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

I had a great Father's Day. Adam called before he and Steph headed out to the traditional Father's Day car show. He did send me some pictures of the cars there, so I felt bonded. I was happily in bed, listening to the morning news programs. A win-win for all.

The weather yesterday was very comfortable here in W. Michigan, as it should be in mid-June. We've had too many hot days already, so the respite was very welcome. We have a current temperature of 62° under partly cloudy skies. Today's high is forecast to be 71°, also under partly cloudy skies. The NWS is forecasting temperatures in the mid to upper 70s for the foreseeable future. Much better. The sun will rise today @ 6:05 a.m. and set later @ 9:27 p.m.

Part of my Father's Day was enjoying the latest vegan culinary creation from Mary's Kitchen. She tried a recipe for vegan meatless meatballs that turned out great. She served them with pasta and I pronounce them a keeper.

I have some indoor chores to do today, but they can wait as we may run some errands instead. My cuckoo clock needs some repairs and a tune-up. One of the hands is broken, so it needs a professional to provide some TLC. Fortunately, we have "The Clock Doctor" nearby in Spring Lake, so the repairs should be expedited.

The sports that I watched/checked into yesterday produced mostly solid results.

The Cubs once again reached the .500 mark in the NL Central with a mark of 34 - 34, following their 7 - 1 win over their division rivals, the Pirates. Sadly, while that gives the Cubs a 2nd place position in their division, that same record would put them in 5th in the AL East and 4th in the NL West. Most of the divisions in the Major Leagues are showing weak results this year. The Cubs are home tonight to face the Padres @ 8:05 p.m.

The Tigers continued their losing ways with a 1 - 9 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. That loss gives the Tigers a 32 - 36 record in the AL Central and sole possession of 4th place. The Tigers play the Mariners tonight in Seattle @ 10:10 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox eked out a win over the Astros, 6 - 5 to move into a tie for 1st place with their record of 38 - 30, statistically tied with the Yankees, who lost yesterday, their 6th loss in a row. The Sox are in Kansas City tonight to play the Royals @ 8:05 p.m.

The Caps dispatched the Lansing Lug Nuts yesterday, 10 - 1. That gives the Caps a 1st half record in the MWL East of 45 - 24. The Caps are off today and will send several players to the All-Star game on Tuesday,

I have no specific plans for today other than to read and those aforementioned indoor chores. Mary may or may not have specific plans, but I don't know. I took GTTSD out @ 3:00 a.m. and then I put away the dishes that Mary had washed following her kitchen adventures yesterday. She showed remarkable creativity in the stacking of the dishes and utensils in the drainer, utilizing one utensil to hold another. I was impressed.

She also had a flash of brilliance while at the grocery store yesterday, snapping a picture of the navigational map attached to every shopping cart to assist her in organizing her future shopping trips. I have it on good authority that she had to make several trips back and forth in the store aisles yesterday to get all of the things that she wanted, so the picture should remove or reduce those back and forth trips in the future.

That looks like enough for one day. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:30 a.m. in "The City."

Well, another year has come and gone and it's once again Father's Day, a day set aside by the greeting card purveyors and retailers to sell cards and the myriad variations of "World's Greatest Father/Dad" merchandise. Does that mean that I don't appreciate the sentiment of the day? No, it means that I recognize the opportunity afforded children to reach out and say "Thanks, Dad" just for being you.

At any rate, the best thing that can come of this day for many fathers is the chance to play golf, watch TV, or just get up late and do nothing. I guess it's the Yang to the Yin of Mother's Day.

I had a nice time at our Irish Jam session yesterday. However, our number of players has diminished over the months and years, so we need to find a way to get fresh blood so to speak. We had a good audience, but.....

The current temperature, according to the NWS, is 68° under rainy skies. Saturday/early morning today has been rainy, something that we have been needing for many weeks now. As of late yesterday, areas north and west of "The City" had over 2 1/2 inches of rain while we had a scant, by comparison, 2/3 of an inch. Here's hoping that the additional rains that have fallen since have brought us up to near the one-inch range. The current view out the WW indicates that the rain is over and the skies are drying out, in spite of the usual Significant Weather Advisory issued for our area by the NWS. The rainfall amounts are certainly no record nor nearly enough, but welcome nonetheless. Today, the high temperature is forecast by the NWS to be 73° with cloudy skies. The sun will rise @ 6:05 a.m. and set @ 9:27 p.m.

