Category Archives: Adventures

In Search of Woody Woodpecker

Posted on November 10, 2012 by AnnieRie

It seems to be turning into a birding weekend. And, I am really revealing my age since I remember watching Woody Woodpecker. Is that cartoon still around?

Between today and tomorrow, lots of birding being done. I missed the Howard club walk at Sharp’s this morning as I was working at the Conservancy on a bird feeding program for families. Making fruit kebabs, and having a blast with pine cones, corn cobs, peanut butter, suet, fruit and birdseed.

pine cones covered in peanut butter, seeds and currants

Yep, it was a bit messy but all of the 30+ little ones and about an equal number of parents and grandparents were out having fun making treats for the birds. It was one of the regular wonder walks, which became a short talk and lots of time to make three or four treats to take home for the birds. Treats like coffee lid pizza. Putting string through a lid so you can tie it on a railing on a balcony or deck, and keep birds happy that like to eat on platforms. We spread suet on the lid and decorated the pizza with raisins, currants and seeds.

coffee lid suet pizza

The real artists out there got into making totally covered pine cone treats, too. The good part of today was how easy it was to clean up as we just swept the suet and seeds out into the grass for the birds and, of course, the squirrels to find.

Before and after the event, we were visited by a couple of pileated woodpeckers. I did manage to grab the camera and get pictures. They wouldn’t come around while we were all there, just showed up on the same tree when there were just a few of us left.

pileated woodpecker

He had a compatriot there that I couldn’t identify, and there was a second pileated on a tree farther down the hill. I had to use my step and point method to get pics before they flew off.

I even caught one of them in flight.

And, if I am not all birded out, and can get up early tomorrow, at 8 am the Howard Bird Club Centennial park bird walk meets on the west end of the park. Enter off of Centennial Lane. Two or three hours searching for birds and walking the pathways and into the forested ponds off the trails.

An easy fun way to learn about birds. Last week they saw four great blue heron.

hocoblogs@@@

Life Without Heat

Posted on November 5, 2012 by AnnieRie

My heart goes out to all who were displaced and devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Life without power and heat really is awful. I watch the news and think how hard it is to live with no light and no heat.

We don’t have heat on our first floor due to a compressor failure, so I can only imagine what the people living north of us are going through. To us, it is an inconvenience, a nuisance but not life threatening. At least we have heat on the second floor because we have two heat pumps.

!!@@@$$$!! heat pump!

Still, getting up in the morning and coming downstairs to temps in the high 50s the past two days is not fun. We at least can turn on the emergency heat, that red light that means if you go out and watch the electric meter, you can get dizzy watching it spin. I told my husband it might be cheaper to burn dollar bills than turn on emergency heat. We only put it on for ten minutes in the morning and 5 minutes before dinner.

Otherwise, three or four layers of clothing and retiring to our bedroom after dinner to read or watch TV.

Our compressor was probably damaged after the derecho, as we replaced a capacitor soon after it. Two months later the entire unit died. An eight year old heat pump. They say nothing stops a Trane. Don’t believe them. It is taking a week for the new compressor to come in. We have been without heat other than emergency for ten days now.

Tonight it will go down to 28 degrees out here. Who knows how cold it will be on our first floor when we get up.

That is why today I put together a huge bag of gloves, scarves, sweaters and socks and took it to a clothing collection box. Those who have no power from the hurricane living north of here don’t have the luxury of heat on another floor, or that super expensive option of emergency heat.

I feel for them, big time. Keep them in your thoughts and find places to take some warm clothes and blankets. While at Walgreens today I saw they have a collection box. Every little bit helps.

hocoblogs@@@

2 Comments

Posted in Adventures, Commentary, Nature, Weather and tagged commentary, nature, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Retiring “To” Something

Posted on October 9, 2012 by AnnieRie

Great Advice. We heard it twice last weekend. Once at the wedding, and again, while talking at the dinner at RdV. My uncle was talking to someone who was considering retirement. His first advice. Don’t retire in the winter unless you have something lined up and ready for you to do. And, I don’t consider digging out of Snowpocalypse a highlight of retirement.

blizzards 2010

Even if you retired like I did, in spring. Or summer. When there is an overload of things to do outside. Or even now, in October, while we are still activity-driven for weeks until the weather changes and days get shorter. My first winter was easy, because I did the HoLLIE training twice a week. Spring naturalist training, as well. With HoLLIE gearing up, the info program tonight at Miller Library 7 pm is a good place to hear about opportunities for active Howard Countians, who are retired or thinking about it.

