Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 7:30 a.m. in "The City."

I'm going to keep the verbage short and sweet today, as our Senior Staff Photographer and yours truly went to the beach yesterday and took beaucoup pix.

That being said, we have a current temperature of  59° that feels like 56° due to the 17 mph winds that are the dregs of the Gale Warning that will expire shortly. However overnight, the shoreline of Lake Michigan between St. Joseph and Manistee, experienced wind gusts up to 35 knots and wave heights from seven to ten feet! That was the cause of our trip to the beach at Grand Haven State Park, although the biggest waves had not occurred during our visit.

The sun will rise this morning @ 7:48 a.m. and it will set later @ 7:16 p.m. In between, we'll have a high-temperature of 64° and sunny skies.

So, on to the pix.

For contrast, our Senior Staff Photographer used her Olympus Waterproof camera with no zoom. 

This is a shot of the campground, still heavily occupied at the State Park.

And a long shot of the mostly deserted beach located there.

Being the proud owner of a very good telephoto lens, I had that amounted to my Olympus DSLR using my monopod for support, as that lens is on the weighty side. 

A telephoto lens makes a big difference. 

Even though the peak waves had not yet materialized, the lake was roiling at about 5:00 p.m. yesterday.

Our inner lighthouse on the south pier, as the waves broke over the pier..

The outer lighthouse.

Looking south, towards Holland.

These kite-surfers were on the north side of the south pier.

A brave young lady starting her battle with the waves.

This is s pic of that young lady in her wetsuit, nearly obscured by the waves.

I especially liked how this shot of her battle turned out.

Many waves were taller than her height, which I estimated to be about 5'6".

As I said, the mostly deserted beach as seen with my telephoto lens.

Yes Virginia, the waves were big and getting bigger!

No sand fence to get in the way of a great shot of the outer lighthouse.

Again, looking south.

I made it to the ENT appointment yesterday, where I learned that my issues weren't serious and all that I need to do is use some nasal decongestants on a regular basis. Phew!

Mary made one of mine and Adam's favorites for dinner last night, Spaghetti-Role Casserole, veganized. She went back to her original recipe, sorry Colonel, and with the return or addition of diced tomatoes, it was nothing short of terrific!

Today, I have my second of five appointments at the orthopedist for my knees. If all goes well, that should not take too long. I like that the Covid-19 pandemic has streamlined the visits to all doctor's offices, which has minimized wait times. 

Otherwise, we have only one plan. When I return from the ortho appointment, we have to go to the library for a return and pick up session. We should take the fur-children for a walkabout too, time permitting. They can be easily distracted, as we did yesterday when we went out without them, by bribing them with dinner. I doubt that they will fall for that today. 

I nearly forgot. Here is a pic of Ginger from afar using a regular lens, and one taken from across the room with that telephoto lens. along with a shot out the backdoor of the manse.

Good.

Same shot, but way cute!

Before I let the fur-children, this squirrel was lounging on the deck railing.

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", where my DTWS shows an outdoor temperature of nearly 41º. while the NWS is showing 39º. There is only a 1 mph wind blowing, so the temperature feels like 39º. 

Away from the shores of the "Big Lake" there is a Frost Advisory in effect until 9:00 a.m. that indicates that sensitive plants should be covered for protection. 

Today's high temperature forecast calls for 59° under partly-cloudy skies this morning that will change over to sunny skies this afternoon. Tomorrow, the high is forecast to reach a very comfortable 64° under sunny skies. Will I be able to don my summer uniform for a few more days? Stay tuned to this station.

The sun will rise later this morning @ 7:47 a.m. and set later @ 7:18 p.m.

Well, I did it again, I tortured myself and watched the 1 - 3 Lions lose to the to the now 2 - 2 Saints, whom I had erroneously credited with a 2 - 1 record in my last blog, 29 - 35. The Lions started out strong, scoring two quick TDs off of turnovers, but then the Saints and their QB Drew Vreeze gave a clinic in how tha game should be played, as they scored 35 unanswered points before the Lions tried to once again get back into the game. The Saints defense was too much for Matthew Stafford and his offense and thus the final score. Mercifully, the Lions have a bye week next weekend.