Sports news was not good yesterday. The Cubs, the Tigers, and my beloved Red Sox all lost and the Caps were rained out in Lansing. The Cubs have once again fallen below .500 in the NL Central @ 33 - 34, albeit still good for 2nd place. Jake Arrieta served up an early home run and in spite of tying the game later with his own home run, the Cubs fell to the Pirates, 3 - 4. The old saying was "What's the matter with Kansas?" Now it's"What's the matter with the Cubs?"

The answer isn't simple, but their once reliable pitching staff is now much like the fire department in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, where the fire department is charged with burning books in a dystopian future. While that story was set in the future, the Cubs are in my present and they are experiencing a "June Swoon" too much like the Cubs' teams of my youth and most of my adulthood. Weak pitching, weak hitting, and sloppy fielding are once again becoming the team's hallmark. Sigh. The Pirates and the Cubs meet again today @ 1:35 p.m.

The Tigers fell to the Rays 2 - 3 to fall to 32 - 35. They still find themselves in 3rd place in the AL Central, but they are going nowhere. The Tigers once again face the face the Rays @ 1:10 p.m. today.

My beloved Red Sox lost big time to the Astros, 1 - 7. The 38 - 30 Sox are one game behind the 1st place Yankees in the AL East. What will happen today? Find out @ 8:05 p.m. tonight when the Sox once again play the Astros.

The Caps were once again rained out. However, they are in 1st place in the MWL East with a record of 44 - 22. That mark gives the Caps a playoff position for the 4th year in a row. One more win and/or a loss by the Dayton Dragons, give the Caps the MWL East Divison title. A reminder that the MWL has two parts to their season.

Otherwise, today is a day of rest and relaxation. We'll take the morning safari with the fur-children after lazing in bed for the morning. That lazing and the safari will come after the fur-children have had their breakfast and their first out of the day.

Otherwise, I'd like to do some cooking, some reading, and some baseball watching. Mary will be knitting and cooking too. Ciao.

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

The NWS is showing a current temperature of 68° under cloudy skies. My DTWS is showing 71°. Like always, the NWS and my own weather station do not agree, but they are close. Later today, the NWS is forecasting a high temperature of 76° with a 20% chance for showers/T-storms.

I finished mowing the vast lawns of the PE yesterday and then did some weeding. Today, I have to water, again, and then I have another appointment at the chiropractor to get yet another treatment on my yak. Otherwise, I don't have plans to do much of anything. I need to rest my yak and so I shall.

Sports news yesterday was mostly unchanged. The Cubs had the day off before visiting the Pirates tonight @ 7:05 p.m. The 32 - 33 in the NL Central, 2nd place Cubs, are in serious need of pitching help. One starting pitcher has tendonitis, another has a cut on his thumb, one is showing his age, serving up home runs like blue-plate specials @ the local diner, while still another has been consistently inconsistent. Alas, the Cubs starting pitchers and the relievers from their 2016 World Series Championship team are all too human. Time for an infusion of new blood in the bullpen and a real leadoff hitter. You know you are in trouble when Anthony Rizzo is leading off.

The Tigers eked out a win over the Rays, 5 - 3, but the Tigers are still in 3rd place in the AL Central @ 31 - 34. Another team in need of consistent pitching and consistent hitting? The Tigers play the Rays again tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox dropped a squeaker to the Phillies, 0 - 1. They are fortunate that the 1st place in the AL East Yankees, also lost, so the Sox 2nd place position @ 2.0 games behind is unchanged. The 37 - 29 Sox are in Houston tonight @ 8:10 to face the AL West division leading Astros with their record of 45 - 22. If you peruse their respective records, you get an idea of how weak the NL Central is versus the AL East or West.

The Caps wee rained out in Bowling Green, so they remain in 1st place in the MWL East @ 43 - 22, a full 4.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Dayton Dragons. The Caps are in Lansing tonight to face the Lug Nuts @ 7:05 p.m.

