Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:45 a.m. in "The City." 

My DTWS is showing the current temperature to be a seasonal 64°, which should also be our overnight low here on the shores of the "Big Lake", where the NWS is reporting the water temperature @ the Grand Haven Sate Park beach to be 70°. 

Unfortunately, there is also a Beach Hazard Statement in effect until some unspecified time later tonight. That means that swimming conditions will be hazardous for the counties of Allegan, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana, and Ottawa here in MI. Strong currents will make Lake Michigan a dangerous place for anyone who is not a good swimmer and perhaps for some wo are.

In addition, the NWS has also issued a Small Craft Advisory that will remain in effect from South Haven, to Manistee until later tomorrow night. Winds from 10 - 20 mph and gusts possible to 25 knots may propel waves as high as two to five feet. The sun will rise this morning @ 7:20 a.m. and set tonight @ 8:01 p.m.

Yesterday in baseball may make me a "Homer" for the Detroit Tigers, as they staged a late inning rally that included a Grand Slam home run by IF Jonathan Schoop and another single for Miguel Cabrera. He is on track to get 3,000 or more hits for his career by late this season or early next season. OF Victor Reyes also hit a three run homer for the Tigers en route to the 10 - 4 victory over the visiting Rays. 

Last night's game saw the return of broadcaster Jack Morris, a Hall of Fame pitcher, to the broadcast booth for the Tigers. He was suspended for 10 games due to his racially insensitive remarks about Angels' pitcher Shohei Ohtani, one of the young stars of MLB this year. Ohtani is a young player for the Angels who has won nine games for the Angels as a pitcher. He has hit 44 home runs and netted 94 RBIs while stealing 23 bases and hitting @ an average of .259! What every baseball fan should be saying about Ohtani is, Wow! 

Bad news came for the Tigers yesterday, as 30 YO LHP Matthew Boyd was scratched from the start last night and replaced by Tyler Alexander. Boyd experienced elbow soreness again and may not pitch again this season. Given the nature of too many baseball pitchers for serious elbow problems, there is a scary possibility for Tommy John surgery for Boyd. That surgery with a recovery time of 12 to 15 months, would sideline him for all of next season. The Tigers and the Rays square off again tonight @ 6:10 p.m. when RHP Casey Mize, 7 - 7, makes his next start. 

The Cubs returned to their low-expectation selves yesterday afternoon, as RHP Kyle Hendricks pitched well for six innings, but after he left with the score tied 1 - 1, his replacements from the bullpen gave up five more runs to the visiting Giants and the Cubs lost the game, 1 - 6. The Cubs and the Giants play again this afternoon @ 2:20 p.m. EDT as RHP Zach Davies, 6 - 10 makes his next start.

My beloved Red Sox were tripped up by that other team from Chicago 3 - 4 last night. The Sox tried to rally, including a home run by Bobby Dalbec, but they fell short as the final score indicates. The Sox are so short of players that the starting pitcher for tonight's game for the Red Sox is listed as TBD. In fact, LHP Chris Sale was placed on the Covid IL list and may be out for a minimum of 10 games, or a potential of two to three starts. The beloved and that other team play in Chicago tonight @ 7:10 p.m. EDT.

Sadly, the Caps came up short in their game versus the visiting Great Lakes Loons last night. 4 - 6. Both teams take the field again tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

I didn't go to that big-box nearly everything store with Mary and Ginger yesterday afternoon. I stayed behind with STWD and made vegan Italian burgers and meatballs. Sugar got the mushroom cuttings that she loves without having to wrestle with Ginger. Mary and Ginger also went to one of their favorite places, Duncan Woods, for a walkabout. 

Earlier in the day @ 7:57 a.m., I espied MMRR EMD GP38-2 locomotives 2170 and 2019 heading south, towing one GTC, and 10 CGCs. Later, I recorded the passage of those same locomotives heading north a little after 12:00 p.m., as they towed one DBTC and five  DWTCs. I also got some pix with my wide-angle lens of the locomotives and their cars too.

MMRR locomotive #2019 as they headed north.

The lone DBTC.

And one of the five DWTCs.

Today is another in a series of days where I hope to get in some time for painting, crossword solving, reading, music, and being retired along with the regular Saturday indoor chores. Mary is hard at work on her latest cross stitch effort, a labor of love, a blue moon. She will get into the act in the kitchen today too. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 10:45 p.m. in "The City."

