Are geese making Columbia their year around home?

   

      Twenty years ago I became used to seeing migrating Canadian geese stopping over in tilled farmland at the end of Oakland Mills Road. For a two week period of time in March and October you could count thousands of geese in the field.  Then they would disappear.  That land has now been developed into the Ecker Hollow community of homes.
     The past few years it seems as if the Canadian geese we have around Columbia have become year round guests.  Go to any of our lakes at this time of year and you will have to walk around geese with their young.  As they seem to have taken up permanent residence here will we have to stop calling then Canadian geese and start referring to them as Columbian geese?  Seems that Columbia has more attraction than northern Canada in summer and the Carolinas in winter.  I wonder if global warming has anything to do with this change.

     Unfortunately this goose population has caused the problem of goose droppings around our lake paths.  The Columbia Association a few years ago hired border collie dogs to chase away the geese at Lake Kittamaqundi.  More recently flags on the dock at Lake Kittamaqundi has been used to keep them off the dock.
   

Weather events in Howard County

     This week's tornado damage and loss of life in Oklahoma Monday is hard to comprehend when we live in an area that doesn't seem to be in a danger zone for weather events.  Sure Ellicott City gets flooded on a regular basis but there is usually sufficient notice of the flooding to minimize any loss of life or damage.  Our earthquake in 2011 was strong for this area but the minimal damage made it an interesting experience just to say we have experienced an earthquake.  We are far enough inland that most Atlantic hurricanes are just mild to moderate wind and rain events for Howard County.  As far as tornados go we rarely see anything that compares to what the Midwest gets every Spring.  An exception was the 2001 tornado when a couple of University of Maryland students from Howard County were killed at College Park when the car they were sitting in was picked up by a tornado that hit the campus.

     The 2011 image above of a developing tornado near Brookville down Route 108 was the only image in Google Images a tornado in our area.  I do remember a storm that produced a tornado that did some minor damage out along Folly Quarter Road back in the 1980's.  I searched the internet for some reference in the local press for that event but couldn't find any mention.  I did drive out to the area the day after to see the damage and it seemed very limited to some twisted trees and minor damage to a barn.  In Columbia the storm made a mess of our streets with small branches and leaves strewn around.

P.S.
     Just like in the Sandy Hook tragedy, yesterday we heard of teachers putting their lives at risk to save their students.  One teacher used her own body to shield her students in a school bathroom.  Once again it reminds us about the type of people who go into teaching and makes it such a noble profession.

P.S.1
   Tom Coale at HoCo Rising has proposed a "Wordbones Memorial Book Club"  as a way to remember Tale of Two Cities blogger Dennis Lane.  Tom proposed the first book for the book club to be "Timbuktu" by Paul Auster.  Read more about the proposed club.

Clark's Elioak Farm open

    Clark Elioak Farm on Route 108 is open for locally raised beef, pork, chicken and lamb.  With the issue of commercially raised animals being loaded with steroids and other growth hormones the issue of farm raised animals has become a growing industry.  The Clark family has been farming on Route 108 for over 200 years.  Most recently the family of former Maryland Senator Jim Clark has been expanding the farming to include event themed parties, tours, a petting zoo, hayrides and many of the features of the old Enchanted Forest amusement park.   With many of the features brought from the old Enchanted Forest it will bring bring back the memories of visits to the Enchanted Forest back in the 1960's and 70's.

     This weekend May 25-27 is a gem mining weekend.  Purchase a bucket full of enriched ore, and use the water flume to discover gems you can take home with you. Fun for all ages. Check www.mobileminingexperience.com for more information about gem mining and possible special programs offered this weekend.  To check out the weekend activities go to their events website. 

P.S.
Foursquare link to Howard County farms and farm stands from Jessie Newburn

P.S.1
   If you are looking for good corn for this weekend try the sweet corn at Wegmans.  Best sweet corn I have had in a long time.

Columbia Foundation name change

       Once upon a time Columbia and Howard County were two very different places.  There was a liberal Columbia Democrat Club and a more conservative Ellicott City Democrat Club.  Ellicott City had Buell's and the Forest Diner and Columbia had Mrs. Z's.  In the 1960's when racial diversity was a central component of Columbia, some of Howard County was still trying to accept the new civil rights legislation in public accommodations.   Urban-raised Columbians sometimes felt like an anomaly in a rural county.
      Today the distinctions between Columbia and the rest of Howard County have been greatly reduced.  Much of this has occurred as former Columbians have moved to newer, larger housing outside the boundaries of Columbia.  Columbia has "spilled over" into much of the rest of the County.  The liberalism of Columbia is now a reality in most of Howard County's voting patterns.
        In light of this reality one of Columbia's oldest institutions has decided that it is time for a name change.  Last week the Columbia Foundation decided to change its name to the Community Foundation of Howard County.  The Foundation has for most of its history funded programs that benefited the entire county inspite of its name.  The name change is probably long overdue.  Below is the public announcement of the name change from the Foundation.

