood Advisory. Our recent rains have once again flooded the low-lying areas near the Grand River.

I fell asleep during the Bears 31 - 15 win over the Redskins last night. A word of caution, the Redskins are not very good this year and so the jury must remain out on the Bears. Even with a 2 - 1 record, the Bears trail the 3 - 0 Packers who play Thursday night in Green Bay against the 1 - 2 Eagles. Are the Packers for real? Are the Redskins that bad? Are the Bears really a contending team? Who knows?

The 82 - 74 Cubs, had to sit idly by in 3rd place as they watched the 1st place Cardinals, 90 - 67. clinch the NL Central Division. The Cubs are four games behind in the Wild Card race and three losses seals the deal for the disappointing Cubs. Wait til next year is highly likely given the way the Cubs and the Cardinals have played this season.

Many trade/acquisition/signing questions remain this winter, but foremost among them are the retention of field manager Joe Maddon, the option of trying to sign Nick Castellanos, and the chance that Yu Darvish will opt out of his $126 million deal as he has the right to do. Wait and see, as the Cubs play in Pittsburgh tonight @ 7:05 p.m. EDT.

The already eliminated 81 - 75 Red Sox, return to the field tonight in TX to face the 75 - 81 Rangers @ 8:05 p.m.

The 46 - 109, 5th place Tigers, well you know about them. They are home tonight to face the 96 - 60, 1st place in the AL Central Twins @ 6:40 p.m. The Tigers have a lot of questions of their own to answer, especially with some huge guaranteed contracts for players like Miguel "Miggy" Cabrera to ponder. I don't think the pitchers were as bad as they looked and I doubt that the hitters were as inept as the appeared, but do the Tigers have enough pitching and position-player depth in their farm system to help @ the Major-League™ club next season?

Having watched the 49 - 90, "A" level White Caps, the 77 - 61 AA level Erie SeaWolves, and the 66 - 74 Toledo Mud Hens this past season, I honestly don't know. If there is any solace to be found, it is that the Tigers AA farm team, the SeaWolves had a winning record.

We have no specific plans for today. I have more painting to do, more reading to do, and possibly more kitchenwork to get ready for our trip to Harbor Springs.

I made vegan Italian meatballs yesterday along with some vegan soy-curl jerky. This batch is too spicy for Mary. I think we need to make some roast beest today, as vegan fare is not plantiful once you get past Taco Bell™. With enough cold-cuts, we can manage to put together some sandwiches on the Veggie Delight™ sandwiches, sans cheese, available @ Subway™. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 5:30 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 66° under cloudy skies. Our overnight low will be 63°. The sun will rise today @ 7:33 a.m. and set later @ 7:41 p.m. The NWS is not forecasting any T-storms or showers today, however they have put a 60% chance for T-storms in their forecast for Tuesday evening. The NWS forecast for yesterday was somewhat accurate, but the T-storms never materialized. STWD proved to be more accurate.  She will probably be more accurate again today too as compared to the NWS.

There are several NWS advisories and watches in effect until 8:00 p.m. tonight, a Small Craft  Advisory, a Beach Hazard Statement, and a Lakeshore Flood Advisory, are in effect for that time period.

Yesterday was probably the swan song for the Cubs 2019 season, in spite of a 12 K effort by Yu Darvish. Like most things for Darvish this season, too little, too late. The 3rd place Cubs lost to the 1st place Cardinals, 2 - 3, and the Cubs ae now seven games in back of the Cardinals. The Cubs are off today before a stop in Pittsburgh Tuesday night @ 7:05 p.m. EDT.

My beloved 3rd place Red Sox, defeated the 2nd place Rays, yesterday, 7 - 4. Sadly, the Sox are eliminated from post-season play. Once again, too little too late. The Sox close out their series with the Rays tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

The last place Tigers took a game in a meaningless series from that other team from Chicago yesterday, 6 - 3. Wait til next year is now the catch-phrase in Detroit too. The Tigers welcome the1st place Twins to Comerica Park for a game on Tuesday @ 6:40 p.m.

The Lions lost a couple of players to injury yesterday. Hopefully, the injuries are not season ending, as one is an ankle sprain and the other a hamstring injury. The Lions hung on to defeat the Eagles, 27 - 24.

Tonight, the 1 - 1 Bears play the 0 - 2 Redskins @ 8:15 p.m. EDT on Monday Night Football. The Bears should be the favorites, but this year's team is still an enigma wrapped in a conundrum.

In spite of that dire forecast from the NWS yesterday afternoon, we made it to the 1st Presbyterian Church for that concert by the bluegrass band, Schlitz Creek. As promised, they were very entertaining and Mary believes she has found her new favorite music genre, bluegrass. The band took the audience through bluegrass music from its inception by the late Bill Monroe to more modern times, with the band's bluegrass interpretation of an Elton John song, Honky Cat. Our senior staff photographer tried for some photos, but her camera is designed for closeup macro photography, not long-distance. So, her pix turned out blurry.

I painted three out of four sides of my fall decorations yesterday. I have to finish those today. Drying time is such sweet sorrow.

