Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 1:15 p.m. in "The City", where the current and "Real Feel" temperatures are exactly the same @ 68° under partly to mostly sunny skies with a wind out of the southeast @ 13 mph. That wind is part of the Small Craft Advisory that remains in effect from S. Joseph to Grand Haven until 6:00 p.m. tomorrow night. The sun will set later this evening @ 6:49 p.m. with a 50% chance for showers later tonight.

Tomorrow, the sun will rise @ 8:09 a.m. and set later @ 6:49 p.m. In between, the high is forecast to reach a very pleasant and fall-like 72°. Tuesday's high will still be in the lower 60s, but there is also a 79% chance for rain showers too. 

Yesterday was a day in which we did more reading, more crossword solving, more knitting, more music playing, more apple pie baking, and more photography. It was later in the afternoon, and I had gotten restless, so Mary, Ginger, and I hopped into our Jeep Renegade™ and headed over to the Harbor Island/Linear Park/Swan Lake area to get some exercise for Ginger and some photo-ops for me.

Swans and Canada geese near the Verplank Dock in Ferrysburg looking across Swan Lake. 

Given the wrangling over the clean-up of the former Sims II power plant site, this sign will be there for many years into the future. 

But for now, the Linear Park walkway is accessible to Ginger and her companion. human.

The pathway borders one of the channels of the Grand River that leads to Lake Michigan. 

I was interested in getting a reflection shot of this No Wake sign.

I hope I captured the sunlight glinting off the water in the channel. 

Once again, trying to capture the reflection as well as the actual piling in the channel.

I just liked how this tree looked.

But, I'm not done yet. Both before we left and after we returned to the manse, I took some shots of the flora here.

Our perennials in the small garden near the deck are blooming once again. 

And though I've stopped watering, these geraniums are still flourishing. 

The fallen green leaves make a nice contrast to the purple mums.

The annuals continue to bloom in spite of my no-watering policy. The brown leaves are a nice contrast.

In the far-flung reaches of our vast gardens, these annuals are thriving without any intervention from me. 

Overall, yesterday was really a productive day for all of us here at the manse. Today is a day when Mary and Ginger have gone for a walkabout while I have stayed behind to rest my knees and blog. A side note, my recent (Radio Frequency Ablation) RFI spinal nerve ablations have produced significant relief for my aching yak, so that's all good. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. across the nation and across the world. It is just past 9:00 p.m. in "The City" and this is my second blog for today. 

The NWS is reporting a current temperature of 66° that feels like 66° with a wind out of the southwest @ 17 mph. That wind is part of the reason for the Small Craft Advisory still being in effect until 2:00 a.m. tomorrow from St. Joseph to Manistee. Winds of 20 knots or more will propel waves up to six feet in height. That is relatively sedate given the recent spate of Gale Warnings and other alerts that have plagued the lakeshore counties of late. Our overnight low-temperature forecast calls for 55°.

The sun will rise tomorrow @ 8:07 a.m. and set later @ 6:50 p.m.. In between, we anticipate sunny skies and a high temperature of 71°, with an overnight low temperature of 58°.

Most of today was spent reading both, ear and print, and cross-stitching. However, since it was such a gorgeous day, we took a road trip to Duncan Memorial Park or Duncan Woods, depending on your preference, for a photo shoot and some walk time for our fur child, Ginger. Oh, I also took some shots of our own vast gardens when we returned. I have it on good authority, that at least one of my pictures will make an excellent background for a computer screen too.

A gem donated to the city of Grand Haven by Martha Duncan in the early 1900s to honor her husband, Robert, an attorney and farsighted early citizen of Grand Haven.

A wide view of a puddle on the paved pathway that used to be a vehicular thoroughfare until 1973.

I focused more tightly on that puddle using a telephoto lens.

Although Duncan Woods is very shady, the sun pokes through in many places.

The mottled effect of the sun through the trees along that same pathway.

The fallen leaves made a nice backdrop for this stump.

Some of the best subjects are right at your feet.

The leaves are falling in our own vast gardens, but the flowers continue to bloom.

As does one of the last roses in Mary's rose garden.

I like to say that we live on a reality-scale train board.

Otherwise, I covered most of the happenings around the Palatial Estate in my last blog. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:15 a.m. in "The City", where the current temperature is a very fall-like 41° as we head for sunrise today @ 8:05, yet well before sunset @ 6:52 p.m. In between, the NWS forecast shows the high temperature will reach anywhere between 61° and 64°, depending on which part of the Weather.com™ forecast you consult.

