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

The current temperature is 53° under rainy-skies, with winds of 11 mph that make it feel more like 50°! Today's high-temperature is forecast to reach 45°, before we drop down to the 40s for several more days of cool weather. All of that is accompanied by a 60% chance for rain today.

The Gale Warning remains in effect from 5:00 a.m. this morning until 11:00 p.m. tonight. Southwest gales to 40 knots and waves 6 to 10 feet are expected from St Joseph to Pentwater.

In addition the NWS has also issued a Wind Advisory, in effect from 10:00 a.m today until 8:00 p.m. tonight. Southwest winds of 20 to 35 mph will gust into the 45 to 50 mph range at times today. The strongest winds will likely occur during the afternoon. There are likely to be falling tree limbs that may damage homes and vehicles and result in power outages. High profile vehicles may become difficult to operate, especially on north to south roadways. Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.Ya think?

But wait, there's more. A Lakeshore Flood Advisory will be in effect from 5:00 a.m. this morning until 11:00 p.m. tonight. Moderate beach erosion and minor lakeshore flooding are expected for Allegan, Oceana, Van Buren, Muskegon and Ottawa counties. Parking lots and roads along the immediate lakeshore will experience minor flooding. Moderate erosion of beaches and sand dunes is expected. Winds will increase significantly around daybreak this morning with strong winds expected throughout the day. The peak in the winds and waves will likely come during the midday and afternoon hours. Strong onshore winds will generate flooding of low areas along the lakeshore. Some minor beach and dune erosion is also likely. Not to worry, as we are all supposed to be off the roads and hiding in our homes for a long time.

However, Mary and I took some time from our busy schedule late yesterday, to watch a video presented by National Park Ranger and Ottawa County Parks naturalist, Kelly Morrissey. This was supposed to be her fifth and final presentation, given live and on tape at Hemlock County Park, but the Covid-19 quarantine has forced her to make this presentation from home. In addition, as a Seasonal Park Ranger Interpreter for the National Park Service, each year she has to apply for a position at one of the National Parks or National Lakeshores.

Over the last several summers, she has spent time at Isle Royale National and Grand Teton National Parks. This year, if the pandemic ever ends and people can venture forth, she will be stationed @ Michigan's own Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore near Glen Arbor, MI. That is in the Lower Western Peninsula of MI. She is looking forward to her posting.

She made this final presentation and also included a link to the video that we viewed. Here it is if you want to take the time out of your otherwise busy schedules to enjoy her adventures over the last several years, as we did. It is nearly one-half hour long, but well worth the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g0ntso88uc&feature=youtu.be

Of course, that motivated Mary and I to watch Episode 6 of Ken Burns' excellent documentary on America's National Parks, appropriately entitled, The National Parks: America's Best Idea. The entire documentary is about 12 hours in length, with each episode being nearly two hours in length But, what a terrific way to spend some time before and during our dinner of Mary's homemade pizza. As Amazon Prime members, we get these movies for "free."

Speaking of dinner, I commented in my previous blog about our leftover meals becoming boring. Mary reminded me that that is only true because we have not been able to intersperse those meals with dinners or snacks in the outside world. She made a good point.

Today, we again get to watch ourselves be isolated until we aren't, and that's about it. I'll play more music, read more, keep the fur-children in out of the weather and that's about it for my busy schedule. I'm sure that Mary has more exciting plans. Ciao.