Before we traveled to the concert, I made another vegan pepperoni and Mary made some dough for last night's dinner of cast-iron pan pizza that incorporated some of that pepperoni and some leftover tomato paste. We also read more of our shared read, The Man Who Sold America: Trump and the Unraveling of the American Story, by Joy Reid.

Today, I have a regular checkup at the podiatrist and that's about it for me. Mary will continue to get us ready for our trip to Harbor Springs later this week. The fur-children, with no foul-weather in the forecast, should be okay for at least today. Ciao.

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."

The current temperature is 70° under partly-cloudy skies. Our overnight low will be 69°. The sun will rise today @ 7:32 a.m. and set later @ 7:42 p.m. The NWS is forecasting a 35% chance for T-storms beginning this morning @ 8:00 a.m. that will morph into a 90% for showers in the afternoon and then back to T-storms returning around 5:00 p.m. The NWS had forecast showers/T-storms yesterday into early this morning, however, STWD proved to be more accurate as she hid out for a while and then returned to her regular spot on the floor. With the forecast for today, I'll watch STWD for a more accurate forecast than the NWS.

There are several NWS advisories and watches in effect until 8:00 p.m. tonight. They are a Small Craft  Advisory, a Beach Hazard Statement, and a Lakeshore Flood Advisory, in effect for that time period.

What a great day at the Irish Jam Session yesterday, with a large number of players on fiddle, whistle, mandolin, upright bass, and guitar. That was in spite of the football games between the Wolverines of Michigan, who lost to the Badgers of Wisconsin, 14 - 35, and the Spartans of MSU, who defeated the Wildcats of Northwestern, 31 - 10. Both games began @ 12:00 p.m. EDT yesterday.

In baseball, the Cubs dropped another one to the Cardinals, 8 - 9, to fall to six full games in back of the Cardinals and into 3rd place. Craig Kimbrel, he of the strange approach to seeing the catcher's signs, once again gave up the winning home-runs to the Cardinals. Two pitches, two home runs, the tying run and the go ahead and winning run. Is that why they gave him a three year contract for $45 million? Said Kimbrel after yesterday's game, “I was pumped out there. I was excited. I felt like I had good stuff. And then right there off the bat, two home runs. Frustrating.”  Kimbrel said Saturday. He also said,  “I feel great right now. My last two outings, I felt great. I just didn’t get the results I wanted, the results I need to have to do my job. Ya think? He further said, "Moving forward, I have a good feeling I will.” Yes, and I have tickets to the next Cubs' World-Series appearance in my pocket too.

Kimbrel is looking all too human and may be the next in a long line of failed acquisitions for the Cubs' brass. The Cubs are in a must-win every remaining game position in order to make the Wild Card race. It is not looking good, as the Cubs have four more games against the Cardinals at home and in St. Louis. Another disappointing big contract player, Yu Darvish, pitches for the Cubs at 2:10 p.m. today.

My prediction for the Cubs' off-season, wholesale trades of front-line/core players and several outright releases of players who under-performed, including several pitchers. Once a century is not enough. Stay tuned.

Speaking of the playoffs, the Red Sox are officially eliminated from any post-season play following yesterday's loss to the Rays, 4 - 5. The Sox gave Chris Sale a huge contract extension and he is now on the injury list. Only one Sox pitcher was effective this year,Eduardo Rodriguez. I should mention that one other player, third-baseman Rafael Devers, had a great year. Yesterday, he set a team record for Sox  third-baseman, hitting his 31st home-run. The Sox will probably see some serious off-season trades and signings, especially following the sacking of Dave Dombrowski, The Sox continue to play out the string today @ 1:10 p.m.

The Tigers were out of it long ago, and yes, the agony continues with today's game @ 1:10 p.m. against that other team from Chicago.

Today, if the rain stays away, Mary plans to go to Hemlock Crossing for an Equinox Expedition, while I go to the 1st Presbyterian Church here in GH @ 4:00 p.m. for a concert featuring a band called Schliltz Creek. They play bluegrass, country and western, and pop tunes, all with their unique Schlitz Creek bluegrass twist. like this version of I want You to Want Me, originally recorded by Cheap Trick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5o4GFfGAck

Otherwise, I  have some painting to finish/begin and some reading to continue. Mary will be hard at work in her kitchen whether she goes on that expedition or not. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 3:00 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 67° under clear skies. Our overnight low will be 66° The sun will rise today @ 7:31 a.m. and set later @ 7:44 p.m. The NWS is forecasting a 50% chance for T-storms this evening that will morph into a 90% for showers by early Sunday morning. STWD will not be happy.

There is a Small Craft  Advisory in effect from 12:00 p.m. today until 8:00 p.m. Sunday. In addition, there is also a Beach Hazard Statement, and a Lakeshore Flood Advisory in effect for that time period. As I've often said, life on the shores of the "Big Lake" never gets dull.

I'm going to skip over sports with only a few exceptions.

