Tom Crockett’s toy train display at Tan’s Cycles was a holiday hit for 17 years. From Christmas trains running every December, he expanded to include Halloween trains in October and November. Crowds of children with their parents and grandparents poured into his shop to watch the trains speed past mountains, towns and itty-bitty people.

       Thinking of edging into just a bit of that red downtown curbline for a quick trip into a shop? Think again. It now costs three times as much if you’re cited.        The new fines approved by the Annapolis City Council went into effect this summer. Citations are being issued.

     My dashboard lit. My engine choked. I coasted into the Good Old Days parking lot in Deale feeling fortunate to have my car break down so close to my mechanic. But how to get home?

      Chesapeake Country loves showing off its boats, and decorating them for the holidays is a good excuse to get back on the water — even on a chilly night. The boating season is winding down, but now’s the time to think about the holidays and celebrating at one of Annapolis’ most colorful events, the Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade.          Get your boat in on the action by signing up before December 10 for the December 14 parade, held 6 to 8pm, rain or shine.

      This is a tough year on trees.          “We are seeing a lot of health issues in our trees, particularly since this is the first really dry spell in about three years,” says Anne Hairston-Strang, associate director at the Maryland Forest Service.

     Brian Boru Pub asks your help in feeding and clothing our needy neighbors this winter. Donate to the Irish restaurant’s Green Hearts Coats and Cans Drive running through December 24.          Brian Boru in Severna Park welcomes your donations of new or gently used coats as well as non-perishables and canned goods.          “We start collecting in October, when people are cleaning out their closets,” says Heather Saffield, general manager of Brian Boru.

      The Bowen family is making a career out of their passion for creating bath, body and home products.          For Lance Bowen and daughter Ella, that’s experimenting with scented items.          “They created soaps, candles, lotions, body wash, lip scrubs, salt and sugar scrubs and more,” says wife and mother Danielle Bowen.

      Libraries have long booked our travels in time and space. Now you can not only check out books about dream destinations and browse the Mango Languages learning app. You can also get your passport to travel the world at Calvert Library in Prince Frederick. The library is now a State Department-approved passport acceptance facility.

        Like some Ocean City beachgoers, gulls there are downright rude. The boldest of them swoop down to snatch chips, fries and whole pieces of pizza.      Laughing gulls deride you.          But the aggression waned after the city’s decision to hire falcons to restore order. Sea gulls known to bully humans want nothing to do with fearsome birds of prey.

      A cure for human diseases could be fast-approaching in an unlikely place, a place plagued by heat and humidity, pesticides and pollution. It is, at the same time, home to critically endangered species that might just carry the solutions we’ve been looking for. Here, in Xochimilco, Mexico, a Chesapeake Country teacher is part of a collaboration of scientists and educators working to make this miracle possible.