AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi
and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services
There is nothing like a long holiday weekend to explore and appreciate the many joys of summer whether headed for the beaches or hitting the local byways. We found plenty to do, see and taste close to home.
We started with a visit to Langton Green Community Farm where we’d learned produce was on sale to the public every Saturday from 10 am till 2 pm and prices were very reasonable.
Though running late and not arriving till 1:10 pm, we found there were plenty of vegetables still to buy. Farm manager Elizabeth Snyder pointed us to items on sale outside the Langton Green headquarters building that included huge heirloom tomatoes, the remaining jalapeno peppers and some charming bouquets. However, the day’s most popular items, boxes of blueberries, sold out early.
Snyder then led us indoors where the farm maintains an excellent cold storage area to keep fruits and vegetables fresh. She explained that produce is harvested twice a week – on Tuesdays and Fridays.
“Most of what we harvest on Tuesdays is offered free to Langton Green’s residential community consumers while excess fruits and vegetables are donated to community food pantries serving low-income Maryland residents,” she said.
(The non-profit residential and farm programs support adults with intellectual disabilities while serving the community around them.)
“What we harvest on Fridays is primarily held for sale to the public,” Snyder said. “Our strawberry season from mid-May to mid- June was great this year. The plants were prolific and we sold a lot of berries. Our blueberries were in demand too – so much so that we hope to plant additional blueberry bushes. We still have some early season greens like lettuces and kale, carrots and radishes but the season for those is coming to an end.”
According to the Langton Green Newsletter, prices for veggies are reasonable. Still, we were surprised and delighted to find cucumbers, yellow summer squash and zucchini priced at 50 cents apiece.
In order to offer tomatoes, cucumbers and summer squash early, Snyder raised transplants under lights and planted them in greenhouses like the one seen in the opening photo and the one opposite assuring an abundant supply.
She noted that the farm is currently transitioning from spring to summer fruit and vegetable crops. Soon, multiple varieties of herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes and leeks will be available.
Particularly exciting is the fact that blackberries are beginning to ripen and, by late July, Pick-Your-Own-Blackberries will be ready.
Wherever you look on the farm, there are flowers planted that are not only effective at drawing crucial pollinators like bees, moths, butterflies and insects but are beautiful. An entire field planted with a cover crop of buckwheat is abloom with white flowers – purely to draw pollinators to the tomato hoop house and fields beyond.
Watching bumblebees alight on a patch of zinnias near the Curcurbit Greenhouse was fascinating as they dashed from one flower to the next. They seemed to fly in the opposite direction of a bed of leeks next to them opting instead to enter the greenhouse.
Bumblebees alighted on the calendulas and zinnias not far from the heirloom Anne Arundel musk mellons. 
They zoomed to the next bed where sunflowers shared space with marsh mallow and butterfly weed among other flower species.
Beds of Anne Arundel musk melons (an heirloom variety of cantaloupe) intrigued us as did beds of heirloom corn suitable for grinding. Both are experimental but, if a success, they may end up on the sale table.
Spotting an amazing harvest of garlic curing in the sun, we determined to visit Langston Green Community Farm again. For information on the farm and to view the newsletter, visit Home – Langton Green.
July 4th at town center in Olde Severna Park
Located at the corner of Riggs Avenue and Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard in Olde Severna Park, the judge’s stand for the 2023 Independence Day Parade was ideally situated to view the Nathan McDavitt American flag as it rounded the corner and assess the finer points of a multitude of entries.
Organized, as always, by the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce, the event sponsors were Chick-fil-A, Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi, Johnson Lumber and ServePro of Annapolis and Severna Park.
Familiar sights and sounds included patriotic color guards, fire engines, motorcycles, antique cars and Grand Marshall Wayne Gerst riding in a vintage Oldsmobile.
This year sponsored by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services, the Decorated Bike Contest riders pedaled into town followed by the Lean On Dee gang.
The Decorated Bike Contest, which dates back almost to the beginning of the event, was judged prior to the start of the parade at 9 am at the Chamber so the winners were already known. However, winners from all the contests, including the floats competition have not been officially announced. Hopefully, we’ll have them by next column.
The crowds at town center seemed to be a bit lighter for this year’s parade though just as enthusiastic. The Miller sisters Morgan, Paige and Kaitlyn, from Linstead, found a comfortable spot on the steps overlooking the intersection of Riggs and B&A Boulevard from which to watch the parade. Paige wore red, Morgan blue and Kaitlyn white.
Red, white and blue were seen everywhere one looked. Seated on a shady hill overlooking the parade, young Robbie Wilson was all about stars while his friend Mila sported stars on her clothing as well as stripes on her red, white and blue hat.
Many parade veterans were spotted in the line-up. Everyone was pleased to see that SPAN, Inc. at last obtained a truck so the macaroni and cheese, Cheerios, Giant Reduced Fat Milk and Food Pantry Cabinet wouldn’t have to hoof it. Even so, SPAN development director Michelle Sabean and several volunteers took turns pulling wagons in which to collect donations for the organization’s food pantry.
Music reappeared in the parade courtesy of the Woods Praise Band, a duo called Ivy League, some members of the Severna Park High School Band and singers from the Chesapeake Harmony Chorus.
Parade spectators generally agree that their favorite thing about the Severna Park Independence Day Parade is the community-built floats though the floats representing businesses and organizations are great too. We’ll show you just a few.
The crowds cheered loudly when Old Severna Park’s float came into view recalling the Apollo program space flights and moon landings. Olde Severna Park is always competitive in vying for the Best Community Float prize.
Linstead on the Severn created an amazing Blue Heron for its parade entry in an obvious attempt to capture the Best Community Float prize.
One more among the many was the Chartwell Young Leaders entry which went all out depicting the parade theme “Broad Stripes, Bright Stars, Big Hearts”.
We ended the holiday weekend with a stop by Diehl’s Produce followed by a fireworks display in the evening that we could view from our front porch.
We hope everyone had a fun 4th of July.
The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center.)
and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.
