Category Archives: West HoCo

Monday Morning Quarterbacking

Posted on January 27, 2015 by AnnieRie

On a Tuesday afternoon. About that snow?

We did get the 3+ inches predicted for our area. Even though I know the southeastern portion of the county didn’t get much at all. Maybe we need to divide the county in half in order to have two school districts. Then, those unhappy about the schools being closed because of us could not miss another day. I have to wonder though. What do they do at the end of a school year if one half the county doesn’t meet the minimum number of days? Interesting.

We got enough snow for our neighbor’s little ones to build a snowman. We even used the snowblower on the driveway today. So, the storm wasn’t a bust out here. That extra couple of hundred feet in elevation from here compared to the southeastern county makes a difference in temperature and snowfall.

In other news. They postponed the volunteer fair at the Howard County Conservancy until February 3rd. Same time. Same players. If you have the time, and want to hear more about volunteering, come join us. They need office support, event support, field trip leaders, animal feeders and more.

Finally, one more picture from this morning. I have learned how to keep the birds happy without having to go too far into the yard. I also learned to use mess free bird feed on the patio. No hulls or shells.

The red bellied woodpecker even came up closer than normal.

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Posted in Birds, Commentary, Community, Howard County, Nature, People, Volunteering, Weather, West HoCo and tagged birds, commentary, community, hoco loco, Howard County, howard county conservancy, photography, volunteering, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Meesy Micey

Posted on January 23, 2015 by AnnieRie

A fact of life out here in the rural communities. Field mice. This year I thought we had thwarted them. We did make it much farther into the winter before they struck.

A brand new bag of tortilla chips. Of course, we had become complacent. Forgetting to put everything in jars of canisters in the pantry. We thought that our two resident hawks, and the neighbor’s outdoor kitty, who pops through daily to check out the bird feeders and anything else that looks interesting would take care of it.

The cooper’s hawk hunts daily in the meadow. For long stretches. On the tree. On the ground. On the tree. On the ground. I can empty the dishwasher and watch him hunt. He isn’t interested in our birds.

But, one little field mouse (hopefully just one) managed to infiltrate this past weekend. We found the evidence Tuesday. Besides the tortillas, they got into a brand new bag of rice flour I bought for a cookie recipe I found.

This was on the second to top shelf in the pantry.

At least the brown sugar is still intact.

We haven’t trapped him yet. He eats the peanut butter right off the trap. Three times now.

Ten years ago on my first evening coming into the house. Right after settlement. I saw my first field mouse who had squeezed up through the opening where the water line feeds the refrigerator. The laundry room and the dishwasher connections, and sometimes the downdraft vent opening under the stove. All have to be protected. We have stuffed steel wool. We have plugged holes in the crawl space. They still manage to squeeze in. At least this year we made it two months farther into winter than in the past.

I will win this battle. It may take a few more days.

Just another fun week in the country. Oh yeah, it’s going to snow and sleet again twice this weekend. I am so ready for spring to get here. How many more weeks to go?

Plus, somebody has to start doing a better job around here. They show up nicely against a snow covered landscape.

Yes, you. Mister sharp shinned hawk. Keep those mice out of my house.

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Posted in Birds, Commentary, Community, Howard County, Nature, Weather, West HoCo and tagged birds, commentary, community, Howard County, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

A Lifetime of Service

Posted on January 19, 2015 by AnnieRie

We lost someone special this month. One of “our” paramedics. Erik Steciak.

Photo from Firehouse.com

We live near West Friendship. They are our fire station. We support them and value tremendously their dedication to keeping us safe. Every time we hear the ambulances on Rte. 32 we know they are dealing with yet another crash on that dangerous stretch of road.

Erik gave his life to this vocation. He loved it and spent countless hours between his paid and his volunteer service. I found a remarkable blog post while researching mine. Here.

This quote stays with me. Thanks to Dan Ciarrocchi for writing this article.
_______________________________
It’s a position that he hasn’t second-guessed often, but occasionally, that moment arises. If so, he defers back to one of his earliest memories, where the firehouse he worked at had an open house. Firefighters spoke to interested crowds, displayed their equipment and allowed children to explore the trucks and ambulances.

“There was a girl, she was about 4, maybe 5 years old, cutest thing you’d ever see.” Steciak said. “Her mom knelt down beside her, put her arm around her and pointed straight at me and said ‘Look. There’s a hero.’ And the look that kid gave me…I just keep telling myself I can’t ever let her down.”
________________________________

Erik was a hero. He went out and helped people no matter how bad it was out there.

For me, I want to honor this young man and all like him. They are our future. They are our unsung heroes.

Rest in Peace, Erik. Know that many of us who may look like strangers aren’t. We are all a family if we care about others.

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Posted in Commentary, Community, Howard County, People, West HoCo and tagged commentary, community, Howard County, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Forty Years!

