Features (All)

Article - News; by Ashley Brotherton - 7/19/12

At the Heart of the Circle

Everyone has an opinion about the new sculpture at Westgate Circle

An unfinished sailboat. Maybe some bones? That’s what the neighbors of the new Westgate Circle sculpture guessed it to be. They’re not far off. The sculpture is five 18-foot-long curved wooden ribs lined up diagonally. It is supposed to represent a deteriorating sunken sailboat. Or the skeletal remains of a whale. It’s called Shoal. Shoal isn’t completed yet. Still to come are 20 crudely shaped forms representing fish or furled...

Article - People; by Leigh Glenn - 7/19/12

Way Off Broadway

Randy Skinner left New York to bring Dames at Sea to Annapolis

Why does a three-time Tony-nominated New York director and choreographer come to a way-off Broadway stage in Annapolis? Dames at Sea at Infinity Theatre Company is a blast from the deep past for Randy Skinner, who choreographed it as a student in the mid-’70s. Nowadays, Skinner says, “people don’t write songs so tuneful.” Skinner should know: Dancing since he was four, he has worked with some of the industry’s best. His...

Article - Gardening; by Bill Lambrecht - 7/12/12

From Your Garden

Gathering Garlic

I followed Bay Gardener Frank Gouin's advice about using compost and was rewarded. In the past, I was stingy about feeding my garlic and, come harvest, some of the bulbs weren’t much bigger than marbles. In November (a bit late), I planted German Porcelain, Musik, Spanish Roja and an Italian red variety in well-composted soil. On two or three occasions afterward I top-dressed with compost, digging in just a bit. In mid-June, I snipped off the flowers when the scapes bent over and...

Article - Creature Feature; by Michelle Steel - 7/12/12

This Week’s Creature Feature ... Monster Bugs in...

Buck moth caterpillars are interesting to look at, but don’t touch!

Be careful where you step, especially around wooded areas and oaks. My dog learned that lesson in her own backyard. She flipped up what resembled a miniature porcupine. Caterpillars that use their branching spines to fend off predators are not play toys for pets. The buck moth caterpillar lives in oak forests from Florida to Maine. Buck moth also favor willows and wild cherry trees. The caterpillars are covered in hollow spines attached to a...

Article - News; by Ashley Brotherton - 7/12/12

Collect Locally, Read Globally

Kids doctors help Parole Rotary collect kids books for needy readers around the world

“Books are easy for people to contribute, and we wanted to become closer not only with our patients but also our community,” said Ann-Marie Sedor of the new partnership between The Pediatric Group and the Rotary Club of Parole. Through August, the practice is collecting books for children of all ages at its offices in Crofton, Davidsonville and Severna Park (www.pediatricgroup.com). The Rotary Club of Parole, which seeks old books year-round for Books...

Article - Boating; by Steve Carr - 7/12/12

Around the World in 9 Months

In this final leg, the Volvo Ocean Racers come full circle to Galway, Ireland

When you’re riding high, everything seems to go your way, and that’s how the in-port Race in Bretagne, France, played out. Large crowds cheered on local hero Franck Cammas and Groupama as they mastered the upwind/downwind course off Lorient. Camper barely hung on to beat Puma for second place, but that victory mattered. It closed the overall Volvo Ocean Race gap between second and third to four points heading into Leg 9, a 550-mile sprint to Galway, Ireland....

Article - History & Lore; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 7/12/12

Who’s Eating Whom?

Find out at Calvert Marine Museum’s Sharkfest

Millions of years ago, long before there was a Chesapeake, sharks thrived in the saltwater marine environment of the flooded river we now call Susquehanna. Big sharks that could have swallowed a man whole, had any men or women been around to be eaten. The megalodon, ancestor of the great white shark, was the apex marine predator of those waters. Rivaling today’s blue whale, the megalodon grew up to 50 feet long. He’s long gone, but his kin are...

Article - Green Living; by Leigh Glenn - 7/5/12

Bay Schooling

Go to summer school for TEAM DNR and you’ll be teaching come fall

“I’m proud of you that you can name all the states in our watershed and not miss any,” said longtime TEAM DNR volunteer Penny Vahsen to fourth-graders at West Annapolis Elementary School. “Some students say California is part of our watershed.” Not Candice Gaylon’s class this past school year. They’re up on buffers, erosion and water pollution. Volunteers from TEAM DNR — Teaching Environmental Awareness in...

Article - People; by Ashley Brotherton - 7/5/12

Star-Struck

No need to check your eyes, that was Kevin Spacey in Annapolis

No, you’re not seeing things. When you thought you saw Kevin Spacey getting coffee at 49 West, drinking martinis on Metropolitan’s roof deck or throwing darts at Stan & Joe’s it wasn’t a mirage from the extreme heat wave and lack of air conditioning. It was Keyser Soze, seriously. Spacey, in Baltimore filming the Netflix production House of Cards, has been frequenting Annapolis hot spots. According to Men...

Article - Green Living; by Jesse Furgurson - 7/5/12

Bad News Beetles

The emerald ash borer chews half of Maryland

Nothing may seem amiss, but the entire western half of Maryland is now a quarantine area. In 14 counties west of the Chesapeake and Susquehanna, Maryland Department of Agriculture has found evidence of the emerald ash borer. The destructive Asiatic beetle, which has conquered the west in nine years, kills ash trees from the inside out. The threat the half-inch-long bugs pose is grave. Ash are shade trees for much of urban Maryland. Ones that have fallen prey to the borers...