Otherwise, we are off to a wedding this evening. Our neighbor is getting married. Ginger will have to be crated while we are out. I plan to do some reading after my chiropractor's appointment and also get in some additional play time with the girls in preparation for our Irish Jam session on Saturday afternoon. We will be taking July, August, and September off before resuming our sessions in October.

The sun will rise today @ 6:04 p.m. and set @ 9:26 p.m. Ciao.

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

K.I.S.S. once again.

Current temperature, 66° to 68° under cloudy skies. Later today, high temperature, per the NWS = 74°. Sunrise, 6:04 a.m. Sunset, 9:26 p.m. 30% chance of isolated T-storms.

Last night I slept through high winds, drenching rain, and heavy thunder and lighting. I won't have to water but I do need to mow the lawns of the vast PE.

Sports news:

Cubs lose to Mets, 4 - 9, fall to 32 - 33 in NL Central, 2nd place. Off today, @ Pirates Friday @ 7:05 p.m.

Tigers lose to D'Backs, 1 - 2. Fall to 30 - 34. Still in 3rd place in the AL Central. Tonight's game @ Tampa Bay Ray 7:05 p.m.

Beloved Red Sox triumph over the Phillies, 7 - 3. Still in 2nd place in the AL East with a record of 37 - 28, two games behind the Yankees. The Sox play the Phillies again tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

Caps win over the Bowling Green Hot Rods, 6 - 1, to increase their 1st place record to 43 - 22 in the MWL East to 3.5 games over the Dayton Dragons. Caps play again today in Bowling Green. KY against the Hot Rods @ 1:05 p.m.

Saw one train around 11:50 a.m. EMD GP-38-2 locomotive #2057 was soloing on the RSTL towing CHCs, DBTs, and DWTs heading south. We were out running errands and did not witness the northbound run.

Accomplished everything we set out to do. Ginger went to daycare and came back exhausted. Sugar stayed home.

Dinner and then bed time.

Today's plans, after the morning safari with the fur-children, a few phone calls, and a chiropractor's appointment. More reading, more playing with the girls. Mary's plans, unknown.

Ciao.

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

Ginger and I were outside @ 3:00 a.m. and the skies are indeed partly cloudy and the weather is as described by the NWS, fair. The current temperature is 69° to 72° per the NWS and my own DTWS. Today's high is forecast by the NWS to be 86° with a 30% chance of isolated T-storms. Thursday the NWS is forecasting a high temperature of 76% with a 50% chance of a.m. T-storms that changes to 82°by Friday and a 60% chance for T-storms. I have little faith in the NWS. They warn of weather events that never come to pass and I end up watering. Sigh.

We accomplished very little yesterday. That's okay, as I had time to read and then go to my Tuesday evening art class. I may never achieve great things artistically, but I am enjoying my time and some of my efforts are good.

Sports news yesterday was mixed.

The Cubs blew out the Mets, 14 - 3 to move back to 32 - 32 and 2nd place in the NL Central. The NL Central is a weak division when compared to the AL East or West and the NL East or West. The Cubs need to feast on weaker teams within their own division. They also need to be more consistent in their pitching. Jon Lester dominated the Mets last night, but the night before, the Mets clobbered John Lackey. As for Jake Arrieta, well, he has been very inconsistent. He is not pitching like a man who wants/deserves a big Cy Young winner type of big-money contract. The Cubs and theMets play again tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

The Tigers got down early to the D'Backs and yet the Tigers managed to stage a comeback, as predicted by their announcers, only to fall in the end 6 - 7. That loss gives the Tigers a 30 - 33 record in the AL Central and sole possession of 3rd place. The Tigers host the D'Backs again tonight @ 7:10 p.m. Is Miggy slowing down? Are the Tigers pitchers being shelled early? Possibly both.

My beloved Red Sox topped the Phillies 4 - 3 to move to 36 - 28 in the AL East. They are three games behind the division-leading Yankees with a record of 38 - 24. The Sox and the Phillies play again tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

The Caps were rained out in Bowling Green yesterday for their game against the Hot Rods, Both teams attempt to play again tonight @ 5:35 p.m. The Caps have a three-game lead in the MWL East over the Dayton Dragons. The Caps are 41 - 22.

