Take the Challenge

Over at Elevate Maryland, the question of the summer seems to be, "ice cream or snowballs?" For me that's pretty simple. Snowballs in the summer. Ice cream the rest of the time.

This week's Howard County Times feature a nice photo-heavy piece about the Snowball Stand in Woodstock. (Is there anything Jen Rynda does not do well?)  I've never been there and it looks like an adventure I should put on my Summer Bucket List.

If anyone had asked me to choose a snowball stand to feature in the newspaper, I would have steered them to Pete's. Pete's Snowballs is a summer tradition in my neck of the woods. It sits at the intersection of Oakland Mills Road and....Oakland Mills Road. I'm not kidding. Here, in a little patch of land that time forgot and decades have not improved, Pete and his family grow produce, make honey, and sell snowballs.

I visited Pete's yesterday and was floored by how crazy that end of Oakland Mills Road has become due to road construction. This must be due to work being done to turn that location into an entry point for Blandair Park. But it has just about decimated any easy access to Pete's. No one would "just happen to be passing by" anymore, under these circumstances. While it's easy to park on the street once you get there, at first glance it seems like an Olympian challenge to navigate the traffic hazards. There's even a misbegotten sign instructing pedestrians to walk in the street. If you followed this direction you would be unable to walk up to the snowball stand. Go figure.

Take the challenge. Pete's has responded to the situation by making a big colorful sign and placing it by the curb to let people know they're still in business. Take them up on their invitation. Just as I need to make a point of making a special trip to the Snowball Stand in Woodstock, I'm inviting you to make a special trip to Pete's to help keep this mom and pop business going during a crazy summer of road disruption.

Do you remember the story of The Little House? While I don't think that this little snowball stand, in its small garden oasis, is going to end up in the middle of a great big city, I do think it's feeling the growing pains of its surroundings as the County ties up loose ends associated with the next phase of Blandair. I'm hoping that once it's all finished that a stop to Pete's is a no-brainer for anyone going to and from the park. Along with the rest of us, of course.

Make mine watermelon. Or wild cherry.