Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. across the nation and across the world. It is just past 10:00 p.m.in "The City."

Sadly, I must share some bad news that I learned from my daily perusal of the obituaries in the Grand Haven Tribune. A young man named Tim, whom Mary and I met in the "Before Times" at JWs Food and Spirits restaurant, passed away recently. Tim was a great fan of the Beatles and he played a Hofner bass guitar just like the one that Paul McCartney plays. Tim enjoyed going to concerts everywhere, and of course, at Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake, just as Mary and I did. To borrow from the song Rock and Roll Heaven, "If there's a heaven, well you know they got a hell of a band." Rest in peace Tim.

The Righteous Brothers, Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, who also have left us, gave us their version of that song. Here it is for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPboPwGGkx0

We have a current temperature of 33° that feels like 24° with a wind blowing out of the south @ 12 mph. 

In addition, that Small Craft Advisory is still in effect from St. Joseph to Manistee. 10 to 20 knot winds with gusts up to 30 knots will create waves of five to eight feet in height. 

Mary and I took our fur-children to the Lake Forest Cemetery for a walkabout. I took along my cameraq for some pix.

Sometimes, the first thing you see catches your eye.

Much the same sentiment.

Someone left a snowman ornament on this child's marker.

The flower vase was incorporated in this marker. 

A fascinating and eclectic collection of artifacts. 

All of these markers date to the 1860s and 1870s.

No longer upright.

Same here.

Tomorrow, we have some indoor chores to accomplish and that's about the only thing on our agenda. More music, more reading, more reading too.

The sun will rise tomorrow @ 8:12 a.m. and set later @ 5:12 p.m. In between, there is a 70%  chance for rain/snow and a high temperature of 40°. It was fortuitous that we went walkabout today. 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."

The NWS has forecast a Small Craft Advisory from South Haven to Manistee on the "Big Lake" that goes into effect @ 1:00 a.m. tomorrow and continues until 1:00 p.m. Saturday. Winds from the south will blow @ 15 to 25 knots, with gusts up to 30 knots possible. Those winds and gusts may cause waves from four to seven feet in height.

We have a current temperature of 27° that feels like 27°, with only a two mph wind blowing out of the east. Our overnight low for tonight will be 25°.

Tomorrow's high temperature is forecast to reach 38° with an overnight low of 34°. Saturday's high temperature is forecast to reach 41°/ Meanwhile, the NWS in GR is showing a barometric pressure of 30.24" and rising, while my own DTWS is showing 29.65" and falling.

Tomorrow, the sun will rise @ 8:11 a.m. and set exactly nine hours laer @ 5:11 p.m.

Not much happened around the manse today. I finished two crossword puzzles and I espied a delivery van driving by that had a logo on its side Doorganics. It turns out that this is a service here in W. MI, that delivers organic produce and other products on a schedule set by their patrons. In the case of GH, that would be Thursdays. Mary did some research and decided to give them a try. 

We did not go out today and I did not get into the kitchen. Mary put together a nice lunch of one of our favorites extraordinary beest, and later, a salad bar dinner of chickpea salad, Coleslaw, pickles, and salad. Some of these we created today, while others were foods that were in our refrigerator.

Tomorrow, I hope to read more, play more music, and continue retirement. 

I think that's 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 9:00 p.m. in "The City."

A current temperature of 29° feels more like 21° due to a northwest wind blowing @ eight mph. Tonight's actual low will fall to only 26° under cloudy-skies. Tomorrow's high is forecast to reach 33°, also under cloudy-skies, with an overnight low of 27°. My DTWS is showing a barometric pressure of 29.48" and rising, while the NWS in GR, about 26 miles inland from here, is reporting 30.07", also rising. 

The sun will rise tomorrow @ 8:10 a.m. and set tomorrow evening @ 5:10 p.m.

Mary and her "Wing Gal", Ginger traveled to the big-box nearly everything store for a pick up earlier and then headed home with no stops in between. STWD and I stayed behind and worked in the kitchen. 

Earlier, I played with my guitar and also spent some time practicing my harmonica. I am improving. 

I thought I might spend some time rambling in this blog, as I have no pix to display and there are a few things that have been rattling around in my head.

The immortal Yogi Berra, often credited with numerous malapropisms, purportedly said a few years back, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." While Mr. Berra was was often chided about his mangling of the English language, I think that that time, he was on target.

