Category Archives: Volunteering

Successful Programming

Posted on October 9, 2013 by AnnieRie

At the Howard County Conservancy, where I have been volunteering for the past three years after retiring. Things keep getting busier.

So successful that preregistering for events may become even more important in the future.

Like for this weekend’s CREEPY CREATURES!!!. Ashley Jarvis and Billy “Box Turtle” Heinbuch will be presenting this Saturday’s free “Wonder Walk”. Only it will be a morning in the Nature Center with all sorts of critters.

Who knows what they will bring? Last fall’s event was a huge success. This year you won’t want to miss them.

Those who do sign up in advance guarantee a spot. Those who come Saturday morning without being on the list, do risk not getting in, if the maximum capacity of the room is reached.

The Conservancy events keep getting more popular. The Fall Fest last weekend set a record. Over 800 people came for some part of the day. The twilight hike in late September attracted a mind boggling 140+ people.

It’s nice to see the expanding participation.

I have been working on the program committee putting together next year’s calendar. This is such a fun “job” in retirement.

If you want to have an interesting, easy learning, hands on, experience, come on out this Saturday. 10 am. Just up the road in Woodstock.

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Posted in Community, Family, Howard County, Nature, Volunteering and tagged community, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, volunteering. Bookmark the permalink.

A Mess of Mustard Greens

Posted on October 2, 2013 by AnnieRie

I wanted something fairly easy for dinner tonight. Like store bought chicken. Picked up after my morning stint with an elementary field trip out at the Conservancy.

I was on “Owl Observation” duty.

Describing habitats and running back and forth from meadow to forest. It was a fun exhausting 4 hours, from arrival and set up to clean up. Still a great deal of fun. But I didn’t want to do much cooking when I came home at 2 pm and collapsed with a huge glass of iced water. It is still warm out there, even if it is October.

CSA veggies to the rescue. I had leftover spaghetti squash, chicken from Harris Teeter, and it was simple to cook up a mess of mustard greens. Like ten minutes simple.

The layering of the flavors first. Start with any sort of fat. Butter, chicken fat, olive oil, whatever makes you happy, and that is hanging around. Add onions and/or scallions. I had both in the fridge. Add some “porky” flavor. For me, that last 3-4 ounces of Italian sausage from Breezy Willow. The other day, I roasted all the sweet and hot peppers from the CSA. They are in the fridge too. Three of them went in the pan. Three cloves of my roasted garlic (always in the fridge too). Let it all get soft and simmering. Add some grated ginger, some cayenne flakes, some salt. Maybe if you have it, some sesame oil. A bit more liquid, like a few tablespoons of olive oil, then pour in a mess of greens.

I forgot to do the after picture, once all the greens cooked down, but it surely tasted great. I never used to eat mustard greens when I was younger. Now, I am loving them.

Easy dinner, earlier than normal, but I will be propping up my sore feet and having a glass of wine while watching TV.

Here’s to many more easy meals, after sunny days running around outdoors.

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Posted in CSA, Food, Howard County, Nature, Volunteering, Weather and tagged Food, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, volunteering, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Celebrating Fall

Posted on October 1, 2013 by AnnieRie

This weekend, the first one in October, is the beginning of the explosion of fall festivals all over the area. It seems as soon as the temperatures drop a bit, and the leaves start turning, that everywhere in the county puts on a festival.

I am partial to the Howard County Conservancy festival as it celebrates the heritage of our area, and includes many demonstrations and activities that celebrate the heritage of Howard County. That of the farms.

This year a few new activities and lots of old favorites. The flier sums it up quite well.

Olde time crafts: blacksmith demonstration, chair caning, basket weaving, quilting, pottery demonstrations
Square Dancing • Beekeepers • Howard County Plein Air Painters • alpacas, goats, owl • hay rides, pony rides ($3) •
local farm stand • crafts for children • plant sale/master gardeners • live music: strolling blue grass and dulcimer player •
Tours of Mt. Pleasant farm house • art show • food

Three years ago, when I first started volunteering after retiring, I was a floater, filling in for people who needed breaks. I couldn’t believe how much I learned, in a fun environment, about these diverse skills.

I also really enjoyed my year that I oversaw the hay rides and watched countless happy families go off down the trails, following the tractor pulling them.

Tomorrow, when I am out there overseeing a field trip, I will be looking to see those first hints of autumn, and looking forward to the special events this month, beginning with the festival. The festival runs from 11-3 on Saturday October 5th. Cost is $10 per car. Get your friends, relatives and/or neighbors together to carpool and make it a really affordable event.

