Tag Archives: community

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.

Holiday Weekends

Posted on August 31, 2013 by AnnieRie

Sometimes I forget how hectic they can be. As an old retired person, I don’t always think about when the holidays occur. I am still on August time. Forgetting Monday is Labor Day.

We hit the highs and lows of holiday traffic today. Lows at Harris Teeter. Not much happening there. I do hope they get more traffic once the restaurants open and more housing comes in. We had most of the store to ourselves this morning. I was getting the Asian elements to make my bitter melon soup. Bean thread noodles. Mushrooms. Fish sauce.

We then headed out to Mt. Airy for three stops. The Tractor Supply Store. England Acres. Wagner’s Meats. Let’s just say the farm and the butcher were both out of control with people. We have never encountered lines at either location.

I got the 1/2 pound of fresh pork I needed for the soup from Wagner’s. While there, was tempted and bought some really nice looking boneless spare ribs.

I got some red peppers to make a new batch of ajvar with the CSA eggplant. Got milk, eggs and my husband’s favorite snacks, “WAY BETTER” tortilla chips made from sweet potatoes, or black beans, or blue corn, all at England Acres. There was no room to park and a back up in the driveway.

Came home to the usual. The sound of mowers and tractors. It may be a holiday but the people around here still keep working on the land. My neighbor was out whacking down his meadow with a serious piece of equipment. He wants to replant it with grasses suitable for mowing into bales of horse feed, aka hay.

He asked if we wanted our far out there untouched area cut down a bit. And made short work of it.

I made some old favorites tonight. Kofta. Watermelon, feta and mint salad. Cole slaw.

Yep, it’s a holiday. We just have to pay attention to the calendar.

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Posted in Farms, Food, West HoCo and tagged community, cooking, farms, Food, foodie, holidays, Howard County, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Lake Woebegone

Posted on August 27, 2013 by AnnieRie

If you remember the news from Lake Woebegone, where all the women are strong, the men are good looking and the children are above average, you have to chuckle at the latest list of the “wealthiest zip codes in the Baltimore area”.

Patch Report from the Baltimore Business Journal shows nine of the ten in Howard County. But, what does it really mean? All this data. Statistics. Lies, damn lies and statistics, as they say.

We live at the boundary of number one and three in their list. I still have to stop and remember that median and mean are two very different measures.

So, number one is Dayton, 21036 with a median household income of $166,007, an average net worth of $1.85 million, and median home value of $732,222.

Number three, which is Glenelg, 21737 has a median income of $159,570, average net worth of $1.86 million, and median home value of $720,833.

Number two on their list is West Friendship, number four is Cooksville and number five is Fulton (including Maple Lawn). All of them surround us. Lower down the list were Glenwood, Highland, Clarksville and Ellicott City.

OK, I look at these lists and think of the Lake Woebegone quote, and say to myself, wow, we are so below average in our house.

And, then I remember the McMansions, which drive that median number way up. There are dozens of McMansions being built here. Where it used to be a three acre minimum for building, and land prices used to be cheap, now they are cramming huge houses on an acre. I can’t figure how they get wells, septic fields, driveways, massive homes and roads all squished together without interference in the newer neighborhoods. These homes start at $700,000 and keep going into the stratosphere. They line Triadelphia, and Ten Oaks, and Howard Roads.

We don’t feel like this is the wealthiest part of the world. My neighbors are teachers, firemen, bus drivers, people who bought here decades ago when land was cheap, relative to Columbia. But then, we don’t live in those new expensive developments either.

Every time I see references to the “rich rural west”, I cringe. It’s only the influx of the mansions that is driving these numbers higher. Back 15 or so years ago, there were less than 1000 homes in the entire zip code of Dayton. Still some small farms, too.

Hundreds of new homes have been built during the boom years, and even now three new developments are adding more and more large homes on relatively small lots.

It is weird to see the changes that have occurred just in the nine years we have been here.

Oh well, being below average has its benefits. Less taxes, but still the “distinction” of living in one of the richest zip codes out there.

Here’s to those “damn lies”.

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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.

Replacing River Hill

Posted on August 17, 2013 by AnnieRie

With Turf Valley.

It’s about a half mile further to get to Turf Valley than it is to drive to Clarksville for shopping. Slowly, but surely, I am replacing Clarksville and Roots, with Turf Valley and Harris Teeter.

Today, after a fun morning watching Dr. Mike Raupp aka Bug Man give a talk, walk and show neat things to the families at the Howard County Conservancy, I stopped at Harris Teeter for a few items I needed. Like K Cups. And my husband’s favorite cereals.

