Good morning on this Earth Day! Are you doing anything special this day to take care of our planet?
I don't claim to be the world's best caretaker, but I try.
We recycle our newspapers  - I'm sorry, I don't want to read online - I work at a computer all day, and sitting on the living room sofa reading a newspaper with a drink (tea, soda, water, lemonade or wine if it's evening) is satisfying. It also helps with computer eye strain, and no wrist motion is necessary except to turn the page! At any rate, we deposit them all - the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Post and The Capital, at curbside on Thursdays along with our cans and bottles, magazines and junk mail, especially the overflowing catalogs (I am trying to get off mailing lists).
We plant perennials usually - it also helps the budget in the long run - but I confess to loving annuals. So we recycle the plastic pots and the flats. We also use our mulched leaves (with more than 20 trees in our yard you can imagine the leaves) for compost - and toss in vegetable and fruit cuttings as well.
We use cold water for the laundry and make sure the dishwasher is full before doing a load - it uses less water than washing dishes in the kitchen sink, supposedly. And yes, we are changing the light bulbs. And driving less. We use light rail in Baltimore and the D.C. Metro, too, whenever possible. So we try in our small way to treat Mother Earth with respect.
And now a slightly different topic - check your car headlights and blinkers to see if they are operational. I can't tell you how many times I see cars with non-working lights on the highways. This morning at the Ritchie Highway and College Parkway traffic light I put the car in park, jumped out and went to the car behind me to tell the driver her left headlight was out. Shocked look on her face - either from a stranger approaching or her not knowing...but she thanked me. And I'll thank you if you enlist some help to check if your brake lights work as well!
Another topic: Want to learn more about composting? You should check with Quiet Waters Park about its composting demonstrations - I think the Master Gardeners show you how to accomplish this simple task. They usually have an event twice a month.
Speaking of QWP, the Blue Heron Room will be the site of the fourth annual Swinging Sweets, a benefit presented by the Zonta Club of Annapolis for its service projects. The event is set for 7 to 9 p.m. May 8 where you can taste and judge chocolate confectioneries provided by area eateries. Mmmm, and all for $15. You also can enjoy music by the Spa Creek Swing Band. Zonta is having a gasoline raffle as well. Spend $5 for a chance to win a $250 gas card.
For more details, contact Barbara Taylor at 410-267-9114 or e-mail her at bgtaylor03@verizon.net.
And here's some sweet fun news about a St. John's College alumnus. Celeste DiNucci, Class of 1987, joined the elite group making it to the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. (She won more than $50,000 on the show during the previous year.} She emerged the tournament victor with a $250,000 cash prize. That should help with any lingering student loans! She's completing a doctoral program at the University of Pennsylvania, working on a dissertation on Shakespeare and performance theory. She's using some of the winnings to take a trip to Italy and graduates in May. Now she has to figure what she's going to do when she really grows up, she told The College magazine, published by St. John's.
And as the sun starts to peek out today, enjoy its warmth and our wonderful Annapolis spring.



Mary