See you there?

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Posted in Farms, Howard County, Nature, Volunteering and tagged community, farms, Food, gardening, hoco loco, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, volunteering. Bookmark the permalink.

Football Weather

Posted on September 15, 2013 by AnnieRie

Clear, sunny, perfect day for the Ravens to open in Baltimore. Good to see that they won.

We did lots of things outdoors today before and after the game. Some wire maintenance for my husband.

Me, checking out the lone squash in the garden, and bringing in almost all the remaining tomatoes. This year, they seem to be slowing down a bit early.

I only have about eight green tomatoes left on the vine.

The freezer is almost full. Today, between games, I cut up the habaneros and the jalapenos for the jelly. Found all the material to do the canning. Tomorrow will be canning day. I have to decide how hot I want this jelly to be. I got about 10 habaneros from the CSA. The recipe calls for 6-15 depending on what level of heat you want.

I also roasted the remaining paste tomatoes and put them away in the freezer. Took all the pesto out of the ice cube trays and divided the cubes up into small containers to keep.

Roasted three more heads of garlic, resulting in a full jar of soft tasty garlic to use in recipes.

Tomorrow there may be showers. That will be good as we are crossing our fingers that there will be no restrictions for the Equinox Twilight Hikes at the Conservancy, next Sunday night, the 22nd.

They should be fun, if the weather stays this lovely. Family hiking ending at the campfire for stories and s’mores. Followed at twilight by the adult hike.

It’s a “bring your own” hike. Musical instruments to play. A few snacks to supplement the s’mores for the adult crowd.

Check out the details on the Conservancy web page. If you want to enjoy the changing of the seasons.

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Posted in Food, Gardening, Howard County, Nature, Volunteering, Weather, West HoCo and tagged community, Food, foodie, gardening, heirloom tomatoes, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, tomatoes, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

A Picture Perfect Fall Day

Posted on September 14, 2013 by AnnieRie

That’s what about 70-80 people decided who came out to the Conservancy to join our family hikes.

We had four hike leaders and each one of us had 15-35 people. The largest group was with our preschool leader. She had at least 35 people on the short tour around the farmhouse and down to the play areas.

I took about 15-20 people on a couple of loops to show them all the cool things we teach the children on the field trips. Almost 90 minutes out there.

Then, we found dozens of families down in the nature center checking out Maize, our corn snake, or reading books, or looking at all the exhibits. Into the midst of the chaos, a family showed up to tour the facilities for a possible wedding in 2014. I got to take them for a tour and show them the grounds, as Alison was out and about with all the visitors and handling the snake. We didn’t think the mother of the bride was into snakes.

I finally left there at 1:00. Too late to hit Breezy Willow or Larriland so I ran over to Harris Teeter to get pectin, pineapple juice, sugar and a few boxes of cereal for my better half. I missed my chance to pick up my favorite yogurt at Breezy Willow so it will have to wait until next week.

Turf Valley is coming along quickly. The outdoor seating at Facci is there. Looks like they are very close to opening, and you could smell wood smoke (maybe the pizza ovens?) and someone in a chef’s cap was out in back, taking a break, talking on his phone. They look to be the first to open.

Petite Cellars and Grille 620 are hiring, if anyone is looking for a job.

Mimi’s was being worked too. The cleaners have opened.

We may finally have another fully occupied shopping center in northwest HocCo, with new restaurants. Woo Hoo!

Tomorrow is pineapple habanero jelly making day. Stand by for the report on how well it goes. If I don’t seriously hurt myself handling the habaneros I will have 6 jars of jelly to use for appetizers, glazing, and I think, to make some killer chicken wings.

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Posted in Community, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Nature, Volunteering, Weather, West HoCo and tagged community, Food, hoco loco, Howard County, howard county conservancy, local businesses, Locavore, nature, volunteering, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Take A Hike

Posted on September 11, 2013 by AnnieRie

Not just any hike. A hike that has one of the volunteer naturalists at the Howard County Conservancy leading it. A family hike.

Or maybe, a hike with friends. Or your little ones, like the grandchildren.

This Saturday at 10 am, we are putting on one of our semi annual family hikes. It is leader’s choice. We take age appropriate groups out on the various trails.

If you have little ones, the hike leader for that age group, a retired preschool teacher, enthralls them with stories, games, visits to the chickens and goats, on a hike that won’t tire out short legs.

