Tag Archives: nature

Trippin’ Again

Posted on August 20, 2013 by AnnieRie

Day Tripping, that is.

Including some updated pictures from Turf Valley. We had a lazy day, that started with a trip to the landfill because the recycling truck came three hours earlier than usual. Which meant we missed it.

Before hitting the landfill, I went into Towne Square with the good camera and shot more pictures. And we picked up tuna subs from Subway before hitting the road to Thurmont by way of Frederick. More on that later.

First, Towne Square. There will be the following restaurants and food places.

Facci, which we mentioned before.

From views of the fenced in areas, it looks like there will be outdoor dining in front and on the side where the fireplace is located.

Mimi’s Kabob is on the far side of Harris Teeter. I didn’t get down there for pictures.

As for fast food, the Subway and YoLaVie, yogurt are on the left in the way in.

The woman in Subway who waited on my husband while I was wandering around taking pictures, said Red Parrot will be an Asian restaurant, but today no activity found there.

Not much going on at Xitomate and Grille 620 either. Only Facci and Petite Cellars had lots of trucks and equipment outside.

We left the landfill today to head off to find Big Cork Wines to take to a family reunion in two weeks. I wanted to take a local wine, and only two liquor stores stock Big Cork. Both of them just outside the Wegmans location north of Frederick.

I wanted some Traminette. A relative grape of Gewurztraminer. A good all purpose white that will please a crowd. We found ours at Riverside, just south of the Wegmans complex off Monocacy Boulevard.

We then headed out to Thurmont for a ride. Looking to take pictures. And finding one of the six remaining covered bridges in Maryland. Just north of Catoctin Mountain Orchards, at the intersection of Roddy and Roddy Creek Roads.

I was looking for honey bee pictures. Working on the theme for next year’s County Fair special category.

We were also looking for farm country pictures to use on my husband’s design for his amateur radio cards to exchange for confirming a contact with another country. He wants fields and farmland. I took a few north of Catoctin.

The benefits of retirement. Tuesdays free to wander all over the area.

I have to admit though, it will be nice to have a big choice of restaurants right up the road.

hocofood@@@

2 Comments

Posted in Day Trips, Farms, Food, Hobbies, Local Businesses, Nature, Restaurants and tagged day trips, farms, Food, foodie, hobbies, local businesses, Locavore, nature, photography. 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.

hocoblogs@@@

Not Your Typical Wednesday

Posted on July 31, 2013 by AnnieRie

Well, it all started with tractor maintenance. Horsing around a 200 pound mower deck. At least that is what my husband did. I just got to “assist”, that is, sit on the tractor and raise and lower the deck.

He got to do all the greasing and cleaning.

I also got to chase butterflies. They are everywhere at the moment.

The highlight today though was the 5th anniversary party at Bistro Blanc.

Sixty five lucky guests got to share in a spectacular dinner with wines to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the restaurant. I think the scallop appetizer might have been my favorite course, or maybe that incredible pork tenderloin.

Tomorrow I have to figure out what I am entering in the fair, but tonight I am just basking in the good feelings of an amazing meal with old friends, new friends and people who love good food.

Cheers to Raj and Marc and the rest of the staff at Bistro Blanc.

hocofood@@@

1 Comment

Posted in Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Nature, Real Food, Restaurants and tagged community, Food, foodie, hoco loco, Howard County, local businesses, nature. Bookmark the permalink.

Simplest Summer Pleasures in the Garden

Posted on July 13, 2013 by AnnieRie

In a rare sun sighting, I was out checking on the state of the flowers, herbs, veggies and of course, the bunnies and the butterflies.

The butterfly bush finally bloomed and an Eastern tiger swallowtail was having a great time feasting on the flowers.

While out there I noticed that the yellow gladiolus are now coming into bloom. I am bringing in 5-6 new stalks every day. All this rain has created an explosion of them.

As for the herbs, the rosemary and thyme are so thick and getting so large, I am cutting them every few days. Rosemary is drying in the garage. I want this plant to remain short and bushy. As for the thyme, it is heading across the garden and creeping around other bushes.

On the tomato front, finally, the large cherry tomatoes and the sun sugar tomatoes are starting to turn color. I may finally have cherry tomatoes for salads by the middle of the coming week (three weeks later than last year).

