Tag Archives: weather

Signs of Spring in Woodstock

Posted on April 9, 2013 by AnnieRie

Actually, that would be “THE” sign of spring.

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The OPEN flag at the Woodstock snowball stand. Trumpeting to one and all that warm weather is officially here. Peaches and cream, heavy on the syrup, marshmallow in the middle. How do you like your snowballs?

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After a morning of training, hiking at the Conservancy, I had to stop to bring home a snowball for my husband who was cleaning out the debris from the property edge. OK, I confess. I ate the top inch or so of the snowball. Didn’t want it to spill in the car.

We had a lovely morning, planning for an eighth grade pilot trip to discuss history and the farm circa the Civil War era. The barn was on the tour.

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The Montjoy barn, moved and reassembled on site. I believe we were told the old site of the barn is now the Chick-fil-a on Executive Park Drive off Route 100. I know the Montjoy farm was over there, as the Elms at Montjoy apartments now occupy part of the farm land. Since the barn was probably built in the 1800s, it fits in well with the lessons we will be teaching the eighth graders. We have hands on projects for them to do, in the barn, the smokehouse, the blacksmith shop and the farmhouse.

Eighteen of us were out training today and enjoying the blossoming of the shrubs and flowers on the Conservancy grounds.

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Any more speculation about the holes in the fascia of the smokehouse. The most plausible is pigeon roosting cubbyholes, so the family could capture the eggs and use them in cooking. Maybe, maybe not. Still a subject of discussion.

In my farm series, it wouldn’t be complete without these references to Brown’s farm, or Mt. Pleasant, the site of the Howard County Conservancy, where I volunteer.

As for the last spring image, I give you the “pot people” decked out in spring gear and Orioles hat.

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On one of these lovely days, you need to come out and walk the grounds, feed the goats some twigs or leaves, ogle the chickens and guess the flowering shrub none of us knew.

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The answer is quince. Thanks to the staff for looking it up and posting it on facebook.

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April Fool’s Day

Posted on April 1, 2013 by AnnieRie

No jokes. No pranks. No weird posts. Just the third anniversary of my last day of working. The day I left Federal service was thirty years and one day after starting it. Somewhere in my mind I kept thinking, this isn’t an April Fool’s joke. I am really retiring.

I can’t believe three years have flown by. Always busy. Loving the gardening, volunteering, wandering, and other hobbies like my cooking and wine interests. Today, we ushered in April. A different weather pattern than a year ago. Still breezy and cool. No flowering trees or shrubs.

I did do a mostly local dinner, like I do many nights. Today I used up my CSA basket items to make a veggie stir fry.

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Add to that a local wine, from Linden.

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Good wine. Good food. Success in my seedlings. Check out how the squash are doing.

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And, yes, the pot on the left has two new ones. I now have seven plants of the heirloom Thelma Sanders squash. Retirement gives you that freedom to revel in crazy little things, like success in planting seeds.

April is the beginning of planting, nurturing, harvesting, and enjoying the fruits of my labor. Different from a year ago, when the March heat had the plants all early blooming and I was recovering from surgery. It looks like this year will be a typical mid Atlantic spring. And I am ready to start putting plants in the ground. The mesclun, arugula and kale are getting bigger and need to be transplanted soon.

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Stay tuned for me to check out how the azalea gardens are doing, out at Brighton Dam. It is definitely the beginning of spring. If you think of retirement, my advice is, do it in the spring. You will never miss the office and working.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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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.

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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.

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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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Too Many Tomatoes

Posted on March 22, 2013 by AnnieRie

No, you can never have too many tomatoes. At least that is the case at our house. I am currently deciding which plants to buy this year. I often get asked how we can handle two dozen tomato plants for two people. Easy. The freezer, and oven drying them first. I am plowing through the supplies in the freezer this winter.

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Between the CSA tomatoes and my tomatoes, I put away in the freezer approximately three dozen freezer bags of blanched tomatoes, plastic containers of oven dried with herbs or onions, and plastic containers of tomato sauce. I have less than a dozen left. Getting close to that point where I will be craving fresh tomatoes and can’t wait for summer. The other major item that freezes well and I have used extensively is the pesto. Tomatoes and basil, both staples in my garden. As winter ends, my stocks are being depleted. Greenway Farms is the source of my most prolific producing basil, which was the African blue basil. There will be another half dozen plants like the ones that I harvested all fall last year.

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I will definitely get more red fig, if they have them at the master gardener’s stand on Earth Day at the Conservancy. They produced lots of tasty tiny tomatoes, perfect for freezing. They are an heirloom, first cultivated in the 1700s in North America. They are sweet and dried, they are a treat, just like fig jam. I oven roast them with a little sugar, salt, pepper and olive oil. All winter long they come out of the freezer and onto pasta, bursting with flavor.

