City Council Punts on Red Gate When It Should Have Tackled
On Monday, September 20, the Mayor and Council concluded (for now) the situation with Red Gate Golf Course, an issue that’s been vexing them for the last year (and longer). Unfortunately, they didn’t resolve the issue, they just kicked the can further down the road to let the next city council deal with this tar baby. By eliminating past debt and next year’s anticipated deficit, they were able to put off the hard decision about the golf course until 2012.
Rosy predictions about the golf course’s future (“we’re giving them a clean slate,” “I just know they’ll succeed as soon as the economy improves”) are either condescending or naïve. The golf course has run deficits for years and has had declining participation for nearly two decades–this isn’t related to the economic downturn. Without a serious change in management or increased investment, Continue reading →
Just Crazy About My New Concrete Walkway
I may sound crazy, but I’m sooooooo happy about my new concrete walkway at my house. For years we’ve been dragging our trashcans from the back door to the curb over an increasingly worn gravel walkway, which became a struggle in rain and snow with the new big city trashcans. It took several years for me to decide what I wanted because of existing fences and trees as well as other more pressing projects around the house, but now that it’s done, it’s a beauty. The slideshow includes lots of shots before, during, and after so you can see the work in progress as well as the quality of the work. Look at those control joints! They’re clean, neat, and straight from end to end, especially where they meet another joint (for comparison, look at the ones in a typical sidewalk and you’ll see right away how much more masterful these are).
From excavation to forming to finishing to clean up (yes, clean up!), the work was entirely performed by Jose Guzman of Strictly Concrete who is right in my neighborhood of Twinbrook. The business end of things was handled professionally as well, with a clearly written contract in advance, payment receipts, and maintenance and care instructions. I’m so happy to give work to someone in my town, but when it’s such outstanding quality, it’s a home run.
Finding Fungus Can be Fun in Fall
Okay, this is going to sound a bit strange, but this fall, explore the forests around Rockville hunting for fungus. August and September’s warmth and humidity encourage lots of mushrooms to burst out of the forest floor and dead trees, and because they’re so short-lived, it’s a great time to see this and wonderful world at our feet. If you don’t remember this from biology class in high school, fungi are one of the six Kingdoms (others include Plantae and Animalia), so if you haven’t taken a close look at them, you’re missing a major part of the life.
In Rockville, you’ll find fungus in your yard and nearby parks, but the best location I’ve found with the largest diversity is the John G. Hayes Forest Preserve which is part of the Civic Center Park. The entrance is next to the Croydon Creek Nature Center. You’ll want to explore the forest above as well as the slopes below near the creek, so wear sturdy shoes. The big white mushrooms are easy to spot standing up from the ground or clinging to the bark of a tree, but usually you have to look more carefully and gently brush away leaves to find ones that are brown, small, or hidden underneath. In a couple hours, you should be able to find at least a dozen different types of mushrooms, many of which you’ll never have seen before. I’ve shared just a few in the slide show.
And now that I’ve shared my secret with you, I have a couple requests:
- please don’t pick up or remove the mushrooms you find. Kids love to kick them for some reason, but remind them to leave them for others to find and enjoy.
- don’t eat the mushrooms you find, unless you’re a mycologist. If you don’t know what that means, don’t even touch them. Many mushrooms are toxic and there’s no easy way to distinguish between edible and poisonous ones. You may not die but you could experience headaches, drowsiness, nausea, lowered blood pressure, diarrhea, urgent urination, profuse vomiting, extreme pain, blurred vision, asthma, muscle spasms, liver damage, and hallucinations. I didn’t list all the possible symptoms, just the ones that caught my attention.
If you’d like to learn more, pick up the Field Guide to the Mid-Atlantic States by Peter Alden and Brian Cassie (National Audubon Society) or the in-depth North American Mushrooms by Orson Miller and Hope Miller (Falcon Guide). I bought my copies at REI.
Max for Rockville 