We had a visit from the cable company technician yesterday to resolve our slow internet speed. It is somewhat better, but around here, that's a relative plane of existence. Only time till tell.

Today we have nothing specific on our agenda except perhaps for a visit to the cell phone store for some questions regarding our replacement phone. Too many duplicates in the calendar etc. Oh, I have to mow the lawns of the vast PE.

Otherwise, I plan to read more, play with the girls more and that's about it. Mary, I don't know.

The sun will rise @ 6:04 a.m. and set @ 9:26 p.m. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 12:00 a.m. in "The City."

We have a current temperature of between 76° per the NWS and 80° per the DTWS. In either case, it is warm here in West Michigan with fair skies. There is also a Beach Hazard Statement for Ottawa, County issued by the NWS due to the windy conditions that are producing high waves on "The Big Lake."

Later today, the NWS is forecasting a high temperature of 81° under partly cloudy skies. Our next chance for significant precipitation is in the form of rain/T-storms @ 50% on Tuesday and 80% on Wednesday. We shall see.

I had to water yesterday so that the lawns and gardens of the PE didn't perish. Right now, our veggies are looking fine, but the lawns are looking parched and brown. I'm watering the backyard lawn in hopes that Ginger won't entirely kill it before fall.

Major announcement! Mary and I had a collective fail for dinner. My homemade sausage buns turned out inedible and Mary's Polish sausages turned out likewise. In addition, the Coleslaw that I made, while edible, was not up to my usual world-class standards. In the case of my sausage buns, the use of potato starch versus potato flour is the likely reason. Mary's sausages? We don't know. Mary has very few failures, but when she and I do, they are doozies.

Mary did redeem herself with the sloppy Joes that she finally made for our dinner and some tofu bacon she made for another purpose. Mary has assured me that dinner tonight, whatever it may be, will be a vast improvement. The sausages and the buns have now been consigned to the ash heap of history, to paraphrase Vladimir Lenin.

Sports news yesterday was mostly good, depending on your perspective.

The Cubs righted the ship and beat the Rockies 7 - 5 on the strength of four home runs and some solid RBI producing hits. Jake Arrieta, in his shortest outing this season, lasted 4 1/3 innings, surrendering five hits, and four earned runs while striking out three and walking three. One baseball pundit opined that Arrieta should pursue free-agency this winter and take the money from any other team willing to pay him. Brutal? Maybe, but right now, Arrieta is not a Cy Young caliber pitcher and should not be looking for the kind of money his agent will be expected to demand.

The Cubs are now @ 31 - 31 in the NL Central and one game behind the Brewers in a very weak division. The Cubs and the Mets meet tonight @ 7:10 p.m. in NYC.

The Tigers pounded my beloved Red Sox, 11 - 3 en route to a 29 - 32 record and 3rd place in the AL Central. The Tigers have the day off today before hosting the D'Backs @ Comerica Park Tuesday night @ 7:10 p.m.

Conversely, the Sox were pounded by the Tigers 3 - 11. That loss gives theSox an AL East record of 34 - 28 in a strong division. The Sox trail the 1st place Yankees by 3.5 games. The Sox don't have the day off as they host the Phillies tonight @ Fenway Park @ 7:10 p.m.

The Caps had a great day in front of the kids as they defeated the Dayton Dragons 9 - 2 to move to 42 - 21 and a solid hold in the MWL East division with a full four game lead over the Dragons. The Caps and the Dragons close out their series today @ 12:00 p.m.

We'll be taking the fur-children for an abbreviated walk later this morning. The warm temperature expected today is too much for STWD. Even Ginger slows down in the heat. I hope to try again soon on those sausage buns. I also need to powerwash the deck. I'd like to continue reading and get in some time with the girls too. Like yours truly, Mary has a need to redeem herself in the kitchen along with some crafty things.

I also have an appointment to have a few hairs cut today.

The sun will rise today @ 6:04 a.m. and set @ 9:25 p.m. Ciao.

