Calendar

Gunpowder nature hike Wednesday , Gunpowder Falls State Park, Masemore Road. The Hereford area of the Gunpowder houses some rare native plants. This three-mile hike will be very slow, but there will be some steep hills and a scramble over rocks. Call 410-366-7239 for details. Seeds of success Monday , 11 a.m.-noon, Cunningham Falls State Park, 14039 Catoctin Hollow Road, Thurmont. Meet a naturalist at the Manor Area Visitor Center to learn all about seeds.

First Day Hikes Jan. 1 . All 50 state park systems will offer free, guided hikes so individuals and families can get the new year off on the right foot. For information, go to americasstateparks.org/first-day-hikes. Urban stroll Jan. 5 . Join a 3.3-mile urban stroll through Locust Point and Fort McHenry with the Appalachian Mountain Club. Step-off at 10 a.m. Details: amc-dc.org (click "Chapter Activities") or 410-263-1844. Md. Half Marathon Registration is open for the fifth annual Maryland Half Marathon to benefit the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.

This event is scheduled at the Baltimore Convention Center, at Howard and Pratt streets. Dec. 28-31 National Inspirational Youth Convention. Estimated attendance: 6,000-plus.

The Sun soon will launch Working, a weekly section detailing careers and offering tips on finding a job. One feature will include area job fairs and career resources. Readers are encouraged to submit items. Please send the date, time and location of an event, any cost or registration associated with attending and a contact name and telephone number. Submissions can be made to Job Calendar; on the Web at www.baltimoresun.com/working; by e-mail at working@baltsun.com; by fax, 410-783-2517; or by mail, The Baltimore Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore 21278.

EVER wonder how it would feel to be featured on a calendar? Miss October? Miss April?It was never high on my list of fantasies, but I did think about various photographs I've taken over the years -- the artful shot of China's Great Wall, that early Saturday morning view of Fells Point looking like a Caribbean waterfront village, the almost conceptual patterns created by industrial architecture in Locust Point, the shot of rope coiled on the stern of a...