Tag Archives: nature

Spring Plan(t)s

Posted on March 29, 2013 by AnnieRie

At the moment I made my header and background very springlike. The weather is finally coming around to those lovely days, but still a bit nippy at night. Those baby orchids were on the table at Linden Vineyards today. More on that visit in a post tomorrow, but today I am crowing about my garden planning.

I registered a major victory this week. Some of my heirloom squash seeds germinated, and are growing. Woo Hoo!

I planted 20 seeds from the Thelma Sanders squash. Five in each container. One container completely germinated. The other three. Nada! Weird. But still, I have five possible plants to put in the ground this spring. This is what the squash looks like.

We got it last fall in our CSA. First time I have dried and saved heirloom squash seeds. A 25% success rate is OK.

The other success is my heirloom garlic. I have to remember to keep watering the container ones. They could dry out more quickly. The dozen in the ground are all doing well. All told, 24 possible heads of garlic this year. With those lovely scapes, too. I will be curing garlic in the shed if they all come out fully mature in June. Let’s see how I do with curing garlic.

After the mulching I was worried, but I looked today and all twelve of them are doing fine, and growing. Plus, all three of my chives plants are sprouting new greenery. A great source for fresh herbs in cooking. Crossing my fingers that the rosemary and thyme will prosper. I thinned them a little today, and they do have small amounts of lovely green new growth.

The lower two pots contain mint. I will trim off the dead parts once they start taking off. Trust me. You can’t kill mint. The two upper containers contain garlic. I experimented here, and they are doing almost as well as those planted down in the beds. The pot on the deck had two chive plants, the third is in the window box on the left that also contains the lavender. Lavender, also a perennial, will come back, too. Not doing much yet, but I know they will generate fresh greenery.

I will be planting chard seeds this weekend, to transplant into the garden once the weather warms. Chard does well up near the house with just a few hours of sun. I cover it with bunny proof netting. Since spring seems to be coming finally, I am psyched for getting more things in the ground.

Planting anything interesting?

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Posted in Food, Gardening, Hobbies, Nature, Weather and tagged Food, gardening, hobbies, nature, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Water, Water, Everywhere!

Posted on March 25, 2013 by AnnieRie

Only this morning it was snow. RIMPO Dayton weather shows us having 0.43 inches of precipitation already today, but currently that is four inches of snow.

I finally did go out and put peanuts and mixed seeds under the table to keep the birds happy. By sometime tomorrow, it will probably all be melted again. At least the garlic and the herbs don’t need watering, and the rest of my greens are still indoors. Today over at hocoblogs I saw that JessieX had a post about all the salt dumped on the roads and the impact on our waterways as it heads down into our streams and rivers. We do use way too much salt around here but precip plus freezing temps at night mean black ice. Can’t seem to win.

This Wednesday night there will be another information session in Hickory Ridge, sponsored by four organizations in the county, to discuss stormwater management.

March27Flyer-final

This would be a good place to learn more about how to minimize the impact on the Bay and our local rivers, from all this runoff, at least it is beautiful out there for today.

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Finishing the Spring Clean Up …

Posted on March 17, 2013 by AnnieRie

… before the snow comes tomorrow. Or the slush, or whatever it is.

Twenty five cubic yards of mulch. A whole truck load. But, the place looks great again.

From a stormwater management standpoint we added river rock to prevent erosion on the side of the shed.

And we buried the downspouts to direct the water towards my evergreens and the pin oak.

They even cleaned out my garden for me. In the next two weeks we will be tilling the soil and I can start transplanting greens.

The greens will be split between the garden and the planters. I was out there looking today. The chives are coming back. The mint is peeking through and the garlic is fine.

The flowers have started blooming. I believe these are hellebores. We have two plants, different colors that bloom early in the spring.

The daffodils aren’t far behind. Spring is definitely getting here. Just have to make it through these last few cold slushy days.

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Reading That Forested Landscape

Posted on March 15, 2013 by AnnieRie

And trying to find a sense of place. Our place. Our property. Our community. Our county. Next weekend, the 22nd through the 24th, at the Howard County Conservancy Tom Wessels is coming down to read the landscape at two different sites in Howard County. There will be a stand alone lecture Friday night, and two lecture/hikes, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Each day’s event is $20 to attend. A bundle of two, Friday and either Saturday or Sunday is available for $35.

Master gardeners, master naturalists, historians, science teachers, environmentalists, lifetime residents of Howard County, and more — all would find something interesting and educational in his talks, walks and teaching us to read our landscapes.

I downloaded his latest book, Forest Forensics. I already learned more about my property by toggling between the plates, the evidence and the key to reading our property here in west Howard County.

