An open house featuring a casual piano performance and a presentation on H.L.Mencken’s place in the Jazz Age social scene is planned for 6-8:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at the H.L. Mencken House Museum in West Baltimore. The event, on the eve of the famed journalist’s 146th birthday, is planned in cooperation with the Mencken Day … Continue reading If you’ve never been: The H.L. Mencken open house is Friday, Sept. 11
‘Humans can’t handle abundance’
It was the late Bill Burton, outdoors writer for the bygone Baltimore Evening Sun and other publications, who said it: "Humans can't handle abundance." It was a couple of decades ago, when the shad were making a comeback to Chesapeake waters. Bill Burton Once plentiful -- massive schools of migrating shad coming up the bay … Continue reading ‘Humans can’t handle abundance’
A win for the trees of Swallow Falls
I did not think this would happen: The Appellate Court of Maryland has stood up for the mighty, old hemlocks and pines of Swallow Falls State Park in Western Maryland. Readers of my Sun column in 2024 and this blog in 2025 might recall the fight to save the trees, led by Steve Storck (pictured … Continue reading A win for the trees of Swallow Falls
About fishing — and protecting a great resource in Maryland
Trout thrive in the North Branch of the Potomac River. They must be protected from poachers and bait fishing.
No pet peeve, a real issue for our communities: Huge, empty parking lots as more stores close
This might sound like a pet peeve by now — I have previously registered this complaint in my columns and essays — but calling it that tends to demean it as a genuine issue that should be confronted in the 21st Century. With the decline of brick-and-mortar retail, the owners of vast, empty parking lots … Continue reading No pet peeve, a real issue for our communities: Huge, empty parking lots as more stores close
Citizen Action: No Kings Day, March 28, along York Road, Baltimore and Towson; food donations sought
I received this notice about an upcoming No Kings Day event on the north side of Baltimore. Passing it along: On March 28, 12 noon to 1:30 pm, Marylanders will join together for York Road Free Speech Miles, a peaceful multi-mile sign-wave running along York Road from the county line through the 21212, 21204, and 21286 … Continue reading Citizen Action: No Kings Day, March 28, along York Road, Baltimore and Towson; food donations sought
Something like South Shore Bar Pizza has been baking in Baltimore for 82 years
It turns out that Matthew’s Pizza, Baltimore’s oldest and most famous pizza shop, has been serving a pizza pie distinctive to the region of Massachusetts where I grew up — a fact that occurred to me only recently. That I failed to recognize a Matthews Pizza as a South Shore Bar Pizza is possibly due … Continue reading Something like South Shore Bar Pizza has been baking in Baltimore for 82 years
The long, slow melt of winter 2026
I asked a scientist about the value of the long, slow snow melt we’re experiencing. Common sense tells you there’s a value to it — reduced risk of flooding for one thing, gradual replenishment of moisture in the soil for another — but, while common sense might be an ingredient of the scientific process, it … Continue reading The long, slow melt of winter 2026
An old tradition: Naming places on rivers and trails
Those who fish — and I’m sure it’s true of those who hunt and hike — have a habit of naming familiar places in the great outdoors, branding them in some personal way. Gunpowder River Along the Gunpowder River in northern Baltimore County, most anglers know where to find Whale Rock. Given the large boulder … Continue reading An old tradition: Naming places on rivers and trails
WWYD: What Would You Do?
So you park your car in the shopping center parking lot, a couple of safe spaces from a carriage corral. You get out. You grab a carriage from the carriage corral. As you do this, you notice a double-roll package of paper towels in the lower tray of one of the other carriages. Having watched … Continue reading WWYD: What Would You Do?
Dan Rodricks 