Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 8:30 a.m. in "The City." A current temperature of 72° that feels like 72° is being displayed on my DTWS. With a wind out of the south @ 16 mph, it is no wonder that the NWS has extended their forecast for a Small Craft Advisory until 4:00 p.m. today, with 15 to 25 knot winds on the lake that may produce waves from three to five feet in height. The sun rose this morning @ 7:54 a.m. and it will set later into more cloudy skies @ 7:08 p.m. There is a 24% chance for showers later this afternoon or evening. 

Last night was a great night for fans of my beloved Boston Red Sox, as they defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in 13 innings, 6 - 4. That win was fostered in part by a ruling from MLB™ regarding a ground-rule double in the 12th inning with the score tied 4 - 4. 

What looked like a fifth run for the Rays as their runner from first crossed the plate, was instead called back, when a hit off the bat of the Rays player was ruled a ground-rule double, as the ball bounced off of Sox' OF Hunter Renfroe. 

After consulting with the officials in NYC, the umpires determined, correctly, that the runner should return to third-base without scoring the go-ahead run. The runner was left stranded and the Sox went on to get a walk-off home-run from Christian Vasquez to get the 6 - 4 win for RHP reliever, Nick Pivetta, and a 2 - 1 lead in the Best of Five series. Game four is tonight @ 7:07 p.m., when LHP Eduardo Rodriguez hurls for the Sox. Who will be pitching for the Rays is a good question, as both teams used beaucoup pitchers in an effort to win last night's game.

In pro-football, the Lions went for and got a two-point conversion, but that was not enough as the 0 - 5 Lions fell once again, this time to the 2- 3 Vikings, 17 - 19. Nuff said. The Lions host the 3 - 2 Cincinnati Bengals @ Ford Field next Sunday @ 1:00 p.m. EDT.

The 3 - 2 Bears were just good enough to defeat the 3 - 2 LV Raiders yesterday, 20 - 9. The Bears host the 4 - 1 Green Bay Packers next Sunday, also @ 1:00 p.m. EDT.

Otherwise, not much is happening. I finished the novel that Mary had recommended,  Send For Me by Lauren Fox and overall I liked it. I wanted to have a more definitive ending, but that's how I roll, so to speak. However, there were strong parallels or rhymes regarding escaping the tyranny of the Nazis and their all too willing collaborators in Germany before the outbreak of WWII with the direction that this country is heading. Those parallels or rhymes were and are striking and frightening at the same time. 

Today, just a couple of things on the agenda. A P/T appointment for me and a visit to the veterinarian for the fur-children. STWD needs her annual Senior Wellness Exam, just like yours truly, and Ginger needs her annual canine influenza vaccination. 

That should be 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 10:00 a.m. in "The City." 

My DTWS is displaying a current temperature of 71° which is comparable tot hat being offered by the NWS, which has in their forecast that aforementioned Small Craft Advisory, that is oon effect from St. Joseph to Manistee until 4:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. Wind-speeds frm15 - 25 knots may propel waves from three to five feet in height. Today's high-temperature forecast from the NWS calls for 79° with an overnight low of 70°. 

I am still wearing my summer uniform and Mary may have to go back to a short-sleeved top, unlike her long-sleeved choice for yesterday which proved to be too warm for a walk with her wing-gal, Ginger.

The sun rose into sunny-skies this morning @ 7:53 a.m., but those skies quickly turned to partly-cloudy/cloudy. The sun will set tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

Yesterday was a good day to go walking with the fur-children, although Mary and Ginger covered a lot of ground, while STWD and I made it as far as the Public Safety building and back. Sugar is still the Cutest Dog on the Planet, but like her human, the mind is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Since Ginger had Mary along for company, they walked to the waterfront, where Mary used the camera app in our Smart-Phone to capture this stunning image, which included numerous boaters out to enjoy one of the reasons why people live in Michigan, a beautiful fall day.

I think that Ginger was in charge of the orientation for this pic. 

After I got back from our walk and after MSU had humbled Rutgers, more on that in a bit, Sugar adjourned to her office in Mary's craft room and I carried the balance of the indoor chores upstairs and put them away. That's when I decided that the sun was also inviting me to sit down at my easel and add some paint to my canvasses. 

I am far from done with any of them, but Michelangelo didn't finish the Pieta, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which depicts the Creation of Adam, and many other works that he felt were not ever finished to his satisfaction.. Fact: It took Michelangelo four-years to complete the Sistine Chapel. I'm not comparing myself to Michelangelo, but if a great artist like him took his time, so should I. 

In sport news, the 6 - 0 Spartans of MSU took a while to get rolling, but once they did, they finished off the 3 - 3 Scarlet Knights of Rutgers. 31 - 18.

The 4 - 2 Huskies of NIU squeaked out a win over the 3 - 3 Rockets of Toledo, 22 - 20 in a MAC 10 game yesterday.

