Dear Bay Weekly: I’d like to add my belated praise for Diana Beechener’s July 15 story “Hope Is In the Melody,” on the group that entertains wounded soldiers. In a time when so much news evokes cynicism, I’ve rarely found a story so moving. Well done! –M.B. Lefkowitz, Holland Point

At 7:45am on Tuesday, July 21, my phone rang. Rosemary Roberts, who lives down the road in Chesapeake Beach, announced she’d found an osprey in the middle of the road. “It can’t fly. It needs help,” she screeched. Roberts had read my book, Oscar and Olive Osprey (www.oscarandolive.com) so she was sure “the osprey lady” would know what to do. I didn’t, but I knew who would.

In the deepening twilight, Venus, Saturn and Mars blink into view above the west horizon. Thursday the waxing crescent moon joins the fray, with none farther than seven degrees from any other. The planets set around 10pm at week’s end, and while Mars and Venus remain just a few degrees apart through most of the month, Saturn drops from sight over the next few days. The moon reaches first-quarter Monday, and only then does its light last past midnight, leaving clear skies for this year’s Perseid meteor shower.

1978 27' Hunter Sloop – Excellent condition. Main, cruising spinnaker, Genoa, new jib. Bimini cover, rain awning. UHF & VHF-CD player.2-year-old 2-cylinder inboard Nanni diesel. $12,000. Tracy’s Landing. Call 301-261-9358.