Nearly all of us have come to forks in our roads, forcing us to make a choice regarding which direction to take. It has been said that where you go school where you work, or what career path you follow can often lead to other life altering decisions. 

Work at a local gas station and meet the woman that you marry. Work at another place or in another field, and you get a different or the same result. Accept a promotion, or don't, once again a choice has been made. Live in a city or suburb, one that is in a well to do area, and your educational opportunities are myriad. Live in a place that has lesser schools and activities and another outcome results.

We've all made choices, some freely and some not so free. Daily, we are confronted with choices that lead us to a place or outcome. Whether we are allowed to follow our muse is all too often the result of factors outside our control. The Beatles intoned  may years ago, "Let it be." Would we change things if we could? Perhaps, but we might also be left without a choice. 

Tomorrow, I plan to do more reading, play more music, go walkabout, or just be retired. Thankfully, I have the opportunity to make a choice. 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.

Let's start out with what is really important here in Michigan. It was announced today that the game between the Wolverines of Michigan and the Hawkeyes of Iowa has been canceled due to an outbreak of the Covid-19 virus. We need to finally admit that the 2020 college football season is a total loss, as is most of the year 2020. 

We have a current temperature of 26° that feels like 16° with a 10 mph wind blowing out of the east. A barometric pressure reading of 29.71 and rising according to my DTWS, contrasts with a reading being supplied by the NWS in GR of 30.33 and falling. Which one is more accurate? I dunno, but the skies here in GH are cloudy and they are forecast to be cloudy tomorrow too, when the high temperature reaches 33° before the overnight low matches tonight's overnight low of 25°. We have no advisories, watches, nor warnings in effect at this time.

Last night and early this morning, I was able to train spot as MMRR EMD GP38-2 locomotives 2170 and 2019 passed by on the RSTL.

At 10:35 last night, I watched as those two locomotives were espied towing seven CHCs, and one DWTC rolled past heading south. Between 3:32 and 3:36 a.m. early this morning, I watched that same team of locomotives pass by towing 29 CHCs, nine DBTCs, and 30 CGCs. for a total of 68 cars and two locomotives. 

Today, we accomplished our indoor chores and moved our jar/screw-on cap opener to a more convenient location. A smooth transfer.

Later, Mary and I left our fur-children at the manse and Mary took me to the place that she and her "Wing Gal" Ginger, discovered the other day when they were soloing. This area overlooks the mothballed and soon to be razed BLP Sims II power plant on Harbor Island. I was able to use my everyday lens on my Olympus DSLR camera and get some great shots of the plant, the woods, the setting sun, and other parts of the Harbor Island area.

When we first arrived, I took this pic of the plant through the trees.

Same shot, different position.

I set my camera for sunsets for this shot. 

And this one..

And this one too. 

This tree just called out to me.

A completely different view of our Coal Tipple.

Heavy equipment is slowly demolishing the plant. 

While nearby, this freighter was off-loading a load of gravel.

We cruised over to the other side of Harbor Island so that I could get this pic of the swinging railroad bridge over the Grand River.

All in all, a very productive day. Mary was instrumental as my driver and as my guide to this wonderful photographic location. 

Tomorrow, Mary and her "Wing Gal" will be going to that big-box nearly everything store for a pickup. STWD and I will be staying behind to do some work in the kitchen. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the naton and across the world. It is just past 9:30 p.m. in "The City."

I have some new pix to share in this blog, but first, let's discuss the local weather as supplied by the NWS in GR and my DTWS.

We have a current temperature of 28° that feels like 19°, owing to a nine mph wind out of the north. The skies are cloudy and tonight's low is forecast to fall to 26°, before we rebound to tomorrow's high of 31°, also under cloudy skies, with an overnight low of 25°. My DTWS is showing a barometric pressure of 29.71" and falling, while the NWS is showing 30.33" and rising. 

That Small Craft Advisory from St. Joseph to Manistee is still in effect until 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. Winds from 15 to 25 knots and waves of three to six feet are expected, but they are expected to diminish overnight. 

The sun will rise tomorrow @ 8:09 a.m. and set tomorrow evening @ 5:10 p.m.

As promised, we went walkabout to the Lake Forest Cemetery today, which turned into a great photo op with our Nikon Coolpix™ Point and Shoot camera. However, our plans were altered when STWD heard some deer hunters out in the township shooting their shotguns and she was off to the races, i e. back to the relative and perceived safety of the car. Poor Sugar, she has never been a dog who likes loud noises of any kind.

