Bernard A. Oravec, Town&Gown

March is finally upon us. After a relatively mild winter, by central Pennsylvania standards, we are about to enter spring. The spring equinox officially occurs at 11:50 p.m. on Thursday, March 19. Maybe the groundhog was right? It has felt like an early spring throughout February. I have already noticed tulip and hyacinth…

February has an extra day this year, as part of leap year. While this happens every four years, most of us really don’t give it much thought. What is a leap year and why do we need it?   It seems that we need leap years to maintain our current calendar’s alignment with Earth’s revolutions…

Happy New Year! Can you believe it is 2020? The New Year means a new start. A new list of resolutions to make and break, or maybe not. I have resolved every year for the past 30 to lose weight. Unfortunately, I seem to be going in the other direction. At 6-foot-1 and…

It’s the holiday season! A joyous reminder that another year has passed. It’s also the most wonderful time of the year for our cats. I enjoy the holidays. I don’t mind putting up and decorating the Christmas tree. I like Christmas music. I enjoy watching toy trains making endless loops around the tree, chugging…

Each November, we celebrate Thanksgiving. In the past, it was a time to reflect on a good harvest and the knowledge that the family would survive the winter. Times have changed. Most of us no longer depend on our own crops and livestock for survival. Yet there is still so much to be thankful for.…

October produces some of the most beautiful skies of the year. The striking blues and grays balanced against a hazy white create the perfect canvas to highlight a wide palette of fall colors. Very rarely will you find a clear sunny day in Happy Valley during October. Most of the paintings and photos created…

The students have returned to campus and another football season is upon us. Only a few universities across our great country can match the pageantry of a Penn State football weekend. The annual ritual of alumni and fans returning to Happy Valley, all decked out in blue and white, never gets old. I enjoy…