Chesapeake Bay's Independent Newspaper ~ Since 1993
1629 Forest Drive, Annapolis, MD 21403 ~ 410-626-9888
Volume XVII, Issue 51 ~ December 17 - December 23, 2009
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Where We Live
~ by Steve CarrThe Old Oak
I followed 93-year-old Ned Hall’s
footsteps to manhood
Ned Hall, now 93, could charm the bark off a tree. Though not a teacher by trade, he has taught and nurtured a generation of Chesapeake Country environmentalists. Ned’s talent goes beyond knowing the names of all the local plants and animals; he knows the history of the lands where they’re found.
Building a
Better World
By Millard Fuller’s death last March, the Habitat for Humanity founder’s vision of justice housing had spread round the world. Habitat for Humanity chapters flourish in 90 countries. Maryland contributes 18 chapters to the 1,500 in the United States. In Habitat’s first 33 years, it has added 300,000 homes to our global village.
The Bay Gardenerby Dr. Frank Gouin |
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The Secret Life of Cones
Why you’re unlikely to grow your
Christmas tree from seed
Cones open in late summer or early fall while still on the tree, and the seeds are scattered by the wind. The winged seeds that rise from cones are called samaras. Thus, if you are going to collect seeds, you must climb the trees and collect cones while they are closed.
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The
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Salt Never Sleeps
It’s time for your wintertime cleanup
Last season, every time you used your fishing tackle in Bay waters, some parts of it got wet. The water eventually evaporated, but the salt in that water remains behind in the tackle, accumulating. The more you used your gear, the more salt it gathered.
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Sky Watchby J. Alex Knoll |
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Baby It's Cold
And winter’s just now got us in its grip
As the sun hovers directly above the Tropic of Capricorn Monday, December 21, winter officially takes hold. The sun rises at 7:21:24 and sets less than nine and a half hours later at 4:47:19. Back on summer solstice we enjoyed almost 15 hours of sunlight; the difference in daylight hours is why it’s so cold now — not how close we are to the sun.
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Flickerings
The Princess and the Frog
Disney works a little Voodoo to revivify its princess formula in this kid-friendly, if slightly stiff, fantasy.
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Patuxent Habitat for Humanity
In Calvert and St. Mary’s counties, Patuxent Habitat for Humanity sells houses to families at no profit and with interest-free loans. Families are chosen on three criteria: Need, ability to repay a no-interest mortgage and willingness to partner with the program.
Here, Donald and Melissa Holt cut the ribbon at their new home in St Mary’s County. The house is equipped with ramps, wide doorways and roomy hallways for Darnell, who is in a wheelchair.
Old-School Lessons
History was made
in this old building
The second-grade students of Calvert Elementary art teacher Shari Adams saw nothing they could recognize in the bits and pieces of the Old Wallville School, which opened last month, reconstructed for students of history. It will now continue to spark memories and fuel comparisons that help its visitors understand “the human condition.”
Harvey Makes for Joyous Company
Bay Theatre Company's performers make this cleverly written show.
Who doesn’t know that Harvey is a Pooka, an imaginary six-foot rabbit that accompanies Elwood P. Dowd everywhere, much to the consternation of Elwood’s family. His sister tries to commit him, but after many confused identities and cross-purposes, Elwood’s sweet, innocent nature wins the day. He and Harvey presumably live happily ever after.
Skipjack
Author Christopher White burrows so deeply into Bay history, culture and scientific miscellanea that there isn’t much remaining for other Bay lovers to write about.
This detailed narrative is a skipjack tale like no other. Of the several books I’ve read about Chesapeake boats and oyster harvesting (or orstering, as its practitioners would say), Skipjack is the one that encompasses just about everything a reader would want to know about life on and in the Bay.
| from the Editor |
Music Notes |
Free Will Astrology© |