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

Wow! I'm listening to CoasttoCoastAm on WOOD Radio with guest host Richard Syrett sitting in for regular host George Noory. Syrett's guest is Psychic Sloan Bella. Her specialty is being a conduit for otherworldly beings and deceased spirits. She was just asked to tell the listeners about John Lennon and his early demise and was asked about whether Lennon would have reunited with the Beatles. She said he would have, but that it would have been on a personal level, not as a band. In addition, she said that Lennon was taken early for a reason that we can't know, but that his work here was finished. Go figure and believe what you wish.

Yesterday, we took an early walk with the fur-children and then dropped off Ginger at doggie daycare for the afternoon. Since the weather was exceptionally pleasant, we did a few errands and then we were off to the Feast of the Strawberry Moon on Harbor Island. We can now take that activity off of our collective  "Bucket Lists."

While we were there, Mary got the chance to buy some handspun, hand dyed yarn from a vendor with a booth there. The vendor, Apple Cart Creations, http://applecartcreations.com, raises their own "Wool on the Hoof", as we like to call sheep.  While the proprietors of Apple Cart Creations do own a farm and raise sheep, they do not shear their own animals, preferring to leave that to professional shearers. However, they do spin the wool into yarn and dye it themselves. At any rate, Mary assures me that the cost for the yarn, $10.00 per skein, is great and may be a good enough reason to return again next year.

For those of us not color color-blind, the yarn is green in hue.

"Wool on the Hoof" miniatures.

Since this is an event staged by reenactors portraying people in the U.S. in the early part of our existence as a colony and a nation, there were many people who were dressed as people would have dressed during that period. including Native Americans.

Also worthy of note, was the presence of a Town Crier as he would have appeared in the colonies of that period.

Complete with bell and announcements to be read.

No period correct reenactment would have been complete without a village blacksmith plying his trade.

Also, in addition, no recreation of the time period would have been complete without a few canoes and cannons.

One of several.

Fortunately, the large cannons, when fired, had no projectiles.

Nor, did the small ones.

You can't have a festival of this type without Buskers entertaining the crowd. In this case, we watched a pair juggling and involving an audience member in their act.

With clubs in front and behind her, she survived.

You also can't have a festival without period-correct music.

I knew some of the players from other activities around "The City."

As I noted earlier, the weather was beautiful, albeit a tad on the windy side, as some of the vendors could attest.

Yesterday in sports was mostly good, except that he Cubs are finally experiencing their annual "June Swoon." Beginning June, 2, they won five in a row over the Cardinals and the Marlins before they began their swoon against the Marlins and now the Rockies. They have since lost four in a row including yesterday's 1 - 9 drubbing by the Rockies. The Cubs strong pitching of last year seems to have become much weaker this year. Along with sporadic hitting and run-scoring, the Cubs are floundering. They have a current sub .500 record in the NL Central of 30 - 31, still good enough for 2nd place. The Cubs hope to right the ship this afternoon against the Rockies @ 2:20 p.m.

The Tigers were drubbed by my beloved Red Sox yesterday by a score of 3 - 11. That leaves the Tigers still in 3rd place in the AL Central with a record of 29 - 31.

Conversely, my beloved Red Sox hammered the Tigers, 11 - 3 to move to an AL East record of 34 - 27, but they are still in 2nd place as the Yankees continue their winning ways and remain in 1st place in a strong division, by three games over the Sox.

The Caps defeated the Dayton Dragons last night by a score of 5 - 1. That gives the Caps an MWL East 1st place record of 40 - 21. The Caps and the Dragons play today @ 1:00 p.m. on "Kid's Day" at the Fifth/Third Ballpark.

We have a current temperature of 70° under clear skies with breezy/windy conditions. The winds in the backyard are not strong, but those in front of the manse are blowing @ 15 - 25 mph according to the NWS. Later today, we'll experience a high temperature of 82° under partly-cloudy skies. The sun will rise @ 6:05 a.m. and set @ 9:24 p.m

Today, Mary plans to knit more and do some other crafty type things after our morning safari with the fur-children. I plan to read more after I water the lawns and gardens of the PE. I had other things planned, but they can wait for another day. I read last evening on the front porch of the manse as Mary made dinner, another pizza in a cast iron pan. It was great and still a keeper.

I also plan to do some indoor chores and some baking today too. I am planning to try a recipe for hot dog buns that I recently downloaded. Ciao.