The Cubs will play the Cardinals today @ 2:20 p.m. EDT. My beloved Red Sox will be playing the Rays tonight @ 6:10 p.m., and the Tigers try again tonight, also @ 6:10 p.m.

The Spartans and the Wolverines play today @ 12:00 p.m. against the Wildcats of Northwestern and the Badgers of Wisconsin respectively. The Huskies of NIU are off this week.

We made it to all of our planned activities yesterday. We started our day in Central Park at the Tri-Cities Climate Strike. Great ideas and great thoughts from the attendees. I took some pix of the activities.

This was an understatement.

A good crowd of old and young alike.

Jared Cramer, Rector of St. John's Episcopal Church, one of the sponsors of the Strike, spoke briefly.

By the by, Climate Strikes were held all across the country and around the world.

As we were heading out and returning from the activities in Central Park, I took some pix of the flowers in our own vast gardens.

This rose from Mary's Rose Garden is now in our Flower Room.

These blossoms are on one of  the rose bushes in front of our porch.

As is this one, that is very fragrant and beautiful.

I took this shot while we were in Central Park.

After lunch, we were off to Holland to visit one of the big-box home-centers there. I got everything that I wanted. Along the way, I took some shots at the power plant near Holland. This plant is 20 times larger than the soon to be closed GHBLP Sims Power Plant in GH.

Large coal-fired power plants generate a huge amount of coal-ash as a byproduct of generating power from coal.

The plant consumes hard coal at a voracious rate, as shown by theses rail-cars that arrive daily @ the plant.

We made it home, fed the fur-children and soon we were on our way to Seven Steps Up to see a terrific performance by Amy Speace, a talented singer/songwriter who played guitar and keyboards and sang for an appreciative audience.

Soulful songs, many from her just released album.

Ms. Speace, who now lives in Nashville, TN, is a gifted guitarist and vocalist.

But she is equally at home behind a keyboard.

So many pictures so little space.

This afternoon, I have my monthly Irish Jam session at the library. Two hours of music and fun. Mary has plans to plan our route for our upcoming trip to the Festival of the Book in Harbor Springs. I'm sure we will enjoy our time in a place we've never been before. Ciao.

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."

The current temperature is 67° under partly-cloudy skies. Today's high will be 76°, under mostly-sunny skies. The sun will rise today @ 7:30 a.m. and set tonight @ 7:46 p.m. There are showers in the forecast for Saturday evening @ 50% and Sunday @ 100%.

The 82 - 71, 3rd place in the NL Central Cubs tied the game in the 9th inning last night, only to see the return of Craig Kimbrel to the lineup. He proceeded to serve up a "Gopher Ball" to the Cardinals Matt Carpenter in the top of the 10th and the Cubs were unable to answer in their half of the frame, losing to the Cards, 4 - 5.

That loss puts the Cubs one game behind the 2nd place Brewers and four games behind the 1st place Cardinals. Plus, the Cubs lost ground to the Washington National in the Wild Card race.

If there was a bright spot, it was the return of Anthony Rizzo to the lineup along with his home run stroke. Javier Baez also was inserted as a pinch runner in the 9th, scoring the tying run.

The Cubs and the Cardinals meet again this afternoon @ 2:20 p.m. EDT, when Alex Mills takes the mound for the Cubs against the Cardinals Michael Wacha.

My beloved, 80 - 72, 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox find themselves 19 games in back of the 1st place Yankees. The Sox defeated the 74 - 79, 3rd place in the NL West Giants, 5 - 4. Eduardo Rodriguez recorded his 18th win while also getting 10 Ks.

The Sox send Rick Porcello, 13 - 12 to the mound tonight @ 7:10 p.m. against the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa Bay against the Rays Charlie Morton, 15 - 6. Look out below.

I made another vegan bologna yesterday before I worked tow crossword puzzles with Mary's help and then Mary was off to the chiropractor. I walked Ginger before meeting up with Mary and STWD on our walk. I then retired to the man-cave for some wood cutting in preparation for my fall decorations. It felt great to butcher some wood with a circular saw, a hand-saw, and a belt sander. When I was done, I had many pieces and lots of sawdust. To paraphrase Lt. Colonel Kilgore in Stanley Kubrick's  Apocalypse Now, I love the smell of freshly cut wood in the man-cave.

We had some of that bologna as part of our dinner with a side of sweet potatoes before we journeyed to the library for the presentation on the bad guys of Michigan by author Tom Carr. Very entertaining and very informative.

Today, we will be going to Central Park for the Tri-Cities Climate Strike from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. The program is sponsored by St. John's Episcopal Church of Grand Haven and the Rector of that church, Jared Cramer. As the saying goes, "Think globally, act locally."

As evidence of Climate Change, I cite Hurricane Dorian that devastated the Bahamas and the effects of Tropical Storm Imelda with the 43 inches of rain that were dumped on Texas and the Gulf Coast since Monday. The rain that fell on Texas in one day equaled the normal rainfall for the entire month of September!

