Features (All)

Article - Boating; by - 10/11/12

When Old Boats Need a Friend

Along the Chesapeake, a fellow they call Bunny stays busy as a rabbit

The stately, down-on-its-luck vessel of vintage stock is badly in need of Bunny. Like people, every boat has its story. The plight of this ’41 Chris Craft Sedan Cruiser begins when its owner dies “down South somewhere.” She’s cast out of her covered shed, homeless. Somebody with an eye for elegant lines takes pity. A Washington lawyer has her, but soon the old boat, nameless now, belongs to somebody in Boston....

Article - Creature Feature; by Michelle Steel - 10/4/12

This Weeks Creature Feature ... Grand Daddy’s Galore

These bugs have legs 150 times stronger than ours

Clusters of long-legged creatures congregate around my screen door and atop my plants. Granddaddy or daddy long-legs, also called harvestmen, turn up just about everywhere inside and outside of my home. I find them on walls and plants, the clothesline and the stone patio. Daddy long-legs are arachnids, more closely related to scorpions than to spiders. They have one body section, two eyes and a segmented abdomen. Spiders have two body sections, eight eyes...

Article - News; by Ashley Brotherton - 10/4/12

The Biggest Wiener

Dogs compete for best costumes

Think your pup is the cutest Hallowiener? Prove it. Fisher’s Famous, a hot dog truck at 77 West Central Avenue in Edgewater, is seeking pups to compete for the top prize in cuteness and creativity in the Hallowiener Canine Costume contests. To enter, snap a picture of your furry four-legged friends in their Halloween best and email it to Fisher’s Famous at fishersfamous@live.com, with your and your pooch’s name....

Article - Boating; by The American Boat & Yacht Council - 10/4/12

Tempering Boat Show Fever

Tips before you buy

1. Buy a boat that matches your intended use. 2. If you are trailing, make sure your vehicle can pull the weight of the boat and trailer. 3. Buy from a dealer who will educate you on all the systems on the boat. 4. Test the line of vision from the helm to make sure you have clear visibility. 5. Check various compartments to see how accessible maintenance will be. 6. Hire a qualified...

Article - News; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 10/4/12

What’s Your High School’s Signature?

Southern signs on to Preservation and Innovation, with a party

It’s not your grandparents’ high school any more. Or your parents’. Or your big sister’s. In Anne Arundel County’s 12 high schools, Signature adds a new level of specialization to the way teens learn. Signature is the newest addition to a menu of choices county students can make in shaping their education: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math; International Baccalaureate; Advanced Placement; Applied Technology; ROTC;...

Article - Bay Weekly Interviews; by Steve Carr - 10/4/12

2014’s Volvo Ocean Race Begins in Annapolis

Farr Yacht Design’s Patrick Shaughnessy on creating the boats that sail round the world

Sailing legend Bruce Farr’s career began long ago and far away in his hometown of Auckland, New Zealand. By the 1970s, Farr — then in his 20s — had established a reputation for designing fast, cheap boats that were easier to build and sail than most of the competition. His designs won one-quarter, one-half, three-quarter and one-ton world championships. Seeking a presence in the northern hemisphere more accessible to the market, Farr opened an office in...

Article - News; by Dennis Doyle - 9/27/12

Another Illegal Gill Net

Some two weeks ago, a member of the Coastal Conservation Association fishing off of Bloody Point snagged his line on what appeared to be an illegal gill net. When weather permitted (Sept. 20), Maryland Department of Natural Resources dispatched the 80-foot-long icebreaker and buoy-tender A.V. Sandusky to hoist the net’s bulk. About a half mile of the deadly monofilament net — studded with the remains of horseshoe crabs, blue crabs and rotting fish — was removed from Bay waters...

Article - Gardening; by Leigh Glenn - 9/27/12

From Your Garden

Fennel provides plenty for butterflies and me

Observe and serve. That could be my motto with our fennel plants. The larvae of swallowtail butterflies feed on umbelly plants: fennel, cutting celery and parsley going to seed. I appreciate the mature butterfly, but in the summer of 2011 I removed a number of the larvae to save my plants. I deposited them in the woods across the way. Late last year, the woods were sprayed to stop the poison ivy. The spraying meant moving caterpillars from my plants would no longer be an...

Article - Creature Feature; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 9/27/12

This Weeks Creature Feature ... So Long, See You...

Osprey leave Chesapeake Country

Somebody’s bound to be the last osprey to turn out the lights on summer 2012 on Chesapeake Bay. By eight weeks old, this year’s babies were as big as their parents and ready to leave the nests. By the end of July and early August, you could see the youngsters trying out their wings, fishing skills and independence. Babies raised, parent osprey were free to head south. Mothers were out of here by mid to late August. They weren’t turning...

Article - Green Living; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 9/27/12

One in a Thousand Ways to Save Our Bay

Homestead Gardens gets its stormwater under control

A new river runs through Homestead Gardens. It’s a little out of the way, off to the side of the garden center with its plants, trees and shrubberies. But this river, which only runs when it rains, is at the center of making Homestead’s 12 acres a zero contributor to the pollution of Beard’s Creek, the South River and Chesapeake Bay. This river flows at the bottom of a grassy bowl. Before it was built, rain rushed down the sides of the bowl in a torrent...