Village Green/Town²

  In keeping with the philosophy of looking for the small delights of home , here is a guest post from friend and former HoCo Blogger Anne Gonnella, whose #dailybug photo series focuses on some of the smallest members of our community. ***** Last year I started posting regular pictures of bugs on my Facebook timeline and gave them a hashtag. These #dailybug posts hearken back to three memorable experiences in my life. Butternut Woollyworm Sawfly on a stick at Font Hill Park The first happened one summer in college, when I interned as a naturalist in the Metropark system of Toledo, Ohio. One of my favorite duties was leading nature walks for groups of people, often families. I took the groups on short hikes in the woods, stopping along the way to point out interesting things in nature: flowers, animals, trees, and of course, bugs. One day I picked up a Daddy Long Legs, and held it out for everyone to see while offering some facts. The children all leaned in, oooh-ing and ahh-ing and...

  Dear Irate Parent, Congratulations! You have been selected at random from a larger group of irate parents to be in charge of making weather-related closing decisions for the Howard County School System. Actually, it wasn’t random. Your online complaints were by far the most accusatory, the most insulting, and the most self-righteous. You were a standout. Here’s what you need to know: You will be responsible for the safety of the students, teachers, staff, and bus drivers in 78 schools. You will be provided with all the weather information currently available in our area. It won’t all predict the same thing and it will be changing all the time. You will need to keep in mind topographical challenges in different areas of the county. You will need to juggle multiple other concerns, such as school lunch programs, required days of school, testing dates, field trips, sports, and performances. You will be provided with a list of previous closings where your decisions were determined to ...

  You already know I’m fond of benches . My new discovery? Bench memorials. These particular ones are not in Columbia/HoCo, but, bear with me. In loving memory of Shirley Ann Butler. (1955-2015)  Amazing Mum and Grandma.  She loved these swings more than her children ever did!  Lucy and James XXX In loving memory of  Huw Davies  Used to sit here and shout  Fuck off! at the seagulls Someone shared the latter on Twitter with the question,   Why aren't there bench memorials like this in Baltimore? My response? There’d be too many. But what about here in Columbia/HoCo? Couldn’t we do with a few loving-but-outspoken bench memorials around town? I realize that memorial plaques are usually a serious business, and I don’t mean to make light of anyone’s heartfelt loss .  But not everyone grieves in the same way. A memorial can also reflect the personality and idiosyncrasies of the departed. A bench like this can provides not only a place to rest, but ...

It’s Sunday. Let’s go to church. Pearly Young, 77, was killed today in #Buffalo shopping for groceries.  For 25 years she ran a pantry where every Saturday she fed people in Central Park. Every. Saturday.  She loved singing, dancing, & being with family.  She was mother, grandma, & missionary. Gone too soon. This memorial comes from a tweet by Madison Carter, a journalist who is originally from Buffalo but now works in Atlanta. She was headed back to Buffalo to assist with local coverage of the horrific event that unfolded yesterday at a Buffalo grocery store.  Buffalo's worst mass shooting takes 10 lives, leaves 3 wounded; attack called 'a racially motivated hate crime'  , Lou Michel, Ben Tsujimoto, Maki Becker for The Buffalo News Of the 13 people shot, 11 were Black and two were white, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said. Most of the victims' identities weren't released as of late Saturday night. However, sources told The News that one o...

  Who doesn’t love donuts?  Are you a Thrift Store volunteer? Tomorrow. May 12th, we will have a donut social and organize clothing at our Howard County Thrift Store from 9am to 12pm!  See you then!  I’m not particularly a fan of the Salvation Army. I don’t toss coins into their red kettles anymore. But I have to hand it to them for creating the best Twitter thread with donuts that I have ever seen.  The idea is simple. Invite volunteers to work. Tempt them with donuts. Take photographs for National Salvation Army Week. Easy, right? I mean, who doesn’t love donuts? Especially Krispy Kreme donuts. What followed was the most exquisite array of donut appreciation you can possibly imagine. Photo credit Salvation Army Howard County  Honestly, not everyone looks this good in staged photos. These people are obviously multi-talented. They will come and organize donated clothes and make your publicity photos sing with enthusiasm. Just bring donuts. No, that doesn’t...

  Oh, thank goodness it’s Friday. I can let my mind wander a little. This post from NPR caught my eye this morning. It’s an episode of their Life Kit series, entitled:  “ How paying attention can help you appreciate what's right in front of you ” Accompanying the twenty minute audio piece is a comic inspired by the piece. I haven’t had time to listen the all of the audio yet, but the comic definitely drew me in. The episode begins: You know when you go on vacation and you notice every little detail about the place you're visiting? The statues! The billboards! The flowers bursting through the cracks in the sidewalk! Humans pretty much do the opposite of that when they're in a familiar setting, going on autopilot and failing to notice the small delights of home. It doesn't have to be that way.  The concept that our lives are so bombarded by distractions that it is difficult to be fully present in one’s immediate surroundings isn’t a new one. But, as our lives become ever ...

  Meanwhile, back at the ranch… Things are not going so well in the COVID department. Cases are going up, up, up. The increased spread within local schools even made the paper. Worthington Elementary School in Ellicott City reports outbreak of 27 COVID-19 cases , Allana Haynes, Baltimore Sun The County Executive keeps doing his part by informing the public of best practices and current cases reported. In the meantime we have removed expectations and/or requirements that were helping to prevent the spread: masking and physical distancing, for example. As the removal of those protections leads to an increase in cases, schools no longer have access to backup support from central office because it has been assumed that the crisis part of the pandemic is over.  It isn’t.  COVID, on the other hand, is doing quite well, supported by those in the general public who would rather aid and abet an illness than modify their own behavior in order to care for others. You know who I mean...