Canaries in the Coal Mine Warnings for Maryland by David Reel
For almost a century, between the late 1890s and 1986, coal miners relied on canary birds rather than fellow miners to detect increasing levels of colorless, odorless carbon monoxide and other toxic gases in the mines that could sicken or even kill humans. While mechanical sensors have long since replaced canaries in mines, the term […]
Spy Review: Chesapeake Music’s Series Ends with a Flourish
On Sunday afternoon, at The Ebenezer Theater in Easton, the Hesper Quartet, a Korean-American string quartet based in New York City, charmed the audience with the music of Benjamin Britten and Bedřich Smetana. The quartet was then joined by Chinese pianist Ying Li for a piano quintet by Dmitri Shostakovich. The result: technical mastery, inspirational […]
Letter From the Grave by Al Sikes
Yevgeny Prigozhin, Founder of Russia’s Wagner Group June 1, 1961 to August 23, 2023 Cause of Death: Hand Grenade Detonated in Airplane Dear President Trump, “There was a time when my name would still be vivid. Not today. Events happen, splashes occur, and then the world moves on. I was once Page 1, now you […]
Wind by Katherine Emery General
Wind chimes are a type of percussion instrument made from suspended tubes, rods, bells, or other objects crafted from metal or wood. Their origins trace back to 1100 BC, when an ancient Chinese emperor cast the first bells, known as Fenglings. At the time, only members of the royal family and honored dignitaries were permitted […]
Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the photo
Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in the photo below? The answer to last week’s mystery is shagbark hickory, Carya ovata, pictured in the photo below: Shagbark hickory is a tall, straight trunked tree reaching over 120”. It is prized for its aromatic wood, which burns long and with little to no […]
Bay Journal: USDA shuts down ‘climate smart’ program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture in April announced the termination of its $3 billion “climate smart” program, a grantmaking initiative that was supporting hundreds of millions of dollars in conservation work in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. An April 14 USDA press release called the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, which promoted farm conservation measures with climate […]