Things that I Notice

Dirt Turnovers
On Greenspring Avenue between 695 and Charles somebody has been able to retain a small farm. There is a crop field where I least expected to find one. Earth was freshly plowed and ready for planting. I can not begin to imagine the worth of that property were somebody to get a wild hair and make it available to a developer. Bully for them for keeping a farm going!

Towson Townhomes
Our friends Mark and Kelly live in a townhome/rowhome in Rodgers Forge. They aren't huge houses, but I like 'em. As we crest the hill and begin picking up speed toward the next phase of existence, we are getting ready to downsize. A nice townhome is looking pretty good. A nice condo is looking better. It's just so hard to find a good condo with a 40' x 40' foot pole barn in the back yard. A fellow's got to have his standards. Toys like trucks and tools take space.

Hoosier-ness
When Pookums turned thirteen her friends had surprise parties. The one we most recently attended was kind of different. Most surprise parties are well attended by peers. When we were visiting my parents over the Memorial Day weekend, my cousin Morgan turned thirteen. She is precocious and difficult to surprise, but had recently mentioned to her mother that the people who really mattered to her were friends and family--most of whom she worships with each Sunday. Her surprise party was a group of nearly 40 people at my parents' home gathered around a bonfire cooking hot dogs, roasting marshmallows, and welcoming her to her 'teen years. And to our surprise she WAS surprised. To me there is something very Hoosier about a wiener roast. And there's something affirming about a young lady who considers folks ranging in age from six weeks to six or more decades to be her valued friends.

Byways
I like the back roads. I was telling a friend this evening that my favorite part of my commute is crossing I-70 on Marriottsville Road, looking to the right, and enjoying the two rows of tail-lights slowing to a crawl. My second most favorite part is turning onto Woodstock Road and seeing a quarter-mile of folks queued up to turn onto Old Frederick Road. I should be ashamed, but I'm hear to confess that sometimes other people's misery does a body good. We encounter few backups in our travels to and from work. I don't take it for granted. Some days I merge onto eastbound I-70 just to be company to the communal misery. But not often. I realize if I did that every day I'd be poor company for anybody.

Circle Jerks
The sign is plainly posted. It says we should yield to traffic in the circle. I've slowed to see if I'm missing something, but it does not seem to say anything else. So I'm confused by people who interpret that to mean they should jump in behind somebody who is already in the circle--especially if they were second or third to approach the circle and other cars are waiting to follow the directions so clearly posted on the sign. People like that annoy me and keep my stock of profane phrases fresh. I can't be certain they are under the Lord's judgment at that moment and I've never met their parents--be they canine or notable by their absence--but I feel very righteous when I air my suspicions.