We were told our land was once a horse pasture. This barbed wire is evidence. The book explains how to read it. The wire is on our side of the fence, the common technique to string wire enclosing a pasture. It is barbed. If it was smooth twisted there would have been sheep in the pasture. It was constructed sometime after 1874 which was when wire first started showing up as fencing.

Tom will be leading hikes that will show us these types of details. Following him through the forests and grasslands, the Saturday and Sunday events will combine a 90 minute lecture to prepare for the hike, followed by a two hour hike looking for clues around Elkridge in the Patapsco State Park on Saturday, and all across the Conservancy properties, maybe even down to the river if he finds good evidence to share.

Anyone who wants to know more about this area, and wants to be able to use these tips while walking the trails in the parks, or even searching the development’s open spaces in the county to learn the history of our land would enjoy these events.

There is still some room on both hikes, and lots of room for the Friday night lecture for those who may not be able to hike. The Friday night lecture: The Myth of Progress is a totally different topic than the weekend lectures and hikes.

More on that topic is found here. It is another of Tom’s books.

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A Perfect Spring Saturday

Posted on March 9, 2013 by AnnieRie

Hopefully the next two weekends have weather this great. Today’s geocaching event at the Conservancy attracted almost three dozen people who wanted to enjoy the scenery and learn to use the Etrex units.

Six caches were hidden on the property. Lots of fun learning to use the units, and to wander around the farm and the grasslands. The fun was watching all the adults learn to use them. The children pick it up quite quickly.

The Conservancy has a couple of dozen units used mostly in middle and senior high school programs, on and off site. Today was a chance for families to chase stickers and treats in the boxes hidden by the goats, near the bluebird boxes, in the garden and down in the soil pit.

Nothing like perfect weather to bring out all ages.

Next weekend there will be a family hike at 10 am. Age appropriate trails with leaders knowledgeable about the farm and what you can find there. Maybe the wood frogs will still be around to serenade everyone. There were certainly enough of them there today. You could hear them all over the geocache course even when you were hundreds of yards away from the pond in the garden.

I can find fifteen of them in this picture. Thanks to all the volunteers this was another great day. Come hike with us next Saturday the 16th, or maybe come do forest forensics the following weekend.

And, just so I don’t get bored, we have a training session with a potluck luncheon this coming Thursday, and the art exhibit will open for the Art of Stewardship. Then, the following Tuesday, we are learning about the new pilot training session on Civil War History on the Farm.

What’s not to love about being outside as spring arrives in Howard County?

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Posted in Family, Hobbies, Howard County, Nature, Retirement, Volunteering, Weather, West HoCo and tagged community, family, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, volunteering, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Spring Flings

Posted on March 5, 2013 by AnnieRie

March, April and May are always the busiest months in this area. You can’t turn around without seeing events every weekend. Sort of like September and October have become. People seem to want to cram everything in before it gets too hot or too cold.

Looking at potential things to put on the calendar. Suffering from sensory overload. Add Easter to this month and I could fill up every weekend, and most weekdays to things to do if I wish.

Events at the Conservancy are ramping up. We have events there three of the four weekends. Some weekends have more than one. Take this weekend for example. I can work with the family geocaching event on Saturday. There are already three dozen people signed up to do a search for hidden boxes of little gems for the successful hunters using the compass function and learning to navigate around obstacles. While all this is going on, the artists are coming to drop off their art for hanging and judging in the Art of Stewardship juried art show. The following five weeks there will be opportunities for people to come see the art in this year’s show, and buy something that strikes their fancy, before it hits the auction day next month. Last year I ended up with a lovely painting at the auction, even if I couldn’t afford the winning piece. Later next week I will get pictures of some of the best pieces entered this year.

Next weekend on the 16th, there are two events. One a family hike, and the other event, the third in a series of workshops for educators, called Project WET. Some of our naturalists will be taking the training as well as teachers looking to receive professional development credit in the green school application. Family hikes are very popular, with age appropriate groups going out with different volunteer naturalists.

The weekend of the 22-24th, Tom Wessels is coming in from New England to read the natural landscapes around the Conservancy and in Patapsco State Park. This event, with an attendance limit on the hikes, is being sponsored by the Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club. Bringing Tom in here is a real treat. I can’t wait to learn more about what was done on the land around the farmhouse at the Conservancy. Forest forensics. Pretty interesting topics. The Friday night lecture is about The Myth of Progress and sustainability.

If you head over to the Conservancy webpage, you will see the sign up forms.

If that doesn’t give us enough to do, there is volunteer training, and the opportunity to participate as a naturalist at the “weather event” for secondary schools, five of them coming next Wednesday the 13th. It will even be featured on WBAL news that morning, with their meteorologist Ava Marie coming out at 5 am, yes, 5 AM (daylight savings time), so really really early to do some reporting on the event.