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I may do Great White again, as I had success with them last year. My best producers were the Amish paste, the pineapple, and the yellow plum varieties. Can’t wait to get those plants in the ground and see the first fruit of the summer. Nothing like a room full of sunshine, just picked tomatoes.

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Anyone else getting that gardening itch?

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We Interrupt Spring …

Posted on March 21, 2013 by AnnieRie

… for a last blast from winter. There were snow flurries last night. Temps in the 30s and low wind chill. Will it go away soon? Last year on the 22nd of March I took these pictures.

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Yes, the tulips were up. This year they are barely above ground, even though they peeked out of the ground in late January. Totally different weather this winter. Never really snowy or extended cold, but never having those really warm days we had last year.

How about snowballs?

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The Woodstock snowball stand was open last March. I drove by today on my way home from the Conservancy and no sign of snowballs yet. Looking at their facebook page and following on twitter. Waiting for the weather to make us ready for a stop there after a day as a volunteer.

My weeping cherry, a year ago.

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There aren’t even blooms on it right now.

At least I can plan by drooling over the Sharp Farm plant list, readying my wish list for the April 19 opening of the greenhouses. I bought most of my tomatoes there last year, and many other plants.

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And, we get to go hiking this weekend to learn how to do forest forensics. If you are looking for a truly enriching experience, sign up for one of the hikes, or the lecture tomorrow night at the Conservancy. Tom Wessels is simply amazing.

Waiting not so patiently for spring. What happened to global warming? Tired of cold blustery days and ready to transplant greens.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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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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.

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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.

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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.

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Nothing like perfect weather to bring out all ages.

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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.

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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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Top Ten Ways to Prepare for Loss of Power

Posted on March 6, 2013 by AnnieRie

With this final?? snow storm?? of the 2012-2013 winter upon us, we use our previous experience to get ready. Generally, when we prepare for it, then we don’t lose power. But, being prepared is still better. Particularly since our UPS units with surge protection keep beeping periodically as the winds pick up. While most of the county east of us isn’t getting snow, we have had quite a crazy mix so far today. Looking like this.

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This past year we had the derecho with no warning. Two years in a row, hurricanes. Here’s my top ten ways to be sure you are OK during a storm. Most of these we did the past two days, and we shall see how well we fare. It is snowing now here. The rain seems to have gone. We have four inches on the patio table, as you can see from my pictures of the birds feeding in their covered area. And, yes, the piggy little squirrel, who has been hoovering up anything he can.

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1. Water, Water Everywhere! Yep, out here where we live on wells, water is really important. More important than anything else for me. I can work around much, but not the lack of water. Bathtub full. Two drywall buckets in the powder room. Containers on the counter, and extra in the small fridge in the laundry room.

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2. Food that is simple to make and eat. Like the ingredients for my tuna, onion, canellini bean salad. All it takes is a can of beans, a can of tuna, diced onion, olive oil, salt and pepper. Instant meal. Over greens if you have them.

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3. Extra propane for the gas grill. We have a spare tank in the shed. After the hurricane in 2011, we cooked on the grill. We have also cooked on it in the winter, as long as it stops snowing.

4. All electronics charged to capacity. Cell phone, iPad, one of the large light sources is battery charged. All are ready.

5. Extra batteries. And the flashlights handy. One on each side of the bed. And, in bathrooms and basement in case that is where we are, if the lights go out.

6. Dry wood for the stove in the winter. We don’t usually need to do this, but the wood stove in the basement will really warm up the entire first floor if we leave the basement door open.

7. Gasoline for the snow thrower and other power equipment useful in clean up. The snow thrower is always positioned to be taken out of the garage easily. We make sure that we have easy access to the manual garage door opener, aka the rope system.

8. Cook the biggest and most vulnerable meat from the freezer. I am doing a chicken in the crock pot now. Can be eaten hot or cold this evening.

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9. Prepare the coolers and the freezer. Check temps on refigerator. I drop them back a few degrees to make it colder in there, and then don’t open them if we lose power. And, yes, I know I need to change the filter on the fridge. Although it goes red after purple and it isn’t red yet.

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10. Warm or cool the house more than normal. Today I cranked up the heat a few degrees. With a brick house, nicely insulated, we retain a fair amount of heat upstairs even with the power gone.

Hopefully, we will do OK tonight. The wind has started gusting, and every time the UPS units chirp a warning, we brace ourselves. If I don’t get this post up soon, I could end up losing most of it. Stay warm and dry in the rest of Howard County. Just remember some of us west of you all, and at higher elevations, have some really wet heavy snow out here. Hoping the temps rise a bit more and it changes to rain. Otherwise, hope it stops soon. Bailing the sump pump is our least favorite activity when we lose power.

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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.

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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

trail clean up

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