Tag Archives: Howard County

Volunteer Season

Posted on February 26, 2013 by AnnieRie

Spring is coming. Lots of opportunities to volunteer. And, lots of opportunities to learn about Howard County in depth, plus how and where you could make a difference.

Let’s start with the volunteer naturalist programs. At the Howard County Conservancy where I volunteer, they are always on the lookout for new faces to help. Not just leading children’s hikes, but also some behind the scenes work. I, for one, love the opportunity to get outside and lead the children’s hikes. If that isn’t your thing, they also need office help, and gardening help.

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Training for elementary school programs starts this Thursday. The secondary program training started today. For some reason, I had my calendar wrong and missed it. Never fear. Two more sessions if you would like to try your hand at something really new. Like, what happened on the farm during the Civil War. The training for this new pilot and the other training details are here.

When I first started volunteering I shadowed current leaders to learn. It is an easy way to see how much fun the hikes are. I also signed up that first fall to take the Howard Legacy Leadership Institute for the Environment program training, and to give back hours to the Conservancy. The Conservancy is one of many county partners in this program.

The program has been revamped. There is no requirement to volunteer if you want to attend the training. The option to become a “HoLLIE” grad is still there, but if you are interested in continuous learning, there is a noncredit course being given that includes material we learned in HoLLIE. The visits to NASA to see the satellite data and hear world renowned scientists speak of their experience, tracking global climate events. Other lecturers on regional and local programs, like stormwater management. The training will be held on Thursdays in April and May. Info here.

last year's class on a discovery hike

last year’s class on a discovery hike

Greenfest is coming. April 13th at the community college. Earth Day activities including river clean up, twenty minute clean up, tree plantings are all being advertised. I hope to keep locals informed as I hear of new opportunities in the area.

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As that commercial keeps telling us “Get Out There”. With all this coming up, spring is definitely right around the corner. Why waste it inside?

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Cocktail Hour

Posted on February 24, 2013 by AnnieRie

That civilized winding down hour or so that used to precede dinner in homes before we all became so rushed and didn’t have time or take time to relax. It is one of our simple pleasures a few times a week. We just stop and enjoy the sunset, or watch the news while dinner happily finishes in the oven.

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Tonight we celebrated the opening successes of the Orioles, using my old glasses from the McDonald’s set. They bring back memories. A couple of fairly weak gin and tonics, more for the refreshing aspect than anything else. A little nibble. We hit the Olney Farmer’s and Artisan’s market today and picked them up. Just a handful for us while dinner is still baking.

Tuesday night I will be joining my fellow bloggers in Columbia for a cocktail hour. Only we call them blogtail parties. A couple of our local bloggers are hosting it. It is at Union Jack’s, right next to Columbia Mall. From 5:30 pm. The link takes you to the sign up page. Only a few places left. It looks to be a full house.

I enjoy meeting the bloggers from around here. Those of us who regularly blog and post them on hocoblogs. I might have to borrow my husband’s phone and bring it with me to join in the tweeting and checking in on foursquare. Now, if they can make my favorite cocktail, that Meyer lemon basil fizz, I will really be impressed.

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Our blogtail hour, or two. A chance to get out and relax with our cyberfriends. We can put faces and names to those people behind the keyboards. A really fun event.

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The Elusive Pileated

Posted on February 22, 2013 by AnnieRie

Finally!! I got a picture of the pileated woodpecker, at least one of them, that have been living at the edge of our property for the past two years. We hear them all the time. I saw one of them once a year ago. Today they came out and visited the side yard right out our window.

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Not the best picture as he wouldn’t keep his head still, but I did get him as he was checking out all our dead trees on the property line. I also managed to catch him as he left. Twice.

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A highlight on a dreary rainy day in west county. The varied bird community on the edge of the forest and the fields.

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Wegmans Marketing Strategy

Posted on February 21, 2013 by AnnieRie

What is it with the aggressive mailings from Wegmans? They have upped the ante in their latest mailing to the all anonymous “residents” in this area, at least. Don’t know where they are mailing closer to the store but we are 16 miles away from them.

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It used to be $30 in coupons. Now, they have increased the value. And, changed from a free item to a $5 coupon, plus the other two $1 coupons, weekly.