Posted on January 2, 2015 by AnnieRie

In Howard County. Today is my fortieth anniversary of moving here.

Thirty in Columbia. Well, sort of. 23 of those were in an out parcel. Almost ten in west county.

I have to admit. I love west county far more than Columbia. The wide open spaces. The really polite (not just civil) people. The neighborliness.

Like when neighbors stopped to see if everything was OK after the hurricane. And, the derecho. And those tropical storms.

I have seen lots of changes in Columbia and Howard County. Like the transformation of the Rouse Building.

Into Whole Foods.

I lived in Wilde Lake. 1975-1977. Long Reach. 1977-1979. Owen Brown. 1979-1982. Harper’s Choice (sort of, we had green street signs). 1982-2005. Here in west county. 2005-present.

All in all, it’s a great place to live.

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Posted in Commentary, Community, Howard County, West HoCo and tagged commentary, community, hoco loco, Howard County, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Over the River

Posted on December 19, 2014 by AnnieRie

Yesterday I headed out to combine CSA and Friends and Farms basket pickups with a few Christmas preparation errands. A cold blustery day, but sunny for the most part. After the third time I crossed the Patuxent River, I realized how dominant the branches of the river are in our landscape, and in our travels.

With the leaves down you can see more of the trails along the river. From Rte 32, Broken Land Parkway, Guilford Road, Murray Hill Road. Over and over, I crossed the Patuxent and thought to myself, we really need to get out on those trails along the river and reconnect with this part of our community.

Howard County is bordered on most of its south and west sides by the Patuxent River, and on the north and east sides by the Patapsco River. Both rivers have thousands of acres of parkland and pathways.

I decided for my New Year’s resolution this year to get back out there and hike the parks on the rivers. And, to learn more about those rivers.

If you are still looking for stocking stuffers, or last minute gifts, check out a couple of books that Ned Tillman has written. I already have the first one, The Chesapeake Watershed, and need to get one of his new book, Saving the Places We Love. Ned is a local resident and one of our Howard County bloggers.

You can find his books at Barnes and Noble, and Shoemaker Country in Ellicott City, at the Robinson Nature Center, and at the Howard County Conservancy.

I first met Ned when he was a hike leader for a HoLLIE class. He still leads many hikes in the area. He also teaches one day at the Legacy Leadership Environmental Institute, which is the newer version of the HoLLIE curriculum. Check this out if you are inclined to learn more about our community.

Me? I just think I’ll spend more time out on our rivers. It’s a big part of why I love living here. The Triadelphia Reservoir and the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area are close to home, and good places to start. Maybe I’ll see that eagle that was in our yard the other day, and was down the road again yesterday.

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Posted in Adventures, Commentary, Community, Howard County, Nature, Volunteering, West HoCo and tagged commentary, community, day trips, hoco loco, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, volunteering, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Tis The Season

Posted on December 10, 2014 by AnnieRie

Christmas season is well underway around here. The tree is finally trimmed.

The Christmas cards are done.

I picked up the poinsettias from Greenway. I need to stop there again when they get in some garland so I can decorate the front doors.

Lovely, aren’t they?

More into the season? How about a horse parade? In Lisbon on Saturday. I finally get to go this year. I have to remember to bring a bag of canned goods for the food bank. Get there early to find a parking space.

Or, how about the Geminids? What are the Geminids? One fantastic meteor shower, peaking every December. At the Howard County Conservancy beginning at 10 pm on the 13th. With Joel Goodman and Alex Storrs, our favorite leaders for our meteor watching events. The weather may actually cooperate this year, as it should be mostly clear, but a bit cold. Never fear. There will be hot cider served. Bring a comfy chair (lounge chairs work well) and blankets or a sleeping bag to put around you. See you there?

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Posted in Community, Farms, Howard County, Local Businesses, Weather, West HoCo and tagged community, holidays, Howard County, howard county conservancy, local businesses, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

A Peek at the Week

Posted on December 8, 2014 by AnnieRie

In food. From my two local, seasonal, regional food sources here in Howard County. It may be December but with the advent of high tunnels and the use of greenhouses, you can still get very tasty fresh foods without them being flown from all over the globe.

A basket of vegetables and fruit from Amish country, for example. Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative, delivered to our pick up site.

This is what $30 a week got me for a half share and a fruit share. Last Thursday’s delivery. A salad spinner’s worth of young arugula. Three small heads of specialty lettuces. One large leek. Three parsnips. A small stalk of Brussels sprouts. Two yellow onions and a bag of white potatoes. The fruit share was a mix of apples and two humongous Asian pears.

As for Friends and Farms individual share. Also picked up on Thursday.

One large pork chop. One small whole chicken. One half pound of hickory smoked bacon. A dozen eggs. Thyme. Hydroponic tomatoes. Four Bosc pears. One red onion. Four potatoes. Fresh curly kale. One small hydroponic leaf lettuce. The pumpkin ravioli was an add on. From the always stocked refrigerator on site.

