Thriving azalea

Happy in the corner. My dear wife Karen tried several spots in our garden for our small azalea, but it didn’t want to bloom. The small corner next to our side alcove turned out to be its sweet spot. Happy summer to you, tiny but thick azalea.

Color combo

I do stop and smell them. There’s something about the blend of our pink and peach roses when they choose to bloom together along ur backyard path. The yellows and whites stay back, not wanting to interfere, says the part of my brain that wanders toward the why of these things.

For the birds

Comfort zone. The backyard daisies look quite happy next to where I put out our bird bath combo this summer. I hope our wildlife appreciates the space.

Robust climbers

Full season. The climbers my dear wife Karen put at the base of our deck rail came in wonderfully thick and robust this summer. They took up every inch of space available, up and sideways.

Happy Fourth!

From our stadium to your house. Happy Fourth of July. We stayed for the fireworks that followed the game our last visit to see the Syracuse Mets at our NBT Bank Stadium. It wasn’t as dark out as it could have been, but I stashed this most colorful photo away to send wishes out to…

Open and shut case

Minds of their own. One flower opens, I saw while driving my dear wife Karen to her morning shift, while its close neighbors declare not yet.

A gathering for Scooch

Cheer leaders. One of our recent trips to a Syracuse Mets game led to a big birthday party for team mascot Scooch. Team officials invited those who put on the suit to entertain teams in our city and beyond. The turnout was quite remarkable. Scooch (the one with the orange head, small blue cap and…

Back to our own Mets

Sunny day back home. After our big trip to see the New York Mets at Citi Field, it was interesting to hop in the car with my dear wife Karen, terrific daughter Elisabeth and fantastic George Three to take in a game with our hometown Syracuse Mets. Less than two miles from our neighborhood. Seats…

Great to see my old pal Greg

His photo of us. In the Wayback, Greg and I went to both our journalism colleges together. When he visited our house on his epic drive up the coast to Northern New York this month, I recalled a simple fact about those formative years we spent together and how we’ve stayed in touch since the…

Our little climber

Don’t get stuck … Plenty of texts come from my terrific daughter Elisabeth exclaiming what kitty Vinny is up to. She likes to include a photo to marvel at his adventurous ways. Roaming on his harness and leash while she worked on her laptop wasn’t enough the other day. Vinny had to climb their tree.…