Tonight, Seven Steps Up and Amy Speace await. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:00 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 61° under clear skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 77°, under mostly-sunny or partly-cloudy skies. I never can fugure out what the difference is between partly-sunny and partly-cloudy. There is no precipitation in the forecast until Sunday with a 60% chance. The sun will rise today @ 7:28 a.m. and set tonight @ 7:48 p.m.

I heard the morning passage of the train in the RSTL @ about 10:00 a.m., but I was too lazy to get up and look. Later, @ 12:55 p.m., Ginger and I watched the northbound end of the run as MMRR locomotives #2025 and #2019 passed by towing 14 CHCs, three DBTCs, and one DWTC.

We took the fur-children for a walk after more reading of our shared non-fiction book yesterday afternoon. We walked to the library to return a book, using that as a short enough distance for STWD and not nearly long enough for Ginger. Alas, we had some errands to run, so that had to suffice.

We stopped at our local Restore™ store for some sundry things and then went across the street to the local big-box home center for some lumber and paint to complete some fall decorations that should look nice on the porch of the manse.

Then it was off to The Camera Store in Muskegon where Mary was able to get the lens cap for her new camera. This cap protects the lens in a way that the previous small ring could not, a full cover versus nothing.

Then it was time for a stop at Stan's before we headed home to our angry fur-children's dinner as well as our own.

We watched some TV news over dinner and then some game shows. That's before I made the mistake of coming up to the media-room to watch as the 82 - 70 Cubs squandered a chance to take over the top position in the Wild Card race following yesterday's loss by the Nationals to the Cardinals. The Cubs lost the game 2 - 3 to the Reds. In addition, that win by the Cards and the loss by the Cubs added another game to the ledger in what is now a regular season with only 10 games left to play. The Cubs are 3 games behind the Cardinals.

The Cubs open a series tonight @ 7:15 p.m. EDT against the 1st place in the NL Central Cardinals as Kyle Hendricks tries to regain the momentum the Cubs lost to the Reds. The Cubs miss Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez on both offense and defense. The Cubs have seven games left against the Cardinals, with four @ home in "The Friendly Confines" and three in St. Louis @ Busch Stadium, sandwiched around three games against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

My 79 - 72, fading fast and in 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox, were thumped by the Giants last night, 3 - 11. Jeff Samardzija was overpowering for the Giants, while Jhoulys Chacín couldn't get anyone out for the Sox. This afternoon's game @ Fenway features the pitching of Sox ace, Eduardo Rodriguez versus the Giants Madison Bumgarner @ 1:05 p.m.

The Tigers, well, they are the Tigers and they lost to the Indians, 1 - 2 last night in spite of a terrific performance by losing pitcher, Spencer Turnbull. At 7:15 tonight, the Tigers send 3 -12 Dan Norris to the mound versus 11 - 3 Mike Clevinger for the Indians. Wait til next year!

Tonight we are planning to go to the library for a presentation on a book entitled MI Bad, Robbers, Cutthroats, & Thieves in Michigan's Past and Present, presented by the author, Tom Carr, @ 7:00 p.m.

I hope to get started on those fall decorations too. I'm not sure what Mary has in mind. So much to do, so little time. Ciao.

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."

The current temperature is 61° under clear skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 78°, under mostly-sunny skies. I am starting to feel like I am in San Diego, CA. The sun will rise today @ 7:27 a.m. and set tonight @ 7:50 p.m.

Let's start with some really good news. I got an email from our favorite local concert venue, Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake, that was in regard to an upcoming concert Friday night. The featured artist is Amy Speace. She is described by Craig Havighurst of Nashville's Music City Roots as, "A folk singer, timeless and classic, and a bit out of her own era." "She has one of the richest and loveliest voices in the genre and her songs are luxuriously smart." "She's profoundly personal yet also a bit mythic."

What can I say, we've never gone wrong when we gravitate to artists who are mostly unknown to us, yet as talented as any you may have seen over the years. At any rate, I went to YouTube™ and plucked these clips for your for your enjoyment. I hope you like them. The first is entitled, Ghost.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjnY-ysB8&list=RDasXjnY-ysB8&index=2

Plus, I found this clip of a song entitled Rider on An Orphan Train, written by David Massengill. I hope you like this one too.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2IIRbexIu0

Moving right along, the 82 - 69, once again tied for 2nd place in the NL Central Cubs, lost ground last night as they fell to the 71 - 81, 4th place Reds, 2 - 4. In spite of setting a record for strikeouts with eight in a row as a Cub, Yu Darvish took another loss. He gave up three runs in the top of the 1st and the Cubs couldn't make up for those. According to Joe Maddon, Yu is on a run right now, but with only 11 games left in the regular season, the Cubs have to find a way to win, especially over teams with inferior records like the Reds.

In what is purported to be "Good News", Cubs' closer, Craig Kimbrel, pitched a simulated game and "aired it out." How he feels today will be the deciding factor on his return date. Time is a wasting, as they say.

The Cubs and Jon Lester hope to bounce back tonight @ 8:05 p.m. EDT in the "Rubber Game" of the series.