The NWS is showing a current temperature here in GH of 60°, but I prefer the reading from my DTWS of 62°. In addition, the barometric pressure per my DTWS is 29.36:" of Hg and steady with a "Real Feel" of 62° with the NWS reported slight wind out of the east @ one mph. Our overnight low-temperature forecast from the NWS calls for 57° under partly-cloudy skies before we rebound to tomorrow's  high temperature of 75°, alsoaccording to the NWS with an overnight low-temperature of 66°.

Tomorrow, the sun will rise @ 7:18 a.m. and set later @ 8:05 p.m.

Baseball news is that there is no news. All of my favorite teams play tomorrow. The lone exception is the West Michigan White Caps who defeated the visiting the Great Lakes Loons at home, 10 - 5. The Caps and the Loons play again tomorrow night @ 7:05 p.m.

Mary dropped me at my podiatrist appointment and when I was done, she and I took a trip to the nearby Duncan Woods for a photo-shoot. Duncan Woods is a gem in the midst of GH and almost always provides some great opportunities for pix. Today was no exception. Here are some pix in no particular order, 

Someone was gathering branches for a teepee type of enclosure. 

As I've often noted, sometimes you have to look down for a great pic.

Left behind by someone following the 2021 Coast Guard Festival. 

I like how the sun made this pic more interesting. 

This small  pine tree was pointed out by Mary as we walked the trails. 

As were these deer.

We  have no idea why these were tied around the tree.

Duncan Woods allows fallen trees to stay in place unless they are blocking a trail. 

We made it back to pavement after a hike through the woods. 

From that vantage point, I shot this pic. 

I know that in past blogs, I've referenced O'Henry's short-story, The Last Leaf, but this is the last bloom on Mary's giant hibiscus, "Pink", so it seemed appropriate to do it one last time.

A straight on shot.

And a variation on the angle to also capture some of "Pink's" leaves.

Otherwise, we mostly read, worked a crossword puzzle, and then watched the TV news and our latest binge watch, Eureka. 

Tomorrow, I hope to get to some music, some painting, some reading, and some retirement, as we  have only a trip to that big-box nearly everything store on the agenda. Mary will be listening to her latest novel and cross-stitching. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 8:45 a.m. in "The City."

I'm going to keep this one brief so that I can get on with my life.

Current temperature per the NWS, 58°. Today's high-temperature, 72°. Tonight's low-temperature, 54°. current conditions, partly-cloudy with mostly sunny expected. Daily high temperatures forecast to remain in the upper 70° and lower 80° range for the foreseeable future. Sunset tonight@ 8:05 p.m.

Baseball news:

Every team that matters won! 

Tonight's/tomorrow's games: Cubs home versus Giants @ 2:20 p.m. EDT.

Red Sox @ that other team from Chicago, 8:10 p.m. EDT.

Tigers home versus the Tampa Bay Rays, 7:10 p.m.

Caps home versus the Loons Thirsday night, started @ 7:05 p.m.

Trainspotting: 

8:01 a.m. yesterday, southbound, MMRR locomotives 2170 and 2019 towing two DBTCs.

12:10 p.m. yesterday, northbound, MMRR locomotives 2019 and 2019 towing 46 CGCs, 12 CHCs, three DBTCs, and one DWTC.

Today's activities. Reading, painting, cross-stitching, which by the by, Mary finished her latest effort, a nicely framed set of four acoustic guitars that now sits prominently on the recently rearranged shelf in my studio. On to a new project in her current passion, cross-stitching. 

Trash out, slight watering, visit to podiatrist for me, retirement. Ciao.

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." The NWS is forecasting a 60% chance for showers and/or T-storms this afternoon after 1:00 p.m. In addition, there is a chance for Gale Force Winds within those T-storms, which also caused the NWS to issue a Small Craft Advisory from St. Joseph to Manistee. That Small Craft Advisory will be in effect from right now until 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night.

Plus, the NWS has also issued a continuation of that Beach Hazard Statement for the counties of Allegan, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana, Ottawa, and Van Buren here in MI, also from now until 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night. Locally, the current temperature is 61 The° under partly-cloudy skies as we head towards today's high-temperature of 76° as those aforementioned T-storms roll in this afternoon. Our overnight low-temperature forecast from the NWS calls for 65° after the sun sets @ 8:08 p.m. 

