About Me

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I am a retired English teacher and department head, the mother of three grand mother of four, and have been married to the same man for 53 years, two years after we met at college. I taught in both middle and high schools as I really love teens and in-betweens. I was also a certified Lamaze instructor, and for a short time a volunteer chaplain at Howard County General Hospital. I am a two-time cancer survivor, ovarian (2003), and breast (2019) I was born in South Philadelphia and grew up in the 'burbs with great parents, in a bilingual household. I love soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, the Phillies, the Eagles, the Orioles, and sometimes the Ravens. I love being Mom, Aunt Kathy, Nona Kathy (Kath), and Teacher. I spend a lot of time in my gardens in the spring and summer, and in the winter I plan what I'm going to plant. I also am an avid reader, cook, photographer, lover of languages, music, and four-footed furries.

Translator!

Sunday, July 21, 2024

Our Own Oasis

 Several years ago we applied for a grant in which we entered into an agreement with the State of Maryland and Columbia Association to have a 'rain garden' installed on our property.

You may have seen varieties of run-ff mitigation along highways and in medial strips, where strategically placed river stone, and native plants have replaced grass.  These areas not only protect bodies of water like the Chesapeake Bay from contamination, but they do not have to be so constantly maintained, and they look good!!

Rain gardens are one of the many ways to mitigate uncontrolled run-off from heavy rains.  But in addition to controlling storm drainage into the Chesapeake Bay, they feature native and non-invasive flora, and so the added benefit to these gardens is they attract pollinators such as bees and hummingbirds, and they are beautiful as well as functional.

Here is ours in various stages of growth.







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