At any rate, I snapped some nice pix.

Tis the season.

Here too.

The sun could be hidden.

But patches of blue sometimes appeared. 

Then, it was off the the waterfront, the Grand Haven State Park, and Chinook Pier for more pix.

Not as clear as I would like.

Much Better.

A view of the BLP Sims II power plant from Chinook Pier.

Tonight's dinner was Mary's lasagna that tasted terrific. No pix though. We watched more of Mr. Robot, quirky, but very interesting.

Tomorrow, we have indoor chores, some handyman types things to do around the manse, more music, and reading. Mary is still loving her book. I am still enjoying mine, so that's a twofer.

Otherwise, that's enough for one day. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just after 11:00 p.m. in "The City."

Surprise, the Geminid Meteor Shower is not visible with the cloud  cover over GH and the Tri-Cities. Oh well, while I like to take pix, today is like most of 2020, giving us one more asterisked event.

We have a current temperature of 35° under those aforementioned cloudy-skies, but it feels like 27° with a 13 mph wind blowing out of the west. Tonight's actual low is forecast to drop to 30°. Tomorrow, the high temperature will only increase two degrees to 32°, before we see an overnight low of 24°. 

In addition, there will be a Small Craft Advisory going into effect @ 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning and lasting until 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, from St. Joseph to Manistee. Windspeeds of 15 to 25 knots may produce waves of six to eight feet in height. 

The NWS in GR is showing a barometric pressure of 30.08" and falling, while my own DTWS is showing 29.40" and steady. 

If you are an NFL fan, the 6 - 7 Bears finally snapped their six game losing streak with a resounding win over the 4 - 9 Texans, 36 - 7. 

Unfortunately, the 5 - 8 Lions came up against the 10 - 3 Packers and lost, 24 - 31. 

We finished Friday's crossword puzzle in between reading our books. Mary is apparently on a roll book-wise and is enjoying her latest read immensely. I am liking my novel, When You See Me, by Lisa Gardner, but it is dark.

We had grits and vegan Italian sausage for brunch. Dinner was two of my soon to be famous vegan Italian burgers with canned cut green beans as a side . Mary read the label on those beans, and discovered that they were canned within 24 hours of being picked. Did they taste better? I think so, but I could eat green beans with every meal and enjoy them, so I am not the best arbiter.

There are some things we were supposed to get to today, but sometimes, you just never get around to them. When you are retired, not only do you lose track of time, but often, days too. But, there is always tomorrow.

I got a bit maudlin earlier when STWD was in my lap. I was recalling how she and I first met and how many times we fell asleep in my Lazy Boy. She is a very special dog. We've had a lot of great times together.

We hope to get the fur-children and ourselves out for a walkabout somewhere between the sunrise @ 8:09 a.m., but before the sunset @ 5:10 p.m.. Ciao.

Good mornig or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 9:30 p.m. in "The City". where we have a Small Craft Advisory in effect until Sunday @ 1:00 p.m. from St. Joseph to Whitehall. Wind speeds of 10 - 20 knots and gusts up to 30 knots have the potential to produce waves from three to six feet in height.

A current barometric pressure from the NWS in GR of 30.01" and steady is looking like the forecast for a 100% chance for rain/snow in tomorrow's forecast is accurate. My own DTWS is showing 29.39" and it is also steady. The "Big Lake" always has a profound effect on the weather conditions here in the Tri-Cities area.

We have a current temperature of 39° that feels like 32° with winds blowing ENE @ 13 mph. Our overnight low forecast calls for the temperature to drop to 36°, before the sun rises @ 8:06 a.m. and well before it sets @ 5:09 p.m.

Tomorrow's high will reach only 39°. It looks like a good day to stay indoors and so some indoor chores and reading.

I made more vegan Italian sausages today and then Mary made the best pizza she has crafted to date. This one was a cast-iron pan pizza for which she parbaked the dough for a period of time, allowing it to rise and then she added the toppings, banana peppers, diced tomatoes, minced garlic, pizza sauce, oregano, and cheese. Back into the oven @ 450° for 20 minutes or so and voila, a superb result. 

It looks delicious, but a picture cannot do it justice!

As I noted, tomorrow will be an indoor kind of day. The fur-children will still need to go out, but that's about it. I have more music to play, more puzzles to solve, more reading to do, and those aforementioned indoor chores. Mary has more reading to do along with something else. Ciao.