Orchard

In a Carroll County field, the plot to restore the long-deposed King of the Forest to its arboreal throne is afoot. Royalty in this case is the American chestnut, and the host for this attempted restoration is the State Highway Administration, which has set aside a 2-acre plot by the newly opened Route 30 Hampstead bypass to plant an orchard of the same spreading tree that sheltered Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's village smithy. Assisting in the effort is a retired physicist-turned-woodcarver named Gary Carver, an Ijamsville man who doubles as president of the Maryland chapter of the American Chestnut Federation - a group dedicated to reviving a once-proud species that was devastated by a fungal blight during the first half of the 20th century.

A new nonprofit organization aims to turn the fruits of its labors into fresh food for the hungry. The Baltimore Orchard Project will glean gather otherwise unwanted fruit from trees on public and private land and donate the harvest to food banks, congregations and soup kitchens, says founder and director Nina Beth Cardin, a rabbi and community activist. The group's founding team has 25 members from such agencies as the Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future, Tree Baltimore and Baltimore Green Space.

Orchard, by Larry Watson. Random House. 256 pages. $24.95. If there exists a literary equivalent to the artist's play of light on a canvas, then Larry Watson has mastered it. Author of the best-selling Montana, 1948, Watson deftly uses light to inform his subjects in this story of grief, betrayal and jealousy. Set against the backdrop of the rugged, rural towns of Door County, Wis., in the 1950s, every scene of Orchard is painted with deliberate, vivid strokes of radiance: the soft glow of the moon, the intense whites of a horse's eyes, sun so hot it burns the blue out of a cloudless sky. The story centers on Ned Weaver, an artist made famous for his paintings of resplendent landscapes.

Someone, years ago, planted an oak tree on a narrow, forlorn divider toward the edge of a barren parking lot by a large building near my home. Largely ignored, this lone tree staunchly persevered and sank its roots deep into its diminutive field. It was noticeable, not because of the tree itself, which was just a modest, slight thing, but because of its acorns. They were everywhere - a bumper crop heaped upon the ground, where one had to tread carefully to keep one's feet firmly planted.

Lohr's Orchard is not out of business, and its owner wants t set the record straight."We've simply relocated," Andrew Lohr Jr. said as he inspected cider mill machinery in a renovated dairy barn on his 100-acre TTC orchard in Churchville. "When my brother George and I dissolved our partnership last spring, obviously many people thought we were closing the orchard for good. Our sales fell off approximately 35 percent."George decided to leave the operation, but this is what I like to do best.

State and local officials hailed the Orchard Crossing apartment development in Ellicott City yesterday as a model for providing affordable housing in a high-income setting."

Looking for some great apples to make that American pie for those who don't like pumpkin at Thanksgiving?Carolyn Orchards on Route 32 in Gamber has a dozen varieties, including old-time favorites smokehouse and Grimes golden.Operating since 1955, Carolyn Orchards is named after co-owner Eva Carolyn Brothers."A lot of people think that it's my name, and that's what they call me." Ms. Brothers said. My children used to think it was very funny that people called me Carolyn, but they liked it even better when we went to the supermarket and they heard kids saying to their parents, 'Look!

If you haven't been to the Orchard Market and Cafe in Towson lately, you'll find that it's prettier than ever, with a new look to the small dining room. The menu of Baltimore's only Persian restaurant has been redone, too, with such dishes as duck breast in pomegranate sauce with wild currants, and more seafood, including a Persian bouillabaisse and paella made with basmati rice.* Every other month, Rudys' 2900 in Finksburg holds a themed dinner for $39.50 per person -- the one coming up is called "Viva Italia."

Here are a few recent letters to the household environmentalist:Dear H.E.: I recently received a present from my in-laws -- a basket of fancy fruit and jam from a mail-order orchard in Oregon. Imagine my growing dismay as I opened the box, lifted out the foam rubber padding, peeled away the plastic film wrapper, unwrapped the waxed tissue from around each individual fruit and candy, and even found a gigantic Styrofoam insert under the goodies. The packaging dwarfed the edibles. Here's my question: Shouldn't I let my in-laws know that the present they sent contained an unconscionable amount of trash?

George Lohr walks the rows of apple trees, checking the fruit that will make the last harvest at his family's Joppatowne orchard. Come next fall, you will not find him conducting this ritual here.After 60 years of growing apples, peaches, plums, pears and pumpkins, Lohr's Orchard -- considered by some longtime residents to be a veritable county institution -- will close at year's end.Instead of trees blossoming in the spring, work will begin on roads and sewer and water lines to serve a new community of 378 houses and town houses to be built on the 85-acre orchard farm.