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Still, $7 savings barely will cover the gasoline to drive from west county to Wegmans, so is it worth it? 30-40 miles round trip depending on where you live. Most of us out here don’t drive energy efficient mini vehicles. We have a pickup and a couple of SUVs, since we get more snow and ice, and we have to haul much more than when we lived in the city. For us, 1 1/2 gallons of gas would be what it would take just to run to Wegmans to pick up those few items. $6-7 worth of gas.

Since most of the coupon items don’t interest us, it is only the $5 one that is a draw. I have to admit, though, that we will drive further to buy from our local farmers, than to go to a grocery store.

As for our coupons, when I get to Columbia for car repairs, dental work, or doctor appointments, I would use some of these coupons. For things like the coffee packs, better pricing than Costco for this San Francisco Bay.

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If I remember correctly, these K cups are $32.99. With a $5 coupon, they are seriously cheaper than anywhere else to buy K cups.

Hmmm, maybe worth it to go once or twice in the six weeks. Dental appointment next week. Car maintenance next month. A very good price on coffee. Otherwise, not worth the gas consumption to grocery shop there.

I do appreciate the place, but it isn’t my weekly place to shop.

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Unlikely Friendships

Posted on February 19, 2013 by AnnieRie

Animals that don’t normally get along, getting along quite well. Jennifer Holland, author of the NYT bestseller

    Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom

and a contributing writer for National Geographic magazine, is coming to the Howard County Conservancy this Sunday the 24th to give a program for families and those young at heart who love animals.

A cat and a bird. A mare and a fawn. An elephant and a sheep. A snake and a hamster. Pictures and stories, behind the scenes tales of her adventures as well. Here is the link to the flier for the event.

The cost is $10 a family and the admission supports the conservancy’s education programs held all year long. What unlikely friendships do you know? Do you have any pictures? Bring them to add to the fun and the discussion.

Are my blue jay and squirrel unlikely dining companions?

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They probably are just tolerating one another.

Besides this event on Sunday, next week the volunteer training begins for us for the spring school programs. If training and hiking begins, can spring be far behind?

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Shopping at the Farms

Posted on February 16, 2013 by AnnieRie

Last winter I had a CSA and we did Silver Spring, Dupont Circle and Tacoma Park markets to get my local items for my winter challenge. I thought nothing of driving into DC or the suburbs to get fresh foods locally grown. At the time, I was unaware of the year round farm stores that are actually closer to me, and are now where I get my meats, produce and locally produced items like bread, milk, eggs and honey.

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Every other week I head out to England Acres to get dairy, meat, winter veggies and fresh greens. Also, apples and sometimes citrus. Judy gets high tunnel microgreens and winter greens from a farm in Damascus, East Rivendell Farm.

I will be heading over to check them out some day probably a Friday when they are open. For me to add a farm to my local resources list, I like to visit and see what they have. I love the greens from East Rivendell. Today I picked up some winter salad mix, and a bag of red chard at England Acres. I believe both of them were brought in from East Rivendell. Like these greens a few weeks back.

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The mix I got today includes some lovely baby dinosaur kale. I also picked up the Baby Bellas again today. And, some carrots that Judy orders from Lancaster Farm Fresh, the coop that supplies my summer CSA. The carrots are so sweet in the winter. My favorite time to buy them.

This week I made lots of soups and the lasagna, so we are eating leftovers until tomorrow night. Then, I will be making my winter weekly Eat Local Dinner, using two little 5 oz. filets I got from Judy today. We were talking out at the farm about whether I should order a side of lamb. She will be selling sides and whole lamb packages. In March and in May. After that, no fresh lamb until the fall.

I find it interesting to get meat from the local farmers. Chickens available only from May until late fall. Lamb available winter and early spring. Seasonal influences based on when the animals are ready to process. If you have never bought or cooked with locally raised, farm fresh meats, you don’t know what you are missing. Just like local eggs and local produce, that freshness and taste are unmistakable.

Only three weeks to go until my Breezy Willow Early Bird CSA starts. Still happily eating from the freezer, the pantry and a couple of trips a month to the farmstands. Can’t believe how little I get from grocery stores these days. I asked my husband last week to stop at the store for the few items I can’t get at markets, like coffee creamer, extra light olive oil for cooking and dishwasher detergent. When your total gasoline points for the month are 39 from Giant Food, you know you have changed your buying habits.