My DTWS is showing a barometric pressure reading of 29.15" of Hg and rising, which seems to conflict with the forecast for afternoon precipitation, Hmmm. The "Real Feel" temperature is a brisk 59°, which for Mary is the perfect fall temperature, not unlike Goldilocks porridge, which we all know was "Just Right!"

The Baseball news yesterday was only one win versus two losses. The suddenly and way too late to the party surging Cubs, took a game from the Reds, 4 - 3. That makes it seven straight wins for the Cubs as the also late to the party and mostly slumping in 2021 Ian Happ, got a three RBI home run to go with the RBI single off the bat of the surprising Frank Schwindel. Will Schwindel be another of those players who, like many past Cubs' players, was signed to a big contract for next season only to fizzle out? Stay tuned. The Cubs and the Reds play again tonight @ 7:40 p.m.. EDT as RHP Adrian Sampson, 0 - 1, and 29 years old, makes his next start for the Cubs. Talk about your cast of "Who are these guys?"

My beloved Red Sox squandered a seven-run lead to the Rays last night, losing to the Rays. 10 - 11. The Red Sox bullpen once again imploded, no surprise there, as the Sox have so many relief pitchers and regular players on the too dumb to get vaccinated list, that fielding a team is a challenge for manager Alex Cora. In fact, one of the Sox regular starting pitchers, Nick Pivetta was recently added to that list. 

I don't care what the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between MLB™ and the players union says, there comes a point where common sense has to overrule the reluctance of the players to get vaccinated. Just saying. At any rate, the Sox and the Rays play again tonight @ 7:10 p.m. tonight when LHP Eduardo Rodriguez, 11 - 7, makes the start for the Sox. 

The Tigers seemingly took two steps forward recently, but one step back, as they fell to the Pirates yesterday, 3 - 6. The Tigers announced that relief pitcher Joe Jimenez and bench coach George Lombard tested positive for the Covid virus. As I was saying, there comes a time...The Tigers and the Pirates play again tonight @ 6:35 p.m. when RHP Wily Peralta, 3 - 3, makes his next start. 

The Caps play the Loons tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

Elsewhere in the local news, even though Labor Day is not a "Fireworks Day", local pyromaniacs set off several large explosions near the manse yesterday afternoon that at first didn't faze STWD, but which finally sent her to her hide-e-hole for several hours. The cooler overnight hours and daytime temperatures have allowed us to turn off the A/C and open the windows on the upper and lower levels, but that comes at a price to STWD. 

I spent the better part of the afternoon in Mary's office reading, while Mary was listening to an audio-book and cross-stitching. Of course, the fur-children joined us there, except when Ginger had to go downstairs periodically to bark at anything that got her attention. 

Today, we have an appointment at the veterinarian for the fur-children and I  have indoor chores to accomplish. That's all folks! Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 1:30 p.m. in "The City." Yes my loyal readers, I wrote 1:30 p.m. because I got up late, did some maintenance on Mary's pedometer (I changed the battery and reset it), and then I looked up the latest weather conditions and the weekend scores from both baseball and college football. 

A quick note  to my readers of the Jewish faith. Today at sundown marks the start of the annual Rosh Hashana observance of the Jewish New Year. The celebration ends on Wednesday night, September 8, 2021. I'll leave it to my friend Ellen to delve more deeply into the nuances, but have a "Happy Jewish New Year!

We have current temperature of 71° per my DTWS, but the NWS is reporting 69° that feels like 69° with a wind out of the northwest @ 12 mph. I'll go with the reading from my DTWS as it is more local to the area. The high-temperature today will reach 72° with an overnight low-temperature of 57° after the sun sets @ 8:10 p.m. tonight on GH and the summer season here. We never really have an end to the tourist season, but things get noticeably less busy after Labor Day. 

Baseball news yesterday was mostly good.

