Picnic Table

The time is nigh for all those who respect the culture and heritage of the Land of Pleasant Living to raise their wooden crab mallets in the air and say: "No!" The food designers and lifestyle magazine editors have set their sights on the ruination of something most precious: the traditional Maryland crab feast. In a recent article in the Sun, the author (usually a supporter of all things traditional and good about Maryland, like Ocean City 's Boardwalk and summer swim leagues)

So as summer kicks into high gear, the crowds and traffic begin to rise to their summer peak on Coastal Highway. If you are looking for a different, and in many ways more tranquil beach experience, Assateague Island National Seashore might be the spot for you. Assateague has tons of open beach, salt marshes and of course the wild horses. Here are few tips on how to make your day trip to Assateague a unique experience that will make you feel as if you vacationed in two different places during your visit down the ocean.

Around the house* Buff windows to a shine. A clean blackboard eraser rubbed over a dry, clean window will remove any lingering smudges.* Cover a picnic table with a brightly colored fitted sheet. Top tables with a single rosebud or daisy in a bud vase.* Remove ball-point ink stains with hairspray and a dab of liquid dish detergent. Rinse with cold water and launder.In the garden* Spray poison ivy plants with a mix of 2 gallons of soapy water and 3 pounds salt. Repeat a few times until plants die.

Kettle Hill starts lunch service on Tuesday. Lunch hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. And on Friday, the downtown restaurant is christening its new patio with a grand opening party from 4-7 p.m. Speaking of decks, the crab deck at Philips Seafood should be fully operational soon. The big red umbrellas are already in place, and you can already hang out with a frozen drink and nibble on some light bites at a picnic table. But the deck menu isn't up and running yet. No firm date on the opening.

Around the house* Prepare for the summer. Cool off the house with awnings that will reflect sun, thermal shades to block out heat and ceiling fans that circulate air.* Clean window screens. Always remove; scrubbing in place can cause them to bulge. Place screens on a flat surface like a picnic table or the lawn. Scrub with a soft brush and a solution of water and ammonia. Hose off and allow to dry.* Make your own cleaning solution for fast cleanups. Mix one part ammonia with three parts water in a pump spray bottle.

Kettle Hill starts lunch service on Tuesday. Lunch hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. And on Friday, the downtown restaurant is christening its new patio with a grand opening party from 4-7 p.m. Speaking of decks, the crab deck at Philips Seafood should be fully operational soon. The big red umbrellas are already in place, and you can already hang out with a frozen drink and nibble on some light bites at a picnic table. But the deck menu isn't up and running yet. No firm date on the opening.

For many families, Baltimore's Stone Soul Picnic has become a summer ritual of music, dancing, food and unity.Such was the case yesterday for Gwen Caster and her two sisters, who arrived early to attend the picnic in Druid Hill Park for the fourth straight year."

A red-brick-like surface glows warmly against a backdrop of green grass behind the Carroll County Circuit Court annex building - where not long ago the landscape consisted of a cratered asphalt parking lot and a trash bin. Four ornamental cherry trees have been planted, with seasonal flowers at the edge of the grass. More amenities are planned for the small courtyard behind the annex building on North Court Street in Westminster. "I'm really pleased with the result," said Administrative Judge Raymond E. Beck Sr. "The employees seem to really appreciate being able to look out their windows and not see a Dumpster and cars."

SATURDAY I was beaned by a walnut, and I heard music -- violin music.When the weather is as beautiful as it has been lately, I like to goof off at my picnic table. So there I was the other morning sipping my coffee and reading The Sun, when I came across an ad for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra promoting tonight's appearance of Israeli violinist extraordinaire, Pinchas Zuckerman. Some folks say he's the best in the business. I don't know about that, but I know the man has guts.I know because I've been there.

WE HAD OUR first picnic of the year the other day. It will be a while before we do that again.Having a picnic seems like an appealing idea, until you do it. Then it becomes a logistical operation that resembles troop maneuvers. Everything from plates to the pepper shaker has to be packed up, checked off, moved to the meal site, then ferried back home. What a hassle! And for what? You have to eat hunched over at a picnic table, a contraption that is both uncomfortable to sit in and difficult to get out of.I am aware that being anti-picnic is not a popular stance.