My beloved, 70 - 71, 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox, have stopped winning the easy games too, and they are essentially out of any hope. The stars would have to align in ways that have never before been seen for the Sox to make a Wild Card appearance. The Rays and the Indians would have to fall apart for the Sox to make a post-season appearance.

As the late heavyweight boxer, Muhammad Ali once intoned regarding Smokin' Joe Frazier's chances of beating Ali, "Frazier's got two chances, Slim and none, and Slim just left town." That about sums up the chances for the beloved. The Sox continue their march for the couch this fall with a game against former Cub, Jeff Samardzija and the 73 - 78 Giants tonight @ 7:10 p.m., when Jhoulys Chacín takes the mound for the Sox.

The 45 - 105, last place in the AL Central Tigers, lost another game, surprise, to the 88 - 63, 2nd place Indians last night, 2 - 7, as Zach Reininger took the loss for the Tigers. The Tigers hope to win tonight when they send Spencer Turnbull, 3 - 15, to the mound @ 7:10 p.m.

Elsewhere, the City of Grand Haven is repaving Columbus one-block east of the manse and the noise, dust, and traffic make being outdoors unpleasant. Yes, the street need to be repaved, but...

Mary went walkabout with Ginger yesterday to the waterfront. They encountered lots of people out on a beautiful afternoon in GH and so they headed home very quickly.

I was done painting in my studio/music room/office/weather center as they were departing, so I walked with STWD for about six blocks and then Sugar was spent. Both Ginger and Sugar were quick to take up space on the floor to recharge their collective batteries. We left them there and braved the noise, dust, and traffic on Seventh to recharge our own batteries @ JWs.

Today, we have no plans and that's the way I like it, Uh huh, Uh huh. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 3:30 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 62° under partly-cloudy skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 78°, under mostly-sunny skies this afternoon. The sun will rise today @ 7:26 a.m. and set later @ 7:51 p.m.

The only weather anomaly  currently in the forecast is for a Dense Fog Advisory that will be in effect until 11:00 a.m. this morning. Some areas will see nearly zero visibility, while others may see only slight issues.

I thought we were done with the warm weather, but the NWS is forecasting daytime temperatures in the upper 70s for several more days. One day I am under a blanket, the next I am contemplating turning the A/C back on. That's Michigan for you.

I had a nice time at my bi-weekly Grand haven Art Meet Up last evening. We are still not seeing large numbers of participants. Hopefully, in time, that will change. I had drawn several flowers yesterday afternoon which I took along and colored with my colored pencils. I am getting better on my free-hand drawing skills, but I have a long way to go. I wasn't a competent guitar player for a long time either, so I just have to be patient.

Good news in baseball last nught.

The 82 - 68, 2nd place in the NL Central Cubs thumped the 70 - 81 Reds last night on the strength of Kyle Schwarber's home-run in the 1st and Nick Castellanos' solid hitting. Starter Cole Hamels was not doing all that well and Joe Maddon pulled him after 3 1/3 innings. Hamels was thankful for the emerging bullpen crew that gave the Cubs the win. There are only 12 games left in the season, so every game is like a playoff game now, a must-win.

Sadly, Anthony Rizzo is lost for the balance of the regular season. He was wearing a walking-boot in the dugout last night after that serious ankle sprain on Sunday. He must wear that bot for 7 - 10 days and do some serious P/T if he is to return to the lineup before October. Victor Caratini took over @ 1st, but he is not Rizzo.

The Cubs and the Reds play again tonight @ 8:10 p.m. EDT when Yu Darvish gets the chance to earn his salary.

My beloved, 79 - 70, 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox had the day off yesterday as they await the arrival of the 72 - 78, 3rd place in the NL West Giants. Nathan Eovaldi is expected to make the start for the Sox.

In an aside, David "Big Papi" Ortiz is feeling better following that gunshot wound he received last June in his native Dominican Republic. Three surgeries and lots of antibiotics and rehab later, Ortiz says he is feeling more like the old "Big Papi", the one that was before the unexplained shooting.

The 45 - 104, 5th place in the AL Central Tigers defeated the 49 - 101, 5th place in the AL East Orioles yesterday, 5 - 2, with Tyler Alexander getting the win for the Tigers. Victor Reyes continues to impress for the Tigers, and that bodes well for "Next Year!"

Sadly, the Tigers' Miguel "Miggy" Cabrera is still having issues with his sore right knee. He has played with pain all season as his illustrious career winds down. Cabrera still has four more guaranteed seasons -- $30 million next year and 2021, then $32 million in '22 and '23 -- on the contract extension he signed in '15. He’s on pace to reach 500 career home runs and 3,000 hits in the next couple years. I don't know how much a player who is past his prime is worth, but Miggy's money is guaranteed. The Tigers visit the 87 - 63, 2nd place Indians in Cleveland for a gme tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

Not much else is happening. I have to visit the barber today to get more of my diminishing hair cut off, but more importantly, I need a professional beard trimming.

Since it will be sunny this afternoon, I hope to get in some time on my artwork. Like I noted earlier, I have a long way to go to become even remotely proficient, but it is another nice hobby to pursue.