Old Mill's Rob Chesson didn't score a touchdown for the first time all season in the state Class 4A championship game Friday night, but the senior running back scored the only two points that mattered in the end. His two-point conversion run in overtime finished off a stunning recovery from 21 points down to give the No. 3 Patriots a 36-35 victory over Quince Orchard that polished off a 14-0 season at M&T Bank Stadium and gave them their second title...

Feeling like playing Johnny Appleseed?  Blue Water Baltimore needs volunteers to help plant heirloom apple trees Friday (Dec. 2) in Carroll Park, at 1500 Washington Blvd. The area watershed group will be working with elementary school students from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to put the trees in the ground. Assistance welcomed. Gloves, tools and training will be provided. For more info, contact Suzie at  slmerryman1@yahoo.com  

The Howard Hughes Corp. moved closer this month to firming up plans for an 817-unit residential development in Columbia's town center by naming two partners who well help carry out the project. Howard Hughes announced that it will be working with Kettler, of McLean, Va., a privately held company with a strong record of multi-family housing development.. Also involved with the partnership is Orchard Development of Ellicott City, founded in 1979 by Maryland home builder Earl Armiger.

The fall cocktail menu at B&O Brassiere proves that it takes more than just apple and pumpkin flavors to capture the season. "I wanted to create a drink that screamed fall - something that was rich and yet lively," head bartender and mixologist Brendan Dorr explains. His spirited concoction, the Orchard Express, a twist on the brandy-and-cognac-heavy Sidecar, speaks to both. The Express is a zippy infusion of more sophisticated autumnal tastes. The base spirit is still cognac - Remy Martin VS - but Dorr lightens the mood with two key ingredients: a Rothman & Winter apricot cordial and Cocchi Barolo Chinato.

Regarding Nicole Fuller 's recent article about Anne Arundel County's Piney Orchard community, I am strongly opposed to the Tolson Rubble Landfill ("In Anne Arundel community, growth runs up against industry," Oct. 2). First, the proposed site is situated in the middle of a densely populated area. It would be highly irresponsible to put a landfill, let alone a rubble landfill with fugitive dust emissions, in such close proximity to a residential area. Secondly, the refuse disposal application submitted by Tolson & Associates is based on outdated information.

For years, Danielle Oldham checked housing listings, hoping that she, her husband and their two young daughters could find a place in the Anne Arundel County community of Piney Orchard. She researched the area meticulously, scanned county development plans and talked to residents before the family finally bought a town house there in January. Then Oldham got a certified letter with some brow-furrowing news: Her dream home lies less than 1,000 feet from the site of a proposed rubble landfill.

SHARPSBURG - Talk at the Piper House often turns to the spectacular fighting that took place just outside this bed-and-breakfast during the bloody Battle of Antietam during the Civil War. It's up to the imagination to picture the apple orchard full of clashing soldiers from the North and South. Though this building - which in 1862 served as headquarters of Confederate General James Longstreet - still stands, the orchard disappeared a century ago, replaced in time by a hayfield and a smattering of cedar trees.

Alan Walsh grabbed wooden crates from the back of his pickup truck and walked to a row of trees thick with red and gold apples. Working quickly, he plucked Jonagold apples from the branches, able to grasp four per hand before dropping them into a bushel crate. "Apple-picking goes pretty quick," Walsh, manager of Wilson Mill Orchard in Darlington, said as he plucked. "You don't even have to think about it; you just pick 'em." It's a good thing, too, because Walsh and others at Wilson Mill have been working to fill a formidable order: 10,000 apples for the 20th annual Darlington Apple Festival on Saturday.

The line "treated like family" gets tossed around a lot when it comes to restaurants. But rarely do you feel that comfortable or connected by the time you pay the check. Orchard Market & Cafe in Towson doesn't just make you feel at home — it also serves up a first-rate Persian meal. Hidden in the back of a strip mall off of Joppa Road, Orchard Market is almost impossible to find — unless you know where to look. It's a testament to the restaurant that it has been open for 22 years despite such a terrible location.

They were angry over the dim lighting and they were angry over the crowded corners and they were angry over the heroin vials. Then a Baltimore police detective was shot trying to make an undercover drug deal - one bullet grazed his chin, a second bullet shattered his jaw. It was January 2009, and the spike in violence led to a showdown between the people of historic Seton Hill, living in some of the city's oldest rowhouses, and the people across...