The time is nigh for all those who respect the culture and heritage of the Land of Pleasant Living to raise their wooden crab mallets in the air and say: "No!" The food designers and lifestyle magazine editors have set their sights on the ruination of something most precious: the traditional Maryland crab feast. In a recent article in the Sun, the author (usually a supporter of all things traditional and good about Maryland, like Ocean City 's Boardwalk and summer swim leagues)

Anthony Bullock takes the "picnic" part of Baltimore's annual Stone Soul Picnic seriously. Under a shady mesh shelter, the former Reservoir Hill resident had set out 25 pounds of snow crab legs, fried chicken, grilled fish, deviled eggs, chicken salad, macaroni salad, potato salad and collard greens, all prepared in his Perryville home. He had gone to Pennsylvania for corn on the cob, and made the sauce for his barbecue beef to feed 30 guests in his party, along with sundry police officers and fellow picnickers.

ON A trip to New England one summer, I fell in love with a concept foreign to me in my 30-some years as a Baltimore native: the towns' epicenter of activity, the village green. On these humble grassy knolls, sometimes no bigger than a football field, town residents came together to throw Frisbees, walk dogs, exchange gossip, fly kites, enjoy concerts or simply linger. In winter, I was told, the activities changed mainly to ice skating and ice hockey, but the notion remained the same: an open green space where people gathered and, ultimately, bonded as members of a community.

FREDERICK -- It was here in the Olson family back yard in 1975 that the world first learned the name of a man who, the story went, had been unwittingly drugged with LSD by the Central Intelligence Agency 22 years earlier and then jumped to his death from a 10th-floor hotel room. The Olsons -- among them Eric, the oldest child -- called a news conference. Reporters from throughout the country came to the house that Frank Olson had built and gathered around the picnic table to listen. Reporters heard that family patriarch Frank Olson, ostensibly an Army scientist, had committed suicide in 1953.

SEATED AT a shady picnic table next to Piney Run Lake, seven water enthusiasts gathered to learn how to safely handle a canoe Saturday morning with instructor Tom Harbold. Although hundreds of people rent canoes at the lake without taking basic instruction, the class offers many benefits, such as safety tips and easier handling methods. Harbold, 36, who offers canoe and kayak instruction through the nature center and the county recreation department, began the lesson with a canoe at his feet, explaining basic terminology amid comments from participants Morgan Barton, 13, and JoAnna Walker, 12, who were eager to start the lesson on the lake.

THERE are certain restaurants worth visiting for their atmosphere alone. Magothy Seafood Crab Deck and Tiki Bar is one of those. It's a relaxed place on the banks of the Magothy River that evokes a fishing camp or summertime family picnics with the cast of The Wonder Years. The restaurant is a large glorified tent plopped in the midst of Ferry Point Marina. Rows of picnic tables, covered with bright vinyl tablecloths, share space with a thatched tiki bar decked with tiny red crab lights and authentic crab traps.

So as summer kicks into high gear, the crowds and traffic begin to rise to their summer peak on Coastal Highway. If you are looking for a different, and in many ways more tranquil beach experience, Assateague Island National Seashore might be the spot for you. Assateague has tons of open beach, salt marshes and of course the wild horses. Here are few tips on how to make your day trip to Assateague a unique experience that will make you feel as if you vacationed in two different places during your visit down the ocean.

In 20 years of gardening, I've left few stones unturned. There is a rock pile in the back yard to prove it. What I really mean is, I've grown every plant I ever wanted, from asters to zucchini, with one exception.I've never had a nut tree.That's not to say I haven't had trees with nuts in them. During tree-pruning season, I've been known to trim the same branch I was standing on. And I've climbed higher than a 200-pound man ought to go to rescue our stupid cat, Timmy, who sometimes seems intent on climbing clear to cat heaven and taking me with him.Yes, nuts have fallen from my trees.

A red-brick-like surface glows warmly against a backdrop of green grass behind the Carroll County Circuit Court annex building - where not long ago the landscape consisted of a cratered asphalt parking lot and a trash bin. Four ornamental cherry trees have been planted, with seasonal flowers at the edge of the grass. More amenities are planned for the small courtyard behind the annex building on North Court Street in Westminster. "I'm really pleased with the result," said Administrative Judge Raymond E. Beck Sr. "The employees seem to really appreciate being able to look out their windows and not see a Dumpster and cars."

It was as if Baltimore had a shiny black eye yesterday, after heavy rains washed three months of sewer and creek-bed trash into the Inner Harbor.Yesterday morning's west wind swept tires, tennis balls, golf clubs, plastic bottles -- even a refrigerator and a picnic table -- onto the shoreline, from the Light Street pavilion to Fells Point, creating a caldron of slop that practically beached paddle boat business and left tourists repeating one word.Disgusting.Baltimoreans...