Mary has no plans to which I am privy, so I can't address what her day will be like other than reading and crafting. Ciao.

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."


I've been up for a while, but in the land of computers, there seems to be a never-ending and insatiable need for updates that bog my computer's speed down to almost zero. In this case, I had to reboot and wait for the updates to complete before I could get anything done. Plus, I had to stop to watch an old B & W TV show, Highway Patrol and a repeat episode of my favorite program on Motor Trend TV, Wheeler Dealers.

The current temperature is 66° under cloudy skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 75°, under partly-cloudy skies this morning giving way to sunny-skies this afternoon. The sun will rise today @ 7:25 a.m. and set later @ 7:53 p.m.

What a great day in sports yesterday. I watched as the 81 - 68, 2nd place by a mere two games in the NL Central Cubs, crushed the 65 - 85, 5th place Pirates, 16 - 6, to complete the weekend series sweep. Coupled with the loss by the 1st place Cardinals to the 3rd place Brewers yesterday, the Cubs are still in the hunt for the division lead or at least a Wild-Card berth.

Unfortunately, Cubs 1st baseman, Anthony Rizzo was injured as he rolled his ankle and maybe out for a while. Perhaps it was that injury that shook starting pitcher Jose Quintana, but he was pulled from the game and replaced by several relief pitchers, with the win going to Brad Wieck.

During the weekend, the Cubs set another franchise record, as they hit a record 14 home runs and 47 RBIs! The Cubs open a series tonight against the 4th place Reds @ 8:05 p.m. EDT when Cole Hamels takes the mound. The Cubs always have trouble with the Reds.

My beloved, 79 - 70, still in 3rd place Red Sox, tripped up the Phillies yesterday, 6 - 3, as Rick Porcello got the win for the beloved. The Sox and Nathan Eovaldi welcome the 72 - 78, 3rd place in the NL West Giants for a game tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

The 5th place, 44 - 104 in the AL Central Tigers, well, they are the 2019 Tigers and they lost once again to the 49 - 100, 5th place in the AL East Orioles, 2 - 8. Edwin Jackson chalked up another loss for the Tigers as they prepare to meet the Orioles again this afternoon @ 4:10 p.m., when Tyler Alexander takes the mound for the Tigers.

The 1 - 0 - 1 Detroit Lions eked out a 13 - 10 win over the 1 - 1 LA Chargers yesterday. The Lions are once again hopeful, but... The Lions take the field next Sunday against the Eagles in Philadelphia @ 1:00 p.m. EDT.

The perplexing, 1 - 1, Chicago Bears nearly snatched another defeat from the jaws of victory in a game against the Denver Broncos. The Broncos thought they had the game won with a two-point conversion late in the game allowed the Broncos to move ahead, 14 - 13. Somehow, amidst penalties and myriad misplays, the Bears were able to kick a field-goal with one second on the clock to upend the Broncos, 16 - 14. A win is a win, but the Bears were considered a Super Bowl contending team this season and this was not a game that proved that to be a likelihood.

Yesterday morning, I was downstairs with my camera and I took some pix of the sunrise over GH from the front-porch of the manse. I like how they turned out as I captured the clouds just after sunrise.

A view to the northeast of the manse.

Same direction, different results.

Due north.

Plus, I took some shots of the roses in bloom just in front of our porch and also of our new weather-vane in our parkway garden. Why? Because I had the camera in my hands.

As I've noted before, a little fertilizer goes a long way.

We assembled and installed our weather-vane a few days ago and it looks perfect in our garden.

We had a simple lunch yesterday and then dinner at Don Luis in what has become a Sunday night tradition for us.

I had asked Mary to knit another scouring pad that I like to use when I am cleaning the kitchen early each morning. I guess the previous one got inadvertently tossed. So, she found the special yarn required and in about one-hour, a new scouring pad was born. She likes to call them "Scrubbies", but whatever the name, I like how they work. Therein lies a tale.

When I clean our white porcelain sink, I like to use vinegar and baking soda to get that whiteness back. I  have used the sink-sponge for that purpose, but I learned something one morning. We like to "Nuke" the sponge for cleanliness before washing dishes. I thought that I had rinsed it out well before I placed in the microwave, but apparently I didn't rinse it well enough and the sponge caught fire. What can I say, apparently there is something metallic about baking soda that microwaves interact with and...

I'm not really surprised, as I have used baking-soda for freshening our throw rugs and when I have, I used to get shocked through the handle of the vacuum. So, that seems to give credence to the metallic nature of baking-soda, especially the generic store-brands versus the more famous Arm and Hammer brand. The manufacturers of the Arm and Hammer brand have publicly stated that their brand has no aluminum in it, just 100% sodium bicarbonate. Who knew?

At any rate, here is our newest "Scrubbie" as knitted by Mary last night.

Apparently easy to knit, but I don't have that ability.

Afterwards, I read some and then joined Mary in the media-room for a repeat watching of Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. I always enjoy this movie, generally picking up new things with each viewing.

