I couldn’t hedge my shaggy thoughts any longer

Two of the front yard shrubs had already gone out of control standing guard at the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. So as my dear wife Karen tidied up the hourglass garden and spread red mulch, I grabbed the battery-powered Black and Decker hedge clippers and went to work. One of…

Let’s branch out with a name for our baby

So far, so good, the condition of this new arrival into the life of my dear wife Karen and I. Our little cherry tree has been rained upon. Big winds blew through the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Bumblebees circled and frogs leaped. Squirrels teased Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle,…

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.…

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…

At last, I spot my first bulb sprout of spring

The words I have waited so long this March to type: I have spotted the first green sprouting from a bulb in the gardens of the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. It’s in the very corner of the front garden, where a good-sized pile of snow still lurks a half-dozen feet…

A different place to put the front garden

I’ve noticed an interesting little garden one block over in our Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. As I walk with Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle, I try to keep her away from this one particular front yard garden, because it’s the only one of its type I’ve seen in these parts. This particular neighbor has…