21. Plan a Native Garden
Whether you're planting a modest border or the back five acres, native gardens make gardening simpler. Native plants will thrive in the soil that's there, will require less watering than many non-natives and can be grown without chemical fertilizer or pesticides, which is good for the Bay. They'll also attract birds and butterflies.
For a native garden that emerges bright and beautiful next spring, start planning now. First determine the size and shape of your garden beds, then draw simple maps of your gardens to scale. Will you plant trees, shrubs, perennials, bulbs or annuals? Will your beds be in sunshine or shade? Will you choose a variety of textures and colors or stick with a dominant color scheme? Visit London Town gardens, the Tawes Garden at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources or the William Paca Gardens in Annapolis to see some native gardens in their prime. Write down the names of plants you like.
Commercially propagated native plants can be difficult to find. If your nearby nursery doesn't stock the plants you want, try consulting one that specializes in natives, such as Lower Marlboro Nursery: 301/855-7654.
Think about choosing plants that flower at different times during the growing season - early spring, late spring, summer and fall - so that something will always be blooming. And choose some plants with evergreen leaves that will be of interest in the winter as well. Try some native vegetables like corn, tomatoes, squash and pumpkins.
For a sunny garden, you might choose native azaleas, witch hazel, button bush and native grasses as anchor plants. Fill in with black-eyed Susan, coneflower, coreopsis, blue flag iris, New England aster and butterfly weed. These are brilliant perennials that require little care once established. Green and gold and partridgeberry make lovely groundcovers for sun, and partridgeberry is an excellent food source for birds.
In the shade, use mountain laurels, flowering dogwood and redbud as your anchors. Plant around them wild columbine and bleeding heart, wild geranium and Virginia bluebells. Throw in some native ferns like royal fern and Christmas fern. Wild ginger and hepatica make fascinating groundcovers for shade.
When you're ready to plant, turn over the soil, remove grass and weeds, and add lots of compost. You can make your own compost by adding equal parts of brown matter, like dead leaves; green matter, like grass clippings; and vegetable matter from your kitchen scraps. The Millersville Landfill hands out simple and efficient composting bins free for the asking. Be sure to provide plenty of water the first year so your native perennials will flourish in their new home.
When spring rolls around, rejoice in Chesapeake Country's native beauty.
22. Swim in Magical Luminescence
Treat yourself and a friend to a refreshing night swim in the Bay. As you glide through the cool water, you'll likely see each other sparkle. This may seem like magic, but really it's tiny organisms that live among the plankton. You can see them because they are so numerous and because they glow in the dark. Look for their magical glow on the crest of waves, in boat wakes and on you as you leave the night blackwater.
Take your swim soon before the jellyfish arrive.
23. Gather a Summer Bouquet
Capture the beautiful colors and delicious scents of summer anytime in a sweet summer bouquet. All you need is a pair of clippers, a basket to carry your treasures, a container to display them and a few minutes to take a pleasant stroll through your summer garden.
Look for flowers with bright colors and varied textures. Zero in on your favorites and be brave: You'll be surprised how well bold colors will work together.
Once you've collected the stars of your bouquet, look for some interesting foliage to serve as supporting players. Many perennials have colorful leaves and branches, some feathery, others rounded or scalloped. Fern fronds add a touch of elegance.
Don't forget your herb garden. Herbs of all kinds add spicy aroma to your bouquet. Bronze fennel, lavender, purple basil and rosemary are perfect choices.
When your basket is full to the brim, it's time to arrange. Choose a container that best fits your needs. One with a generous opening works best for a full summer bouquet.
Place flowers, herbs and foliage one by one into your container. Start with tall-stemmed flowers in the center, then fill in with shorter stems around the outside. Herbs and foliage can then be added as accents.
Give your masterpiece to a friend or keep it for yourself. Either way you'll brighten your day.
24. Savor Summer Specialties: Chilled Fruit Soup
It could be a smoothie. It could be raw Popsicles. Let's just call it cold soup.
Like the designer mixed juices on so many grocery store shelves, chilled fruit soup can be a concoction of anything you want. Some recipes call for yogurt or sour cream to give it a nice, smooth texture. Others add a healthy dose of red wine, which will lend a slight spike to your brew because there's typically no heating of the alcohol.
For the sake of keeping the little ones sober and satisfying that one picky vegan in the family, we've found, tweaked and tasted a quick and easy recipe using only fruit, ice and spice. Just a little something to get you started before your inner gourmand takes over. Here's what you'll need:
- 2 C chunked cantaloupe
- 3 mangos early season; 3 large peaches late season
- 1 banana
- 4 C orange juice
- 1 C blueberries
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1 T lime juice
- 1 C ice
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 kiwis
- Whole mint leaves
- A blender
- A big bowl
- Creative interloping
Combine cantaloupe, 2 C orange juice, mangos/peaches and the banana in the blender; puree. Pour into bowl. Next, combine blueberries, 2 C orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla; puree. Mix blends together. Chill at least 1.5 hours; serve with kiwi slices and mint leaves as garnish. Serves 8 to 10 people.