Tonight's low temperature is forecast to drop to a very comfortable 56°. However, one of those pesky Small Craft Advisories from St. Joseph to Manistee, goes into effect from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. tomorrow.

But there is very good news regarding the weekend temperatures, as Saturday's high temperature will reach 69°, and Sunday's high temperature will reach a sultry 71°, with both of those accompanied by mostly sunny skies. Monday the NWS is forecasting a high of 70°, albeit under mostly cloudy skies.

Yesterday was a day that found us wondering what we accomplished. 

Mary and Ginger went to the small-box grocery store, I went to the podiatrist, we collectively did the indoor chores, we ear-read, both independently and as a tandem, we read the newspapers, I worked a couple of crosswords, and Mary was productive in the kitchen and cross-stitching. So, we accomplished a lot. We just had to take stock of our activities.

Yesterday, Mary sent me a picture of our then newly adopted fur child, Ginger, our recently departed fur child, Sugar, and me on the bench at the Loutit District Library from six years ago.

I am working on it, it's been nearly four weeks, but I still miss Sugar more than I can adequately describe. I knew I'd be the proverbial basket case when I lost Sugar, but it has been harder than I ever imagined. Thank you, Sugar, for 15 great years.

The only college football game of note this weekend features the Huskies of NIU versus the Bobcats of Ohio on Saturday @ 1:00 p.m. The Michigan Wolverines and the Spartans of MSU are in bye weeks before they renew their annual rivalry @ 7:30 p.m. Saturday night, 10-29-22.

Today we hope to do more ear-reading, crossword solving, cross-stitching, music playing, print-reading, painting, and any other creative activities that come to mind, none of them too strenuous. I hope to accompany Mary and Ginger on one of their walkabouts, but I have to limit myself as I'm still recovering from my recent spinal nerve ablations. Is that enough for one day? Yes! Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:45 p.m. in "The City", where the current temperature is a very raw 44° under showery skies with a wind out of the northeast @ 18 mph making it feel more like 36°. 

Our overnight low tonight will be a warmer feeling 40° with showers ending for a short time around 7:45 p.m. and then returning again early tomorrow morning with a 92% chance of light showers throughout the day.

The sunrise tomorrow will occur @ 8:02 a.m. and the sunset will happen @ 6:57 p.m.

As of now, we have two warnings and one advisory from the NWS.

First, is the continuation of that Gale Warning from St. Joseph to Manistee until 2:00 a.m. tomorrow, with Gale Force winds blowing anywhere from 35 - 45 knots propelling waves up to 14 feet in height. 

That Gale Warning is in addition to a Storm Warning also from St. Joseph to Manistee and also until 2:00 a.m. tomorrow, with winds possible up to 50 knots and waves possible up to 18 Feet! In fact, the NWS is reporting that waves up to 14 feet have been measured out on Lake Michigan as of 3:00 p.m. this afternoon. 

Finally, a Wind Advisory is going into effect for Allegan, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana, Ottawa, and Van Buren counties from late tonight into tomorrow, with 2 - 30 mph winds causing a strong possibility for downed tree limbs and power lines.

Naturally when I espied that Gale Warning on the Weather.com™ app on my tablet, I knew that the surf was up and it was time for a visit to Grand Haven State Park for another photoshoot utilizing my mid-range telephoto lens attached to my Olympus E-M10III DSLR camera. Transportation is provided by Mary, with Ginger riding shotgun in our Jeep Renegade™. Here are some of those pix.

But before I get to those pix, this a great opportunity to insert the Beach Boys' song,  Catch a Wave, from their Surfer Girl album. Catch a Wave

Although not highly visible, there was a rainbow over the channel when we arrived.

The waves broke over the south pier and both lighthouses. 

Not to mention the railings that separate the walkway from the channel.

Nobody was foolish enough to venture out on the pier today.

Even the gulls were almost hovering in place.

This lakeweed was blown into the sand-covered parking area.

The waves were breaking constantly.

Which encouraged this lone surfer to paddle out. 

And wait for just the right wave.

Before trying to climb atop his board for a ride.

Again, a rainbow was nearly invisible, this time over the lake itself.

Otherwise, it was a day of ear-reading, cross-stitching, print reading, and retirement. Tomorrow looks very similar to today. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:50 p.m. in "The City", where the current temperature is 48° under cloudy skies, but it feels like 43° with a strong wind out of the east at 16 mph. Our overnight low tonight will drop to 42° before we rebound to tomorrow's high temperature of 48° with an overnight low of 40°. 

We've had in excess of three inches of rain over the last several days. 

That rain is part of the system that has caused the Small Craft Advisory that is currently in effect to last until early tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m., with wind speeds up to 30 knots propelling waves as high as 11 feet! 

