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Tag Archives: hocoblogging

Wegmans, wordbones and howchow

Posted on May 13, 2013 by annierie

Say what? This title conveys my route to finding howchow and wordbones aka Dennis Lane. I am a foodie, and yes, a locavore, but still a foodie. Hunt Valley Wegmans was an amazing source of foods years ago, when we ran up and down I-83 to PA to visit my MIL.

Rumors that HoCo was getting a Wegmans sent me on a google search which led me to howchow. This post sent me to discover Tales of Two Cities, and all that lovely inside information Dennis managed to find.

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I used howchow to find restaurants and checked out a few posts about Wegmans by Dennis. A year or so later, I started blogging. I approached howchow to get linked into his web site, and he graciously helped me with links and references. I owe quite a bit to him in getting me local readers last year.

I then met Dennis at my first hocoblogs party, and we talked about many mutual friends. A week later, after my spinal fusion, I was housebound, so I read his entire blog. WOW, what I learned about living here would fill a book!

Tales of Two Cities gave me more info about HoCo than any newspapers did. For me, though, having Dennis add me to his sidebar, and help me grow my locavore/retiree/west county blog was just one of those unselfish things HoCo bloggers like he and howchow did.

This little blogging community is simply awesome. We really care about where we live and what we do. Missing Dennis’ blog will be difficult for many. Missing his close friendship is something I won’t experience as he was a new friend, but I read in their blogs about the closeness of his friendships with my fellow bloggers and I see their pain.

From my little corner of the blogosphere, I think HoCo has many talented writers who will stand up and blog more to share things all of us love about living here.

The local bloggers are wearing red this week to celebrate Dennis’ life. I have nowhere special to go but here is my “red”.

mothers day and gardens and old wine 073

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Choosing Community … Revisited

Posted on March 1, 2013 by annierie

Last year after our last blog party, I wrote a post about Choosing Community, instead of just being civil. Community, a closer relationship than just nodding and being distant, but pleasant.

This month’s blog party reminded me of the post. Some of the blogging community have moved on. Sarah, to California, and Matt to Baltimore, for example. But, many interesting people have come to event after event. I get my morning news from hocoblogs. Checking out what is happening on Patch, or moving over to hocorising to get my community news. Tom is the ultimate poster child for choosing community. He is so dedicated to Howard County, in his actions and his words. There are others, too, but Tom really likes to research and post very detailed reports.

It is funny that I went looking at posts. I hit a milestone yesterday. 500 posts. In sixteen months. About a post a day. What was most popular? Besides the fact that every time I look at my sidebar that shows The YEMMies are coming is right up there, and the fact that now is baby chick season at Tractor Supply, and for whatever reason, people still keep opening the Brighton Dam posts, it seems my community postings get the most views. This year I suppose I need to take pictures of the baby chicks, and be sure to get those prices. And, do the weekly visit to Brighton to check how the azaleas are coming along.

I seem to be gravitating into posting as the lone voice in west county. Is there anyone else out here with a blog? Or, are we just surrounded by our farms and animals?

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I think that’s where I will continue to focus this blog. Life as a retiree smack in the middle of Tier III land, surrounded by Tier IV, and blogging about my amazing neighbors and friends out here. Seems I have lots of potential topics, what with markets and farms, and stormwater management, and comprehensive rezoning.

I like this little corner of #thehoco. Just hoping I get another 500 posts with continued inspiration from life out here. Can’t beat the scenery.

larriland and hocohospital market 013

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Social Butterflies

Posted on February 27, 2013 by annierie

In more ways than one.

Last night the 50+ bloggers and readers gathered at Union Jack’s in Columbia to reconnect. We haven’t had a get together since last spring, so it was great to see everyone. It is amazing that we have a local group, close to 300 blogs written by county residents, that gets together and networks. I like Tales of Two Cities blog about the event.

Our hosts last night were from The 53 and ukdesperatehousewife, Bill from the former, and Claire, from the latter.

My husband came with me, and really enjoyed the conversations. Lots of fun, even on a really rainy evening. It looks like we will be doing more of these in the future.

