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 44° under rainy skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 54° under skies that will be rainy this morning, giving way to cloudy skies this afternoon. The sun will rise today @ 8:16 a.m. and set later @ 5:17 p.m.


There is currently a Small Craft Advisory in effect until 4:00 p.m. today. Why that advisory has not been extended through tomorrow is a mystery to me, as we will have a Gale Warning in effect from 7:00 a.m. tomorrow until 7:00 a.m. Tuesday. South winds of 15 to 25 knots with gusts up to 40 knots and waves from 6 to11 feet are expected from Holland to Manistee. Strong winds will cause hazardous waves which could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility. Winds and waves will peak Monday morning into Tuesday afternoon. Mariners should alter plans to avoid these hazardous conditions. Remain in port, seek safe harbor, alter course, and/or secure the vessel for severe conditions.


There will also be another Lakeshore Flood Advisory in effect for the "Big Lake" from 7:00 a.m. tomorrow until 7:00 a.m. Tuesday. Minor erosion of beaches and sand dunes are also expected due to those southwest winds gusting to 40 knots that will generate those aforementioned 6 to 11 foot waves.

Since it is going to be very ugly weather-wise for several days, I began the removal of our outdoor Christmas decorations. I hated to see them go, but they will return next year in a bigger and better incarnation.  

We walked the fur-children once the skies had cleared early yesterday afternoon. Since the rainy conditions will continue through Tuesday, that was a stroke of fortune.

We ran an errand to Holland for me yesterday afternoon. I got those LED shop lights that I "needed" for my man-cave from that big-box importer of all things tool related. Then we meandered our way home, with at least a 10 minute delay for what had to be a train composed of every hopper car in the tri-state area. We had seen this same train as we drove down to Holland and it was still slowly moving through Holland 30 minutes later. We had decided to take the back way towards home and we got caught in the ensuing traffic jam. Oh well, we had all day to get there and so we just listened to the radio.

As we neared home, we stopped @ Kirk Park, one of the parks in the Ottawa County Park System, and that allowed our Senior Staff Photographer to take some pix with her Olympus TG-6 "Tough" weatherproof camera. I hadn't brought my camera, because when we left home the day was overcast and not well suited to my kind of camera nor pix. However, Mary captured some nice shots of the "Big Lake" and the eroding beach area @ Kirk Park. I'll add those below. Remember, any that catch your eye can be easily enlarged by clicking on the pic.

Sadly, the Freshwater Dunes are being badly eroded by the high water levels of Lake Michigan, so this stairs was closed to the pubic.

Apparently, the Freshwater Dunes of Lake Michigan are a unique feature here in West Michigan.

In spite of signs beseeching people to stay off of the dunes, footprints from inconsiderate people were everywhere.

Sigh!

All dunes take many decades or centuries to form, but the inconsiderate actions of a few people, who apparently can't read, are making them less than enjoyable for future generations

We had a great time just watching the lake and taking pix, but by the late afternoon the weather had changed and the winds had picked up making for less than ideal hiking. Back in our warm car, we headed for our favorite watering hole and then home where I went upstairs to watch the remainder of the football game between the Tigers of LSU and the Sooners of Oklahoma. The Tigers routed the Sooners, 63 - 28! 

Let's just say that the Heisman Trophy Winner for 2019, Joe Burrow of LSU, demonstrated why he won that prestigious award, throwing for 29 completions and 493 yards and scoring eight touchdowns! He may or may not be a great NFL QB, but he definitely has the potential.

I slept for a while and then came around to watch a much closer game between the Buckeyes of Ohio State and another Tigers team, this one from Clemson. It was neck and neck, until the Tigers scored late in the game and defeated the Buckeyes, 29 - 23. 

Today should be a bit more quiet as we stay out of the weather and do some reading. I'd like to paint, but the lack of sunlight in my studio will make that much more difficult.Ciao.