Moving from a circle of work friends to that new circle of fellow volunteers, or hobby sharers. Finding people with like interests is difficult for many of us. Especially when we worked in DC or Baltimore. I found that after 18 months, even if I got together with old working buddies, we had no bond to keep the conversations going. So many changes in their offices. I knew few names, and finally knew we had to build our retirement circle.

Now, filling my hours with fellow naturalists, gardeners, wine lovers and the amateur radio community, oh yeah, almost forgot, the bird club and my fellow bloggers, I hardly have time to think.

Somewhere in there, we do get housework and yard work done, and a few home improvement projects. Traveling not as much, but we did way too much of that for our jobs. It is actually nice to stay home for a while and see the local world. And, make a difference.

nature photo program for families at Conservancy

Whether it is leading programs for families. Leading hikes for the schools. Cleaning up the streams that feed the Patapsco. Working on the watershed programs. Caring for the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area. Or any of the other activities my fellow retirees are doing, the satisfaction of a job well done keeps us feeling that we matter.

One recent example this past year. Greenfest was filled with countians who focused on their interests while having a great time.

Greenfest at the Community College

I love the work the Master Gardeners have done, creating different historical garden plots at the Conservancy.

And, all the volunteers who organize and support Earth Day. Besides the Day itself, volunteers spend hours planning and preparing materials for events.

Earth Day supplies

Many times in conversations, at clubs, or at events, we hear how shorthanded the nonprofits, and the service organizations have become. I have heard that the numbers of people who stay retired is smaller. Many go back to work due to those long term effects of a slow economy. Others, who now are supporting elderly parents, have limited free time. If you have retired, or are thinking about it, take time to consider where you might find your calling. Your thing. What makes you smile, and feel good at the end of the day.

HoLLIE 2012 class heading out for a hike at Sharps

hocoblogs@@@

3 Comments

Posted in Adventures, Commentary, Community, Hobbies, Howard County, Retirement, Volunteering and tagged commentary, community, hobbies, hoco loco, Howard County, howard county conservancy, retirement, volunteering. Bookmark the permalink.

Event Overload

Posted on October 7, 2012 by AnnieRie

This weekend is second in a string of picture perfect fall weekends when it seems every community, farm, winery and/or entertainment organization is creating a pile up (an amateur radio term used when large numbers of operators simultaneously try to contact one rare station). I couldn’t even begin to list every event happening in Howard County and the surrounding area.

Today, my husband popped up to the Columbia Amateur Radio Association (CARA) annual HamFest to pick up a few supplies and visit his radio compatriots, even though it is raining. He had to dodge biking racers on the way, I suppose, as the Ulman Cancer Fund half full triathlon originating at Centennial winds through our rural roads between us and the fairgrounds.

The Farm City Celebration ends today, the 7th. Here is a list of what remains on their schedule.

Howard County Farmer’s Market – three more weeks of markets until season ends
Oakland Mills Village Center
9:00 am – 12:30 pm

Apple Fritters, Hayrides, & Pick-Your-Own Apples, Beets, Broccoli, and Spinach.
Straw Maze & Boo Barn (ages 4 to 9)
Larriland Farm
9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Teddy Bear Farm Visits (Free hayrides for children who bring Teddy bear)
Folk singer Tony McGuffin entertains from 12 noon – 4:00 PM
Clark’s Elioak Farm
Open from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

2 crop large maze of corn & cotton opens.
Farm animals, Pick Your Own Pumpkins, Fall Decorations.
Scarecrow Making Workshop from Noon-3 PM
Narrated Hayride at 1:00 pm
($1.50 per person 2 and under free)
Sharp’s at Waterford Farm
Open from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Any of these events are a good trip now that the weather is changing. The leaves definitely rained down yesterday as the front whipped through. We dodged traffic that was backed up on I-97 heading into the Renaissance Festival in Crownsville, and the Boat Show traffic going into Annapolis. We were trying to get to a family wedding at the Academy. Made it in time only because we left super early. The Renaissance Festival ends the 21st of October. The Sailboat Show ends tomorrow and the Powerboat Show starts this coming Thursday. A short trip down to Annapolis gets people to major entertainment options the next few weeks.

