Drive past most any place of worship in the middle of the day in the middle of the week and you might see a few more cars than at a Chick-Fil-A on a Sunday.        But make a pilgrimage to the Chesapeake Church any day, most any time of the week, and you would think you’ve parked in front of a new coffee boutique at a ski lodge or …

       Each of us Bay-lovers sees the Chesapeake in a different way. Especially important is how young Marylanders see our great estuary, for its survival will soon be in their hands.         March has been celebrated in Maryland for 57 years as Youth Art Month.         This month, you can see the new  160-piece exhibit, Portraits of the Chesapeake Bay, just up at Calvert Marine Museum.

       Yumi Hogan, artist and Maryland’s First Lady, looked carefully at each poster created by our state’s 10 fifth-grade finalists in honor of trees. The posters ranged from a wordless black-ink-and-rainbow-colored tree … to a tree in winter with a lone child on a swing hanging from one of its snow-covered branches … to many illustrating all that trees do for their fellow earth dwellers: photosynthesis, habitat, oxygen, shade and more. 

       Lot Bell, who became a free woman in 1816, survived through two centuries of history in a few words written by the man who had claimed her ownership. Granting Lot her freedom in his last will and testament, ­Silbey Bell described her of “pretty dark complexion, long face and high cheek bones … a very remarkable scar on her head on the left side thereof which resembles a mulberry very much.” On the 30-year-old woman’s Certificate of Freedom, those words were the equivalent of her passport photo.

Legacy (n) 1. Any special privilege accorded a firstborn. 2. Something immaterial that is passed from one generation to another.  

       Do you know a teen who loves boats or spending time on the water? Who loves technology, science or math?        Local employers are looking to hook such teens with a career in the marine and maritime trades.       The Eastport Yacht Club Foundation introduces students to industry professionals at the Marine and Maritime Career Expo at Annapolis High School this Saturday, February 24.

      Mention quilts, and people often share memories of grandmothers or great aunts working with needle and thread, joining pieces of fabric with precise stitching.       Dr. Joan Gaither, who documents history with cloth and thread, describes herself as “a quilter who breaks all the rules.” Her quilts are covered with images, words and objects: buttons, ribbons, pieces of jewelry, shells — anything that can be sewn to fabric and symbolizes an aspect of the story she tells.

      Every year, the Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival donates its sizable profits to charity. And every year, fans of the music return to the shores of Chesapeake Bay at Sandy Point State Park for the festival that features strong lineups and standout performers. So it comes as no surprise that the popular festival was recently awarded the Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation based in Memphis, Tennessee.

         The legislative session is underway in Annapolis, and it is time to bring our thoughts back to beer. Coincidentally, last week’s issue of Bay Weekly covered this very subject, brewing.

       For beer lovers, this is a heady time. Some 1.15 million Americans brew beer at home, in their kitchens, garages and porches, according to the American Homebrew Association. Most are guys, and most older than 30.        “Access to information and equipment has never been better,” says John Morehead, the Association’s competition director, noting that in those areas, “the lines between professional and amateur bleed into each other.”