As for the bunnies, they are overrunning the yard. At least they seem to be leaving my herbs and veggies alone for the moment. Half the time they don’t even run when I am out there.

Looks like if it stops raining, I need to do weeding again. They are rampant from all the rain. And, I have no idea where these volunteer plants came from, right in the middle of the herbs.

All in all, a good day out in the garden. Now, let’s bring on some sunshine and get the tomatoes ready for canning, eating and the fair. I did indulge in one of my favorite summer breakfasts. This was a CSA tomato, but I do it all the time with mine once they start producing.

Cut the tomato into thick slices, sprinkle with salt, eat it standing over the sink to catch the juices. Yum!

hocofood@@@

1 Comment

Posted in Food, Gardening, Locavore, Nature, Weather, West HoCo and tagged Food, gardening, heirloom tomatoes, Locavore, nature, tomatoes, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Way Too Much Rain …

Posted on July 12, 2013 by AnnieRie

… and other Friday ramblings.

We were supposed to have a tree removed this morning. Before the disease that is killing the pine spreads to adjoining pines. Our pine screen is important to us for many reasons and we have lost two trees in nine years to various pests. This will be the third.

What does this have to do with rain? Well, at o-dark-thirty (0630 am) our friend in the landscaping business called to cancel due to the huge amount of rain he was getting where he lives (north and east of us). It was only dreary here, not raining, but today like lots of other days would turn out to be pretty dismal.

My tomato plants have those ugly yellow stems from too much rain. And, I have NOT watered them since early June. Mother Nature is doing a number on them.

So, what did we do with a free day, and crappy weather? Of course, what else sounds appealing. Like a trip down to Linden Vineyards to taste the new releases and have some wine and cheese while watching their dreary weather. At least they aren’t getting the deluge that other parts of the two states have been seeing.

There is something about sitting on that enclosed porch with the doors swung open to watch the fog over the Shenandoah mountains north of the winery. Too bad it decided to rain because they have the most amazingly beautiful deck for enjoying the scenery and watching the weather change.

Today we tasted the newly released chardonnay, and riesling vidal, then sat down and had some Avenius Sauvignon Blanc with chevre, summer sausage and a warm baguette.

About the only thing this rain has been good for, is

making my flowers explode in blooming. There are literally dozens of stalks on the gladiolus plants in the corner of the yard. I cut two or three every morning to keep them on the counter or the dining room table. Crossing my fingers they will still be blooming the week of the county fair. I got a second place ribbon for them last year.

And, cucumbers. This wet spring and summer means lots and lots of pickling cukes. I added a few to the crock yesterday morning. We keep the dill pickle crock going for as long as we can in the summer. Looks like this may be a banner year.

The pickles from a little over a week ago are ready to eat. My husband has already been going in the crock and grabbing one to have with lunch. The dark green new ones, scrubbed and dropped into the dill vinegar mix, will soak up that mouth puckering mixture that a perfect dill can achieve. To give them the crunch, I take a few out and put them in the fridge for a few hours before eating them.

To keep them submerged, I bought a saucer that just fits inside the crock. This crock, for pickles, and a larger one for sauerkraut, are always on our counter, hidden in a corner when not in use. In a few weeks, the kraut process will start, so that all fall I can have kraut for sausages, for a side dish and my favorite time to pull it out, Thanksgiving.

Now, if it just would get sunny enough for my first tomatoes. Tonight, when we got home, I went out to pull in a few more cucumbers. I found that the cherry tomatoes and the sun sugar tomatoes are finally starting to get red. Plus, crossing my fingers, none of the heirlooms have split from the excessive moisture. I may actually have either Box Car Willie or Mortgage Lifter or Paul Robeson tomatoes for the fair in three weeks.

Rain, rain, PLEASE, go away. I can even handle those two extremely hot days they are predicting for the middle of next week. Just give us some sunshine.

hocofood@@@

3 Comments

Posted in Day Trips, Food, Gardening, Nature, Weather, Wine and tagged day trips, Food, gardening, heirloom tomatoes, hobbies, Linden Vineyards, nature, tomatoes, weather, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Build It and They Will Come … Building Fairy Houses

Posted on July 9, 2013 by AnnieRie

In the woods at the Howard County Conservancy this Saturday, the 13th. Down by the stream near the Hodge Podge Lodge, “construction” of the homes for the fairies will take place. Last year, the children got incredibly creative.