Finally, in college football, I was almost proven right, as the 6 - 0 Wolverines of Michigan were nearly upended by the 3 - 4 Cornhuskers of Nebraska. But, the Wolverines too squeaked out a win, 32 - 29 on a last-minute field-goal. I think the officials were flag happy yesterday, just saying. At one point, they used replay, seemingly incessantly, to check several calls on the field.

The 0 - 4 Lions are in Minnesota today to play the 1 - 3 Vikings @ 1:00 p.m. A battle of titans?

The 2 - 2 Bears travel to Las Vegas to face the Las Vegas Raiders @ 4:05 p.m. I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like I am getting dizzy just trying to remember where the Raiders are calling home these days. 

Will I watch either game? Maybe, if I have a need to avoid any meaningful dose of reality.

Otherwise, I have a newspaper to read, some cookies to bake, and more novel reading to do. Mary is still hard at work on her cross-stitching while listening to her latest book. I think that defines a full day of retirement. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is well past the sunrise which occurred @ 7:51 a.m., but also well before sunset @ 7:11 p.m. this evening. 

Right now, per my DTWS, the temperature is 64° with a barometric pressure of 29.36" of Hg and rising.

The NWS has issued a Small Craft Advisory from St. Joe to Manistee from 5:00 a.m. tomorrow until 4:00 p.m. Monday afternoon, with winds speeds from 15 to 25 knots and wave heights from three to five feet.

Well baseball fans, my faith in the Red Sox was rewarded or restored last night, as the Sox and RHP Tanner Houck, in relief of LHP Chris Sale, hammered the Rays, 14 - 6. Along the way, the beloved hit five home-runs as J.D. Martinez returned to the lineup as DH. He had four hits on the night, one of those in the form of a three-run dinger. Sox starter Chris Sale got pounded in the bottom of the first inning for five runs before Sox' manager Alex Cora have him the hook in favor of Houck who faced 30 batters and also retired 30 batters. 

The Sox woke up their bats, put on their hitting shoes, and the rest was baseball history, as the ALDS is now tied @ 1 - 1 going into Sunday's game @ Fenway Park. That's when LHP Nathan Eovaldi once again starts for the Sox @ 4:07 p.m. EDT.

As Ken "Hawk" Harrelson used to intone for that other team from Chicago, "Put it on the board, YES!"

Speaking of that other team, they have now dropped two to the Houston Astros in Houston in their ALDS Central Division series. They now return to Chicago for a must-win game @ Guaranteed Rate Field beginning @ 8:07 p.m. EDT.

College football has a full slate today, as the 5 - 0 Spartans of MSU travel to SHI stadium in New Brunswick, NJ, to face the 3 - 2 Scarlet Knights @ 12:00 p.m. today. 

The 5 - 0 Wolverines of Michigan travel to Nebraska to face the 3 - 3 Cornhuskers @ 7:30 p.m. tonight. The Huskers are ready for a big game, so the Wolverines will have to bring their "A" game to Lincoln if they want to remain undefeated.

The Huskies of NIU are also on the road today for a MAC 10 game against the 3 - 2 Rockets of Toledo beginning @ 12:00 p.m. EDT.

I suggested a change for dinner last night, to what we have dubbed Mary's Vegan TVP Helper, and it turned out great. Mary's secret blend of numerous spices, spiral chickpea pasta, and other ingredients were a great repast. Of course, no animals were harmed  in the making of our dinner. 

Otherwise, I am still enjoying my novel, working my crossword puzzles and reading the Grand Haven Tribune for both of us, while Mary is still cross-stitching.

Today is indoor chores day and if it dries up, a walk with the fur-children may be in order, that is if the Spartans handle the Scarlet Knights this afternoon. 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 58° under partly-cloudy skies.  the sun will rise this morning @ 7:48 a.m. and set later @ 7:16 p.m.

Today there is joy in Beantown, as my beloved Red Sox dispatched those Damn Yankees, 6 - 2 in a Wild-Card victory dominated by the superb pitching effort of RHP Nathan Eovaldi, the sparkling fielding by the Red Sox' defense, which included a great throw from center-fielder Kike Hernandez to the X-Man, Xander Bogaerts, who relayed the ball to Sox' catcher, Christian Vazquez to gun-down Yankee OF Aaron Judge at the plate. 

Bogaerts, the longest tenured member of the Sox, also added a 2-run home-run in the bottom of the first inning to give the Sox a 2 - 0 lead. He was aided by DH Kyle Schwarber, who also homered. The Sox move on to the ALDS series versus the Tampa Bay rays, in Tampa Bay for an 8:07 p.m. game Thursday night. Be there or be square.

