After a delicious dinner at Batuqui, Maria, Charlie, and I went to Mitchell’s, where the birthday party would be held. There were two guests of honor: Maria and Leland (age 21). We had use of a private area upstairs for our festivities. Mitchell’s is an ice cream parlor in Cleveland. All of the ice cream […]

I came to Cleveland to celebrate my friend Maria’s birthday. For a variety of reasons, I had to make it a quick overnight adventure. I caught the 10:10 a.m. bus from Buffalo. Because I had to edit my article about rain barrels and compost bins, I had to turn my bus seat into a rolling

… an opportunity to do a fun creative writing exercise! My gardening customer and I agreed that it was too rainy for me to dig weeds today, so we rescheduled the appointment for next week when, we hope, the weather will be more cooperative. I stayed at home and caught up on other tasks, which

dreary when you can’t go out to photograph the weeds, which is what you do when you’re still learning how to use your new camera. These weeds sport a lovely color, so it was a good test of the camera. It was a bit hard to focus on the weeds, however. It became apparent that

Today, I walked to church and took the camera out for a second test drive. I mainly was interested in how the camera did with closeup shots. Above is a picture of a flower that I have never been able to photograph so I considered that flower to be a good test of the power

Saint Martin in the Fields church held its annual chicken barbecue and silent auction. I went there to serve food and take a few pictures. The camera that I have been using for the past four and a half years is, alas, in the process of passing away. I can’t complain, though. It has been

One of the most common landscaping errors that people make is with the type of shrubbery that they plant close to their houses. When the shrubbery is planted, it is young and small. Unfortunately, shrubbery has this habit of growing and people discover that, when they attempt to look out their windows, all they see

Today, I went to the My Thai restaurant in Niagara Falls, New York, to enjoy lunch with Jean L. and Lee T. All three of us were ready for a culinary adventure, and we were excited about trying a new restaurant. The restaurant is located on a busy street in the City of Niagara Falls.

Many people have streams or creeks on their property. It really adds to the enjoyment of your property, as you are able to fish, canoe, or kayak from the convenience of your home. With the fun of having a creek behind your house comes the responsibility of making sure that the creek remains healthy. The

It’s a relaxed Sunday afternoon, early in the summer. I’ve been busy lately, tending gardens. Some are small, while others are very large. Most are very overgrown after all of that rainfall. I’ve been rehabilitating shrubbery, and I’ve been digging out weeds. Sometimes, people ask me, “What is the difference between a wild flower and