As for the second way to be a social butterfly, I am about to do my refresher training for the spring field trips at the Conservancy. One of the spring topics, for second graders, is Wings, Stings and Leggy Things. I love the butterfly part of this activity. The Conservancy has huge amounts of milkweed, which attracts monarchs. We will even rescue, nurture and tag emerging butterflies to track their journeys. It was a highlight of my first fall there. Tagging butterflies and releasing them. In the spring we talk about how they return here for the summers, and how we have created a welcoming habitat for them to thrive.

I like our training sessions. A one hour refresher course, a hike to rehearse what we do with the school children, and then, of course, the social part of it, we have a potluck on the last Thursday of training. I blogged yesterday about the training. Come out and be a social butterfly with those of us who love the outdoors, enjoy teaching the little ones all about the earth science around them, and who want to make a difference in our own small way.

i spy nature and csa week one summer 141

My third reference to social butterfly today, that of home gardener, getting ready for the 2013 season. We pruned the butterfly bushes. I am learning how to find and rescue monarchs from the milkweed in the meadow. I blogged last fall about finding it out there. I intend to rescue as many larvae as I can, in order to protect them from predators.

butterflies 104

This is a tiger swallowtail. We have lots of those every year. I know my butterfly bush isn’t native, but it certainly attracts a large number of them.

Spring has sprung, at least for most of what I am doing. Tomorrow, I will be starting my spring greens planting and putting together a salad table. All that, after my social butterfly attendance at Conservancy training.

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Cocktail Hour

Posted on February 24, 2013 by annierie

That civilized winding down hour or so that used to precede dinner in homes before we all became so rushed and didn’t have time or take time to relax. It is one of our simple pleasures a few times a week. We just stop and enjoy the sunset, or watch the news while dinner happily finishes in the oven.

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Tonight we celebrated the opening successes of the Orioles, using my old glasses from the McDonald’s set. They bring back memories. A couple of fairly weak gin and tonics, more for the refreshing aspect than anything else. A little nibble. We hit the Olney Farmer’s and Artisan’s market today and picked them up. Just a handful for us while dinner is still baking.

Tuesday night I will be joining my fellow bloggers in Columbia for a cocktail hour. Only we call them blogtail parties. A couple of our local bloggers are hosting it. It is at Union Jack’s, right next to Columbia Mall. From 5:30 pm. The link takes you to the sign up page. Only a few places left. It looks to be a full house.

I enjoy meeting the bloggers from around here. Those of us who regularly blog and post them on hocoblogs. I might have to borrow my husband’s phone and bring it with me to join in the tweeting and checking in on foursquare. Now, if they can make my favorite cocktail, that Meyer lemon basil fizz, I will really be impressed.

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Our blogtail hour, or two. A chance to get out and relax with our cyberfriends. We can put faces and names to those people behind the keyboards. A really fun event.

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Young at Heart

Posted on February 6, 2013 by annierie

At least that’s how I feel these days. Even though at times the body tells me I am doing too much. I was putting items of interest onto my calendar. Volunteer naturalist training. Habitat restoration. Wonder walks. Program committee meetings. All at the Conservancy.

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Add to that the bird club events, programs, and the Great Backyard Bird Count coming up the weekend of the 16th-17th of February.

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There’s Greenfest, Earth Day and mixed in with all the rest there are cellar dinners, get togethers, luncheons, and family commitments.

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I can’t believe a year has passed since I was getting ready for neck surgery. Thankfully, that is behind me and I am filling our social calendar with possibilities of days out and about. It may be the last month of winter, but things are getting busy. This weekend besides the Ray Bosmans event at the Conservancy Saturday, on Sunday there is the first event at the Little French Market in Ellicott City with River House Pizza selling wood fired pizza.

If you think retirement means days passing time sitting at a senior center playing cards and getting your blood pressure checked, think again. There is so much more out there to do in Howard County. Oh, and I almost forgot. We are having a much anticipated bloggers and friends party at Union Jack’s on February 26th. Check out the link and sign up if you want to meet many of the bloggers on my Blogs I Read page, and from hocoblogs. I may be one of our oldest bloggers out there, but still, I insist that retirement is my second childhood and I will definitely be enjoying myself.