Elsewhere, the Tigers are hoping to add a shortstop to their roster next season. This is a year with many good free-agent shortstops available. In addition, Tigers' GM, Al Avila, says the Tigers need a front-line starting pitcher to go with their young pitchers like Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize. 

The Cubs, well where do I begin? They need a solid starting pitcher, they need a leadoff hitter, they need an everyday shortstop, and they need a miracle to contend next year. One bright spot, 30 YO rookie, Frank Schwindel was named September Rookie of the Month in the NL. Okay then. But will he be able to repeat his 2021 performance? The Cubs; do have the seventh overall pick in the upcoming draft, so...Wait until next year?

I made it to my P/T appointment yesterday and that went well. I just have to force myself to do what I can at home to aid in my progress. We collectively accomplished the indoor chores too. 

Today, we have only a bit to do on our list. A trip to that big-box nearly everything store and a stop at our auxiliary gardens to get them ready for some winter plantings and also to make them ready for next year. 

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 7:00 a.m. in "The City", where my DTWS is displaying a current temperature of 65° under cloudy-skies, with a barometric pressure reading of 29.21" of Hg and falling, albeit only slightly. That would seem to correspond to the NWS forecast for afternoon showers with a 24% to 45% probability between 12:00 p.m. this afternoon and 7:00 p.m. tonight. The sun will be rising this morning @ 7:46 a.m. and setting later @ 7:29 p.m. 

We had quite a bit of rain yesterday that included some thunder, before the skies cleared for a few hours in the afternoon into the late evening. That respite allowed Mary and I to go out and check out the local car dealer for a new car to lease. Our current Jeep lease is set to expire in a few months. However, it would seem that the current supply-chain shortages that are plaguing the auto industry have left the local dealerships mostly bereft of new vehicles to sell or lease, with only a few exceptions, i.e. pickup trucks. Oh well, there are still a few months until we have to face that problem.

Before we set out, Mary went up to her office to listen to her latest novel and I stayed downstairs to do something I had not planned on, watching the 1 - 2 Chicago Bears take on the 0 - 3 Detroit Lions. The game ended in a final score of 24 - 14 in favor of the now 2 - 2 Bears and left the Lions at 0 - 4. 

Rookie QB Justin Fields got his second start for the Bears under newly promoted OC Bill Razor, who took the offensive reins from Bears' HC Matt Nagy. Fields looked good, at least for one game. A good choice by the Bears. Are the Bears for real? Are the Lions that bad? Probably not and very likely.

In addition, last night I had to wait out the results of the baseball game between the victorious NY Yankees, who prevailed 1 - 0 over the Tampa Bay Rays, and the also victorious Boston Red Sox, who defeated the Washington Nationals, 7 - 5. Once again, Rafael Devers was the man for the Red Sox, recording four hits, that included two home-runs. First, a solo home-run and second, a two RBI homer. I now await the one-game playoff between my beloved Red Sox and the hated NY Yankees, as Red Sox RHP Nathan Eovaldi, 3.75 ERA, with 2021 a won/lost record of 11 - 9, pitches versus the Yankees RHP Garrett Cole, 2.68 ERA and a 2021 won/lost record of 16 - 8. The game begins @ 8:00 p.m. Tuesday night in Fenway Park.

Since we were going out, I took along my camera, following that adage that the best camera you have is the one that you have with you. We made our way to the Grand Haven City Beach, where I took a lot of pix, some using various settings and special-effects to photograph the ever-present gulls, the sky, and the beach itself.

The gulls taking flight as seen with one of those aforementioned special-effects applied.

Same here.

I especially like this one. Hitchcock anyone?

Both shadow and substance, the Twilight Zone effect on Lake Michigan.

This gull was soloing against the cloudy sky.

This shot was a quickie taken as the gulls separated, again using a special-effect.

Just because.

A lone gull awaiting something.

Same fence, one more gull.

All in all, it was a great photo-op and I got the chance to try some of the things I learned during a recent Coffee with Olympus session. 

Today should be more laid-back. I gave up on a book I started, as it was just not to my liking. So many books, so little time, as "They" say. Nothing urgent on the agenda. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever  you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is nearly 10:30 a.m. in "The City." A current temperature of 70° feels more like 68° with a wind out of the south @ 10 mph. The sun rose @ 7:43 a.m. and it will set later @ 7:24 p.m. In between, showers and 

T-storms begin in earnest around 6:00 p.m. with a 50% chance, increasing as the evening wears on and they will continue throughout most of tomorrow.

My beloved Red Sox are hanging on by the proverbial "Skin of their teeth", as they won over the Nats last night, 4 - 2, to close within one-game of the Wild-Card front-running Yankees, who lost last night to the Rays, 3 - 4. The Yankees "Magic Number" is now down to one, meaning that any combination of a win by the Yankees or a loss by the Red Sox means that Yankees go to the post-season and the Red Sox go home. 

