Skip to main content

Errands



I left the house yesterday. (Alert the media.)  At long last I have returned my library books to the Columbia East Branch. I noticed there was a “farm stand” advertised when I pulled in to the parking lot. There were a few tents set up in the back. The Columbia East Branch used to be one of the official sites of the Howard County Farmers Market, but, no more. I don’t know how those decisions are made, but I was sorry to see them go.

Is the farm stand on Thursdays a regular thing now? I saw several cars headed in that direction while I was loading my books into the book return. If there’s a way to maintain access to Farmer-produced food at that location I think it’s a good thing. The nearest regular Farmers Market is in Oakland Mills on Sundays, but not everyone is available to shop on a Sunday morning. 

My other errand was dropping off an item to someone from my Buy Nothing Group who is immune-compromised and cannot leave the house. It was easy enough to do a contactless delivery while I was out and about. My destination was Hopewell, an area off of Snowden that you might not even know is there if you haven’t been to the Hopewell Pool (with it’s delightful splashpad.) 

I find Hopewell a fascinating little island of Columbia. At least, it feels like an island to me. I should consult a map. It feels disconnected from the rest of Columbia. Technically is it in Owen Brown. Here is a screen grab from Google Maps.


I see now that it’s Lake Elkhorn that the Hopewell neighborhood backs up to. So it’s equally valid to say that Hopewell is connected to the rest of Owen Brown by Lake Elkhorn. It always feels like an island unto itself to me. Of course, it’s an island that has quick access to Chinese Food, Indian Food, and the other businesses on Snowden River Parkway. So they are not exactly marooned apart from civilization over there.

As I home I noticed a sign placed facing the road. It was in the back yard of a house that backs onto Rustling Leaf. It read: Honk for Dr. Fauci.

I was sorely tempted. But it’s an extremely quiet residential neighborhood and I am not really a horn-honker. So, I thought good thoughts for Dr. Fauci all the way home.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

Columbia Chance Connection

  Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!”  We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...
Post a Comment
Read more