Sunrise, Baseball, Record Heat, and Mexicans....

As I ventured out at 5:30 this morning, I realized that this day, July 21st, on average, is the hottest day of the year north of the equator...and indeed here in West Central Ohio, it is forecast to be exactly that....100 degrees is what they are saying, that depends on which forecast you choose to use...others say 96, 99, or somewhere in-between.  Regardless, with the sun and humidity, it will again be brutal with Heat Warnings and Advisories posted not only in Ohio, but throughout most of the states east of the Missouri River.  34 states have issued warnings, and the end is not in sight...even though temps may drop by a handful by next week, the 90s with high humidity still are forecast for the region.

It was muggy as I settled down with my large coffee this morning to take in the sunrise and snap a few shots....I took another 40 or so looking out over Grand Lake, but realized that I had pretty much got my best shot yesterday, and it was time to look for new areas to shoot before Summer turns to fall....sure, I got some nice ones, but just how many photographs of like sunrises can you take?  I need to sort out what I have taken as crop and "fix" some of those, then move on to different locations and scenery.

After I finished my coffee, took the last of the sunrise photos, I climbed into the van and headed into Celina, where I stopped by Montgomery Field for a couple of morning photos at Eastview Park, where the State ACME Tournament begins Saturday, and where I will umpire the last of my Summer Baseball on Tuesday night.   Garry and I will work together, as we did last year, in a double header, as the final 8 Summer High School teams left in this part of the state do battle.   Then I am done for the year, I can put away the gear, the clothes, and ready myself for football, which begins in less than a month with the early season scrimmages.

Before the ACME tournament starts, I will have a couple games or more helping out with the Pony League Tournament down in Minster....something Sam and I do every year.  Sam has 10 games, starting tonight.  I am scheduled for just two, both with Sam on Friday,  but told Jon, the tournament manager, and fellow umpire, and football official, that I would help out with more if needed.  Rain may be a factor, with the chance of storms over the weekend increasing.

After I finished at Eastview, I headed home, took a couple photos of the Sunflowers that have started slowly to make their presence shown...and the first of the "Mexicans", the orange, short plant variety have started to come out as well.

Photos-A lone Blue Heron flies across the morning sun on Grand Lake...as I sit with my 24oz cup of morning wake up and watch the day begin.  The view from behind home plate at Montgomery Field in Celina, where I will work my last games of the season next Tuesday, in the State ACME High School Summer Baseball Tournament...and finally one of the "Mexicans"...one of several Sunflower varieties that I planted again this year....while last year was a bumper crop for many of the various types, I think this year will be less....the late planting season, combined with the brutal heat and lack of rain since early June, being a major cause of the lack of a bumper crop.