The piles got high pretty quickly

Some folks love the first sign of winter. The white stuff comes down in a big way, and they are thrilled. Me? Not so much anymore. I think it terms of snow brushes for the cars and shovels for the paths and clearing both in time for my dear wife Karen to get to work…

We’ve already had the first big snow of the year

Some winters we sit and wonder when that first big snow will arrive. This year the guessing ends prior to Thanksgiving. Ellie B Dogamous Pyle must share the backyard of A Bitty Better with the white stuff in mid-November.

The 15:17 to Paris showcases its real heroes, but are they up for this second act?

There’s so much going for The 15:17 to Paris. It’s a true tale of heroism on the rails from Amsterdam to Paris. Clint Eastwood directs, yes, a guy who knows Hollywood action from his old days playing tough cop Dirty Harry to modern times leading the grit in American Sniper and so many ways in…

Here’s what happens when it snows overnight

I woke up early Friday morning. I knew we were going to get a lot of snow overnight. The weather people were right. So out I rolled by 6:15 because my dear wife Karen had a 7 a.m. shift. I cleared our cars and a path to them so she could pull out of the…

So now the Orange caravan travels to Yankee Stadium to meet Notre Dame

My wish a week ago was for the Syracuse community to turn up at the Carrier Dome in a big way to thank this Orange football team for one heck of a season. Those of us who’ve stuck with it through the lean times have been rewarded through their hard work and the wise direction…

Hey, aren’t you that woman from Orange Is the New Black …

Before Halloween gets too far in our rear view mirror … My library colleague Edina fashioned a striking costume for work this year. Could she not be a double for the Netflix series character in Orange Is the New Black played by Laura Prepon? Don’t take candy from that lady, kids …

The colors come out in a big way

A November walk with our cherished rescue mutt Elle B aka Dogamous Pyle led to the big autumn foliage payoff. In the blocks around A Bitty Better in the Liverpool neighborhood of Galeville, we saw this brilliant red tree. In front of the Town of Salina offices, we saw these hearty mums. And completing the…

Will this be the last mow of the year?

One look out back and I knew I had to get the mower out of the shed. Yes, the neighbors tree had left its lot from autumn 2018 upon the backyard of A Bitty Better. Besides, a month had gone by, and the grass underneath all those leaves was a bit shaggy, too. On I…

Walkers, welcome to this year’s Lights on the Lake

My library colleagues and I have been watching them ready the displays for this year’s Lights on the Lake for months now. No exaggeration. The extravaganza’s annual walking event is tonight on the shores of Onondaga Lake. Wednesday is the annual dog walk event. The paid admission drive through nights start Thursday. It runs through…

Bohemian Rhapsody sings to the challenge of channeling Freddie Mercury

If you lived through and paid any sort of attention to the real life and times of one Freddie Mercury and the band he led called Queen, you should recall that their spotlight burned bright and hot. The front man for this band from the U.K. handled fame, fortune and his life in a big,…