Today, not much is on tap. I have an Art Meetup session at the library tonight and that's about it. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 7:00 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 69° under cloudy skies. Today's high is forecast by the NWS to reach 71°, so not much change between then and now. We received a slight amount of rain overnight, but the dire predictions in yesterday's forecast for rain this morning accompanied by T'storms, never came to pass. No T'storms and therefore, no lightning and thunder. STWD slept soundly overnight. The sun will rise today @ 7:24 a.m. and set later @ 7:55 p.m.

That Small Craft  Advisory remains in effect until 5:00 p.m. this evening. Plus, the Beach Hazard Statement will be in effect from 8:00 a.m. this morning until 5:00 p.m. this evening. The usual Rip Currents, and waves will make swimming in the "Big Lake" hazardous. We will see wind speeds of from 15 to 20 mph.

John came by yesterday and finished that aforementioned painting. The walls and ceiling look great. John always does careful work and any issues are addressed immediately.

We never made it to that Monarch butterfly presentation at Hemlock Crossing. I spent the morning grilling and I didn't feel like going. Mary could have gone by herself, but she too just couldn't muster up the energy, so we sat and talked and did some reading while John worked.

We safaried to Spring Lake for some bread at the Village Baker later in the afternoon, before stopping in @ Stan's for some adult libations. Since I am always mentioning Stan's in my blogs, here is a pic of how the sign on Savidge St. looks as of yesterday.

As friendly a place as you'll ever find.

According to an article in the weekend edition of the Grand Haven Tribune, it was around 1948 or 1949 when Stan Kulik, great-uncle of current owner Joe Stalec (his mother’s side), took over the business. When Kulik died in 1958, his sister Ann took over until 1976. That’s when Joe’s parents, Joe and Sue Stalec, purchased the business.

Joe started working at Stan’s in 1991 while still in high school. He took over when his parents died less than a year apart in 2006 and 2007. Now 47, Stalec says he expects to stay with the business “until I turn 100 or the Lions win the Super Bowl.” Good luck with that Lions Super Bowl appearance.

Joe has had the Stan's sign refurbished along with the Budweiser Beer globe over the bar and the Budweiser sailing sign on the front wall. Otherwise, the interior of  Stan's remains much as it was from the earliest days. Another interesting tidbit is that hanging over the front door is a clock from a long-gone local jewelry store. The clock advertises Elgin Watches. The Elgin Watch Company ceased operation in 1968.

I gave my Elgin pocket-watch that dates to the time of the Chicago Columbian Exhibition of 1893, to Adam a few years ago, a watch given to me by my father when I was in high-school. I remember traveling to Elgin, IL with my dad one winter while in my teens and having the watch serviced by an elderly watchmaker at the Elgin  National Watch Company factory, who knew the workings of that watch intimately. Purely mechanical, no quartz and no electronics.

When we left Stan's and headed for home, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but an Amphicar. According to Wikipedia, the Amphicar Model 770 is an amphibious automobile, launched at the 1961 New York Auto Show and manufactured in West Germany and marketed from 1961 to 1968. Production stopped in 1965. The Amphicar name is a portmanteau of "amphibious" and "car".

Production of these cars ran from 1960 to 1965, with only 3,878 built. Typical of most products built with several purposes in mind, these cars did neither driving as a car nor sailing as a boat very well.

A beautifully restored example of this unique automobile/boat.

 But I am once again digressing, so lets get on with the blog. 

The Cubs crushed the Pirates yesterday, 14 - 1, as four Cubs, Ben Zobrist, Kris Bryant, Nico Hoerner, and Victor Caratini all hit home runs. The 3-run home run by Hoerner was the one that helped the Cubs set a franchise record of 237 home-runs in one season. Kyle Hendricks got the win and today's series finale will begin @ 2:20 p.m. when Jose Quintana takes the mound.

My beloved Red Sox are still in 3rd place in the AL East, but they got the win yesterday over the Phillies, 2 - 1. Eduardo Rodriguez recorded 12 Ks, but the win went to Matt Barnes. The Sox and the Phillies also close out their series today, beginning @ 1:05 P.M.

The woeful Tigers needed 12 innings and a walk-off grand slam home run from John Hicks to defeat the equally woeful Orioles, 8 - 4. Today's game begins @ 1:10 p.m.

We watched the game between the Spartans of MSU and the Sun Devils yesterday in which neither team could muster much of an offense. The Spartans lost the game 7 - 10. 

The Huskies of NIU ran into a buzz-saw in Nebraska last night, as they were totally dominated by the Cornhuskers, 44 - 8. 

Elsewhere, since I had my camera along for the ride, I took some random pix of clouds, industrial items, the high waters of the Tri-Cities area, and of the swinging railroad bridge that spans the Grand River alongside the drawbridge over the river for US 31. I forgot to mention that last Thursday, Wallace K. Ewing, PhD, our local historian of all things West Michigan and Tri-Cities, gave a talk about his latest book, Destination: The Haven. The title is derived from the travels of the local Native-American tribes that canoed from Grand Rapids to Grand Haven. They just didn't know that the cities would one day have English names when they used the Grand River and its tributries as a means of travel throughout West Michigan.