The 3 - 1 Bears and their newly installed starting QB, Nick Foles, fared no better, as they too lost to their opponents, the visiting Indianapolis Colts, 11 - 19. The Bears defense spent a lot of time on the field being penalized, which didn't help much, but when he got the chance, Foles was not the "Comeback Kid" of last week's game when he came off the bench late in the game to look like the next coming of, dare I say it, Tom Brady. What can I say, the Bears are what they are. 

Next up for the Bears, is a visit to Soldier Field by the aforementioned Tom Brady and the Tampa Buccaneers next Thursday night. Brady still had the magic yesterday as he sliced and diced the Chargers with five TDs en route to a 38 - 31 win. Obviously, there was not much defense in evidence for either team, but Brady is Brady, so he'll give the Bears defense all they can handle. 

In between the Lions and the Bears, we took the fur-children for a walkabout to the cemetery. We almost didn't take the walk, as the rains had started up again, but the skies cleared and we all got some exercise. 

Since I had my camera along for the ride, I took a few pix of interest.

As I noted, when we started out, the skies were cloudy and rainy.

They cleared up shortly after our arrival and gave way to sunny skies. 

I took this shot at a distance,

of this marker for the final resting place another fallen police officer, he was attached to the Michigan State Police as a detective. He was shot by an unknown assailant in in Inkster, MI in 1968.

Today, I have that delayed appointment at the ENT specialist and that's about it for me. Mary will be glad to have me gone so that she and the fur-children can get some down time. 

When I return, Mary would love to travel to Hemlock Crossing County Park for some different scenery without the fur-children, but that trip is dependent on my return time. 

That looks like enough for one day. Ciao.

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

I watched another Hallmark Channel movie last night entitled Country at Heart, starring a former student, Jessy Schram, and Niall Mater It was nice to see a former student who has made good.

Yesterday, Mary and I once again dared the grooming goddess and groomed Ginger, who mostly cooperated. Afterwards, I heaped more indignity on Ginger when I bathed her. 

We think she looks adorable, one of the names to which Ginger responds.

Instead of our usual TV fare, we watched Pride and Prejudice on Amazon Prime™. This series was made in 1995, so it is old, but as Mary pointed out, the basis for the this movie was the novel of the same name, written in 1813 by Jane Austen. I like to think that this version is the best of the lot, but that's just one man's opinion.

We have a current temperature of 46º that feels like 44º due to the 5 mph winds.We are seeing rain showers off and on that will become steady later this morning. Those 5 mph winds are a precursor to the Small Craft Advisory that will go into effect @ 8:00 a.m. this morning and extend until 8:00 p.m. tonight. That Small Craft Advisory means that we will experience winds from 10 - 20 knots and gusts to 30 knots. We are also likely to see waves from two to six feet in height from St. Joseph to Manistee.

The sun will rise this morning @ 7:45 a.m. and set later @ 7:21 p.m. There is also good news on the weather horizon. While today's high will only reach a chilly 54°, starting Monday, we'll see high temperatures in the lower 60s. Then on Wednesday, the high will fall back to the upper 50s before we see highs in the upper 60s for Friday through Monday.

Our foray into dog grooming yesterday was in itself quite an accomplishment. But, we also managed to do the indoor chores and do some reading. I worked on my harmonica lessons too.

Today, the 3 - 0 Chicago Bears were scheduled to play the 2 - 1 Indianapolis Colts @ 1:00 p.m. However, the NFL has moved that game to 4:25 p.m. Bears head coach, Matt Nagy, has named Nick Foles the Bears starting QB in place of the ineffective Mitch Trubisky. It looks like Trubisky will join the ranks of high draft picks who never quite became the stars that they were projected to become.

The 1 - 2 Lions will play the 2 - 1 Saints today @ 1:00 p.m. Both teams will either come away 2 - 2 or the Saints will improve to 3 - 1. Odds anyone?

Elsewhere, Mary took the time to make a terrific vegan lasagna for dinner, that used one of my recently crafted vegan Italian sausages along with vegan ricotta cheese and her secret recipe sauce. I liked it!

The weather has not been conducive to walkabouts with the fur-children. We had no rain of significance all summer and now it seems to be raining steadily. Sigh.

