Back Yard

Someone stole a pit bull Sunday from the back yard of a Severn home, county police said yesterday.Jessica A. Lamb, 17, told police that the dog had been on a chain in her back yard in the 8400 block of Pioneer Drive and apparently was taken sometime between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m.The pit bull is 7 months old, light brown with a white spot on its chest and is named Smoka, Ms. Lamb told police.

These weren't the same Boston Red Sox who used to regularly come to Camden Yards and bully the Orioles in their own ballpark. And the crowd at Tuesday night's series opener didn't seem to be the same crowd we're used to seeing in these parts for this kind of series. There was a lot more orange among the announced 26,204 at Camden Yards for the Orioles' 7-1 win over the Red Sox than even during Boston's first trip here in May. The moment I took notice was when reliever Darren O'Day escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh by striking out Cody Ross swinging and Ryan Lavarnway looking, prompting a loud standing ovation going into the seventh-inning stretch.

He lives off Ritchie Highway in Pasadena, past the McDonald's that has ditched drive-through intercoms for a "Face to Face" window service that takes all the joy out of screaming garbled orders back and forth at each other. He is Stan Gembicki, the brick man of Pasadena, and he is out back of his home on G Street.Stan extends his tanned tough hand, jacks up his jeans and wonders out loud why the heck anyone would want to see his brick work. And why the heck did his wife, Edith, write the Sunpapers about it."

COLLEGE PARK - On the wall of Da'Rel Scott's dorm room hang printouts of rushing statistics. They're not his stats, but rather those of Maryland record holders - the standard bearers. Scott, a redshirt sophomore, began displaying the numbers at the beginning of the season so he would have something concrete to aim for. With one regular-season game today and one bowl game remaining, Scott is within reach of one of the loftiest benchmarks. "I really wanted to be a 1,000-yard rusher," he said.

POLICE LOG* Glen Ridge: Someone stole a $1,500 moped from the back yard of a house in the 7300 block of Furnace Road between 7 p.m. Tuesday and 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Someone pried open a fence in the back yard of a home in the 200 block of Williams Road in Ferndale overnight Saturday and stole a 10-month-old pit bull terrier, county police said.Ronald J. Major, 24, told police he fed his dog about 11 p.m. Saturday and discovered the dog was missing just after midnight Sunday when he went to let the dog in. The dog, which answers to the name Hilo, is tiger-striped, with white tips on his feet, tail and left side of his face. He was valued at $1,500.Pub Date: 10/09/96

Truth to tell, I've been a little bit jumpy since four suspected car thieves, a police dog, a half-dozen police officers and a police helicopter fell into my back yard one fine fall afternoon.That's not to say the police helicopter fell into my back yard, but, er . . . well, you get the picture.I was hard at work that day, struggling at the keyboard when the dogs started up in the back yard, Andy barking that big-dog bark he usually saves for intimidating the neighborhood cats, who aren't the least bit impressed by his bravado.

YOU'D THINK a small gathering of people would be talking Persian Gulf, taxes or World Series. Nope, we're talking squirrels.The squirrel population seems to be exploding. Squirrelly? You bet. So home owners are talking about ways to get rid of their back yard squirrels.In my own modest back yard, the squirrels are everywhere, much to the cat's delight.The squirrels are eating the tulip bulbs I just planted. But hey, these guys have to eat, don't they? And sure, I know they can get into your attic, but I don't have an attic.

I once was an indiscriminate planter. As soon as the temperature got above 60, I was out in the back yard splitting open the earth, sowing seeds. I planted radishes, cantaloupes, cucumbers, peas, lettuce and tomatoes in a back yard that a large truck couldn't fit in.Back then, if you showed me a piece of ground that got more than an hour of sunlight, I would consider it prime territory for a pumpkin patch.Meanwhile, my wife would have eyes on the same plot of dirt. She wanted to plant pretty things in it. Things that bloomed and were beautiful and things that look good, or so I was told, by just standing there.

They say you can't fight city hall, but Maggie Green's doing a pretty good job of it.And she may be winning. After all, she's retrieved enough foul balls from her back yard to convince Harford County Parks and Recreation officials that they built home plate just a little too close to home -- her home."

