You have to try the Polish beer, the guy said

My dear wife Karen and I enjoyed the sights, sounds and tastes of the 60th Polish Festival last night in downtown Syracuse’s Clinton Square. No, contrary to a rumor circling the square, I have not been to all of them. Ed, a city firefighter I’ve known for more than two decades, asked me if I…

Another round of color as we wait for the gopher

More color is popping out in the backyard butterfly garden in the home of my dear wife Karen and I in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. In this small section, the border lilies, dianthus, daisies and lupine are all looking dapper. The day lilies are the crowded bunch on deck in the background. The…

Gopher’s forecast: Six more weeks of a nervous Dogamous Pyle, unless …

One of the more pleasant by-products of our week not in Syracuse, my dear wife Karen and I pretty quickly decided as we lounged around the cottage in Cape Cod, was the more relaxed state of Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle. Our beloved rescue mutt had dismissed the thought of our backyard gopher. And so…

What a good day for the roses

While my dear wife Karen and I spent a week in Cape Cod, the roses came out to play at our home in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. In one spot in our hourglass front-yard garden, you can see a yellow rose, white rose, pink rose and red rose. They are of different sizes…

Oh, what a week it was at the Cape

On the first day that my dear wife Karen and I woke up back in Syracuse after a week at the precious little cottage owned and cherished by our wonderful Central New York friends Julie and Lisa, I give thanks to all it gave us. From the front that greeted us every time we pulled…

Can’t let a rainy last Friday get us down

Even before Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle stirred me for her morning let-me-out session, I’d heard the news today, oh boy. Pitter-patter on the roof. One look out the front kitchen window confirmed what the Boston weather report had warned the night before. Our last full day not in Syracuse would start with rain. The…

Don’t let the weather-beaten appearance fool you

You have to want to get to the Sesuit Harbor Cafe. The first time my dear wife Karen and I tried to follow up on the recommendation of Julie and Lisa four years ago, all we could find were boats being worked on in a big parking lot. Garmin was telling us to turn in…

An ocean of excitement

Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle, meet the Atlantic Ocean. Our rescue mutt was introduced to really wavy water for the first time in the fourth year of her life, when we woke up on our fifth morning not in Syracuse and decided to drive to Provincetown. Our smart dog liked the ocean more than she…

When the vacation rain holds up, it’s for the dogs

When you wake up not in Syracuse and the grounds around the cottage are soaking wet and the sky is gray and more rain is coming down every now and then, you sit on the couch with your dear with Karen and Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle and you figure out what Cape Cod has…

Great Cape food, strolling, and a drink that could have laid me out

The first time my dear wife Karen and I snuck away from Syracuse to Cape Cod, she told me that Julie and Lisa said we should have breakfast at The Pancake Man. I loved the suggestion as soon as we pulled into the parking lot. Every single thing that unfolded inside the doors backed up…