Articles by Margaret Tearman

Article - Creature Feature; by Margaret Tearman - 7/15/10

This Week’s Creature Feature - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Safely stashed in the doomsday vault are a diversity of seeds from New Mexico’s most well-known food group

Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin may not be a diehard fan of the spicy group, but he headed north for Svalbard, Norway, as part of its entourage. No, not the funk-rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, though that would make an interesting story of a different variety. Cardin joined six congressional colleagues to deliver the seeds of American-grown chili peppers — the kind that spice up food, not concert stages — to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Managed and run by the Global Crop...

Article - News; by Margaret Tearman - 7/15/10

Back to the Woods

More trees mean better water

Once upon a time, the land surrounding Rockhold Creek’s headwaters in Southern Anne Arundel County was densely wooded. Over generations, the land was cleared for agriculture and pasture. This fall, that land will begin the return to its roots with the planting of 12,000 new trees. The path to the reforestation project was cleared by recent legislation requested by County Executive John R. Leopold that eliminates a restriction on the use of reforestation money paid by developers....

Article - News; by Margaret Tearman - 7/15/10

Point and Click for Maryland Destinations

Plan your trip at www.visitmaryland.org/map

With many summer days to fill, do you ponder what to do, where to go? There is a lot to do in Maryland, with guidance now just a point and click away. Find your way to www.visitmaryland.org/map and the rest is easy. Unveiled by Governor Martin O’Malley, the Visit Maryland Interactive Map presents Maryland’s collection of natural, cultural, heritage and recreational resources in a user-friendly format. Choose an area or destination, move the cursor over the icon and click. Up pops a...

Article - News; by Margaret Tearman - 7/8/10

Chesapeake Shuckers Sidelined

With oyster supplies stifled by the Gulf oil spill, demand for shell grows

The oil itself may not soil the Bay, but the effects of the massive spill are being felt along its shores by the people who depend on the Gulf fisheries for a living. Jobs are being lost as Virginia and Maryland oyster shucking houses have already begun to see their oyster supply dry up as Gulf fisheries close, one by one. Louisiana supplies Maryland shucking houses with between 60 and 70 percent of their oysters. In turn, those shucking houses provide shells for Maryland’s seed...

Article - News; by Margaret Tearman - 6/10/10

Unclogging the Bog

Goats, sheep clear the way for endangered turtles

Drive north past Baltimore into Carroll County on Maryland Route 30, and you may rub your eyes and wonder if they’re playing tricks on you. No, your imagination is not running wild. Those are goats and sheep grazing alongside the highway. But they are not just any goats and sheep. They are state contractors, hired to mow the lawn — and save the turtles. - The Turtles Several years back, the Maryland State Highway Administration purchased land along the old Hanover Pike...

Article - Places; by Margaret Tearman - 6/3/10

-Sneak a Peek-

Once a year, Hammond Harwood House opens the gates to the capital city’s secret gardens — and invites you to look inside

High walls, secured gates and similar impositions block out the curious and provoke questions: What grows on the other side? Is that water I hear? What flower can smell so sweet, even from a distance? Even on tiptoes, the answers are evasive. Nothing tempts as much as something one cannot see, as we learned in The Secret Garden from little Mary Lennox, who sought the hidden walled-in garden and unlocked its secrets. But unlike the mysterious garden in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s...

Article - People; by Margaret Tearman - 5/20/10

For the Love of Luca

A little boy gives you a big chance to fight childhood cancer

Luca Assante will be three years old on June 20. He and his two sisters, Isabella and Gabriella, live with their parents Lucy and Vinnie in Annapolis, not too far away from Grandpa Ray and Grandma Geraldine. Or from Lucy’s sister and her kids. Aunt Maria and Uncle Sal live in Dunkirk. The other dozens of aunts, uncles and cousins are spread out, many in Italy. They are part of a large, loving family, a family that understands the need to stick together. Especially for the children...

Article - People; by Margaret Tearman - 5/13/10

Old Stuff Is Good Stuff

Doug Sisk can’t bear to see anything go to waste

Doug Sisk can’t stand to see stuff — good, solid, reusable stuff — go into the landfill. He knows firsthand that just about anything can be made into something useful. It just takes creative thinking and handiwork. Like the 40-year-old deck on the circa-1960 ranch house the Sisk family had begun to remodel. “There was nothing wrong with the deck,” says Sisk. “The wood was clean. It wasn’t warped. It wasn’t full of insects. And the builder...

Article - Things; by Margaret Tearman - 4/29/10

Update: Get Your Cash for Clunker Appliances Now!

Time runs out when the money’s gone-

Maryland’s appliance rebate program, begun on April 22, will last only until the $5.4 million runs out. Better act fast. The state-administered rebates are going quick. In Illinois, energy- and money-wise customers went through their state’s $6.2 million in one day. As part of last year’s federal stimulus bill, the U.S. Department of Energy distributed $300 million among the 50 states for energy-efficient appliance rebates. When and how the funds were distributed was left to...

Article - Creature Feature; by Margaret Tearman - 4/29/10

Horses Count, Too

Maryland’s horses, ponies, mules, donkeys and burros are being counted in their very own census.

The Maryland Horse Industry Board has enlisted the United States Department of Agriculture to count Maryland’s equine population. More than 21,000 census forms were mailed in April to equine owners and stable operators across the state. This is only the second count of Maryland’s horses. The first census was taken in 2002. “The first equine census gave us an important baseline for measuring the size of our equine industry,” said Maryland Agriculture Secretary...