Other hike leaders may wander off down to the streams, and look for wildflowers, birds, black walnuts, maybe take you to see our chestnut trees. Maybe identify trees or flowers, who knows.

Black Walnuts

This is one of our popular free second Saturday programs at the conservancy grounds, a farm just up the road from the Snowball Stand (a great place to recover from all this walking).

You don’t need to preregister for the free events on the web page, if you don’t want to, but it does let us know roughly how many volunteers we need.

This farm is my favorite place to volunteer. It gives me so much pleasure to hike the trails, look for birds and other little critters. Feed the goats. Visit the barred owl.

There are over four miles of trails on the property. They are open from dawn to dusk every day. These guided hikes give you insight into what is hidden in the fields, or the woods. Or the theme gardens.

The weather forecast is looking wonderful. A high of 70 degrees. Clear, sunny. The introduction to those lovely fall days.

Come join us.

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Posted in Birds, Howard County, Nature, Volunteering, West HoCo and tagged birds, community, hoco loco, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, volunteering, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Back to School …

Posted on September 4, 2013 by AnnieRie

… for volunteer training.

Next Tuesday is the beginning of the naturalist training, for those of us interested in leading field trip hikes at the Howard County Conservancy.

I call it back to school, as I learn something new every time I attend the training sessions.

Fall programs for elementary and middle school children, as well as the opportunity to volunteer to chaperon service learning for middle and high school students, will be on our plate for the dozens of volunteers who attend part of or all the training sessions.

On Tuesdays, the middle school programs are discussed. The 10th, the topic will be Erosion in the STEM cycle. On the 17th, they are going to be offering more information about current and “pilot” programs for the middle schools.

On Thursdays, starting the 12th, we will be covering elementary school programs. 1st and 2nd grade on the 10th. third grade on the 17th, and 4th grade on the 26th. The 26th concludes with our traditional pot luck luncheon attended by almost all of the volunteers. Even those who don’t make it to the refresher training will come to visit and get ready for the October kick off of field trips and hikes.

I volunteer for at least five or six hikes. The requested commitment is for three hikes. You can even shadow the experienced volunteers before trying to lead a small group of students yourself.

The really fun part of this volunteer effort is the freedom we have to present material in a way that is comfortable for us. The goal is primarily to get the children engaged in the outdoors, using the earth science curriculum as the base,but allowing us to showcase nature. I tend to add a little math to the mix, to get the students more comfortable with measurements, or amounts, maybe some area or volume examples.

For example, how big is an acre? We tell the students about the size of the property but concepts new to the youngest students are best described using examples they can relate to. Like how many football fields they would have to mow to take care of 240 acres, the size of the farm.

Or how hard it was to build the barn, with no power tools. How big are those beams? How heavy do they think they are?

The first graders learn about rocks. Why are rocks good for a foundation? How hard is it to build a wall of rocks? How bad are rocks in your field? What kind of rocks are around here?

In the fall, we use the grasslands. In the spring, the woodlands. I like being in the grasslands, watching the leaves change. Looking for walnuts, beechnuts, acorns. Explaining how the animals prepare for winter. Opening milkweed cones to show them the seeds. Talking about the butterflies. So much to see and do and the children really get into it.

Honestly. Can you think of a better place to spend a crisp fall morning?

Can’t wait for our morning sessions and our refresher hikes to begin.

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Posted in Farms, Howard County, Nature, Volunteering, Weather and tagged farms, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, volunteering, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

The Bug Man Cometh …

Posted on August 18, 2013 by AnnieRie

… and he brought his wife. And, they talked about butterflies, pollinators and so much more. At the Howard County Conservancy last Saturday, we were treated to a “twofer”. Dr. Mike Raupp, and his wife Dr. Paula Shrewsbury, spent a few hours talking to the crowd gathered around them in the picnic area.

Looking at bugs. Talking about bees. Going on a hike through the gardens, looking for pollinators, and identifying butterflies, moths, insects and bees.

Fun for all ages. Mike has this ability to connect with all ages, from the youngest enthusiasts, to the master gardeners, and master naturalists there to learn even more than they might have known about insects.

I always learn something new from his talks. And, from his wife’s, too. This time I learned about solitary bees. And, how to attract them to make a home in our yards and pollinate our vegetables and fruit. Like making bee hotels.

The last part of the program was a hike out into the meadows to see what they could find there, amongst the grasses and the milkweed.

Getting back into the swing of things, most of us volunteers are preparing to take the refresher training, for the fall field trips at the Conservancy. I see there will be new activities for the school children and we will be learning how to present them.