During his talk at The Bookman, Professor Ewing mentioned several sights that we hope to see as we travel about. One of those sights is that aforementioned swinging railroad bridge. Here is a pic of that bridge as we sped over the draw-bridge from Spring Lake to GH.

Not my best, but when you have to move with traffic, you can't always get the shot that you want.

As I mentioned, I took some shots of industrial things and clouds too.

Also taken as we moved with traffic. The swinging bridge is in the foreground and the unloading facilities of Verplanks Dock are in the background.

I just liked this shot.

Sandbags are necessary to allow access to the Hall's Sport Center.

The sandbags are working, just!

I almost forgot. Dinner last night was a superb blending of penne pasta, grilled portabello mushrooms, and vegan pepperoni ala Mary, with a side of garlic bread..

In Italian, delizioso! That means delectable, scrumptious, or delicious.

Today we plan to do as little as possible. More retirement, more reading, and more football and baseball viewing. Ciao.

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."

The current temperature is 64° under cloudy skies. Our overnight low will be same.

That Small Craft  Advisory remains in effect until 5:00 p.m. this evening. Plus, another Beach Hazard Statement will be in effect until 12:00 p.m. today. Rip Currents, and waves will make swimming in the "Big Lake" hazardous for anyone foolish enough to leave the beach and venture into the water. Naturally that means the the surfers will be out.

I heard the southbound passage of the morning run on the RSTL yesterday @ around 9:30 a.m. Later, @ 12:46 p.m., I witnessed the northbound passage of MMRR locomotives #2019 and #2025 as they towed two CHCs, four DBTCs, and two DWTCs, one with a gray stripe around its mid-section. The only explanation I could find on the internet for that gray stripe was that the stripe indicates some sort of corrosive cargo is, was, or soon will be on board. Hydrochloric and sulfuric acids as well as cyanide are three such cargoes.

We traveled to Holland yesterday to see the Tulip City Gem and Mineral Show sponsored by the Tulip City Gem and Mineral Club. It was fascinating to see the myriad varieties of rocks and minerals that had been collected by club members and also to marvel at the sheer number of minerals that have been part of this planet since it was formed millions of years ago.

I was fascinated by what I learned was a Coconut Geode of the Mexican geode family. This geode is, called  a Geothite due to its black or brown rod-like internal crystals. The first geode I selected didn't split properly when the purveyor tried, so I selected a second. That split worked much better. The seller gave us the one that didn't spit well and that one is on display on Mary's desk, while mine is on the picture shelf in my office.I learned that the lighter the rock, the larger the internal cavity will be.

Since I had eschewed bringing my regular camera, I was fortunate that our Senior Staff Photographer had brought her Olympus TG-6 camera with which she took numerous pictures at the show. Later, she also took some pix of the geodes on display @ home.

The show, the 50th in the club's history, was held in the Holland 's Soccer Stop Sportsplex.

It is truly amazing the huge variety of naturally occurring rocks and minerals found on Earth.

Same here.

The geode that did not split properly on Mary's desk.

And the one that did, on my office shelf.

The Earth has much to offer that is all too often not appreciated by humankind in their search for "Valuable Minerals" such as gold, silver, diamonds etc.

Speaking of appreciated, the 79 - 68, all alone in 2nd place in the NL Central cubs, crushed the 65 - 83, Pirates by two touchdowns and a field goal yesterday, 17 - 8. In a game that turned into a slug-fest, Jon Lester got the win. Nico Hoerner in his first at-bat in Wrigley field and on the first pitch he saw, hit a home run. If he can keep it up, he should help the Cubs down the stretch. Today's game features Kyle Hendricks on the mound for the Cubs @ 2:20 p.m. EDT.

My beloved 77 - 70 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox had the day off yesterday before they open a series tonight against the 76 - 70, 3rd place in the NL East Phillies in Philadelphia. Eduardo Rodriguez makes the start for the Sox @ 7:05 p.m.

The 43 - 103, 5th place in the  AL Central Tigers lost to the almost as hopeless 48 - 99, last place in the AL East Orioles, 2 - 6. Once again, Jordan Zimmerman took the loss to move to a 1 - 11 record on the season. The Tigers and the Orioles try again tonight @ 6:10 p.m. when Dan Norris, 3 - 12 takes the mound for the Tigers.

The Spartans of MSU take the field today in East Lansing @ 4:00 p.m. when the ASU Sun Devils come to call.

The Huskies of NIU are in Nebraska to play the Cornhuskers of Nebraska @ 8:00 p.m. tonight.

Today, we plan to go to Hemlock Crossing for a presentation about Monarch butterflies, followed by a walk. Hopefully, the walk will be in the meadow rather than in the wet and mold-filled woodlands there.

In addition, John will be by to finish the painting in the manse and I will be grilling some corn, vegan brats, portabello mushrooms and ??? Ciao.