Welcome to the weekend, Anywhere USA

Take the right off the main drag next to the former Syracuse China plant at 5 p.m. on a Friday night smack dab in the middle of May in Syracuse, N.Y., and a slice of Americana awaits. Gray skies matter not much. Park in the middle of the lot and wander off to the right…

Coming soon to a parking lot near you

The tiny sign off the side of the road caught my eye, over to the right, in front of the turn that takes you to where so many of my fellow city folks used to make their living crafting that fine Syracuse China. Ah, yes, I remembered hearing the radio ad and seeing the news…

Meet your new home, little Snow Fountain

Through heat and humidity and even a little drizzle, my dear wife Karen and I finished the weekend mission in the front yard of our Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. All we needed was a spade, wheelbarrow, potting mixture, wanna, a metaphorical X to mark the spot and, the star of…

Blossoming crabapple and a good steak

I awoke to a good pour in the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood this Mother’s Day morning. And the coffee pot is still brewing to fill the cup the size of my head. No, I’m talking about the rain that was falling down loud and proud to awaken me this Sunday.…

A beautiful Friday in May this second

The weather guy is calling for a record high on this Friday, May 8, predicting that it will reach 89º F here in Syracuse, N.Y. On “Today,” the stories from Al Roker and crew are of early tropical storms coming toward Myrtle Beach — first of the season, in particular, by the name of Anna…

I plead the Cinco

I sent the text to my dear wife Karen at mid-afternoon, figuring she’d warm to my suggestion when she’d find a moment to peek at her iPhone 6 at her job at SMG. How about keeping the meat loaf cooling an extra day in the fridge and taking a run out to celebrate Cinco de…

Striking skies over Syracuse

As Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle and I worked our way back toward the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood this half-and-half spring Sunday afternoon, we couldn’t help but note the sky above. April prepares to give itself up to May, and the see and the saw of this dance was somewhere…

And the Earth still does what she wants

And on the day after Earth Day, my dear wife Karen and I wake up in the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city Eastwood neighborhood to a reminder that spring can still be mean. The new flowers and greening lawn were hit with overnight snow. It stuck. The temperature now at 8:45 a.m. reads 37º…

Blooms and buds to celebrate Earth Day

It’s gray. It’s cool, standing at 47º F at 9 a.m. Still, Mother Nature stirs me. Happy 45th Earth Day, from the front yard of the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. Click on each photo for a description. Click on the right photo for an enlarged slide show. Is your yard…