More on the Conservancy event in a future post, but today I want to show a few pictures of how the new town center is shaping up.

The Facci is coming along. With its outdoor dining area.

A few more stores have opened. We are waiting for Petite Cellars to open, to see how it compares to Perfect Pour.

And, Xitomate, to see how their Mexican fare stacks up to some of our favorite Mexican restaurants.

All in all, I had a fun and productive Saturday morning. I do like the fact that Harris Teeter is really good about getting you to an open checker as quickly as possible. I hope they do well. I know they are more expensive than Weis, but they definitely have better organic pricing than Roots. I will still use Roots for some of those awesome ready made dips, hummus, and hard to find items, but that convenience of finding organic veggies not currently available at our farmer’s markets, makes Harris Teeter a good fit for me.

Besides, as I have said before, we go to the landfill often. Harris Teeter is right south of there. So convenient for us. And, right down the road from the Conservancy. A simple stop on the way home after volunteering. What’s not to like?

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Posted in Food, Howard County, West HoCo, Wine and tagged community, Food, foodie, Howard County, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Life Skills

Posted on August 7, 2013 by AnnieRie

Every year we spend more time at the Fair watching the 4H club members show and care for their animals. Every year I marvel at just how mature, responsible and talented these children are. I can’t believe how poised, articulate, and unflustered they are, even when their animals don’t always behave.

Today we watched the junior swine judging.

These are the eight year olds.

The other day we watched the Jersey cattle show.

Tomorrow we will be there watching the sheep. Today there was quite a bit of grooming going on.

I also had to wander over and take pictures of the pygmy goats that are being raised by friends of ours.

If you go to the fair, don’t just spend time on the midway. Head down here.

Stop in and watch the 4Hers take care of their animals. They are truly learning life skills. How to be responsible. How to gracefully lose. How to gracefully win.

Worth the price of admission.

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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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Opening Day at the Fair

Posted on August 3, 2013 by AnnieRie

My favorite day to visit. There aren’t large crowds yet. Things are getting organized. But, our favorite part of the fair are the young farmers and the animals.

There are still more than 300 farms in Howard County. Over 300 members of 4H clubs specializing in agriculture. Over 600 if you include other interests.

I love watching the little ones handle their livestock.

Today we were watching the 4H and open Jersey cattle show. And waiting for the farm and garden building to open after judging. Talked to a number of friends who farm, including friends from the farmers markets.

A trip down the midway to watch those on the rides, even though it was drizzling.

Then off to see how I did. I had four entries this year. And, THREE RIBBONS. OK, batting .750 isn’t bad. I got my highest ribbon in tomatoes this year. A third premium for my orange romas.

A fifth for my heirlooms, and a third for my herbs. Not bad for a rainy frustrating year. In four years, I went from four to seven ribbons this year.

The herbs.

The Paul Robeson. One tomato is eaten. The other left for display. Heirlooms are judged on taste more than looks.

This year the grand champion veggie was a really nice specimen of squash.

We will be out at the fair at least three more days this week. Lots to see and do. If you have never watched the 4H shows, you really should take the time some year to watch.

And we will be there to cheer our friends on, at the shows and the auction Friday.

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Planning for the County Fair

Posted on August 2, 2013 by AnnieRie

Every year the fair coincides with our wedding anniversary week. Usually it means we are working our anniversary dinner and maybe a short road trip around drop off and pick up of entries. Add to that my mom’s birthday the same week. This year is no different.

There are events at the fair that we regularly attend. Like the 4H auction. This year it is scheduled on our anniversary. Plus, this year my husband gets the senior discount for the first time, and we won’t be buying a “season pass” for him anymore.

I am stressing over my tomatoes. Forty eight plants and almost ZERO heirlooms ripe. I finally got two Paul Robeson a few days ago.

The good thing about heirlooms. They are judged on taste, not appearance.

I have been busy collecting Supersweet 100s, sun sugar and large cherry tomatoes the past week. I need 15 good looking specimens to enter. Looks like the supersweet 100s will be entered.

The sun sugar are pretty but I don’t have 15 of them.

As for roma tomatoes, I grow three varieties. Orange roma, Polish linguisa and Amish paste. Right now, only the orange roma are close. I have five gorgeous ones, and four sitting there almost to ripeness.

They go from green to yellow to orange. I have five bright orange ones. Four yellow ones. Out on the vines, about 40 green ones.

This will be a late tomato year.

As for herbs, I have six choices to make three herb selections. I have cut all of them and they are “perking” up in the water getting ready for tomorrow.

I have to drop off by noon. This stress is worse than when I worked. Who knew the gardening hobby would be so stressful?

See you at the fair?

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