04 | March | 2012 | AnnieRie Unplugged

West County Hidden Treasures – Triadelphia

Posted on March 4, 2012 by AnnieRie

Today we took a ride. I needed to relieve cabin fever and it isn’t that far down the road, just to get out and walk around the northern access to the Reservoir. We had the added delight of getting to see an eagle perched on a tree and talk to a fellow visitor who has seen as many as eight eagles flying, perching and fishing at this point.

There is a boat ramp here with access here mainly used by kayakers and canoeists to silently glide along the water’s edge and look for eagles and other birds as well as just enjoy the less visited north end of the reservoir.

Most are more familiar with Brighton Dam.

Put on your calendars a reminder to come out here when the azaleas bloom. It is a tradition to visit the gardens. A Tip — avoid Mother’s Day at all costs unless you love traffic jams. More people come out to Brighton Dam for access to the reservoir but there are other “put in ” points all around the perimeter.

An added attraction just down from Big Branch, and up Green Bridge Road is Greenbridge Pottery.

It is definitely worth a visit. Becky had lovely items at our last holiday crafts fair at the Conservancy. Come on a Saturday and after taking Green Bridge down to the pottery shop, turn right on Triadelphia Mill and follow to the reservoir, then continue up for fresh meat, eggs and veggies at TLV Tree Farm.

I saw on their web site that they are open on Saturdays now from 10-2. I am down to one pound of bacon in the freezer and a pound package of short ribs, so time to go up and see Jamie.

We bought trees from them for years. Cutting our own, until we finally gave up and got a small artificial tree. I still miss that post Thanksgiving trek across their property looking for the perfect tree.

They sell at three Howard County Farmer’s Markets. Their family has farmed here since the late 1800’s.

You can stop at most of these places doing a loop from Triadelphia to Triadelphia Mill to Greenbridge or vice versa. TLV Tree Farm is another of the family owned farms here in the County put into preservation, to continue the traditions of our past. Supporting this young generation of farmers just makes sense. Better food, made close to home.

My Inspirations for Blogging

Posted on March 4, 2012 by AnnieRie

For whatever reasons, I got to thinking about what tipped me over that precipice into wanting to write a blog. I never really read blogs except for travel ones back when we were big into traveling. There was a time for about six years that we worked like crazy and couldn’t take lots of time off, so when we did, we did it big. One big vacation a year. Travel blogs helped us decide new areas we wanted to visit.

Like Turkey. Without reading a travelogue we never would have thought of visiting Istanbul. Turns out we loved it. And, we wouldn’t have thought of visiting the Spice Market without reading about it in a blog.

We also would not have known that a great way to travel is to rent houses using on line assistance, like VRBO. It is how we found a house in Sonoma for a great deal off season in November, and from reading travel blogs I found out it was less crowded and easier to spend time at the wineries without feeling like part of the Disney World sized crush of people. Also found that having a house with a grill and a deck made us feel more a part of a community than a tourist. We shopped at the farmer’s markets and grilled many nights.

So, blogging inspired me. Eventually even I started taking pictures of our food.

One day, for whatever reason, I noticed an email about the 50 Best Food Blogs, by the New York Times. One of them caught my eye.

Orangette

I started reading Molly’s blog. I had read articles of hers in Bon Appetit, particularly finding it interesting that she wrote about sauerkraut at Thanksgiving. It’s a Maryland thing. Other parts of the country don’t traditionally include sauerkraut at dinner with their turkey.

I also found The Slow Cook through some linkage and clicked on it, since the name resonated with me. I started reading it as well.

Both those personal blogs made me think that I too could find enough to write about, and really, how hard was it to start a blog?

When I began, I also had been reading the Patch pages, and found HowChow and HoCoBlogs while wandering around links. The internet really has changed how I operate. Not to mention getting an iPad as a retirement present from my husband and learning all these social media, which are replacing the paper and magazine world we grew up with.

What direction do I want to take this blog? Originally, I wanted to record things that interested me, and also have friends who have moved away keep in touch by commenting back and forth. I wanted to keep a journal, actually, and found it more simple than I expected.

Now, recovering from surgery with nowhere to go (Can’t Drive) and not much else to do (Can’t lift, bend or strain my back), this blog is my daily entertainment. The iPad is light, and I can prop it up and write away.

Not how I originally envisioned spending my spring, but still fun. Now, I am going to send some west county posts back and forth with HowChow. Blog about living out here, eating out here, shopping, activities, events, sights and sounds, plus info on the “over the Border” spots easily reached from here.

It is a great way for all of us to network, as well as make new acquaintances at the HoCo blogtail parties. From years commuting to DC and not knowing many others than coworkers and a few neighbors, blogging has its own social world. And, a nice one at that.