As for CSAs, the local ones are filling up quickly. Look over at localharvest.org if you want to get the freshest produce and fruit weekly. There are all sorts of sizes and types now being delivered to pick up spots all over Howard County.

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Six Feeders No Waiting

Posted on February 10, 2013 by AnnieRie

Since today was lovely, I went out and did some feeder maintenance and filled everything before next week’s Great Backyard Bird Count.

If you want to do something fun with your family or friends, try and spend just a little time between the 15th and 18th counting the birds you see in your yard, or in a public area near you. It is simple to do, and you don’t need to be an experienced birder. The count had over 100,000 participants last year. Many from this area. In Maryland alone, there were over 2000 checklists submitted. Quite a few from Howard County. Ellicott City and Columbia led the county in participants with 83 lists from each area.

I watch right out my kitchen window for a few hours on one of the days and put in my totals. Since I have a habitat established with regular visitors, I know I will have certain times of the day with dozens of birds popping in to get food and water.

Today was no exception. I had three downy woodpeckers, all female, out there at the same time.

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Don’t know where the males were today, but the females kept coming back. I also put peanuts in the shell out there today to check out the blue jays. I had at least six between those on the ground and in the trees. They are a riot to watch, as they go looking for the biggest and heaviest peanuts. Last year there were fewer blue jays reported. Including by me. This year they are back.

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Of course, with peanuts out there, at some point the squirrel showed up and the blue jays had to go into overdrive to get the lion’s share of the peanuts.

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Today also brought the return of the female red bellied woodpecker. We haven’t seen her around here much lately. Just the male, but out of nowhere she showed up to grab peanuts herself.

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At one point, the nuthatch joined the party. Here a young downy and the nuthatch are enjoying the new food.

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And, just to show that sometimes they do tolerate each other, I leave you with a photo worthy of submitting for the Conservancy program on unlikely friendships. Animal photos of unlikely pairings of animals. That event is on the 24th of February. Another family activity coming up in the next few weeks in the area.

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Peaceful coexistence. Unusual for them. If you can, make time to count birds next weekend in Howard County. Let’s help Cornell and the Audubon Society keep tabs on where the birds are located by creating our own “census”.

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Planning for Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 9, 2013 by AnnieRie

I know many people make reservations and go out to celebrate Valentine’s Day. To me, the crowded restaurants, rushed service and the push to turn over the table make for a less than pleasant experience. We prefer to stay home and have far better food at a fraction of the cost. From celebrations past, some ideas to have an in house dinner with minimal fuss (unless you want to cook, like I do).

My personal favorite. Chocolate and wine.

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Last year we shared a Biale Zinfandel and dark chocolate with chili. This was after a fairly simple dinner. Salad with a fruit based vinaigrette. You can pick all of the ingredients up at Roots or Harris Teeter or Wegmans, including a good cheese, and baby beets. Or, whatever you like. Romantic looking, isn’t it? This was local cheese and butter lettuce from Mock’s. We bought the cheese and the lettuce at the Silver Spring farmer’s market, but you can get something just as nice in the stores mentioned above.

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Dinner could be simple, or more complicated. I usually pan sear some sort of steak or lamb. This year I will be doing rack of lamb, picked up at Boarman’s, but you could just get a couple of petit filets and get them done fairly quickly. Here is the plate from our anniversary of lamb shops and potatoes. Fast, not that hard, and so good. Seared in a hot pan, then transferred in the pan to the oven to finish.

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Or, pick up a few crab cakes at Boarman’s. And, a few stuffing mushrooms. This recipe is easy to do as well.

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Take the stems out of the mushrooms. Spread a little Dijon mustard in them. Use two large mushrooms per crab cake. Drizzle with a neutral oil like canola or grapeseed. Sprinkle Old Bay on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, until brown.

You can serve these with small potatoes like the ones above in the anniversary dinner picture. Boil them in salted water for 15 minutes, or nuke them (I still occasionally nuke potatoes even though they don’t come out as nice as boiling and finishing in a pan or the oven).

We almost always stay home for major events and anniversaries, and indulge in fancier foods and really nice wines. There are lots of places around here to also pick up good already made foods. Really good sushi, maybe. Or, shrimp steamed to your specifications.

We like putting music on, maybe satellite radio or a CD. Light a few candles. Share a split of sparkling wine, or open an old red wine. Break out the good napkins and just do nothing but cook, relax and enjoy an evening with food, wine and music we chose.

