Regulars (All)

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/30/13

Murder by Mulch

Are you guilty? Looking out from the window of my room at Heritage Harbor Rehabilitation Center, I see mountains of mulch suffocating the trees. The sight is enough to undo my promising rehab after falling off a ladder while cleaning gutters on May 13. Over the 30 years I served as Extension Specialist in Ornamental Horticulture with statewide responsibilities, I concluded that most problems associated with landscapes were related to over-mulching. The...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 5/23/13

When the Planets Align

Mercury, Venus and Jupiter gather in the glow of twilight

As the sun sets, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury emerge in its wake. These three planets will spend the coming week in one another’s company, playing a celestial game of leap-frog low in the west-northwest after sunset. While these planets appear just a few degrees from one another, they are actually hundreds of thousands of miles apart. All the planets, earth included, travel along the same plane — called the ecliptic — as they orbit the sun. Every so often two...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 5/23/13

If You Can’t Be Smart, Be Patient

The fish are there

The plan was made in haste late in the evening. Get up early enough to catch a good moving tide, launch the skiff, bag a quick limit and be home by 10am. All seemed possible, as we had limited out in 20 minutes the afternoon before. We had a good idea the fish would still be on hand in a spot where we had been the only boat on the water. When we splashed my boat a little after 9am, we had already secured an ample supply of fresh menhaden for bait. Since the previous day...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/23/13

Pity the Poor Crape Myrtle

But I have no pity for pruners who butcher this beautiful summer-flowering species

I am appalled at the way homeowners are pruning their crape myrtles. I can only explain it as Monkey See Monkey Do. Just because you see somebody else — even landscape maintenance companies — cutting crape myrtle like dock pilings, it does not mean that they know what they are doing. Those of you who travel Rt. 260 see the massacre of crape myrtles growing in the median strip as you approach Chesapeake Beach. The same dumb pruning method is being used on the...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 5/16/13

The After-Dark Gathering

Venus, Jupiter and Mercury are aligning in the west

The moon is at first-quarter Thursday the 16th, when it appears high in the southwest at sunset and sets around 1am. Over the next week it shifts roughly 10 degrees to the east at sunset each night, until on the 23rd, the night of full moon, it rises as the sun sets and sets the next morning as the sun rises. Along the way Luna makes some notable pairings. Saturday night you’ll find it trailing less than five degrees behind first-magnitude Regulus, the heart of Leo the...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/16/13

Conquering Chickweed

If you can’t kill this prolific weed, you can eat it

If chickweed is a problem in your yard, you are not heeding my advice. Follow my two precepts — have your soil tested and cut your grass tall while letting it fall — and you will eventually conquer chickweed. Chickweed is a winter annual weed, meaning that the seeds start germinating in September, and the seedlings grow slowly all winter. By the first day of spring, the foliage is bright green. The plants grow no taller than an inch or two, producing a carpet of...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 5/16/13

Chumming for Summer Rockfish

Tips on chum, tackle and tide

During the coming summer months, chumming will be one of the easiest and most effective techniques for getting a limit of nice rockfish in your cooler. Chumming is essentially putting a stream of small bits of ground-up baitfish into the tidal current flowing out behind an anchored boat. The smell and taste of the fish bits trails out and sinks down, attracting game fish, hopefully stripers, to your boat. As they seek out the source of the attractant, they will also find...

Article - The Dish; by Lisa Knoll - 5/16/13

Preakness Treats

Celebrate with a Maryland original, the Black Eyed Susan

The 138th Preakness race runs this Saturday, May 18, at Pimlico Racetrack in Baltimore. Maybe you have tickets and are watching the race from the infield where you can enjoy the party crowd and headliner Pitbull. The Kegasus is no longer invited to this party. Maybe you’ll be watching the race from the comfort of your living room or attending a party with friends. However and wherever you choose to celebrate, Finlandia Vodka, the official vodka of the Preakness,...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 5/9/13

Featherweights on the Fly

Bluegills give you fight and flavor

Early May is a great time of year. The dogwoods are in full bloom, the scent of flowering lilacs perfume the air, redbuds glow crimson. And one of the greatest sweetwater fish species is, right now, moving into the shallows and picking out a spawning territory to defend. Tossing a size-10 popping bug with a fly rod along a freshwater impoundment’s shoreline and waiting for the explosive take of a bull bluegill guarding his territory is a delight not to be missed. This...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 5/9/13

The Crown Jewel of a Dark Night

Can you find Corona Borealis?

Thursday’s new moon is hidden amid the glare of the sun, but it reemerges Friday as a most slender, young crescent that you just might be able to see. You’ll need clear skies, an unobstructed view to the west-northwest and spot-on timing, as this moon appears low against the horizon for 15 minutes at most immediately following sunset. Brilliant Venus is just two degrees away, but you may need binoculars to pick out either from deep within the glare of twilight. ...