Lawn

Dave Colon stares in disbelief at the thin brown band, this dagger through his heart, this imperfection, this disfigurement in his near-perfect front lawn. He's too good-natured to do much more than swallow the pain, but there's no use denying the injury. Ever since those cable TV installers dug their narrow trench one week earlier, the strip of dead grass has been standing out like a scar."I wish I had a can of green spray paint," he says wearily. "They tried to be careful. They made a slit.

Many Marylanders are still confused about what is and is not permitted under the governor's order limiting water use. Here are answers to questions frequently asked of state officials.May I wash my boat to rinse off the salt?Yes. Although you can't wash your car at home, you can douse your boat. In the interests of conservation, state officials wish you would do it less often and use less water when you do.What about water outdoors for my dogs? Or for the birds?Animals need water, too. You can keep putting out containers for pets, and refill your bird baths.

I AM MUCH obliged to Bruce Cowan, the Carroll County schools' athletic director, for pointing out the important safety reasons to water our lawns despite the proclaimed drought. County athletic fields must be watered to retain their green, cushiony vitality when football, field hockey and soccer players hit the turf hard, with any part of their bodies, he said.The reason, Mr. Cowan explained: It would be dangerous for young athletes to endure the jolt of sun-baked, rock-hard playing fields during practices or games.

Chuck Sells is obsessed.No doubt about it, he can practically see each brilliant blade of grass starting to turn brown. He can feel his flowers and plants wilting. He can hear his only tomato plant making its last few gasps for water.The Stoneleigh resident, who can do nothing but watch helplessly as the drought continues to wreak havoc on his lawn and garden, said he has spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of loving hours on his yard."I'm really concerned," said Sells, 56. "I've never been through a drought."

For Maryland residents, these could be the final days of watering at will.With the state in the throes of its worst drought in 70 years and the governor likely to announce mandatory water restrictions this week, people spent the weekend washing their cars and giving their yards what could be the Last Big Soak.Teaka and Dale Brown of Brooklyn Park have contingencies that combine the offerings of Mother Nature with the best elements of survivalist training.Plan A: As many as 30 five-gallon buckets will line their walkway to catch rainwater.

In Japan, there are shrines to serenity in the garden. In England, classical statues in languid poses dot the sward. But for sheer, exuberant craziness, it's hard to beat the lawn ornaments of the United States. Nowhere else could you find such a confluence of strangeness. Miniature windmills jostle bending Amish couples with their underwear improbably exposed to the gaze of passers-by. St. Francis shares space with courting frogs. Concrete ducks trail miniature offspring across the grass, and gnomes beam benevolently from the petunias.

When Paul Zwaska moved into his new Timonium home four years ago, the first thing the head Orioles groundskeeper did was kill his lawn -- on purpose.The patchy "developer's" grass was driving him crazy, he says. After all, this is a man who cultivates the emerald-green, picture-perfect ball field at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for a living."When the grass is kept right it looks beautiful," said Zwaska, explaining his love of turf. "I just like to look at a well-manicured lawn."But these days, Zwaska, who works about 100 hours a week when the Birds are in town, is resigned to cutting his own yard on the fly."

PoliceWestminster: The owner of Hidey Lawn Service on Ridge Road reported Wednesday that someone removed two trimmers and a mower from a trailer while it was parked in the Charingworth Road area. Loss was estimated at $1,100.Pub Date: 4/27/98

The Kings Contrivance Community Association invites middle school students who live in the village to enter a contest by submitting photographs that capture the beauty and history of the neighborhood.A single photo or a collage, in either black and white or color, may be submitted.The photo must be shot in Kings Contrivance and be the original work of the student.Entries must be submitted to Amherst House, 7251 Eden Brook Drive, Columbia, no later than 5 p.m. March 16.The winner will receive a $50 cash prize, and have his or her work displayed at Amherst House.