One of my favorite parts of my volunteer “job”. Learning new things, and then seeing them through the eyes of the children. The training schedule is here, for those who want to join our group of volunteer hike leaders. And then, just like me …

… you will then know the name of this plant, and the butterfly. Answer: Joe Pye Weed. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

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Posted in Gardening, Hobbies, Howard County, Nature, People, Volunteering and tagged gardening, hobbies, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, photography, retirement, volunteering. Bookmark the permalink.

Stretch Goals

Posted on August 6, 2013 by AnnieRie

Making the most of our lives. Finding something new and exciting that continues to inspire us.

There has been quite a bit of discussion within the Howard County blogger community that reflects this. Posts about Comfort Zones by Julia. About volunteering by Tom. About connecting with neighbors by Bill. About community by Lisa.

It was Bill who proposed the #summerofneighbors and I wrote a post about being neighborly. It sparked some of this discussion.

For me, I found that pushing the comfort zone after I retired meant learning to use and understand the connective tissue known as social media. It also meant pushing my hobby to a higher level, by entering the county fair. Not being afraid to fail with my tomato entries. Learning and growing and every year doing better. Meeting and talking with the people who make this county fair so special.

It meant taking responsibility for some large events at my volunteer location. Like bringing together farmers for a panel and an opportunity to connect.

It also meant changing how we cooked, ate, shopped and traveled. Locavore, locapour, foodie. All those interests merging into a driving force that influences us.

In other words, “Do Not Go Gently into That Good Night” (Dylan Thomas)

For both me and my husband, retirement was the entry point for doing those things we never had time to do. Things like his pursuit of DXCC (an amateur radio program that credits you for contacting each separate entity around the world).

And, his desire to have the time to do home projects, and bird watch, and take trips, and just walk in the woods. The slow pace outside that commuter world. The time to read. Books, newspapers, magazines.

For me, it has been the hobbies and the volunteering. The cooking and the writing. The garden.

We will probably spend four days at the fair this year. Saturday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Talking to friends there. Watching the auction. Checking out the exhibits.

Tomorrow we will be learning more about county history at the fair. Later this month I will be volunteering to clean up the CAC garden. Next month leading family hikes at the Conservancy. In October taking the social media class offered by David Hobby.

After all, isn’t what makes life interesting is the constant challenge, the “stretch goals” that keep us active and involved? I have to admit. Howard County certainly has enough going on to keep us busy.

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Buy Local Success … Big and Small

Posted on July 28, 2013 by AnnieRie

The Buy Local Challenge ends tonight. Pledging to eat at least one locally produced item every day for nine days. Still time to enter the challenge contest using pictures that will be uploaded to the facebook page.

Guests at our picnic get together at the Howard County Conservancy took pictures to upload. Attendance was a little sparse because the weather didn’t cooperate until an hour into the picnic time, but those who came out got some undivided attention from our volunteers and our animals.

After all, how many of you get to feed the goats and take them for a walk with a volunteer. One of our guests did. He also brought one of his Boy Scout projects. Pine needle tea. They served it alongside some awesome looking BLTs using bacon from a farm in Cecil County. Home grown tomatoes, too. They had peaches for dessert.

We saw local cheeses. Local tomatoes. Easy fun simple. And, then believe it or not, the sun came out.

We made caprese, and brought some Stone House focaccia.

Thanks to Casey Caulder Todd from Breezy Willow who came out to meet people and enjoy the picnic goodies with a small bunch of friends, volunteers, family who showed their support of our local farmers.

As for us, we made it easily through another local challenge. Our farmer’s markets and farm stands make buying and eating locally a real cinch. All nine days of it.

Now, if I could have had a working sandisk card in my camera, there would have been pictures. Note to self, never pick up a card and stick it in the camera without checking to see if it registers.

And thanks to Love Dove I had a farm bag to put some local goodies in as a prize for the best picnic spread.

Hope the winners enjoy the local treats from Breezy Willow, TLV, Lewis, Stone House, Great Harvest and from our gardens.

Farm to Table restaurant weeks are still going strong here in the county. We should be at a couple of them this week.

And, just six days until the county fair begins. Crossing my fingers that more Box Car Willie tomatoes ripen before it rains again. I do have a good collection of herbs for that category. I hope to enter herbs, cherry tomatoes, heirlooms and romas this year. Sadly, all my cukes are done for the year. I may dig up some of my white sweet potatoes. They look pretty healthy and are spreading in the garden.

See you at the fair?

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