All the meat from Friends and Farms has been used. Half the eggs too. This was the last week for free range pastured eggs from Miller Farms. We will get Nature’s Yolk eggs in the winter.

Lots of soups on the menu these days. All the fixings that go easily into the crockpot.

That chicken? Became dinner Friday night with the leftover breast meat being part of a cream based soup today. Soup was a perfect dinner after getting that perfect tree from Greenway.

Now, I have to go decorate a tree.

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Posted in CSA, Farms, Food, Friends and Farms, Howard County, LFFC, Local Businesses, Locavore, West HoCo, Winter Eat Local and tagged community, cooking, crock pot cooking, crockpot soups, CSA, farms, Food, holidays, local businesses, Locavore, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

The Eagle Has Landed

Posted on November 29, 2014 by AnnieRie

Literally.

In the back yard. Less than 100 yards from the kitchen window where I took this really awful picture, but I rushed it hoping he wouldn’t fly away. Which he did, about 10 seconds after the picture. The crows went nuts and he flew down the side of the property and hung around for a few minutes high in my neighbor’s tree. Then, tired of the crows circling and yammering at him, he headed off back towards Triadelphia Reservoir.

What brought him here? The dead deer out there. Probably a car-deer casualty. Which is now mostly hide, hoofs, head and chest cavity. The third one we know of, in our almost ten years here. Usually, we only know about them because of the turkey vultures.

But this morning at 7 am, my husband yelled up the stairs. EAGLE!!! In the back yard.

I’ll have to get up early tomorrow and see if he’s returned.

Just another Saturday in the rural western part of our little Central Maryland county.

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Posted in Birds, Howard County, Nature, West HoCo and tagged birds, community, eagles, Howard County, nature, photography, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Small Business Christmas Trees

Posted on November 23, 2014 by AnnieRie

All this week and next, I will be focusing on small business shopping for Christmas. After all, the locavore in me spills over into other aspects of my shopping habits.

Let’s start with Christmas trees. To support your local farmers, you can get a tree at many sites in or close to Howard County. Some are “U-Cut”. Others like Gorman Farms work with farmers to bring in fresh trees for sale.

The U-Cut sites include Greenway in Woodbine and Cooksville, Pine Valley in Carroll County just north of I-70 off Rte. 97, TLV Tree Farm in Glenelg, Gaver Farm west of Mt. Airy, Feezers in Marriottsville, and Browning Farms on Penn Shop Rd near Mt. Airy (no web site).

For those in other parts of Maryland, here is the Maryland Christmas Tree Association’s list of U-Cut farms.

We have cut trees at Greenway, TLV and Pine Valley. Where you go depends on what kind of tree you want. What size. We now tend to look for smaller trees so will pick a site that has graduated prices depending on tree size.

All of these sites will be open next weekend, and what better way to commemorate small business Saturday than to buy a local tree. Most of the sites also have pre-cut trees, wreaths, roping, and my personal favorite for my house, poinsettias are sold in the greenhouses at Greenway.

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Posted in Community, Farms, Howard County, Local Businesses, West HoCo and tagged community, farms, holidays, Howard County, local businesses, traditions, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Ethanol Free

Posted on November 17, 2014 by AnnieRie

We finally gave up and had to find an ethanol free gas station. I swear that ethanol is doing us more harm than high fructose corn syrup. Neither one of them is good for us.

The closest place for us to buy it is in Littlestown PA. Full serve. In the rain today we drove up to fill up the gas cans for the snow blower, the lawn mower and the leaf vacuum. So far, in the past year, the string trimmer, snow blower and lawn mower all had carburetor work, because of the E10 gas gumming them up.

Other than the Eastern shore of MD, where the marinas are located, there are few choices near us. Charles Town WV. Front Royal VA. The one above in Littlestown. All on our short list are sources when we go on other trips in those areas.

We were really careful with our small engine equipment, draining when not in use. Using the additives. This has been the year we had major issues, including losing the lawn mower for 10 days while it was fixed. Thankfully, the tractor is diesel powered.

So, on a rainy Monday we drove 40 miles to get gas. Decided to stop on the way back at Baughers in Westminster to get a few items. Like my husbands favorite ice cream. Pumpkin.

The last quart in the case. Perfect for his birthday dinner this week.

As for Littlestown, it is just up Rte. 97 a few miles north of the Mason Dixon Line. On the way to Gettysburg.

Downtown is already decorated for Christmas. It reminds us so much of my husband’s home town in PA.

As for finding ethanol free gas, here is a great website.

And if you aren’t using ethanol free gas in your 2 cycle engines, it’s only a matter of time before it bites you too. Now, back to our regularly scheduled leaf removal.