That Small Craft Advisory will be superseded by yet another Gale Warning from St. Joseph to Manistee, which will be in effect from 5:00 a.m. tomorrow until 8:00 p.m. Tuesday evening, with winds of 45 knots pushing waves up to 15 feet in height! The surf will definitely be up here on the Third Coast. We have not seen this many alerts here in GH since we moved here over 11 years ago.

The sun will rise into cloudy and rainy skies tomorrow @ 8:00 a.m. and set tomorrow night @ 6:58 p.m. In between, there is a 93% chance of rain mixed with windy conditions. 

Mary spent the afternoon watching sci-fi movies after she baked another loaf of her famous light-wheat bread, while I finished three crossword puzzles, and then Ginger and I moved into the kitchen for my own turn at the oven. 

Ginger, my Sous Dog, and I worked all afternoon to bake another of my apple pies that turned out great if I do say so myself. We also took time to finish those pesky but necessary indoor chores. Here is a picture of the baking efforts by all of us here at the manse. 

Two stellar efforts by the bakers here at the manse.

Otherwise, we spent more time ear-reading, cross-stitching, walking to the library for a drop-off and pick-up, and then doing as little as possible.

I have another ukelele strum session tonight at 9:00 p.m.tonight following our dinner of soup and sandwich.

Tomorrow, a few more indoor chores, a possibility of more music, more painting, more cross-stitching, and for certain, more ear-reading. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:30 p.m. in "The City", Grand Haven, MI. I don't carry a badge.

We have a current temperature of 51° under mostly cloudy skies with a "Real Feel" temperature of 45° with a strong wind out of the southeast blowing @ 16 mph!

However, a Small Craft Advisory is currently in effect for the lakeshore counties until 5:00 a.m. Monday with 15 - 25 knot winds and gusts up to 30 knots, propelling waves up to 10 feet in height. Logically, small boats should seek safe harbor and people should stay off of the piers and out of the water.

Beginning on Monday @ 5:00 a.m., there will be a Gale Watch going into effect from St. Joseph to Manistee, with Gale Force wind speeds up to 35 knots and wave heights possible up to 11 feet! The surfers will be out in force on Monday.

The sunset tonight will be @ 7:02 p.m. with an overnight low temperature of 46° before the sunrise tomorrow @ 7:59 a.m. Rain showers are expected in the afternoon hours tomorrow with a 47% chance. Those showers will continue on Monday and into Tuesday. Sunset tomorrow will be @ 7:00 p.m.

We sat down this morning to enjoy a breakfast of cheezy grits with plans to ear-read more of our book, The Rose Code. However, somewhere along the way, between Ginger's barking at the pedestrians on their way to the 2nd annual Chow Down in Centertown and the landing of a medevac helicopter in the parking lot across the street from the community center, our ear-reading came to a halt. 

We heard the unexplained sound of a helicopter overhead and Mary went out to see what all the noise was about. She was told by some passersby that a helicopter had just landed. So I had to grab my camera and head to the parking lot for some pictures. 

Nice to know that Spectrum Health has an Aero Med copter at the ready. 

People were enamored by the parked copter.

Some used their phones to take pictures.

The helicopter landing reminded me of a time many years ago, when I worked for Mobil Oil Corp. and we had a booth at a career day at the nearby high school. We had a gas pump and some informational brochures. But, the USMC decided to bring a helicopter of its own to that career day event. As Marines rappelled out the door of the copter before it landed, we had no way to compete with the USMC.

The helicopter was part of the GHDPS annual Fire Prevention Open House. I took some pix of those activities too. 

The GHDPS had their Ladder Truck basket up for display.

The NOCH ambulance was parked at the firehouse on Washington.

And the local children were using high-pressure hoses to move a target. 

In addition, we had walked over to the Chow Down in Center Town event before we stopped at the fire station. 

Musicians playing all genres of music were part of Chow Down in Center Town.

A soloist playing her music.

And another duo playing their cover songs.

Throngs of people were in attendance too.

Near Public Safety, part of the GH complex has been rented to a surveyor, who seems to have added this Monarch Butterfly Waystation. 

Which includes the butterfly house on the left. 

The living people have decorated for Halloween. 

And passersby stopped to say they like our Halloween display at the manse too. 

The Wolverines defeated the Nittany Lions, 41 - 17, the Spartans are trying to lose to the Badgers, although they are tied @ 14 all in the 4th quarter, and the Huskies have the day off until October 22.

Tomorrow looks like it will be a day for indoor chores, more ear-reading, more cross-stitching, and more retirement. Ciao.