Goose Wars (Short but dramatic video)
November and the start of the annual Canada Goose Wars. This is the time that the geese who have spent their summers in the arboreal forests and lakes of Canada, fly south to find or revisit their winter homes in the Mid-Atlantic states. They have been doing this trip for millennia. The difference today is that other non-migratory geese have been introduced to the Middle-Atlantic States and these geese spend the entire year here, eating, polluting the waterways, and putting on the pounds that they will not need for migrating. So when the migratory cousins come back home (more…)
Come Explore Wilde Lake – a Gem in Columbia, MD
Our last walk of the season sponsored by the Columbia Association will start at 10 am on October 29th, 2015 at the boat house off of Hyla Brook Road on the north side of Wilde Lake. Come and bring a friend and discover some of the wonders of the first lake in Columbia that you might not have seen before. We will discuss and explore some of the key features of the 19th century homesteads and discuss the history of this area as well as the (more…)
Zion National Park
One of the most visited and loved national parks in this country is Zion in southwest Utah. It is so beautiful that it is flooded by Americans and people from many other countries. It is so admired that one cannot drive into the park on many days throughout the spring, summer, and fall because of limited parking. When this happens, you have to (more…)
Lake Powell along the Colorado River
Just got back from kayaking on Lake Powell. Eight of us escorted by guides from Hidden Canyon Kayak. We spent the week exploring the now flooded Canyonlands of Arizona and Utah. The highlights were the skies at night, the slot canyons by day, and the alpenglow at the edges. With the clarity of the stars, planets, satellites, and the moon, and canyons with their array of sunlight-decorated, endless meanders of orange and pink, we felt like we were in another world.
The Colorado River that John Wesley Powell explored was 500 feet below us, below current lake level (more on his trip can be found in Saving the Places We Love). But we got some sense of the barrenness and the (more…)
Another Columbia Secret Place – Come Explore River Hill
River Hill does not have a lake, but it was supposed to have one – the largest one planned for Columbia. It was nixed by the Army Corp of Engineers and as a result, and with plenty of lobbying by Al Geis, we have a wonderful natural resource called the (more…)
The Daily Behavior Change Challenge
Put this on your refrigerator!!! All great changes require many small steps. We here at www.SavingThePlaces.com have created a simple, daily calendar of actions that you can take to help improve your health, the health of your neighborhood, and the health of the planet. These goals are achievable if we are deliberate in our commitment for a more sustainable and healthy world. Please pass this Behavior Change Model on by (more…)
Green, Green, Green – a guest post by Max Buffington
In the fall of 2014, my wife and I were drawing near the end of an extended vacation to the southwestern USA. We had driven over 5,000 miles through desert, mountains and prairie. We had viewed many beautiful landscapes, sunsets. Hiked to many natural and historical artifacts. Visited family and old friends.
Though I loved seeing American cultural treasures, I had grown consciously (more…)
Another Columbia Not-So-Secret Place – Come Explore Lake Kittamaqundi
Lake Kittamaqundi now has a wonderful and complete, new paved path all around it with several wooden bridges. Have you walked it yet? If not, come join me as I lead my third walk of the season for the Columbia Association on Sept 24th at 10 am. Meet me at (more…)
Fish Farming in the Maritimes
This summer, Kathy and I traveled to Downeast Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. I had not been to the Maritimes since the 1970s when I worked for a summer on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. It is a beautiful part of the world.
Not much has changed, there are still many beautiful places to visit and explore. On this trip, however, I was struck by the depressed nature of homes and towns along many of the beautiful shorelines that we passed. The area had always been poor and dependent on the fishing industry, but on this trip it looked like every other house was up for sale. The traditional fishing industry is in shambles with the overfishing and consequent depletion of cod and haddock – the staples of the past. (more…)
Another Columbia Secret Place – Come Explore Jackson Pond
Our second walk of the fall takes place on Thursday, September 10th at 10 am. We will be visiting a beautiful area that most Howard County residents have never seen. We will start off from the Phelps Luck Neighborhood Center and walk along paved paths down and around the Pond. There are beautiful mature beech woods, granite boulders, bucolic stretches of Long Reach/Elkhorn Branch, and the beauty of the pond itself. Come on out and learn a little bit more about this area’s past, present, and future. Check out the YouTube invitation that explains the purpose for these walks. (more…)
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