The description from the web site:

JUL 13- Saturday 10am Fairy Houses: Magic in the Woods with Florence Miller, Van Wensil and Audrey Suhr– In the spirit of “Build It and They Will Come,” bring your children and join other families to build beautiful dwellings for the fairies in the Conservancy’s woodlands and stream edges. We will have bark and twigs and cones and nuts as “construction materials.”

Before you come, how about grabbing a basket and taking a walk with your children to hunt for natural building materials near your home – and bringing them with you. We’re sure the magic of our woods will bring the fairies to appreciate your constructions! We’ll photograph the beautiful “country homes” and tree-side “villages” your families build, and add these images of your ephemeral master-constructions to our Fairy House Memory Book on the Conservancy’s classroom display table – where you can re-visit them…. “forever!” Ages 10 and under. Parents, please plan to remain with your child during the program. FREE

As you can see from the description, a few hours in the woods with the materials provided. Just bring your imagination.

hocoblogs@@@

Fair Weather

Posted on July 5, 2013 by AnnieRie

As in the Howard County Fair. I know it is four weeks from now,

but planning for Home Arts entries starts when the fair books arrive in the mail. We got ours last week.

Unfortunately, the weather isn’t cooperating. My tomatoes this year are far behind schedule. The herbs were also decimated by the bunnies, so I am doing triage on the remaining stumps, and coaxing them to recover.

So far, only the Box Car Willie plants have the potential to give me ripe heirloom tomatoes in time for the fair. Mortgage Lifter and Paul Robeson are lagging in their production. Pineapple tomatoes are late bloomers anyway, and this year they are far behind. And, the hillbillies are downright disappointing.

Want to know about heirlooms? This is a good site to learn about the varieties.

Want to know about the fair? Check out their web site.

This year my husband gets the senior discount. I still buy the season pass for $20, as we go to the fair at least four or five days. Can’t miss the fun events, like tractor pull. Skid loader competition. Iron chef. The 4H auction. And, so much more.

This year, too, being the beginning of the election season, candidates will be out in force.

Put the fair on your calendar. It truly is a community event, and for 68 years it has been going strong.

Me, I just want one of these for tomatoes. The blue ribbon. I got one last year for my herbs. I keep trying to grow great heirlooms, or cherry tomatoes, or this year, my foray into massive amounts of canning tomatoes.

I also had success with the gladiolus. Crossing my fingers that they flower in time.

This one got a second place ribbon last year.

I am thinking about photographs to enter. And, maybe some of my crape myrtle. And, my zucchini bread. It’s fun. Easy to do. Download the fair book and think of the possibilities. You still have four weeks to go.

hocoblogs@@@

Lost and Found Sounds

Posted on June 16, 2013 by AnnieRie

Last month a local blogger, commenting on the NPR series about lost sounds lamented those sounds from our past that have disappeared from our lives. Interestingly enough, many of the sounds she noted were ones still very much present in our lives.

Like radio static. You want radio static? Come to our house. Between the scanner and my husband’s radios, I get to hear all sorts of static.

One of his old receivers, that he will still mess around with occasionally. As for the scanner, it is how we know what is happening, even more current than twitter or facebook, the scanner frequencies for fire and police, and the local Columbia repeater for 2 meters yield us instant info about fires, accidents, and just general stuff. The repeaters are manned by amateurs doing Skywarn during storms like we had Thursday.

Children playing. Out here we always hear our neighbor’s little ones outside, laughing and running around, or riding their bikes. There are always wiffle balls or tennis balls in our field. Errant tosses while they are enjoying the sunny days.

We left behind the sirens and helicopters of Columbia, and gained tractors, birds, roosters and SILENCE. Sometimes here it is the silence that amazes us the most. Dark, quiet evenings.

Full moon. Some evenings I would wait outside looking at the stars and hearing nothing, waiting for my husband to get home from a meeting. Looking for the deer. Or watching a satellite in the sky. No sounds. Just complete silence, and a car every three or four minutes.

Who knew what noise squirrels make? We have learned. Between the squirrels, the rabbits and the birds, I have been serenaded while having morning coffee on the patio. Of course, my all time favorite is the hawk.

He likes to make his presence known. He and my other neighbor’s rooster. I don’t have a picture of him but you heard him all day, thankfully somewhat muted as they were about a 1/4 mile away. They have moved on, so the rooster sound has disappeared.