I plan to change the artwork on our mudroom chalkboard sometime today. That's all I have in my playbook other than watching football. Mary will probably continue her reading and I am going to get rolling on my next library book along with more music. 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."

Well, it's over, the rotund one has sung. It is once again "Wait until next year" time, etc. The Cubs lack of offensive firepower led to their quick exit from the Wild Card post-season playoffs. For me, it was tough enough to not have all of the baseball I could consume this year, but the Cubs were only pretenders once again. It has now been four seasons since the Cubs have won the World Series™ following a 108 year drought and as of now, there are no players who should feel safe. If they can't contend on a regular basis, then it is time to trade people like Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez etc. 

LHP Jon Lester should be history. Let him go to a team that can appreciate his unique abilities. See if anybody will pick up erstwhile closer Craig Kimbrel's large contract. Try to sign or trade for a legitimate closer, something the Cubs have not had in a long time. Kyle Schwarber? Yeah, that guy who has not lived up to his promise. Time for him to go to an AL tam that will allow him to be a DH most of the time. The Cubs cannot rely on Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks as there ace pitchers. They need a stud who can eat up innings and win more than he loses.

My beloved Red Sox???? I honestly don't know. Will Alex Cora return to replace the departed Ron Roenicke as manager? There are a lot of names being tossed around right now. The Sox need a regular second-baseman, as Dustin Pedroia is unlikely to ever play for the Sox again while still drawing a large salary.

Will OF Jackie Bradley Jr. resign with the Sox? Will former ace, LHP Chris Sale, come back after Tommy John Surgery? Will LHP Eduardo Rodriguez be able to come back following his own battle with myocarditis, a result of complications from the Covid-19 virus? Will RHP Nathan Eovaldi be more consistent? Will the Sox' young pitchers like RHP Nick Pivetta and RHP Tanner Houck continue their progress? I dunno, but I have to root, root, root for my beloved Red Sox.

The Tigers should be able to contend next year if they can get the right manager. Rumors have them talking to former Red Sox skipper Alex Cora and former Astros manager, A. J. Hinch. Both men were let loose by their respective teams after that infamous sign-stealing scandal. Personally, I'd steer clear. The Tigers have several young pitchers ready to go and some veterans too. If Miggy can be the regular DH, the Tigers' should be set to go next season, assuming that there is a next season.

We have a current temperature of 42º that feels like 42º with only a 2 mph wind blowing. We may or may not see some additional precipitation this morning. That may alter my outdoor plans with the fur-children. There is a Frost Advisory in effect for much of West Michigan until 8:00 a.m. this morning, but that's only for areas where the nighttime temperatures will get lower than we'll see on the shores of Lake Michigan.

The sun will rise @ 7:45 a.m. and set later @ 7:21 p.m.

At any rate, I am done in the upstairs bathroom and I think the results are nothing short of terrific! Of course, I am biased, but even Mary had to say that I "Done good!" Plus, now that she has her new dragon hook on the wall, she was able to complete her dragon/medieval motif in the room.

What's a castle without a dragon?

Mary was gifted this cross-stitched dragon by a former colleague. Linda, who is very talented.

My own contribution, on a wall that is smoother than when it was first built.

Today is indoor chore day. No baseball to get in the way. Sigh. I want to play more music, read more, take the fur-children for a walkabout, and that's about it. Mary wants to read more too. She is still in crafting mode, so that's in the mix somewhere too. More TV, more retirement seems in order. Ginger still needs to be groomed. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 1:00 a.m. in "the City.

We have a current temperature of 43º with a six mph wind that makes it feel like 40º, coincidentally, the expected overnight low in the forecast from the NWS. Today's high is forecast to reach 52º with a 50% chance for showers.

In addition, that Small Craft Advisory for the "Big Lake" from St. Joseph to Manistee, remains in effect until 11:00 a.m. this morning. Wind speeds of 10 - 20 knots with gusts to 25 knots will produce waves from two to five feet in height. 

Records high water levels persist in all of the Great Lakes, and as an article that Mary forwarded to me stated, "Drownings in Lake Michigan have reached record levels, with at least 53 people dead so far this year." There were 48 drownings in 2019 and 42 in 2018. The previous record of drownings was set in 2010 at 49!