A series to help you cook with the bounty of the season When Catonsville gardener Bill Richkus has a full range of summer vegetables ready all at once - from Swiss chard to onions to peppers - he whips up an easy stir-fry. It's quick and adaptable to what you have on hand. For the recipe, visit baltimoresun.com/backyardharvest

For a gardener, the only thing more embarrassing than confessing to what you wear in the garden might be being seen in what you wear in the garden. "When my jeans become too old for anything else, they become my gardening jeans," said Jeff Morey, a gardener and publisher of Retail Gardening magazine. "When my shoes become too old for anything else, they become my gardening shoes. I am guilty of being a clothes recycler." "I wear a wide-brimmed hat because I look appalling in a baseball cap," said Cathy Umphrey, director of horticulture at Historic London Town and Gardens in Anne Arundel County.

You don't have to read the headlines to know that they're nasty creatures. And the news is still bad for those who venture outdoors this summer: We're a long way from wiping out the 60 species of mosquito that cause West Nile virus and the deer tick that carries Lyme disease. And despite research involving garlic, catnip, eucalyptus and volunteers willing to stand in tubs full of ticks, there is no infallible system for keeping the bugs out of your back yard -- and your bloodstream. "There's a tremendous push being made to see if we can find something.

Most gardeners are amateur meteorologists, striving to perfect their understanding of the weather and climate in their own back yards. Years of watching the clouds roll by do not necessarily translate to an ability to understand the weather as it affects your garden, but careful observation, common sense, and a few basic implements will build up your confidence. The tools of the trade are many: Gardeners buy thermometers and rain gauges, mount weathervanes on garages, and consult barometers and almanacs to find out whether the weather will accommodate their plans to plant roses, set out tomato seedlings, or fertilize the lawn.

MIDDLETOWN - The well doesn't look like much - a giant metal pipe sticking like a mushroom out of the packed dirt that will soon be Barbara and Marlin Reeder's back yard. But for this thirsty town, in limbo without enough water to finish a dozen houses on the books, the 50 gallon-a-minute gusher might turn out to be a discovery more valuable than striking oil. "It's a big windfall," said Town Administrator Andrew J. Bowen. In June, the Maryland Department of the Environment forced Middletown to stop issuing building permits, saying the Frederick County town had ignored two years of warnings that its growth was outstripping its water supply.

WHERE THERE IS smoke, there is Steven Raichlen. On a recent Baltimore afternoon, the author of a series of best-selling barbecue books, including The Barbecue! Bible and How to Grill, was sitting in Joy American Cafe on the top floor of the American Visionary Art Museum, where the air, appropriately, was perfumed by the restaurant's wood-burning grill. Raichlen, a native of Baltimore who now splits his time between homes in Coconut Grove, Fla., and Martha's Vineyard, Mass., has set fires around the world.

Jim and Michele Fontz say they were promised a house with a large yard where their two children could play.Instead, what they got was a marsh.Moreover, they recently have learned that their dream house in the 8100 block of Hog Neck Road was built in violation of a state stop-work order.The Fontzes, who had lived in the Pigtown section of Baltimore, decided last year they wanted better schools and a suburban lifestyle.Mrs. Fontz said she daydreamed about backyard cookouts, swing sets and outdoor birthday parties for their children, Nicole, 12, and James Jr., 5."

TRABUCO CANYON, Calif. -- Take a survey. Stroll down your street and take a good long look at how your neighbors are using their side yards -- or, more to the point, how they are not using their side yards.Too often, side yards tend to be storage catch-alls. They catch the kids' outdoor toys, pool and spa supplies, gardening gear, whatever happens to land in the space. With time, the side yard can take on the aura of a dump without an operating permit.Debbie and Darryl Wheeler of Trabuco Canyon were determined that their side yard was not going to follow suit.

CHICAGO - Running back Clinton Portis was talking again. Head coach Joe Gibbs was smiling again. And the pain in both of cornerback Fred Smoot's shoulders could not dampen his joy and relief. Who cared how ugly the proceedings were at Soldier Field yesterday? The Washington Redskins found their missing ground game, as Portis led the way with a season-high 171 rushing yards on 36 carries. They got two field goals from Ola Kimrin, a Swede who had never kicked one in a regular-season game.

More Maryland homeowners are turning their back yards into small vineyards to fulfill a hobby or to earn a small profit by selling grapes to local wineries. It's the latest boom in a real estate market that has enjoyed three years of unprecedented growth. Many consumers have taken advantage of record home appreciation and historically low interest rates to buy larger houses or land, to remodel or to build vacation homes. Those who have purchased large plots to escape sprawl have looked for things to do with their property, including farming and other hobbies.