Add to that, the Ravens play at 1 PM. thankfully, it is an away game or could you imagine the traffic there since THE ORIOLES have a playoff game tonight at the Yard.

For us, we will be trying to find the games on satellite radio while getting to a winery dinner today. Many festivals at local wineries. We made arrangements weeks ago to hear Luca Paschina, Jim Law and Rutger de Vink talk of their vision for where Virginia wines could go. A picnic style dinner prepared by Chef Eric Ziebold of CITYZEN will be served and the menu includes a 1998 Barboursville Cabernet and 1997 Fiery Run Linden, as well as the RdV 2009 release. An event we have been anticipating for a while. RdV’s chef dinners are just awesome events. Worth the splurge occasionally to attend. Or, any winery events this month. The red grapes are being picked all over the area. Festivals every weekend.

merlot at RdV

If we recover enough tomorrow, we will pop up to see the dedication of the new Glenwood Fire Station. With this station, we now have Glenwood, Clarksville and West Friendship, all equidistant from our home. The fire station is being dedicated Monday morning at 10 am. Tours following the dedication.

Add to all this, the next three weekends are just as event laden. How can anyone say there isn’t enough to do around here?

hocoblogs@@@

1 Comment

Posted in Adventures, Community, Day Trips, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Weather, West HoCo, Wine and tagged amateur radio, community, day trips, farmer's markets, Food, foodie, hoco loco, Howard County, Linden Vineyards, local businesses, weather, West HoCo, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Thirty Months

Posted on October 2, 2012 by AnnieRie

Two and a half years. Today. That’s how long I have been retired now. April Fool’s Day 2010 was my last day of work.

People told me I would get bored. I would want to come back as a rehired annuitant, or become what we called in DC, a beltway bandit. A contractor. But, that hasn’t happened. I have no desire to return to the work force.

My retirement “jobs” are way more fun. Jobs like volunteering at the Conservancy, and completing the HoLLIE program. I spent most of my career in DC and VA, while living in Howard County. Finally, I feel like I live here, instead of just sleeping and eating, between commuting and traveling for 30 years. I experienced some lovely days at places like Sharp’s Farm, with a talk about farming, and a guided hike by Denise Sharp. My interests in local foods and farms shaped my volunteer efforts for this past two years.

Denise Sharp, leading a hoLLIE hike on the farm

What is HoLLIE? Howard Legacy Leadership Institute for the Environment. I found out in 2011, when I completed the six weeks of lectures, field trips, reading and discussion, with 12 other class members. I did my internship at the Conservancy, where I am now a volunteer naturalist, leading field trips for local schools. Getting trained for it, using opportunities like a guided history tour of the property.

learning the history of the farmhouse at the Conservancy

I also am a member of the program committee. It was part of my placement to become a part of the committee and assist in planning Wonder Walks and other events. The cool thing about HoLLIE was learning more and more about local, regional, national and global concerns. But, we could focus on what mattered to us. Like for me, working with the local farmers, to bring programs to the Conservancy about their farms and food.

breezy willow at the glenwood market

Want to help the public school system with activities like the Our Environment in Our Hands activities for fourth graders, held at the fairgrounds? Or, volunteer at Robinson Nature Center, as the Gift Shop Leader, or maybe the Discovery Room Leader? Or, help keep the Patapsco clean by volunteering with the Friends of the Patapsco Valley? Or, with Parks and Rec?

