country life
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The Home Stretch
After a visit to the bee yard to watch the take-offs and landings of the honeybees, we noticed that bumblebees were all over the wild raspberries Sunday evening. They have been busy pollinating and there looks to be a nice batch of raspberries this season. Saturday morning I took a stroll down to the blueberries Continue reading
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The Scent of Maywood: This Week It’s Wild Roses
A fragrance cannot be posted in a blog. Picture and video can provide sight and sound, but to really experience Maywood in spring, you have to smell it. On a walk down to the field to inspect the blueberries, the sweet smell of grass perfumes the air. Not the smell of a fresh mowed lawn, Continue reading
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The road less traveled…or alternate routes
With the rare exception of fugitive man-hunts through our woods and the not-so-rare “incident” during rush hour, living next to Interstate 83 is a good thing. I-83 makes it possible for Hereford Zonians to live in beautiful, rural northern Baltimore County and get to everywhere else. And that’s the problem. The highway is the primary travel route for most people to get to work. Continue reading
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Manhunt at Maywood
Having a fire engine with a full complement of firefighters in the driveway is reassuring when there is a fugitive in the woods. Being protected in our sleep by so many law enforcement and emergency workers makes me feel secure. Knowing that police patrol cars, helicopters, search dogs, firefighters, and ambulance drivers know where I live Continue reading
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Little man hands
It was too quiet Friday morning, so I looked outside and saw the little guy working on the tractor with PopPop. From the upstairs window it was just the cutest thing. Then I went outside to inspect closer. Oh my. Grandson was busy at work scraping gunk off the tractor engine. This is a 1952 tractor Continue reading
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The back forty
Here at Maywood, there’s the back yard and then there’s what’s beyond the back yard. That is John’s territory–down the hill and into the woods. It is not visible from the house. This is very important. If I can’t see it, then I can’t yell about what it looks like. Periodically I get invited back to see projects in Continue reading
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The house is a-buzz
Friday afternoon, I came home to hear that Harper has a job. PopPop hired him to kill carpenter bees at the rate of twenty-five cents a bee. I have no doubt that Harper’s eyes registered “ka–ching!” when he looked at all the carpenter bees buzzing around the house. With enough sunny days and the right Continue reading
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Marching into spring…with my rake
Last week the clock said to spring forward, but there is nothing about getting up an hour earlier that gets me springing anywhere. However, an extra hour of daylight in the afternoon was a good enticement to spring home from work, grab a rake, and head out into the garden. I love to rake. It makes Continue reading
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Convalescence, The Invalid Wife, and Emerging Bees
I’m convalescing these days. Convalescence is a great word, although we hardly use it anymore. It conjures up images of sickly people bundled up in thick blankets and wheeled outside for a bit of sun. Or rich sickly people doing the same thing on deck chairs of a cruise ship circa 1923. To my stressed-out co-workers it means I’m taking the winter off. Continue reading
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There’s hope for snow days…
For all of you who are dragging your weary bodies through this warm, snowday-less winter, hope is on the way. The tractor is not running. Last week, during all those balmy days that were perfect for taking a walker stroll around Hunt Valley Town Center, the tractor was running like a charm. Smooth as silk. Of Continue reading
Slightly Off the Grid 