Last, the tractors. Not lawn mowers. Real hay baling equipment or massive tractors with drag behind cutters. These kinds of tractors. Across the street. Next door. A few times every year. Cutting hay.

I have traded city sounds for country sounds. A slower pace. Sounds of people cutting fire wood. Muzzle loaders during deer season. Fireworks (yes, we know they aren’t supposed to have them, but believe me, there are some serious fireworks out here on New Year’s Eve and 4th of July).

I can hear the cows mooing on some mornings, from the farms across the “hollow”.

I don’t miss all the traffic noise, the Medevac helicopters heading over the house many nights every week, the police helicopters occasionally. Sounds of the city.

I am much happier and less stressed even when the pileated woodpeckers get noisy.

3 Comments

Posted in Birds, Community, Howard County, Nature, West HoCo and tagged birds, commentary, community, hoco loco, Howard County, nature, photography, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Monarchs in the Milkweed?

Posted on June 12, 2013 by AnnieRie

Last fall I blogged about finding milkweed in the meadow. Now, I can say that my wish that maybe monarchs will be hatching here comes closer to reality.

I think I found a monarch larvae here. The milkweed is flourishing. Other butterflies love it.

Like this great spangled fritillary. And, of course, the bees.

Looks like a bumble bee.

All in all, a good day in the meadow.

Now, to save that monarch from the predatory birds.

5 Comments

Posted in Nature, West HoCo and tagged birds, nature, photography, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

The Garden Report

Posted on June 3, 2013 by AnnieRie

Yesterday I spoke about finally getting garlic scapes out behind the deck, where I planted organic heirloom garlic last October. I haven’t had the chance to talk about the rest of the plantings, and what I am seeing out there daily.

Like the cucumbers.

There are blossoms on the marketmore slicing cucumbers. The pickling cukes are larger, but have no blossoms yet. This slow start to spring has set most of us back with seeing production in our gardens, but we are slowly getting there.

The garlic I put in containers didn’t do so well. Between the small critters constantly digging at it in the pots, and the temperature fluctuations, most of it died. I did get two stems of spring garlic, out of the twelve cloves planted. The twelve plants in the ground will give me scapes this week, and garlic in about three-four weeks. I will be curing garlic in the back room in the cellar. Cool, dark and dry. What garlic needs to dry out.

You will notice in the background, the spirea is blooming finally. So are the kousas, and hurray! the bees are back.

I hold my breath every spring, hoping I don’t lose my pollinators. I need those little “busy bees” to get veggies and fruit. Let’s just say Sunday was a good day as I saw dozens of little bees enjoying the flowers behind the house.

As for the herb garden, the thyme has come back thick as a carpet. So have the rosemary bushes. And, of course, the mint varieties.

Thyme is such a great herb, so easy to grow. Snip some off and add to whatever you are making for dinner. It seems to go well with almost everything.

Ruby chard. The second planting. In the planters by the back door. Interesting that the bunnies aren’t coming up here. They must have more than enough to eat down in the yard and meadow, so they don’t bother my herbs, greens and flowers.

Finally, all 48 tomato plants are surviving and thriving. Crossing my fingers. I haven’t lost any of them, even those that were puny and looked susceptible after the cold spell. I may truly be putting out a roadside stand to sell them if they all stay healthy.

I leave the wildflower border to attract bees. The morning glories are just starting to come up, but the wild violets are getting thicker. It looks like this cool wet spring is good for my garden.

Let’s hope we keep up the good growing conditions. I am so ready for homemade tzatziki, fresh tomatoes and all those other treats of summer.

hocofood@@@

3 Comments

Posted in Food, Gardening, Nature, Weather, West HoCo and tagged Food, gardening, heirloom tomatoes, hobbies, nature, spring flowers, tomatoes, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

AnnieRie Unplugged

Tag Archives: nature

Trippin’ Again

The Bug Man Cometh …

Not Your Typical Wednesday

Simplest Summer Pleasures in the Garden

Way Too Much Rain …

Build It and They Will Come … Building Fairy Houses

Fair Weather

Lost and Found Sounds

Monarchs in the Milkweed?

The Garden Report

Looking for Something?

The Latest

Old Posts

My File Cabinet

Tags

Follow Blog via Email

Meta

Most Popular

When Did I Post?

Copyright Reserved