All sorts of things for those of us who have retired, and want to still be useful. To make a difference. There is an information night being held at Miller Library, on October 9th, from 7 until 8:30 pm. Many graduates of the program will be there to talk about their experience.

If you are like me, retired and wanting to give to Howard County, check out this program. You can’t say you are bored if you do. My calendar is as full as I like it, with hikes and festivals and more.

hocoblogs@@@

2 Comments

Posted in Adventures, Community, Farmer's Markets, Howard County, Retirement, Volunteering and tagged community, farmer's markets, Howard County, howard county conservancy, retirement, volunteering. Bookmark the permalink.

Eating Locally In Style: RdV Volt Dinner

Posted on August 27, 2012 by AnnieRie

OK, I had to drive over 100 miles round trip to eat food from Frederick. It was so worth it. My foodie and locavore worlds collided, as well as my VA wine addiction. For our anniversary this month, we treated ourselves to dinner at RdV, in Delaplane, prepared by Bryan Voltaggio of VOLT in Frederick. The food and the wines did not disappoint.

RdV

We first met Rutger de Vink when he was an apprentice at our favorite VA winery, Linden. In 2002, he was pouring wine at the barrel tasting of the wonderful 2001 vintage. We lost touch with what he was doing, only finding out that he found his place on a hillside in Delaplane where he planted grapes and started his own winery. Rutger’s mission was to use terroir to the extreme. Granite deep into the ground.

The granite in the cave walls

His first vintage, 2008, sold out quickly to the Ambassadors, his wine club members who took the tour and drank wonderful reds from three year old vines. His 2009 wines, a good year in VA, are stellar. Big, in your face, yet balanced reds. Two of them. Getting there is hard. Make a reservation for a tour. Taste the wines. Buy in. Be guaranteed to buy every year. These wines aren’t available in stores. Only a few restaurants sell them. They are, simply, awesome reds.

2009 Rendezvous, the red we drank last night

The winery holds chef dinners periodically. We were lucky, as two of the 40 people in attendance to have a celebration of local foods with Bryan Voltaggio, paired with wines whose grapes shared that same granite terroir. We had a Loire white, an Alsatian white, a Morgon Gamay and 2009 Rendezvous, with appetizers and dinner. The menu for dinner.

dinner menu, RdV and Volt

The appetizers were served in the upper level of the winery, below that lovely silo. Trout roe with pork skins and arugula cream, clams casino, an incredible sausage on a delicate cracker, all paired with a Muscadet Sevre et Maine sur lie. Then, we descended into the fermentation cellar to be seated and treated to an amazing dinner prepared by the chef. I only have good pictures of the lamb and the dessert. Here are the stars of the dinner.

Lamb, head to hoof

Berries and cream, vanilla shortbread and goat cheese ricotta

Bryan and Rutger enjoying the appreciation after the meal.

So how was the Rendezvous? Exquisite. A baby. Deep, rich, a perfect match for the lamb. This is a wine with the ability to last for years. RdV is certainly raising the bar when it comes to making big reds in Virginia. He learned quite a bit from Jim Law. It will be fun in October to see them go head to head at L’Auberge Provencale. Think of it. Hardscrabble versus Lost Mountain. Terroir squared. I am happy to see Virginia winemakers pushing to elevate their reds to that level of excellence found in Bordeaux. Last night was a magical evening. As we left late in the night, the silhouette of the winery framed the skyline.

3 Comments

Posted in Adventures, Food, Locavore, Restaurants, SSFC, Wine and tagged commentary, Food, foodie, Linden Vineyards, Locavore, real food, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Tonight We Fiddle, Saturday We Farm, Later We Look for Fairy Houses

Posted on July 12, 2012 by AnnieRie

My volunteering schedule is pretty full this week. We held a planning meeting Wednesday for upcoming events at the Conservancy, and this is the busy part of the summer.

Fiddlers and Fireflies, a picnic with music and crafts, is tonight starting at 6 PM. It costs $10/car, and the music is great. Bring a blanket, chairs and a picnic dinner. The event is held in the lower front yard, where the sisters had their garden.

