Lake Roland

Some 10 years ago it was possible to pack a picnic, drive the family to Lake Roland, park the car in the upper of two parking lots which overlooks the water above the dam and spend a delightful summer evening under the trees.There were picnic tables, and if you wanted hot dogs or burgers there were grills. The grass was kept trimmed and altogether it was a very pleasant spot.Two years ago, before the dam was rebuilt, it was still possible to drive there and park in the lower parking lot. The upper lot had been closed.

If you missed Vermont and the blazing maples on its hillsides, take heart: There is a ready outbreak of fall color and walking trails within the Baltimore Beltway.Some of Baltimore's older stream valley parks, created and preserved to be wild and left alone, provide walkers and lookers with the fluorescent yellows, burnt oranges and crimsons normally reserved for post cards and kitchen calendar pictures.Baltimore's stream valley parks include Herring Run, Leakin-Gwynns Falls and Stony Run-Wyman Park.

CLEAR SPRING -- The waiting game can be maddening. Beyond the ridge, rifle fire punctuates the morning and a deer has either been taken or escaped, its white tail a flag disappearing quickly through the oak and hickory.In our small part of the world, halfway up a steep ridge in the Indian Springs Wildlife Management Area west of Hagerstown, the wind is playing hard from the north-northwest, swirling leaves, rain and light snow.There is a feeling of anticipation.From the ridge, there is a good view of three draws and a couple hundred yards of creek bottom.

Baltimore County will use $6 million in local and state funds to begin the first phase of improvements to Robert E. Lee Park in the Woodbrook area. The plan calls for restoring the 415-acre parcel into a regional facility to serve the county's central neighborhoods. The park will eventually include a nature center, dog park, hiking and biking trails, fountains, benches, restrooms and improved access to its most valuable asset, Lake Roland. The park, owned by Baltimore City but located within the county, remains closed.

Do you feel the nip in the air? Runners do. For them, the advent of fall means more than changing leaves and back to school. Cooler weather and coming races (the Baltimore Running Festival is October 13) make autumn the ideal time to run in the great outdoors. Baltimore is full of places to run, from stately neighborhoods to waterside paths. But for some runners, nothing beats the off-road experience. "Even if you start off easy, it's fun to explore," says Chris Cucuzella, a member of the Baltimore Road Runners Club, a trail running group.

The Falls Road northern light is fading gray:a sudden snowfall sweeps us eastward likea curtain rising at the driveway to the lake.I stop my car beside the bridge and hike out tothe day'slast scene which stars my strong and happy sonsfast racing up along the graveled patheach to test the measure of his breathand call his sister, "Here, come see, I've won."She, beside me walking with her secret joys,motions her two gloved hands airbornetoward a stick out on the lake beyond the boys,a dark branch balanced at the dam's ledge,in the roarand plunging of that river on whose cascadeinto noiseit seems to hesitate, poised there at the edgeof more.

This week"Give us any rough weather, but, please, no rain," George Barker of Joppatowne said the other day while sighting in his .50-caliber Lyman Great Plains front end loader in preparation for Saturday's opener of the Maryland muzzleloader season.The recent modern firearms season was marred by moderate weather, and primitive weapons buffs will settle for any conditions that won't interfere with efforts to keep their powder dry. Snow would be nice, ditto for freezing temperatures, but no rain, thank you."

Signs of spring abound - and melted snows are lending springtime force to the cascading waters at Lake Roland in Robert E. Lee Park. This piece of wilderness, in Baltimore County off Interstate 83, features miles of hiking and jogging trails and is a popular spot for dog walkers. To see a multimedia presentation go to baltimoresun.com/waterfall.

The Supreme Court entered the presidential campaign with that Pennsylvania abortion case, just as Democrats hoped.If things get worse, Republicans will dump George and run Barbara.Baltimore is not only not building public housing, it wants to tear down what it has.Talk about Red scare. Russian prosecutors say the August coup plotters were commies.Aid for the Soviet Union, never! Alms for the Commonwealth of Independent States, but of course.Cheer up. The Lake Roland dam may not break.Bush has the right idea about improving the product of American industries.

In the past few weeks The Baltimore Sun has published several articles in which the neighbors of a proposed Sheppard Pratt facility known as "The Retreat" have been much maligned for their opposition. The Board of the Ruxton-Riderwood-Lake Roland Area Improvement Association would like to correct this mischaracterization of the neighborhood's opposition. We, as an organization, have historically fought against intrusions into our neighborhoods that include not only Ruxton but also those in the Riderwood and Lake Roland communities.