Let me start with the record-breaking offensive output at Wrigley Field yesterday. The Cubs swept the Pirates with an 11 - 8 win, powered by two home-runs off the bat off Matt Duffy, one of those a Grand Slam, and one home run off the bat of Frank Schwindel, that one too was a Grand Slam. The Pirates hit a Grand Slams too, which set a MLB record for the number of Grand Slam home runs in a single game. Too bad that neither team will be in post-season play. But, the Cubs and the visiting Cincinnati Reds start their game this afternoon @ 2:20 p.m. when LHP Justin Steele, 3 - 2 makes his next start. 

The Tigers were also victorious yesterday, as they defeated the Reds, 4 - 1 in Cincinnati. The Tigers too are not going to be in the post-season, but they have a shot to go from spoiler to contender in 2022. Today's game against the Pirates commenced in Pittsburgh today @ 1:15 p.m. as LHP Tarik Skubal, 8 - 12, toed the rubber for the Tigers.

My beloved Red Sox have sent more players to the Covid IL this season than any other team and they are showing the problems with losing so many players as they fell to the Indians, 5 - 11 last night. The Sox are likely to miss the post-season too. Today's game also commenced @ 1:10 p.m. as the Sox take on the visiting Rays when LHP Chris Sale, 3 - 0, tossed the first pitch for the Sox. 

The Caps took the final game of their series from the Peoria Chiefs yesterday, 4 - 2. The Caps are off today before a game tomorrow night versus the Great Lakes Loons @ 7:05 p.m.

In college football over the weekend, the Spartan's of MSU played last Friday night and they defeated the Wildcats of Northwestern, 38 - 21. The Spartans' next opponent will be the Youngstown State Penguins next Saturday @ 12:00 p.m.

The Wolverines of MI routed the Western MI Broncos, 47 - 14 last Saturday to get the Wolverines' season off to a good start. The Wolverines' next opponent will be the Huskies of Washington next Saturday night @ 8:00 p.m.

Speaking of Huskies, the NIU Huskies defeated the Yellowjackets of GA Tech Saturday night, 22 - 21. The Huskies will be in Wyoming next Saturday to face the Cowboys of Wyoming @ 1:30 p.m.

We had enough rain over the last few days to preclude a need for me to water the vast gardens. So yesterday afternoon, while Mary individually walked the fur-children. The walk with STWD turned out to be an adventure for Mary, as the Cutest Dog on the Planet was so frightened by the blast of a large ship's whistle in the channel, that she took off for  home from Central Park as Mary went along for the ride. 

Mary took Ginger for a more sedate walk shortly after she and Sugar returned. I was at work in the vegan kitchen making vegan Italian burgers and vegan Bratwursts. We had some burgers last night for dinner and some bratwursts today for brunch. 

Otherwise, I also finished the weekend crossword puzzle, read more of a new novel, Steel Fear, by Brandon Webb and John David Mann, and watched some TV as Mary did more cross-stitching on a project for my studio. Mary finished listening to her latest book last night, but she already has her next one in the queue. So today should be a day of relaxation. 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", where an 8 mph wind out of the southeast makes the "Real Feel" temperature the same as the actual temperature of 67°. The NWS is reporting a barometric pressure of 29.96" of Hg and falling, while my own DTWS is showing 29.30" of Hg and rising. Here in GH, you can usually count on my local DTWS and the NWS in GR to disagree, whether that be precipitation, temperature, or barometric pressures. The NWS is forecasting a 60% chance for occasional showers and/or T-storms this afternoon. 

We have two weather related alerts and advisories that begin today @ 2:00 p.m. this afternoon and continuing until sometime Monday morning. First is a Beach Hazard Statement that the NWS has issued. A Red Flag is posted and swimming will be dangerous due to strong currents and heavy wave action for Mason, Muskegon, Oceana and Ottawa counties in MI. There is also a strong chance that the piers may be swamped and dangerous for walkers.

In addition, the NWS has also issued a  Small Craft Advisory from 2:00 p.m. today until a more specific 8:00 a.m. Monday. 15 to 25 knot winds may propel waves up to six feet in height. Once again, Surf's Up! But, small boats should stay out of the "Big Lake." Not a good weekend for boaters this last unofficial holiday of the summer season. 