People tend to dismiss the dangers of walking on the piers or swimming in Lake Michigan due to it being, "Just a lake." However, here on the western side of the lake, the waves can be very large and they can easily sweep people off of the piers. The rip-currents can also be very dangerous. People can easily  find themselves unable to return to shore. There are points in Lake Michigan that can be over 900 feet in depth!

The weather yesterday here in GH was rainy, much like it was in Chicago, which caused the postponement of the game between the Cubs and the Marlins. The game has been rescheduled for today @ 2:08 p.m. EDT.

Since I had no baseball game to watch, I spent the afternoon in the kitchen making two different types of faux seitan meats. Mary stayed out of the way reading upstairs, as my sous terrier, Ginger, assisted me. Her elder sister, STWD, was upstairs resting with Mary. 

I finished two crossword puzzles along with my kitchen activities and I also have nearly completed the patching of the wall in the bathroom. All that I have left is to sand the patching plaster down to level and then repaint the wall and I can hang Mary's new dragon hook.

Otherwise, not much is planned for today. For safety, we will continue to stay away from people and keep to ourselves. Mary will continue to read, I'll play more music and the fur-children will want to go walkabout. 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."

It won't be long before the sun rises @ 7:43 a.m. and it will set soon enough @ 7:25 p.m.

In between, we still have that Small Craft Advisory that continues in effect until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, with winds out of the northwest @ anywhere from 15 - 25 knots and wave heights of six to eight feet. Later today and into tomorrow, the winds will change to a north to northwesterly direction and diminish to 10 - 20 knots as the waves subside to a mere two to four feet.

The NWS is forecasting T-storms this morning and occasional rain this afternoon. Our current temperature of 55º will increase by one degree to today's high temperature of 56º before we plunge to tonight's low temperature of 40º. That's a bit chilly, even for Mary, who generally loves the fall weather. 

Speaking of Mary, I stayed home to watch the Cubs and RHP Kyle Hendricks, 0 - 1, lose the first game of their Wild Card best of three series 1 - 5, to the Miami Marlins. Hendricks served up a gopher ball on his 106th pitch in the top of the seventh inning, which in hindsight was one pitch too many. But, he had been getting terrific defensive help all afternoon and the decision was easy for Cubs' manager David Ross to make with regard to Hendricks staying in the game before being relieved. 

Sadly, his relief corps didn't fare much better, as they too had trouble with the long-ball and the Cubs' glaring inability to score runs once again doomed the Cubs to a loss. Wrigley Field, AKA, the The Friendly Confines, was not friendly to the Cubs on a windy day, while the Marlins took advantage of the windy conditions. The Cub's lone run came off the bat of centerfielder Ian Happ.

Today's do or die game number two in a best of three series, starts once again @ 2:00 p.m. EDT, when RHP Yu Darvish attempts to overcome the Marlins lineup. However, if the Cubs can't get any hits and runs, the team will be at home to watch the World Series this year.

At any rate, all of that is my round about way of saying that Mary soloed, well sort of, to the Fast Lane™ grocery service to pick up our order. I say sort of, because she took Ginger along for the ride. On the way home, they stopped at the GH City Beach, which allows dogs at this time of year. Ginger romped in the sand and Mary snapped a lot of pix with her Olympus Weather-Proof camera. I've had to choose some that I like, as I am awake and Mary is sound asleep next door. I hope she approves of my choices.

Ginger enjoyed her beach time, but the 25 knot winds gave her pause and laid her ears back.

Both Ginger and STWD love to play in the sand and in the winter, snow. Neither likes water.

A quiet and beautiful day at the mostly deserted beach.

Although their trip started with cloudy skies and some waves.

The clouds darkened and portended the incoming storm.

Mary knew it was time to grab the reluctant Ginger, who wanted to stay and play, and get home. NOW!

Never let it be said, that I can't be coaxed into using my own Olympus DSLR camera to snap some pix. Mary encouraged me to grab my camera and head out to the front porch of the manse, last evening around sunset and take some shots of the sky and clouds. I'm glad I listened.

The setting sun provided some great coloration.

Amazing what a digital camera can capture if you just keep pushing the shutter button.

Darker, but still visibly red.

The sun was setting.

