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Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 3/28/13

Good for the Body and the Soul

But it takes science for it to work

Gardening is the most popular of all hobbies. In addition to giving you hours of relaxation, it is good exercise. Gardening forces you to go outside, bringing you closer to nature. Whether you are growing vegetables, flowers or woody plants, gardening provides great satisfaction. Dorothy Frances Gurney says it all: The kiss of the sun for pardon; The song of the birds for mirth; One is nearer God’s heart in...

Article - Creature Feature; by Michelle Steel - 3/28/13

Who’s the Easter Bunny?

Mythical egg deliverer is maybe a hare — or a rabbit

Is the Easter Bunny a cottontail or a snowshoe hare? Both are native to North America, unlike domesticated rabbits, which are elaborately bred descendents of European wild rabbits. Hares are larger than rabbits, with bigger ears and feet. They’re born fully furred and ready to run. Their longer back legs and toes are adaptations that provide additional surface area and support for walking on snow. Hence the name snowshoe hare. They also use their...

Article - Green Living; by EarthTalk® - 3/28/13

The Scoop on Solar Roof Shingles

Dear EarthTalk: I’m getting my roof redone and have heard about solar shingles. Are they available — and are they practical for the Northeast? –John Denson, Glastonbury, CT Solar shingles are photovoltaic cells designed to look like and integrate with conventional asphalt roof shingles. First commercially available in 2005, solar shingles were much more costly than traditional bolt-on photovoltaic panels, and thus were used mainly by those wanting to go...

Article - Letter from the Editor; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 3/28/13

How Dreams Come True

Spring Home and Garden Strategies could change our lives

I welcome the annual return of Bay Weekly’s Spring Home and Garden Strategies. In this guide, home and garden professionals give us just the sort of expert advice we do-it-yourselfers don’t know — and don’t even know we need to know. We’ve designed it in a handy pull-out-and-keep format so you can use if for months to come. I’m the guide’s first audience, and as I prepare the tips for publication, I keep thinking...

Article - Home and Garden Guide; by - 3/28/13

Spring Home & Garden Strategies

    Come spring, it’s time to escape the cave. Throw off the blankets, open the drapes and let the sun shine in. But even the tidiest home looks a little dingy after a winter of hard living.
   It’s time to clean, paint or wallpaper, wash the windows, replace the drapes, rearrange the furniture, bring out the wicker, throw on new pillows, lighten the art and service the air-conditioning. Outdoors, there’s even more to be done to home and garden. Painting, planting and planning for outdoor living are have big plans for your spare time.
   Have we got the guide for you!
   In Bay Weekly’s annual Spring Home and Garden Guide, you’ll find inspiration and tips from the pros. And they’re ready to help with the big jobs so you can spend your time enjoying this paradise we call Chesapeake Country.

A Good Coat of Paint Is Your Home’s Best Protection We recommend that a house with wood siding or trim should be painted every five years. Even if you don’t notice peeling paint, the paint film has degraded and is letting moisture penetrate. Obvious signs are mildew and algae growth. Even though most paints contain some form of mildew-cide, they typically remain active for only two to three years. When the paint film allows moisture to penetrate, there is greater...

Article - People; by Mick Blackistone - 3/21/13

Farewell: Capt. Bob Slaff

He was ‘good for it’

“I’m the only Jewish redneck captain on the Bay. What could be better?” Captain Bob Slaff liked to say, with a huge smile beneath his signature handlebar mustache. Capt. Bob was an icon in Maryland’s recreational and commercial maritime communities. He was also my good friend, mentor and colleague. Bob and his wife Ester ran a successful marine business in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., that included distributing British Seagull outboard engines and Avon...

Article - People; by Mick Blackistone - 3/21/13

Farewell: Capt. Larry Simns

No. 1 waterman leaves a Chesapeake legacy

Word spread fast across marine radios from New Jersey to North Carolina, via e-mail, telephones and cell phones, Facebook, the Internet and Twitter on March 14. Captain Larry Simns, president of the Maryland Watermen’s Association for 40 years, passed away at age 75. Watermen, environmentalists, seafood processors, politicians, state bureaucrats and many more of us stopped in our tracks. I did, though I knew Larry’s passing was coming. Larry was known throughout...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 3/21/13

Bowie Community Theatre’s In the Heat of the Night

This Night is so dark that you strain to see the actors

Bowie Community Theatre is up to its rafters in shady business again. The troupe that brought you Murder By Misadventure and Who Dunit? now turns to the segregated South for a crime drama with the twisted face of bigotry. Matt Pelfrey’s 2010 stage adaptation of In the Heat of the Night is based on the John Ball novel that inspired an Oscar-winning film and an Emmy-winning TV series. The place: Argo, Alabama. The time: 1962. The crime: murder. The victim: developer...

Article - Movie Reviews; by - 3/21/13

Stoker

The Addams Family has nothing on these people

In a palatial old home filled with dead birds and 1960s amenities, 18-year-old India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska: Lawless) is searching for her birthday present. This year the box is empty and her father is a no-show at dinner. India is devastated when she discovers that her father was killed in a car crash. An odd girl who can’t stand being touched and prefers silent observation to social interaction, India withdrawas even further and ignores her well-meaning but...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 3/21/13

Are Azaleas Hiding Your Windows?

Prune hard, now!

A Bay Weekly reader lamented over how tall her azaleas had grown. She could no longer see out of the living room windows and would have to pay to have them replaced. I told her that all she had to do was cut them back to at least two inches below the ledge of the window. The plants would rejuvenate. The expression on her face clearly indicated that she thought me a complete idiot. Plants are survivors. If you know which species can be rejuvenated and which cannot, you can...