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Posted in Birds, Community, Food, Hobbies, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Nature, People, Retirement, Volunteering and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Looking Forward to the New Year

Posted on December 31, 2012 by annierie

I think my husband said it best coming home today from a visit to my mom. It is so nice not to have to go back to work Wednesday. The fact that we are retired has really finally sunk in. This is his second year of retirement. I will hit three years in April. Last year there was much upheaval, with my impending surgery, and uncertainty. We both are grateful I came through it, and slowly am mending, but mending nonetheless.

sunrise new year's eve

sunrise new year’s eve

The sunrise today was impressive. It inspires me to look forward to the coming year, a new beginning, and full of choices. I already came up with those sixty things I want to accomplish. They are my resolutions.

I will still plan projects for the year, just not calling them resolutions. Projects like decluttering. Home improvements.

And, I want to be more focused in my volunteering. Expanding what I do.

And, get back into walking and hiking again. Maybe do some county hikes. So many things. I just need to focus.

Here’s to 2013, the blank slate we write upon, the 33rd year of marriage, and the 38th year in Howard County. I think it’s time to watch a few bowl games. Even though they now have stupid names. Like the Autozone Bowl? Really??

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A few more nights, then the decorations will come down. I leave our decorations up until the Epiphany. It still feels like the holidays until I have to put them away.

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They survived the wind, rain and snow, even though I had to batten down the deer more than once. And, I just noticed one string of lights on the tall tree shaped stakes burnt out. I suppose we will be restringing those before they get stored away.

Random thoughts, these are. Random thoughts in our corner of the world. A corner where both the Ravens and Redskins made the playoffs. Water cooler conversations should be fun all around DC and Baltimore this week. Let’s also not forget that the Orioles and Nationals both exceeded our expectations last summer. Here’s to continued success for our local teams. May they meet in a Super Bowl or World Series sometime soon!

Hope all our friends and family stay safe tonight, and stay healthy for 2013. Happy New Year, Howard County!

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The Year 2012 In Review, from the Blog

Posted on December 30, 2012 by annierie

I was going to do a highlights post. Lo and Behold, WordPress did a year in review for me. Weird that I clicked on my dashboard and found the year summary just as I was sitting down to write about the most popular posts.

In my summary page, it showed many views of the local resource page, and my About page. I decided this afternoon to update them to make sure they were current. Including more detail and a few more pictures.

As for my most popular posts, the top five came out this way.

Number Five — Baby Chicks at Tractor Supply — people still click on this one. It is from last April. I suppose this year I need to take pictures of the chicks. I only did a superficial summary last year without finding out how many people buy chicks from them every year. They certainly had a nice variety, and they sold out quickly.

Number Four — CQ Field Day, CQ Field Day — my account of the amateur radio weekend at the local school yard, with the local clubs. I cook for them, and I blogged about it. It got picked up on a national radio club feed and it still gets views, when people search on their call sign, W3AO, or Whiskey Three Atlantic Ocean. We won this past year. We are used to winning. A large group of very competitive hams.

W3AO Field Day 2012 Class 27A

W3AO Field Day 2012 Class 27A

Number Three — Brighton Dam Azalea Gardens — I shouldn’t be surprised by this one. Lots of people want to know when the azaleas peak. This year, again, I will be monitoring them and taking pictures, and posting them. We live right up the road from the gardens and visit them frequently. We also have been all over the property doing bird counts with the local club. One of my favorite places in Howard County.

Brighton dam azaleas

Brighton dam azaleas

Number Two — The YEMMies are Coming — Why? I have no idea, but lately every time I look at the sidebar where it lists most recent popular posts, the YEMMie post is there. It has over 200 views, most of them recent. Obviously, there is adequate discussion on the media about the Young Educated Millennial Mothers. I discussed in my post about mothers in my CSA making baby food themselves from the organic veggies and fruits, and of former coworkers looking for pasture fed, and/or free range meat and eggs and dairy. We certainly see an increase in younger patrons at the farm stands and markets we frequent.

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And, the Number One post for the year, my personal view after the fatal accident that closed rte.32 in November, that was picked up by the Preserve Woodmont facebook page, was My View from West County. That was one of the crazier days out here, with people we know stranded, or rerouted, or lost trying to get through the clogged roads.

