Chain

It's October, and for farms such as Baugher's Orchard, in Westminster, pumpkins and apples are ready to be harvested - and it seems many people are interested in that process. "This time of year is such a busy time," said Marjorie Baugher, owner of the orchard off Route 140. "So many people want to be out. We had eight wagons running constantly (last) weekend for people. " Those wagons run during the week, too, as the orchard hosts school groups from all around the area. An average of two or three tours are conducted each day during the week, according to Lynn Forman, a fourth-generation Baugher family member, and tour guide.

Coffee drinkers in Mount Vernon were graced Tuesday night with the presence of an ex-president: Bill Clinton apparently had to stop by Starbucks while in town for a talk at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Marcel Jagne-Shaw (@JagneShaw), who lived in Clinton's home state for five years, was studying late when he ran into the man himself. "I was preoccupied & caught off guard, I shoulda hollered out I was from Arkansas too Lol. Really down to earth tho," he tweeted. In case you're curious, Jagne-Shaw said he thought Clinton ordered a grande macchiato.

It's a sunny weekday afternoon when Captain Dee-Fense strolls into Beefalo Bob's, the pit beef joint in Curtis Bay, turning heads the way he often does. He's a big man, for one thing: 6 feet 4 and 235 pounds, with a build that suggests he's tossed around a few weights in his day. He's also decked out in full Ravens game-day regalia: Navy captain's hat, aviator shades, military tags dangling from his neck, purple and white spikes and chains wrapped around his shoulders, purple and white camouflage pants, signature "Dirty Towel" tied around his waist, wrists wrapped in sweatbands and torn koozies, black combat boots with purple laces.

Baltimore-based Smyth Jewelers has been hired to manage the Bailey Banks & Biddle Group jewelry chain, which has nine locations in seven states, the retailers announced Monday. Smyth, which runs three Smyth stores and two Pandora stores in Maryland, will handle the operations, purchasing, administration and field support for the Bailey stores. Texas-based Bailey runs stores in Arkansas, California, Florida, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia. Smyth CEO Mark Motes and the firm's chief operating officer, John Jackson, will oversee the Carrollton, Texas, chain's operations.

Fresh from playing basketball after college in Peru, Jon Brick started his career - getting in on the ground floor at one of Mom and Dad's gyms, working for his big sister, Vicki. The scions of the Brick Bodies enterprise were adults now. They had sparred at younger ages, but they had grown up. They could run a club, teach classes, supervise trainers, recruit members, maintain facilities in perfect harmony, right? No, not easily. Over four months of (trying to) work together, Type-A Vicki rode him hard - harder than the other employees, it seemed to Jon. Used to calling the shots as an executive officer at the Citadel, Jon was resentful.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc.'s stock surged Wednesday after the retailer announced a nearly 13 percent increase in second-quarter profit and plans to expand the chain to 800 locations. Shares in the Hampstead-based men's apparel chain ended the day up $5.81, at $47.44, in Nasdaq trading. Jos. A. Bank expects to grow to 700 full-line stores and about 100 factory stores in the United States, the company said. The chain, which now runs 572 stores, had previously announced plans to grow to 675 stores.

Evelyn Mogren lets the chips fall where they may nearly every day. After pull-starting her gas-powered chain saw, she deftly applies the tip to a parrot's wing, a fox's tail or a rabbit's fur coat, and their hides and claws begin emerging from blocks of pine. Fragrant chips fly everywhere like rocket-powered confetti, and sawdust blankets the patio at the side of her family's Thunder Hill Road home. It's a paradox unfurling right before an observer's eyes: a vibrating power tool, commonly used to prune trees and harvest firewood, that can just as readily finesse the delicate feathers of a bird, the fine strands of hair on an animal, or a pair of soulful eyes - when guided by skilled hands.

Giant Food's newest Baltimore-area store offers a glimpse of the future for the region's dominant grocer, when shoppers increasingly rely on technology, demand more organic foods and expect a wide selection of prepared meals. Giant, which has been steadily launching new locations, remodeling older supermarkets and acquiring competitors' closed outlets, is set to open its newest store Friday in Perry Hall. Not just another supermarket, the store is expected to serve as a prototype for future Giants, including several that will be part of mixed-use developments in Washington, said Jamie Miller, a Giant spokesman.

Some staff and students are calling on the University of Maryland to boot Chick-fil-A off the College Park campus, making it the newest front in the war between gay-rights activists and the fast-food chain. An online petition calls Chick-fil-A a "bigoted and hateful" company and asks the university to end its partnership with the chain after its president, Dan Cathy, told a Christian newspaper and radio station that he opposes same-sex marriage. Rodrigo Lozada, co-president of the University of Maryland Pride Alliance, said in an email Monday that the petition will send "a message to University officials that students want a campus that is more inclusive and accepting and one that isn't hypocritical.

TWO-MINUTE SUCCESS The final portion of the Ravens' practice involved the 2-minute drill. From their own 32-yard line, quarterback Joe Flacco and the offense marched 68 yards, capping the drive with a pass from Flacco to wide receiver Tandon Doss, who scampered 21 yards to the end zone. Coach John Harbaugh immediately signaled the end of practice after the score. MCCLAIN MOVING Jameel McClain continues to impress in his third full season as the starting inside linebacker.