Q. My tomato plants have been producing a heavy crop, but I see yellow spots and blotches on many fruits. Am I lacking a certain nutrient in the soil?A.Stinkbugs are the culprits. Two species of these shield-shaped "true bugs," the brown stinkbug and the Southern green stinkbug, feed on tomatoes and peppers. Fruits develop white or yellow spots at the bugs' feeding sites. These spots feel rough or bumpy. They are only skin-deep, however, and can be cut out without affecting fruit quality.

On September 15, 2009, William James Lockwood, A Christian Wake service will be held at the family owned Duda-Ruck Funeral Home of Dundalk, Inc., 7922 Wise Avenue on Thursday at 7:30 P.M. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Luke's church on Friday at 10 A.M. Interment Oak Lawn Cemetery. Friends may call on Wednesday and Thursday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. www.ruckfuneralhomes.com

On September 3, 2009, Olenda Visitation on Thursday September 10th at Good Tidings Baptist Church, 1401 Edison Hwy. from 9 to 11 AM. Family will receive friends at church from 11 to 11:30 AM at which time funeral service will begin. Interment Oak Lawn Cemetery. www.calvinbscruggsfh.com

A Catholic Prayer Service will be held at the family owned Duda-Ruck Funeral Home of Dundalk, Inc., 7922 Wise Ave. on Saturday at 10 A.M. Interment Oak Lawn Cemetery. Friends may call on Friday 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M.

On May 26, 2009, IMOGENE E. , Funeral services will be held at the family owned Duda-Ruck Funeral Home of Dundalk Inc., 7922 Wise Avenue, on Friday at 9:30 A.M. Interment Oak Lawn Cemetery. Friends may call Thursday 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M.

On April 14, 2009 CATHERINE PHILLIPS, beloved wife of the late David R. Phillips, devoted mother of Raymond Phillips, Linda Siehler,William Phillips and Darlene Haggerty. Also survived by eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Friends may call on Thursday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 P.M. at the BRADLEY ASHTON FUNERAL HOME, P.A., 2134 Willow Spring Road where services will be held on Friday at 10 A.M. Interment in Oak Lawn Cemetery.

On September 20, 2008, JOHN A. MC CLELLAND, A Funeral Service will be held at the family-owned Duda-Ruck Funeral Home of Dundalk Inc., 7922 Wise Avenue, on Thursday at 11 am. Interment Oak Lawn Cemetery. Friends may call on Tuesday and Wednesday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 pm.

On July 22, 2008, Margaret Catherine Kelch A graveside service will be held at Oak Lawn Cemetery 7225 Eastern Avenue on Thursday at 11:30AM. Arrangements by the Connelly Funeral Home of Essex.

A chain of missteps and misunderstandings was set in motion two months ago when an Associated Press article seemed to suggest that nine East Baltimore families were duped into letting Johns Hopkins University researchers spread "sewage sludge" on their property and were "never told about any harmful ingredients." It turns out that the material was commercially available compost placed on lawns as part of a lead-abatement experiment. Still, Marvin L. "Doc" Cheatham Sr., president of the Baltimore branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is not satisfied with the answers Hopkins has provided so far. From a historical perspective, such suspicion is understandable; scientific institutions have, to say the least, not always had the best interests of poor black people in mind.

On June 16, 2008, WILLIAM EDWARD JUSTICE, IV, devoted son of Bill and Shirley Justice; loving brother of Debbie Hiltz and her husband Ray and Karen Justice-White; also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. Friends may call at the family owned Bruzdzinski Funeral Home, P.A., 1407 Old Eastern Avenue, Essex at Route 702 (beltway exit 36) on Thursday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Funeral services on Friday at 11 A.M. Interment Oak Lawn Cemetery.

It's spring. The lilacs are blooming and perfuming the air. The birds are singing. Here in Rodgers Forge, we hear them intermittently - whenever there's a pause in the roar of lawn mowers, weed whackers and grass blowers. What a friend of mine calls "lawn assault weapons." Indeed, when my neighbors fire them up, don goggles, and fill the air for hours with their deafening din and noxious fumes, I begin to think of grass as a greater threat to our collective happiness and security than terrorism.