Berry good decision

Next year’s big stars? Terrific daughter Elisabeth and fantastic fiance George Three decided on what to purchase at Ballantyne Gardens with that gift certificate. Always helpful owner Tim helped steer them to a pair of sturdy blueberry plants. Back by the shed is the talk of ground-placing. I foresee a happy 2023 season …

Erie Canal imagined

What was and could have been. Erie Boulevard runs smack dab through Clinton Square in the heart of Syracuse. Yes, long ago they filled in and paved over the Erie Canal. This art mural that sides a bank on Salina Street reminds me of that. What was and what could have been …

Syracuse unplugged

‘dis cord. A dangling, disconnected orange extension cord dangling from way high is a curious and somewhat disconcerting item to encounter while strolling down Salina Street in downtown Syracuse.

Good day, sunrise

Tough angle. As we stride through fall in Central New York, the sun is rising later and later. Yeah, no surprise, I know. But retired-guy-I is going through a new routine weekdays, driving dear wife Karen down the block for the fluctuating starts of her eye center shifts and returning home for tasks and hanging…

Super moon, indeed

It’s in there. The morning news folks yesterday morning were talking about how the super moon would peak at 6 a.m. As my dear wife Karen was preparing for her 7 a.m. start to her final shift of the week, retired-guy-I grabbed my iPhone and went out the front door. I had three minutes to…

Way to bobble, kids

Great job, juniors. What happens when you take two kids, put them on the dugout between innings, attach counters to their heads, and tell them to act like bobbleheads? Cuteness prevails. I called out that they both were winners as they walked up the aisle past me, and a mom told me thank you.

Dancing at the ballpark

The Syracuse Mets invited a special guest for the last game of the 2023 season this past weekend. Breakin’ BB McCoy was not your run-of-the-mill bat boy. Between innings, this hard worker danced this way and that on the field and on top of the dugouts. He brought back scenes from the late, great Michael…

He had our number

Big numbers. As Andreis Chaparro of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders came to the plate in the first inning of the last game of their last game of the season against the Syracuse Mets this past weekend, I looked at his uniform number and thought that 87 may be the highest I’ve seen in a good long…

From start to finish

Fall ball. We helped the Syracuse Mets open their 2023 season, and so we decided to help them close it, too. Baseball-loving family. Much like that first game in April, we dressed for the late September tussle in layers. Well, I mused, the many games I caught in between this season allowed me to appreciate…

Tomatoes for us, too

Finding their level. The tomato plants given to us by terrific daughter Elisabeth and fantastic fiance George Three did, indeed, bear fruit. The bounty was noticed weeks later than what they reaped just a mile away at their house, proving once again, different soil, varying sun angles, timing will differ.