Our visit that night to Bistro Blanc included conversations with a number of people who had real problems getting anywhere that day. If we had medical emergencies, or a fire out here, the gridlock would have made it next to impossible to get emergency vehicles in. It took people three or four hours to get through west county that day. I lamented the fact that our infrastructure upgrades that were in process when we moved here in 2005, have pretty much not materialized.

They are only now working on the second interchange up near us, with the Rte. 144/Rte. 32 one still in the planning stages. Even then, the two lane road is still overcrowded, and has been overwhelmed by commuters traveling from north and west of Howard County.

It will be interesting to see what happens once they finish the Linden Church interchange next fall. Will the clogged up area move north to 144? Will they see the bailing out of traffic on roads like Pfeffercorn? We see it now on Triadelphia, Linthicum, Burnt Woods, Ten Oaks and Howard. I think it will just make the funnel move further north, but still create hazards for those living here.

I really wish they would just at least do something about the mailboxes, trash collection and recycling. Having only one way delivery for mail, and one way pick up for trash and recycling has made driving even more dangerous due to the sheer number of cars, trucks and buses on our roads.

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I find it interesting that my most viewed post had to do with west county infrastructure. I have noticed, reading the local blogs, that most of them focus on Columbia and Ellicott City. I am not sure how many of my fellow local bloggers have been out here other than to pick strawberries at Larriland. At eight years in, we have seen many changes, but also have seen much that keeps us rural and disconnected. Not a bad thing, most of the time. It still is a lovely place to live. And, to blog.

Have a safe New Year’s Eve. We are staying in, eating well and popping the cork on a split of champagne, if we can stay up until midnight. A few people will shoot off fireworks at some of the more remote properties not far from us, if the weather cooperates. We hear them and see them every year.

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The Geminids

Posted on December 11, 2012 by annierie

With a bonus. A comet has left behind some debris. If you come out to the Howard County Conservancy Thursday night, you could find a rare treat.

The weather is supposed to cooperate. Clear, cold. Very little moon light.

Dr. Alex Storrs and Dr. Joel Goodman (stardoc) will be there. Starting at 9:30 pm until you can’t stay awake. After all, the site is nice and dark, and the astronomers are an awesome set of teachers about the night sky.

transit of venus 001

Don’t miss it.

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A Trip Down Memory Lane

Posted on November 16, 2012 by annierie

I have been working on a series of posts about life in Howard County. We are cleaning things up and whenever I find something from years past, I think: I should do a post about this.

So, I am. The trigger for this post was the cleaning in the files in the study and finding a box in the corner with old ADC maps in it. There must be five different Howard County maps in there, but my favorite is this one.

ADC map of Howard County 1976

In 1975 I moved here, right out of college. My husband moved to his place in 1977, before I knew him. This is his map, bought to find his way around here, since he used to live in Montgomery County, where he worked.

Interesting little things from the index, like the total number of schools in the county then. Germane to see how many fewer schools there were back then, when the entire county probably had less population than Columbia has now. Columbia back then was just a small percentage of the land.

The shopping center list was pretty sparse as well. It shows four village centers for Columbia.

One of my favorite pages is the one of Clarksville, before River Hill. Notice that the old Rte. 32 jogged right then left around Rte. 108. No highway then.

“downtown” Clarksville

My first roommate when I lived in Wilde Lake worked here. Who remembers this? What is there now?

I moved to Columbia hoping to find a job at APL, but the recession of the early 1970s made it hard. I taught school for a while at a Catholic school, and lived with multiple roommates in Partridge Courts, then in an apartment in Long Reach. My husband’s townhouse was one of the Howard Homes camp out town houses in Owen Brown. Remember those?

Thirty years I lived in Columbia. Half my life, as I turn 60 next month. It was definitely an interesting place to be, but now I have to admit I far prefer leaving a city to live in a mostly rural area. I realized that after 22 years in Baltimore and 30 years in Columbia, that these last eight years were the only time I didn’t live in an apartment or row house, fashionably named town houses somewhere along the way.

Anyone else have older Howard County artifacts or photos around?

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The Envelope Please

Posted on November 6, 2012 by annierie

So, I have been nominated again for a blogger award. The last time floored me, and I didn’t know what to do about it. This time, I actually have a plan. I realized I shouldn’t go and get all analytical and worry about having to name other blogs. Since I was so scatterbrained last time, I didn’t do what the award “chain” wanted, and the sky didn’t fall.