"The Columbia Foundation, which raises, manages and distributes funds to support Howard County nonprofits, will change its name to the Community Foundation of Howard County to better reflect Howard County's growth, the foundation's diverse donor base and the geographic scope of communities served. The new name will take effect May 15th, the day after the foundation's Spring Party."

"As Howard County's only community foundation, it is imperative that we evolve along with the community we serve," said Earl Armiger, chair of The Columbia Foundation's board of trustees. "The board of trustees unanimously approved a resolution to change our name to be more inclusive of the community."

"Columbia-founder Jim Rouse established the foundation, the first community foundation in Maryland, in 1969 to facilitate philanthropy and help create a nonprofit infrastructure in Howard County. In the 1960s, Howard County was home to approximately 60,000 residents, and the surge in population in the 1970s and 1980s was primarily in the villages that comprise Columbia. However, as a result of expanded patterns of housing and development over the past two decades, Howard County is currently home to more than 294,000 residents spread throughout the county."

"Last year, The Columbia Foundation funded 100 nonprofits whose services affected more than 178,000 residents throughout neighborhoods in Columbia and as far east as Elkridge and Savage, as far south as Fulton and North Laurel, as far west as Glenwood and Woodbine and all the communities in between."

"We are all one Howard County community, and our name should reflect that inclusiveness," said Beverly White-Seals, president and CEO of The Columbia Foundation. "As the community has grown, its needs have grown, and we have grown to meet those needs. What remains the same is our commitment of service to each of our donors and charitable funds, to nonprofit organizations and the community. Working together, we're able to leverage collective knowledge, creativity and resources for a greater impact than any one of them could make alone."

P.S.

Have a "green" energy efficient home?  Get on the "green" home tour.

P.S. 1

From the Columbia Association:

    "  CA’s new World Languages Café offers free, friendly way to learn new languages, increase fluency (4th Wed of the month).    Next Cafe is  at Wegmans. Whether  it  is  in  English,  en  français,  en  español,  or  in  Arabic,  Farsi,  German,  Hebrew,  Hindi,  Italian,  Japanese, Korean, Mandarin,  Portuguese,  or Russian,  there  can  be  a  table  with  friendly  faces  and good  conversation  at  Columbia  Association’s  (CA)  World  Languages  Café.

      The  World  Languages  Café  provides  monthly  evenings  of  conversation  and  culture  for  people  to speak  a  language  they  know  or  are  learning,  increase  their  fluency  by  speaking  and  listening,  meet  others who  enjoy  learning  languages,  pick  up  useful  phrases  to  use  when  traveling  —  or  even  to  recall  a  childhood language.

       These  gatherings  are  free  and  are  appropriate  for  adults,  as  well  as  college  and  high  school students (who should be in level 4 or 5).  They  will  be  held  on  the  fourth  of  the  month year-round at  the  Wegmans  Café,  located  at  8855  McGaw  Road  in Columbia.  People  are  invited  to  come  upstairs  and  join  the  language  table  of  their  choice,  whether  they  want to  drop  in  or  stay  the  entire  time.  On  their  way  up,  participants can  purchase  a  drink,  snack  or  dinner  to  bring with  them. Language  tables  are  hosted  by  native  speakers  who  will  facilitate  conversation;  these  gatherings  are not  grammar  or  vocabulary  classes.

      Check  www.ColumbiaAssociation.org/Multicultural  for  the  languages  that  will  be  offered  each month. If we do not have a native speaker, we may not be able to host a language, although if there are two or more people, they can always practice together. If you would like to be a native speaker table host, please contact me. We have guidelines for table hosts as well as conversation starters. For  more information,  contact  laura.smit@ColumbiaAssociation.org  or  call  410-­715-­3162. "

Great reads for the Summer!

Ice tea with mint, a cool breeze, the deck and a good book.  Does that describe what we think of on a cold winter day?

Summertime and the Livin is easy

From the HoCo Library:

Great Reads For Vacay & Staycay

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Win prizes for reading! Complete a brief entry form for each book you read or listen to this summer to be eligible for monthly prize drawings. Entry forms available at each branch. All entries are eligible for the systemwide monthly grand prize drawing to win a Kindle Fire.  

Looking for great summer reads for your summer vacation or staycation? Check back for the list of titles compiled by Howard County Library System Instructors.


UPCOMING EVENTS

Date	Description	Register
06/01/13 10:00 AM Miller Branch	Summer Reading Kickoff Read and wi ... [more]	No registration required
06/04/13 7:00 PM Central Branch	Great Reads for Vacay & Staycay Kick off the adult summer reading club as Library instructors discuss their top picks for summer reading. Win books and ... [more] P.S.  Publisher's Weekly suggestions for 2013	No registration required