City Arborist gives my neighbor’s pines the OK

I have been worrying about my backyard neighbor’s two enormous pines long enough and hard enough to post two stories about my state of fret. The last time we visited my world of fears, many of you kind friends suggested that I get up off the recliner and do something about it. I called the…

Now and then

Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle and I passed this pretty little corner of a neighbor’s front yard this April 19 in our morning walk through the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. Nice looking pine backed by a lawn yearning to turn green. Rather unassuming, though, right? But does it look vaguely familiar? The last time…

A snowy spring hiccup

That is not the sight I wanted to wake up to on April 16 in Syracuse, N.Y. Not when just a day ago when I took a good, long look at this garden in our city neighborhood of Eastwood front yard, I was noting the yellow flowers of this forsythia that’s the cornerstone of the…

First color in our yard beats the return of snow

It’s been awhile coming this spring. With the winter we’ve had here in our Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood, it’s seemed like forever. Flower power arrived yesterday. We received the first burst of color. It came from the plant above, the one that we thought was from a tulip bulb that Karen missed when she…

Now that’s a front moving through

When my dear wife Karen and I pulled out of our driveway to drive an hour west to the Waterloo Premium Outlets early this afternoon, the car dashboard thermometer read 80 degrees. We enjoyed the last hour of the spring warmup, strolling the outdoor quad of stores in shirt sleeves. I wore shorts. But while…

Why I fret, Vol. II

A couple weeks back I caught a photo of these two pine trees behind my backyard neighbors’ fence and shared my anxiety about an eventual fall. They were covered with snow. I could see a possible topple in the future. Here’s that Knock Down, Stay Up post. On the way back from my glorious walk…

Renegade bulbs shoot us some green

My dear wife Karen remembers digging up the tulip bulbs at this particular corner of a front garden last fall. They didn’t get along well with the juniper-come-lately as it grew. And they’d been there coming up on 10 years. Karen says they’ve been looking more and more scraggly each year. A couple little buggers…

Ellie darling, it’s been a long, cold lonely winter

Three days ’til spring. I can’t tell who’s getting more antsy for winter to leave, Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle or this guy on the holding end of the leash. With the temperature creeping up — I can’t believe weather sites say it’s 31 degrees right now in Syracuse, N.Y., because it feels at least…

Icing on the cake for fellow blogger’s birthday?

While commenting with my fellow Syracuse blogger Christopher S. Malone yesterday, the subject of snow came up. No surprise. I did mention Syracuse, right? In any case, Chris said it always snows here on March 12. And he would know that because … drum roll, please … it’s his birthday. Happy birthday, interesting fellow. If…

So be it, but I will say a quick hello to the green

When the morning newspaper puts a forecast for a foot of snow the next day on the top of the front page, I have to take notice. Especially on the second straight day when the temperatures in Syracuse have cracked 40 degrees, spurring a good melt and a measurable rise in my spirits. I’m about…