25. NJFK: Build a Treasure Box
The kid in all of us loves to collect treasure. It's easy to do because treasures are all around us. Find a box, like a shoebox or one of those plastic boxes from the dollar store. Decorate it with stickers, paint, a collage of summer pictures or any other way you like it. As you add memories of summer's adventures to your life, add treasures to your box. Seashells from the beach trip, sharks' teeth from the Calvert County shore, interesting rocks found on a hike. Include ticket stubs from a movie seen with friends or a brochure from a historical home visited with your family. Keep the box and its contents forever as a special memento of your summer. And in the dark of winter, open it carefully and enjoy the remembrance of hot summer days.
26. Clean Up as You Go
When you enter a state park nowadays, they'll give you a trash bag and tell you to take out everything you bring in.
Why not go one better and bring this closer to home? Wherever you walk or visit in Bay Country, pick up some trash and take it home for proper disposal. Tie a trash bag onto your stroller or kid's wagon, or stick one in your hiking backpack. Keep an extra trash bag in your car. Don't be afraid to pick up trash, but be cautious and teach children to be careful. Never pick up something that could be risky to your health.
Separate the recyclable trash: cans, bottles, papers. Throw out the yucky stuff. You'll feel good, and our environment will look good. Everyone will benefit, even the thoughtless fools who throw something out the car window in the first place.
27. Wait Until Dark
A great treasure is right under your nose. To be more precise, above it. Summer nights on the Bay provide for great star watching whether from your own backyard, a country hillside or aboard a boat.
During clear conditions and moonless nights, turn out the lights and let the party begin. Pack a cooler or make a late-night picnic, set out as far from city lights as you can, get comfortable and feast your eyes on the night skies.
A casual glance above reveals the greater planets. Venus blazes in the west mid-way through July but has set by month's end. Toward the end of August, Venus reappears in eastern pre-dawn skies as the morning star. Mars shines reddish-orange throughout the summer, moving westward a little and sinking lower, but otherwise remaining easy to spot. Jupiter, then Saturn, rise in early morning darkness until the end of August, when the two break into evening skies low in the east. Even fleet Mercury darts across our field of vision, low in the west at twilight early in July and low to the east-northeast the middle of August.
The same stars that our early ancestors observed and that gave stories life to shine overhead all summer long. See if you can find the Summer Triangle, a loose configuration of the brightest stars.
In today's electrified and illuminated world, even moonless skies and clear conditions demand as much as 30 to 40 minutes for our eyes to adjust to darkness, and adjustment can be spoiled with just a moment's light - those of passing headlights, for example. So give yourself time to appreciate the constellations, sights like the Milky Way and the degree of a planet's hue. If you're using a star chart to guide your gazing, use a red-lensed flashlight to preserve your night sight
If you really want to get to know the stars and planets, start with a visit to a planetarium. Many full-scale observatories offer showings to the public. The U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., opens its doors Mondays at 8pm (202/762-1467). The Arthur Storer Planetarium in Prince Frederick provides public viewings Mondays, starting at 8pm, all summer long (410/535-7339). In Baltimore's Inner Harbor, stargazers can climb to the roof of the Maryland Science Center's Crosby-Ramsey Memorial Observatory Thursdays from 5:30-10pm (410/545-2999). Call ahead for viewing conditions and any last-minute changes in scheduling.
Wherever you are, keep your head up and don't forget the treasures of the night skies.
28. Eat Ice Cream
Summer is the best time to have a sweet tooth. Ice cream - America's favorite dessert - makes the hot days of summer a little cooler and a lot sweeter. Here are some hints for enjoying this yummy treat this summer.
I take ice cream very seriously. My favorite is very dark chocolate, like Ben and Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk. If I want soft serve, I go to Deale Soft Serve in Deale. They serve the best hot fudge sundaes topped with a Hershey's Kiss.
When I feel like drinking my ice cream, I go to Tasty Quick Diner in Prince Frederick for a chocolate mint chip milk shake. When my allowance money is running low, I can still satisfy my craving at the Benedict Market in Benedict. They have a great selection of old fashioned Popsicles for 15 cents. My favorite is low-fat Fudgesicles. At only 25 cents, they're a real bargain.
Of course, you can also make your own. One summer my friends and I made fresh raspberry ice cream after we picked raspberries. We poured sweet cream, sugar and vanilla into the ice cream maker, followed by the berries. Each of us took turns turning the crank. It was absolutely delicious.
Still, one of my favorite ways to get ice cream is from the ice cream man. Whenever I hear the music from his truck I run as fast as I can to catch him before he leaves. Even if I'm out swimming in the Bay with my friends, we run back and line up beside his truck when he stops nearby.
Spend a lot or a little, hard or soft, with or without nuts, summertime ice cream is the best.
29. Go Fish
Hey, where do you think those delicious plates of Chesapeake broiled rockfish topped with crabmeat come from beyond the noisy swinging doors of the kitchen of some Bayside eatery?