This Saturday, the 14th, there will be one of the monthly Wonder Walks, that focuses on living and farming on the 230+ acre property. We will be leading groups down and around the buildings and talking about what it was like to live here from the early 1800s until the time that the sisters gave the property to the Conservancy.

Naturalists will be leading groups. The event starts at 10 am, and is no cost. I will be leading a group and we will be visiting the out buildings, the barns, the gardens, and take a walk down to the grasslands to see how the farmers used their land to the best advantage to grow crops and keep their farm animals.

A little farther out this month there will be another special event. Looking for Fairy Houses in the forest. It is on the 28th of July. Another free Wonder Walk that is geared towards the little ones, ages 4-10.

It looks like there’s lots to do around here, and I am certainly not bored in my retirement.

hocoblogs@@@

CQ Field Day, CQ Field Day

Posted on June 23, 2012 by AnnieRie

Sometimes I think this phrase is imprinted in my brain for weeks after we finish our annual foray into supporting a traditional and interesting tradition among amateur radio operators.

Field Day. A twenty four hour period where amateur radio clubs and individuals across the USA and Canada practice their communication skills using auxiliary power. It is meant to keep them capable to support natural disasters, loss of communications or power, or assist emergency officials in the event of a large scale incident that requires support of communications.

We have one of the largest and most innovative collaborations here in Howard County.The T shirt from 2010 shows 11 years of making the most contacts in our class. This year’s shirt is simple. Front and back alike with no scores. But, we are now at 13 years running of working the most stations and last year set a new record for number of contacts. This is pretty much a Type A personality group. Striving for better performance year after year.

The shirts include the phrase “48 hours” which means 24 hour set up and 24 hour operations. A few shots of set up are included here. I will have more when we finish tomorrow. I just fried four pounds of bacon and need to get up at 0 Dark Hundred to scramble 4 dozen eggs to take breakfast up there. They are set up a mile up from the road from us. Lucky me. I get to avoid the spot a pot.

This is Columbia’s club testing out our satellite communication capability to see if everything works.

This shot I like particularly because it shows how much fun the younger family members of current operators are having while learning to put up temporary towers. He was not the only young person we had out there Friday.

Yes, we are crazy. We put up eleven of these using old military surplus crank up towers. Here are a few. we had other wires and crank ups as well. We operate as 27A, which means 27 simultaneous transmitters using generators.

The clubs are operating until 2PM Sunday. Come out and check it out. Anyone can Get On The Air (GOTA) at our station designed to get inactive licensed operators on the air, and to introduce unlicensed operators to the hobby. We are at Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School on Triadelphia Rd. just off of Rte. 32.

hocoblogs@@@

3 Comments

Posted in Adventures, Community, Howard County and tagged amateur radio, community, cooking, field day, ham radio, hoco loco, Howard County. Bookmark the permalink.

OK, I Caved and Went to Wegmans

Posted on June 19, 2012 by AnnieRie

I admit it. I just had to go and see the place, even if it was super crowded. Just to compare it to Frederick and Hunt Valley while picking up a few things I needed before Amateur Radio Field Day. And some things for canning and pickling.

This is my first grocery run this month. I really only wanted coffee creamer, vitamin water, plain yogurt to make tzatziki with my cucumbers, hoagie rolls and fixings to make lunches for the better half as he sets up Friday and Saturday for field day, and white distilled vinegar for pickling. Oh, and fresh dill because I didn’t plant dill this year.

I got there before the noon rush. Not hard to get to the top deck and park near the clock.

Inside a little confusing as things are laid out a bit differently than at Frederick, but I got my hoagie rolls, some good whole grain bread, and headed back past the cheese aisle where I knew I could find The Wild Pea hummus. I resisted spending money on cheese, as I use my local sources for it.

Got a pic of some of the organic prices to use to compare to my CSA organic veggies. I may need to go back and adjust my savings as this price for baby bok choy was higher than I have been using for my cost analysis.

