Nature

The story behind the two bocce courts on Vince DePalmer's Manchester property is a slight variation on the familiar "Field of Dreams" theme. It's not so much a matter of, "build it and they will come," but rather "build it and maybe somebody will show up and teach us how to play. " "The main reason I did it was to learn how to play bocce myself, and try to teach others how. " said DePalmer, 77, a lifelong Manchester resident. That philosophy has paid off - DePalmer has hosted benefit bocce tournaments on his private court for the past three years that have raised thousands of dollars for the nearby Charlotte's Quest Nature Center.

As a young girl visiting her grandmother's cabin on the Delaware River in the 1960s, Elizabeth Clarke-Shaw fashioned necklaces from acorns, crafted fairy gardens on old aluminum pie plates, and collected rocks in the time-honored tradition of adventurous children everywhere. “Nature really sang to me,” says the longtime Columbia resident. That persistent melody inspired Clarke-Shaw, now 57, to create one-of-a-kind furniture pieces that sprout branches in all their pristine glory as they pay homage to those halcyon days of innocence and imagination.

Sometimes the only barrier separating a pastoral paradise from hell on earth is a thin line of birch trees. Before she died in 2001 at age 74, Frederick dressmaker Esther Krinitz created 36 oversized fabric panels that provide persuasive proof that both worlds exist - sometimes within the same frame. In scraps of fabric and cheerily colored yarns, the panels tell the story of how young Esther and her sister escaped from the Holocaust during the Nazi occupation of Poland during World War II. The panels went on display this weekend at the American Visionary Art Museum as part of a new exhibit, "The Art of Storytelling: Lies, Enchantment, Humor and Truth.

Despite his 5-foot-8 frame, easygoing nature and ear-to-ear smile, Ray Rice is widely regarded as one of the toughest players in the NFL. And according to one Kansas City Chiefs player, the Ravens running back is also one of the most talkative. Outside linebacker Tamba Hali said that Rice talks more trash than any other running back he has encountered in the league. “I don't remember a lot of running backs talking that much trash,” Hali said during a conference call Wednesday.

In her singsong voice, Sarah Moses asked the nervous 22-year-old Colombian man questions about American civics and culture: What is the name of the national anthem? At what age may a citizen vote? Why does the American flag have 13 stripes? Juan Sebastian Bustamante Sanchez, who took the naturalization test at the G.H. Fallon Federal Building last week, had more in common with Moses than he realized. Moses, an officer for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, also had to pass the examination to become an American citizen.

Dozens of companies are in town pushing their products at the National Products East Expo at the Baltimore Convention Center. I took a strolll around the humongous showroom floor checking out the latest in natural foods, body products and households goods. Here are five things I found interesting at the show: 1. Happy Squeeze Food got its start selling organic baby food in a squeeze pouch and is now expanding its target audience. They are rolling out new flavors that go after older kids and even adults.

Last November, 26-year-old Alexis Marianes was in the middle of an intramural soccer game at the Du Burns Arena in Canton when a player on the opposing team swept her feet out from under her. Marianes did a "halfway back-flip" and landed squarely on her head, resulting in a concussion. "I couldn't read or open my eyes for four days," Marianes said. "I'd just lay in bed crying. " As Baltimore's social sports leagues continue to grow, so do the number of injuries associated with them.

The life of a Navy football player usually reflects the regimented daily grind of a typical midshipman. There is one major difference: on the field, the route taken by many of Ken Niumatalolo's players is not always like an early morning march, a ramrod straight line from Point A to Point B. Shawn Lynch's path to Saturday's game at Penn State is not unusual. The soft-spoken junior has Ping-Ponged from offense to defense and back again. Lynch climbed the depth chart to become a starter at safety last season, only to disappear amid a blur of blue and gold uniforms on the sideline.

At Pet Barn in Fulton, owner Kelly Ballentine takes an organic and holistic approach to feeding and caring for animals. Frustrated with the lack of natural food for her dog, Ballentine decided to open her own company in 1994. Although it was originally located in Montgomery County, Ballentine relocated Pet Barn to Maple Lawn in December. “I've always been into nutrition and health,” she says. “It's always been a part of my life and a part of my dogs' lives.” To say that Ballentine is passionate about her pets would be a gross understatement.

Howard County is working on what officials call its "infrastructure," but the project doesn't involve bulldozers, road crews or loads of steel and asphalt. This "infrastructure" of woods, fields and waterways existed before there was a county — the task now is to keep it. This is "green infrastructure," a term coined more than 10 years ago in the conservation world but more recently emerging in county policy and practice. Technicians and planners have completed a detailed countywide interactive online map showing this natural resource "network," including every property in the county's 162,272 acres, and now turn to specific ways to maintain and expand preserved land as part of an environmental protection plan.