This time, I am going to have fun with it. Thank you A Table in the Sun for nominating me for the Beautiful Blogger award.

Because of her chain back to The Great Dorset Vegetable Experiment, who nominated her, I found an interesting blog to read from one of my favorite places on earth. Dorset. And, I found other great blogs to read, to find inspiration and just to entertain me.

I love reading blogs. I found a new one the other day thanks to wordbones blog, Tales of Two Cities. UKDesperateHousewifeUSA

So, for this blog award, you need to tell seven things about yourself and nominate 15 bloggers. Oh, and then tell them you nominated them by linking to this post in a comment on their blogs.

The seven things:

I am ambidexterous becuase the nuns beat me when I put a pen in my left hand in second grade. First grade I learned to print with my left hand.

When I traveled all the time for work, we lived on Stouffer’s. How’s that for the past of a confirmed locavore and hardcore foodie?

The only fast food that still calls me back to being bad, Krispy Kreme hot donuts. Thankfully, they are pretty much out of business around here but there were times when that sign pulled me into Dobbin Road right after leaving my dentist.

I was born and raised in Baltimore City. Right across the street from Mt. St. Joe.

I have lived in Howard County 38 years come January 1st.

We have a brick bought eons ago just down from the People Tree. Friends send us pictures of it when they find it.

In my original job out of college, I taught high school mathematics.

There, that’s seven useless pieces of information that haven’t been discussed in my blog. Not earth shattering but fun. Oh, and a bonus, today included I have voted every Presidential election, never missing one, from 1972 until the present. Twice it was an absentee ballot as I was in Alaska in 1984 and Florida in 1988. Both times, work related. I take that privilege seriously.

As for the 15 blogs to nominate, obviously nine of them are my food challenge compatriots. I read these blogs all the time, not just for challenges, but because I love hearing what my fellow locavores are doing.

Backyard Grocery Northern VA
Bumble Lush Garden near DC
Eat. Drink. Nourish. South Carolina
Eating Appalachia Blue Ridge VA
Eating Floyd Southwest VA
Family Foodie Survival Guide Northern VA
Sincerely, Emily Texas
The Soffritto right up the road in Woodstock
Windy City Vegan North Carolina

Liz, at Family Foodie Survival Guide, nominated me for a blog award a while back and I got caught up in other things and never followed through. I wish I did, now.

Number ten is an awesome lady, who set up our CSA link party. Heather at In Her Chucks. She kept commenting and commenting to set up that link page, and I use it all the time to see how to use those strange veggies in my CSA box.

Number Eleven is one of the guys over at hocoblogs. I hope he takes the nomination in the spirit intended, as he is one beautiful person when it comes to helping others. Whether it was the fund raising for the security deposits for the group homes, or his recent “fill up the Subaru” for his wife to drive to Jersey and help hurricane victims, hocorising is something special.

The Foodie Farmer is number 12, and Soulsby Farm number 13. I read both these farm blogs. Foodie Farmer is on the Eastern shore of MD and Soulsby is a tiny farm in Ohio. I love reading what they are doing.

Number 14 would have been Tammy, at Agrigirl but I see A Table in the Sun nominated her along with me. Tammy comments all the time around here. I love her perspective. So, in her place I nominate another desert country blog I read regularly. Fresh Veggies in the Desert, from Nevada instead of Arizona. Another frequent commenter and co-poster at In Her Chucks.

And, last but not least, the newly discovered UKdesperatehousewifeUSA. I love reading her comments about Howard County. I love that she found my neighborhood only a few months after moving here. There are people in Columbia who couldn’t find the Crossroads Pub if their life depended on it. Nor would they willingly travel the back roads out here. And, I love her comments about life around here. A great new blog, adding fresh air to Howard County blogs.

My blogging compatriots. Know that I nominated you because I read you all the time. I find you entertaining, enlightening, kindred spirits. If you aren’t into doing the blog chain thing, I get it. It freaked me out a little the first time someone nominated my blog.

But, at the end of the day, if someone comes and reads your blog and subscribes, and I sent them there, it is all good. We just like to see others appreciate what we write.

Cheers! Now, off to tell all the bloggers I nominated them.

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