Bought no fruit or produce, as again, I use the local farmers for these items. Same with meat. Only got some deli sliced turkey to make the hoagies. Could not believe it, they were sold out of the large bottles of distilled white vinegar. They even went into the back to look. At $0.62 a quart for the gallon jug, I wasn’t going to buy four quart bottles for twice the unit price, so I guess it’s off to Costco to pick up vinegar. I will be out of it when pickling things Thursday.

I got a really bad picture through the glass of my cart coming up the escalator behind me. Too much glare to get it. I did walk right up to a checkout counter mid store that had one person paying as I placed my items on it. The next register was the same, and there were employees directing us to open registers along that long row.

Out to my car, and here is the time. Less than an hour, including running all over the bulk aisles looking for the vitamin waters. And, getting the fish department to select some large diver scallops to grill for dinner tonight. Stay tuned for the dinner posts sometime later.

My haul, a bit more than I went in to buy. But, much of it prep stuff for Friday at Field Day, and I did pick up the K Cup sampler I like. And, Chobani at $1 is a deal. I needed the plain Greek yogurt to make tzatziki and their prices are better than anywhere for Chobani.

I also grabbed a large bottle of their olive oil to use to make berry vinaigrettes.

And, yes, as I was leaving, it was getting crazy. Long lines of cars to get up to the parking garage.

Lots of people eating outside of the Market Cafe.

As others have said, avoid the food court and the prepared food section, and you can get in and shop fairly efficiently. I will probably be using them for all my grocery needs that can’t be filled by Roots and Boarman’s. Definitely for fish. The bakery may tempt me, but I still love Atwater’s breads. Wegmans may be a once or twice a month visit to get staples and some really good seafood. Oh, and sushi. None today because I am making the scallops tonight, but I do like to treat myself to their sushi.

hocofood@@@

6 Comments

Posted in Adventures, Commentary, Community, CSA, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food and tagged commentary, community, CSA, Food, foodie, hoco loco, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, real food, value of CSA, wegman's. Bookmark the permalink.

Picking Blueberries at Butler’s Orchard

Posted on June 12, 2012 by AnnieRie

Yes, today was a rainy Tuesday. One of those cool dreary days but at least the garden is being watered by Mother Nature and not me. A little less work this week. I did check on the cukes this morning to see how they are progressing and found them happy for the rain. I will probably pick this one tonight and make cucumber salad to have with the greens from the garden and the CSA.

We were in the mood for blueberries. The local farms have them ripe already and many pick your own farms are open during the week. A better time to venture out then on the weekend. We had never been to Butler’s but had heard that they have a very large, well stocked market as well as the pick your own fields. Besides, they had pickling and canning supplies and more variety ready to pick.

Armed with that knowledge we took off when it wasn’t raining for the trip on the back roads to the farm in Germantown. These are really back roads, with barely enough room for cars to pass. We wandered in the market and picked up some English peas to bring home and shell. We talked to the owner about the availability of some of the veggies. You really have to call every day to see if something is picked out, or available.

Blueberries were very abundant. The rain subsided so we decided to go for it. You ride out to the fields in a tractor driven tram, so when it started raining while we were picking, we could run back to it and ride back protected from the shower.

We did get over 2 pounds of berries today, at $2.49 a pound these are a fraction of the cost of buying them at markets or the stores. This haul cost us $5.25.

The farm has lots for families to do. Slides, swings, play sets, picnic tables, a petting zoo and lots of room to spread out.

Black raspberries were also ripe, and the blackberries are not that far off. We rode past the blackberries on the way out to the blueberry plants.

The blueberries will be around for a few more weeks at least. The plants are full of berries right now.

Check here and at Larriland to see what they have. Often they have the same fruit but veggies may vary. We went to Butler’s specifically to find English peas and they had some just picked. They also had those fields open to pick English peas and sugar snap peas, while Larriland has beets available.

If you are into canning or freezing, these two farms can supplement what you grow, and they are a huge bargain compared to shopping farmer’s markets. We may be back at Butler’s Thursday to get black raspberries. They are very short seasoned.

Butler’s is off Woodfield Rd. on your way to Gaithersburg. It is less than 20 miles from west Howard County, and a pretty drive when the weather cooperates. The location is lovely, even in the rain.