Yesterday, we watched the second episode of our latest TV show, a dark program called Utopia that is based on a British series. This version is filled with gore and mayhem. I am liking it, but Mary is loving it. But then, she loves these kind of programs. 

Today, I have more baseball to watch, hopefully not the last for this year. and that's about it. I finished my latest novel late last night, Long Range, by C J. Box,. I enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. I have one more library book in my queue. I may or may not get to the wall repairs and repainting in the bathroom. Who am I kidding, there's always tomorrow. 

Mary assures me that she wants to spend her day reading a book that she is enjoying immensely. 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."

I actually found a way to stay out of the kitchen until late yesterday afternoon, after I'd returned from my orthopedist appointment and a trip to the cemetery with the fur-children. I was drafted to shred the various items for Coleslaw. Mary had already made the dressing while I was at the orthopedist, so that was not too much to ask. 

Speaking of the orthopedist, I started my knee injections yesterday. one down, four more to go.

We have a current temperature of 60º that feels like 57° under cloudy skies and a 13 mph wind.

That wind is part of the forecast for today's 70% chance for showers and the accompanying Small Craft Advisory that remains in effect until 12:00 a.m. Friday for the "Big Lake" from St. Joseph to Manistee. Winds of 15 to 25 knots and gusts up to 30 knots will propel waves from four to seven feet. 

Today's high temperature forecast calls for 62º with a low temperature of 51º, with rain and T-storms developing in the late evening. STWD will not be happy. Once again, there is a conflict with the barometric pressure. I see 29.00 " and rising on my DTWS, while the NWS in GR is showing 29.57" and falling. 

The sun will rise this mornig @ 7:42 a.m. and set later tonight @ 7:27 p.m.

The Cubs open the post-season today @ 2:00 p.m. EDT, when Cubs' manager David Ross hands the ball to opening day starter, RHP Kyle Hendricks. RHP Yu Darvish is slated to go tomorrow, and if a third game is necessary, LHP Jon Lester will get the nod on Friday. 

As I stated earlier, we took the fur-children to the cemetery for a walkabout before my late-afternoon ortho appointment. I had had an appointment @ the ENT for earlier in the afternoon, but I thought it was for the GH office and they thought is was for the Norton Shores office. At any rate, I have rescheduled that appointment for next Monday.

I should mention that when I had the fur-children out yesterday morning, I found some things in our own vast gardens that were photographically attractive to me. 

Fall means that my horseradish is dying back for the year. 

One lone leaf, reminiscent of O'Henry's The Last Leaf story, is in our tomatoes.

However, the horseradish is not ready to die back in all of the pots.

And the vines continue to invade our deck.

Not to mention the basil, which Mary is trying to propagate indoors.

As I mentioned earlier, once I came back from my abortive attempt at the ENT office, we traveled to the cemetery to get in some vitamin "D" time for ourselves and some exercise time for everyone in the family. Lots of pix to be taken there too.

This trip, I eschewed the markers in favor of the flora.

Some changing colors.

The reverse angle.

Sometimes, I am quite interested in pix of scenery other than industrial sites and empty playgrounds.

Yesterday was one of those days where rain clouds gave way to blue skies.

A nice frame.

As we readied ourselves for departure, I caught this deer grazing near our parking spot

I realize now that the people we had seen stopped before we got back to the car, were also checking out the deer, who was aware of our fur-children, but not afraid of them. 

We were headed towards home, when we stopped to take a pic of a Coast Guard boat on its way out.

The boat was fully manned and headed out into Lake Michigan.

We started a new series on Prime Video™ yesterday that looks like it could be fun. We'll continue that viewing later today after my game or tomorrow. 

We also watched that much-ballyhooed presidential debate last night. As predicted here, nothing we saw changed our minds. 

This afternoon, I will be watching baseball and eating popcorn in the media-room. Mary will be going to the Fast Lane™ grocery stop before I am in my place with me tagging along. Or, I'll be involved in my game and she'll be soloing. It all depends on timing as to whether I am able to accompany her.

That's the extent of my plans for today. Baseball, more music, more reading, and more puzzle solving too. 

Mary will be enjoying her time knitting and watching TV downstairs tonight, while I am upstairs in the media-room for some inane TV viewing. Ciao.