No big secret. They come from our Chesapeake, harvested by our watermen, and served fresh. But if you're a do-it-yourself buff, you, too, can enjoy the same dishes you see on the restaurant menu. They'll be fresher and bring you the satisfaction of doing everything - from baiting the hook to serving the stuffed baked sea trout, or perhaps crispy pan-fried hardheads - maybe even smoked bluefish filets.
No mystique involved. Anyone can catch fish and crabs. Anyone, no experience necessary, though a bit of knowledge about fish and their ways, their preferences for food and habitat, will improve chances dramatically. The same with catching crabs.
In recent years there has been a profusion of fishing courses throughout Chesapeake Bay Country to better prepare you for catching. We suggest Fishing In Maryland, an annual publication available at sporting goods stores and newsstands where you will find maps, rigs and much information on the various species. In Bay Weekly, we help with the weekly fishing reports of our own Outdoor columnist C.D. Dollar - and sometimes our long-time columnist Bill Burton - take on the subject.
Get out there and fish. And remember, the experience will be more satisfying if you realize that fishing is fun, catching is the bonus.
Just as anyone can catch fish, anyone can cook them. What better incentive than the enjoyment of the bounty of the Chesapeake, yours from start to finish? Just remember: Don't overcook the fish. You want it moist for taste and texture like that a waitress puts before you - which is the secret, and we're sharing with you.
If you're already into the cooking part, but not the catching, you can bypass the market and enjoy an even fresher product. But keep in your memory bank where that market is; there are times when fish become elusive.
30. NJFK: Track a Maryland Kid-Writer
How did Maryland writer Katherine Patterson get the idea for Jacob Have I Loved, a story of twin sisters growing up on a tiny Chesapeake Bay island?
Did Gayle Gillerlain ever lose a set of false teeth by dropping them into the Bay like her character, Reverend Thomas?
Children's writers must be among the most imaginative professionals, which makes tracking one down to find out how they do what they do a fine way to add pleasure to a summer afternoon of reading.
Maryland has a creative cadre of children's book authors, both nationally and locally famous. Priscilla Cummings, who writes the Chadwick the Crab stories, and recently branched out into chapter books for older children, such as Autumn Journey. Cummings regularly meets school groups to talk about her writing, and can be heard at libraries giving readings from her books. She admits her stories are tried out first at home in Annapolis. In fact, Chesapeake ABC was written with the help of Cummings' daughter, who was sick with the flu and needed a sick-room activity. The book is dedicated to her.
Mick Blackistone, author of The Day They Left the Bay, The Buffalo and the River, and Broken Wings Will Fly, lives in Fairhaven, where he writes stories about kids in Bay Country. His books explore the relationships between people and nature and encourage children to protect and conserve their habitat. Blackistone, too, gives talks to groups about his books, and he enjoys meeting children personally.
Carolyn Stearns, Where Did All the Water Go, lives in Deale, where she is a regular sight on her bicycle. A newcomer to Chesapeake Country, she turned the phenomenon of a very low tide into a story first published in Bay Weekly and then by Tidewater Press, which is also publishing her upcoming book on eagles.
Bobbi Wallace writes Victorian mysteries for young people. She has published 23 books including her latest, The Secret of St. Something. Yet much of the time, you'll find this prolific spinner of mysteries at her second home in North Beach.
Sandra Travis-Bildahl has written several books for kids on the Bay, including The Ship's Log for Kids: A Place to Write Draw and Learn, and The Boat Book of Fun: an Activity Book for Nautical Kids. She lives in Annapolis and is an avid boater. Her books are dedicated to her children, and many of her ideas come from experiences with her kids. If an activity sounds like fun, it probably is, because it's been kid-tested.
Also in our capital lives Jeff Holland, author of Chessie the Sea Monster that Ate Annapolis. When Jeff's not writing, he's singing them as one of Them Eastport Oyster Boys.
Bay Country is full of great adventures for kids; adventures, in turn, can stimulate stories and wind up as books. Maybe somebody in your family will write the next Bay book. Meanwhile, here's a fat list of kids' writers and books to track:
(J = juvenile; YA = young adult):
- Byron, Gilbert. Chesapeake Duke (1975)-J
- Curtis, Jennifer Keats. Oshus and Shelly Save the Bay (1999)-J
- Gillerlain, Gayle. Reverend Thomas's False Teeth (1994)-J
- Henry, Kristina. Sam: The Tale of a Chesapeake Bay Rockfish (1997)-J
- Meacham, Margaret. Oyster Moon (1996)-YA
- Mitchell, Barbara. Waterman's Child (1996)-J
- Paterson, Katherine. Jacob Have I Loved (1980)-YA
- Sharpe, Susan. Waterman's Boy (1990)-J
You'll find more at this Chesapeake Bay Juvenile Bibliography: http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/chesapeakebib.htm.
Copyright 2001
Bay Weekly