The 4 - 0 Wolverines of MI are in Wisconsin @ 12:00 .m. today to play the 1 - 2 Badgers.

The 4 - 0  Spartans of MSU are hosting the 1 - 2 Kentucky Hilltoppers tonight @ 7:30 p.m.

Finally, the 2 - 2 Huskies of NIU are hosting the 3 - 1 Eagles of Eastern MI today @ 2:30 p.m.

Although we did get out yesterday for our Covid-19 boosters, an interesting experience that has left me with a slight ache in my left bicep, we didn't go anywhere for a photo-shoot. However, I did have my camera along for the ride, so before we left, I took some pix in our own vast gardens using my 40 - 150mm lens in a macro style.. 

These flowers are on a fall-blooming plant.

Apparently, this bee found the flowers attractive too.

As you can see, some of the flowers are setting seeds that don't seem to bother the bee.

If you are a bee, you go where the food is.

I am about 3/5 of the way through a new novel, Not A Happy Family, by Shari Lapena, that is much better than the last book I tried. This book is in my preferred large-pring format, so that helps.

Mary is still listening to her latest novel and happily cross-stitching away into the wee hours of the morning, long after I have faded and turned in for the night. There are far too many definitions for the phrase, "Turn in for the night", but it means to go to bed in the majority of the definitions.

Otherwise, today is a day for indoor chores, reading, cross-stitching, baking, etc. Ciao. 

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."

My DTWS is showing the current temperature from 53° to 54°, depending on whether you are looking at the reading from our front porch or our deck in the rear of the manse. There are no current advisories, alerts, watches, warnings, nor statements in effect at this time. The only variance in our weather conditions is from the forecast being offered by the NWS for tomorrow afternoon, when they are predicting a 42% for afternoon T-storms. MY DTWS barometric pressure reading of 29.59" of Hg and falling is the only indicator of those coming storms. 

The sun will rise into clear skies @7:42 a.m. and set later @ 7:25 p.m. 

Sadly, I think that the sun has set on my beloved Red Sox, as they lost the rubber game of their series versus the Orioles last, 2 - 6 while the Yankees won their game to pull two full games ahead of the faltering Sox. The Sox move on to D.C. to close out the regular season versus the Nats when LHP Eduardo Rodrigues, 11 - 8, tries to get the Sox back on the tracks @ 7:05 p.m. tonight. But, with only three games left in the regular season, things do not look good for the Red Sox, who according to manager Alex Cora, must win. Ya think?

In other sports news, the 4 - 0 MSU Spartans are home tomorrow to face the 1 - 2 W. Kentucky Hilltoppers for a game @ 7:30 p.m. The Spartans should be able to handle the Hilltoppers, but they need to dominate, not just get a win.

The also 4 - 0 Wolverines of Michigan visit the 1 - 2 Badgers of Wisconsin for a game @ 12:00 p.m. tomorrow.. Once again, Jim Harbaugh's squad has to look and actually be great versus a hungry and stinging Badgers team. 

The 2 - 2 Huskies of NIU are home to face the 3 - 1 E. Michigan Eagles @ 2:30 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. That's going to be a tough assignment for the Huskies.

Mary and I love to visit and walk the local cemeteries wherever we are. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and my less than perfect yak has kept us closer to home for the last couple of years. At any rate, we traveled to the Grand Haven Township Historical Cemetery yesterday for the first time in the 10 years we have lived in GH. It is much smaller than the older Lake Forest Cemetery in GH proper, but there are still some interesting things to see and photograph. The cemetery was founded in 1872.

Even the sign at the entrance is showing its age.

But overhead, modern jet-aircraft are leaving contrails.

Some graves are so old, that the trees have pushed the markers aside.

I was trying different aperture settings and shutter speeds for this shot of an interesting family plot.

The Hoecker family spent a lot of money in 1917 to have these unique markers carved for Mutter Dorothea and Vater, Adolph. The Hoecker's were early Dutch settlers here in W. MI.

There are many of these cast-iron markers in the cemetery.

I viewed a presentation from Olympus given by their rep, Mike Amico, about taking pix of fall colors. As is generally the case, I came away with some interesting ideas.

Mary finished her latest cross-stitch project, a Halloween themed depiction of a witch and a pumpkin last night and it looks great. Late Wednesday night, she had finished listening to her latest book, but it did not disappear at midnight Thursday. Instead, it did not vanish until the same time as Mary downloaded it days ago. She has already found a new book to listen to as she stitches. 

I tried out a new author last night and I didn't like his first book. So, I quickly put it down and I'll be starting another book today along with painting and playing music. 

Today is also the day when we get our Covid-19 booster shots. As people of a certain age, i. e. 65 plus, we qualified for the Pfizer booster shots before other, younger people, except those with underlying health issues. 

Otherwise, our decks are clear for today. Ciao.