The Cubs used the bats of Frank Schwindel, a 29 YO rookie 1st baseman, who went 3/4 as he hit two home runs, and that of 25 YO rookie OF Michael Hermasillo, to propel them to a 6 - 5 win over the visiting Pirates. The Cubs placed two of their own on the Covid IL list yesterday, Field Manager David Ross and VP and GM Jed Hoyer. Will there be others soon? Wait and see. The Cubs and the Pirates play today @ 2:10 p.m. EDT when RHP Kyle Hendricks, 14 - 6, goes for a tie in the MLB pitching stats as he tries to get his 15th win. 

My beloved Red Sox cruised past the Indians last night, as they defeated the Indians, 8 - 5. Bobby Dalbec is staking his claim to the first-base job as he has been hitting well of late. Kyle Schwarber also had a good day at the plate too. The Sox and the Indians play again today @ 4:10 p.m. when RHP Tanner Houck, 0 - 3, makes his next start as the once red-hot Sox try to get back into the Wild Card race.

The streaky Tigers streaked past the Reds in the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati last night, 15 - 5. Tonight's game versus the Reds is scheduled to begin @ 7:10 p.m. when LHP Matthew Boyd, 3 - 7, makes the start. 

Sadly, the Caps squandered a strong pitching performance from Brendan White last night, he had 8 Ks and walked no one. Unfortunately, the Caps plated only that one run and so the Chiefs went on to win the game by a final score of 1 - 6. Tonight's game @ 7:05 p.m. features LHP Adam Wolf, 5 - 7, on the mound for the Caps. 

We took Ginger for a grooming session yesterday. After a short watering and harvesting session at the auxiliary gardens Mary and I returned to the manse and bathed and brushed STWD. After that we picked up Ginger and traveled to Hofma Preserve for a photo-shoot. I am still limited in my mobility, so I mostly stayed back and took some pix close to the parking area as Mary and Ginger ventured further down the paths.

Mary used our Smart Phone camera to snap this pic of one of the trails she and Ginger followed.

Smart Phones are also very capable cameras these days. 

I stayed behind and used two lenses to snap some pix of my own. Here there are in no particular order.

Perhaps my Olympus DSLR camera with its telephoto lens takes better pic, but Mary's pic is still very good.

A shot taken with my wide-angle lens.

And from the same position, a close up using my telephoto lens.

One setting with the telephoto lens.

Approximately the same shot, different setting. 

Wide angle lens.

In our own vast gardens, the cherry tomato plants are still producing fruit.

As are the plants that produced these soon to be ripe tomatoes

And these nearly ripe fruits.

Today, Mary has plans to do some cross-stitching and I have plans to do some indoor chores and hope that the rains come so that I can avoid watering. I want to do some crossword solving, some reading, and some retiring too. 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", where the current temperature is a very brisk 57° under clear skies. It feels like 56° with a wind out of the east @ 2 mph. The sun will rise today @ 7:10 a.m. and set later @  8:17 p.m. Our overnight low is expected to be 56°. Today's high-temperature will be a very seasonal 76° under skies that will vary between sunny and partly-cloudy. Our next chance for rain will be Saturday with showers in the evening @ 50%.

Yesterday was a four for four day in baseball, as the Cubs, the Red Sox, the Tigers, and the Caps all won their respective games, 3 - 0, 3 - 2, 8 - 6, and 8 - 2. Today's/tonight's games will begin at 8:05 p.m. EDT, 7:10 p.m. EDT, 1:10 p.m. EDT, and 7:05 p.m. EDT, as Keegan Thompson, Eduardo Rodrigues, Matt Manning, and someone unknown will be pitching for the Caps and for each MLB team respectively. Miggy got his 502nd home run for the Tigers last night. 

Yesterday, we had a nice brunch of vegan Italian burgers with salad. Later, our anniversary dinner was a stir-fry that included freshly diced ginger root, freshly minced garlic, green beans, garden fresh scallions, accompanied by braised tofu, sliced water chestnuts, bean sprouts, and baby-corns from the can with a touch of molasses and tamari, ala Jack. All of that was served over rice and chow-mein noodles. Not Don Luis, but a nice anniversary dinner.

Today, we have nothing planned. No road trips, no activities other than crossword solving and watering of the new plantings, We are letting the older plants in the vast gardens die-back as it is their time. I don't much like that part of the fall. But, I get to look forward to Thanksgiving, and the other winter holidays and then the rebirth of our gardens in the spring. Ciao.