Being a volunteer naturalist there can certainly keep you busy. Nice that we can do as much or as little as we can fit in our schedules.

Today in training we were using handheld recorders to register weather data. We will be leading activities in the spring field trips for secondary schools, having teams of students measuring wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, humidity and temperature, in all sorts of different locations on the property.

In two weeks, our final secondary training is a pilot program for History during the Civil War on the farm here in Howard County. I find this activity fascinating and have already signed up to lead one of the trips in April.

Lots of new faces at the training sessions this month for elementary and secondary training. Volunteering is just one way to make a difference here in the county. Time spent is just as important to the nonprofits as donations can be.

Nothing like a lovely spring day outside in the forest, enjoying the scenery and helping out. I even signed up to lead service learning, which is always fun. Particularly in making sure shovels, clippers, tree and brush cutters are used properly by high school students. They do really get into it.

trail clean up

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A Sunny Window

Posted on March 4, 2013 by AnnieRie

All that is needed to start seeds for spring greens. Thursday I blogged about planting arugula, kale and mesclun mix in a box in my kitchen. Nothing fancy just a shallow box picked up at Kendalls. Five days ago. Of course, I stupidly titled it Where Did Winter Go? just to make sure we get hit with snow this week. Winter hasn’t gone yet, but even the prospect of one messy day this Wednesday doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm for the coming of spring. Why?

I already have sprouts from the seeds. The middle row, I believe is the Tuscan kale, a very fast growing leafy green. The reason I say “I believe” is because I forgot to mark the kale and arugula rows. The mesclun on the left was the first row I planted. Senior moments like these are the frustration of the retired who get phone calls while planting seeds.

Last year I put in a large amount of mesclun mix, which took quite a bit of thinning before I moved it outside. It did do well though in the planter boxes that I kept raised above bunny reach on the deck.

The other location where I will transplant greens is a small rectangle right off the mudroom door next to the patio. Very close to the house. Mostly shady, so the leaves don’t burn up from the sun. This area will get the cover over it to keep the bunnies and deer from nibbling my greens. I can harvest lots of salad right before dinner every evening by using these small planters.

I once used this area to plant spearmint thinking it wouldn’t spread beyond this enclosed concrete area. Wrong. It also comes back every year with a vengeance. The bees love it though and they buzz all around and pollinate the flowers in my garden as they visit.

Those first few sprouts always brighten my day, knowing warm weather is coming and I can start putting out herbs in the garden and flowers in the pots. Just have to make it through this snow/sleet/rain mess in the next couple of days.

Time to go prepare another planting box, and put in the beans I want to grow in the garden this summer.

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Social Butterflies

Posted on February 27, 2013 by AnnieRie

In more ways than one.

Last night the 50+ bloggers and readers gathered at Union Jack’s in Columbia to reconnect. We haven’t had a get together since last spring, so it was great to see everyone. It is amazing that we have a local group, close to 300 blogs written by county residents, that gets together and networks. I like Tales of Two Cities blog about the event.

Our hosts last night were from The 53 and ukdesperatehousewife, Bill from the former, and Claire, from the latter.

My husband came with me, and really enjoyed the conversations. Lots of fun, even on a really rainy evening. It looks like we will be doing more of these in the future.

As for the second way to be a social butterfly, I am about to do my refresher training for the spring field trips at the Conservancy. One of the spring topics, for second graders, is Wings, Stings and Leggy Things. I love the butterfly part of this activity. The Conservancy has huge amounts of milkweed, which attracts monarchs. We will even rescue, nurture and tag emerging butterflies to track their journeys. It was a highlight of my first fall there. Tagging butterflies and releasing them. In the spring we talk about how they return here for the summers, and how we have created a welcoming habitat for them to thrive.

I like our training sessions. A one hour refresher course, a hike to rehearse what we do with the school children, and then, of course, the social part of it, we have a potluck on the last Thursday of training. I blogged yesterday about the training. Come out and be a social butterfly with those of us who love the outdoors, enjoy teaching the little ones all about the earth science around them, and who want to make a difference in our own small way.

My third reference to social butterfly today, that of home gardener, getting ready for the 2013 season. We pruned the butterfly bushes. I am learning how to find and rescue monarchs from the milkweed in the meadow. I blogged last fall about finding it out there. I intend to rescue as many larvae as I can, in order to protect them from predators.

This is a tiger swallowtail. We have lots of those every year. I know my butterfly bush isn’t native, but it certainly attracts a large number of them.

Spring has sprung, at least for most of what I am doing. Tomorrow, I will be starting my spring greens planting and putting together a salad table. All that, after my social butterfly attendance at Conservancy training.

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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.

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.

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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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?

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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