Think about getting something to serve at home, even if it is something already prepared. But, you can make it simple. It is really nice to put together that salad, pop the crab cakes in the oven, and then savor that chocolate with a glass of wine.

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Downtown

Posted on February 8, 2013 by AnnieRie

Our downtown. Glenelg/Dayton. Not EC, or Columbia. The hub of west county, or at least the circle. A typical Friday afternoon. For us, a few quick errands before the weekend. Stamps. Gas. Money. Liquor. A movie. What else do you need? 😉

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The circle at Ten Oaks and Triadelphia is always hopping. Day or night. The pictures are from last spring, when the trees had leaves, I know. Between the Ten Oaks Tavern, the TRI pizza place, Bistro Blanc, the Subway, and the Royal Farms, you can always find food and drink.

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You also can get money from the ATM, hit the post office, the pharmacy, the cleaners, Redbox, the Old Tyme liquor store and run into at least one person you know somewhere in your stop there.

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Today we hit the post office, Royal Farms for gas and money, and the liquor store to look for a liqueur for my Valentine’s Day dinner. Actually, I am looking for pastis. They had absenthe, but no pastis. I am recreating a meal from Provence for Valentine’s Day and hoped I wouldn’t have to drive to Ellicott City to find Pernod or Ricard.

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No luck on the pastis, but we did have a fun encounter with another patron. He saw my purple fleece turtleneck and my black fleece jacket, and asked. Are you a Ravens fan? After all, maybe football season is over, but I still like purple Fridays.

I said yes, and he pulled out his phone and showed me his new pictures. The first one. The Vince Lombardi trophy on a table. A few pics later, our new acquaintance holding the trophy. It seems he was one of the bus drivers who picked up the Ravens at the airport on their way back from the Super Bowl. They all got to hold the trophy and get their pictures taken with it.

I knew Eyre drove the Ravens. You see the buses at the facility occasionally, and you got to see them on TV before the parade Tuesday as they shuttled the team from the stadium to City Hall. Can’t miss the logo. Travel on Eyre. The company sits right behind Ten Oaks Tavern. Another local Howard County business that is doing well.

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You never know what you will encounter “downtown” in west county.

Have a great weekend. Spend some time at one of the events or markets around the county. Breezy Willow farm store maybe? Conservancy? Ellicott City Sunday Bakery event?

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Redefining Local

Posted on February 7, 2013 by AnnieRie

For fifteen months now I have been blogging, mostly about being a locavore. I started out during my challenge to eat locally, by considering only locally grown items. I finally decided that this was unrealistic for me.

Locally grown, locally produced, or locally sourced. That’s my priority now. Beyond that, either organic or as natural as possible. Real food. Food made from scratch.

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Things not grown here in Maryland, ever, like olives and most citrus, most spices and chocolate, I agree, are part of my cooking and won’t be avoided. I just try and maximize the local ingredients, and I support our local farms and markets. I buy from them, even the things they sell that they brought in from outside the state.

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What has that meant? I shop rarely at grocery stores, and then, only for items not available at local markets, shops and farms. I shop organic as much as possible. I make many items from scratch, using fresh ingredients.

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I also don’t eat at chain restaurants, or eat fast food, unless we are in the middle of a turnpike with no other options. I can’t believe how differently I approach dining out. And, how I now cook.

My freezer is full of local veggies, fruits and meat. I shop at farms weekly. I pick up staples and organic items at the grocery stores, usually Wegmans or Harris Teeter these days and very little of my food budget goes to them.

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For my winter eat local challenge, I find that I don’t actually eat one meal a week that is local, but rather, I cook almost every meal with something local in it. Most of the time, the local items outnumber the others.

I know this isn’t easy to do, unless you have the time to do it. I really appreciate what our moms did, 50 years ago. Cooking from scratch every day. Eating in season. Stretching the food budget.

I see quite a few people doing the same as we are. Going back to basic cooking. Not eating all those overly processed foods from institutional food services. Not a bad way to spend time.

Bake a few brownies from scratch. Put a crock pot meal on the table. Spend time in the kitchen, instead of a restaurant lobby with a pager. Not a bad idea.

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Check out that grill. Everything on it locally sourced. Easy as it can be.

Here’s to really good food. Made with love.

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