So, I went out into the back yard yesterday for the first time in a long time. Everything in the yard is still a muddy mess, but nothing has started to grow back there yet, so I thought it might be a good idea to try to pull some bushes.

I had great success. The ground was muddy so the bushes were loose, and the roots were still kinda frozen so they snapped right in the ground. I was pulling bushes out with my hands. I pulled about six bushes in an hour and a half. The job probably would have taken the better part of a day in the summertime. So, remember kids, pull your unwanted shrubs early.

Well, my wife Julie joined facebook, that means I am now the last person on Earth who is not on facebook or twitter. I’ve resolved to start up a page, but I just haven’t gotten to it yet.

Maybe I’d have a chance to putter on the internet if it would just stop snowing. I’ve been channeling my coal mining heritage and clearing my own driveway by hand this winter. As you will have read in earlier posts, I think I have a stripped gear in the trans-axel of lawn tractor I use to plow my driveway. I was going to attempt to use it anyway, but then I found that the battery has gone bad. Ah well.

For many of us in Parma, heavy snow means icicles and ice damming. To avoid the problem this year, I took a number of broom handles; duct taped them together, lashed a rake to the end, and I am now using that to clear the snow off my roof. It works pretty well.

In other news, many area parks begin maple syrup season in the coming weeks. This weekend, my family and I will be out at the Lorain Metroparks Carlisle visitor’s center tasting maple syrup, riding the little trains they have there, and eating at an annual pancake breakfast.

I’m also painting my guest bathroom.

Stay warm all!

Several months ago, RTA was facing a fuel budget crisis and transit agency leaders had just endured a number of contentious public hearings as they floated a plan to cut service and raise fares.

At that point, I (your illustrious blog host) posted a handful of suggestions on this page that I felt might help the transit agency save a couple of bucks.

And, I’ll be darned if they didn’t go ahead and implement one of my suggestions!

At that time, I suggested that RTA run smaller busses, maybe old circulators, even vans, on regular bus routs during off-peak travel times as a way to cut capacity but still maintain service.

Well yesterday, I just happened to be down at Southland Shopping Center in Parma when I saw the #33 bus pull in. The bus was short. I couldn’t be sure, but it looked like one of those former community circulators painted up like a big bus. Either way, I’ve never seen a short bus on that route before.

Now, I won’t pretend that anyone at RTA is actually scouring my blog for tips on how to run their transit system. I’m sure the move was as obvious to them as it was to me. Still…SELF HIGH FIVE!!!