I will miss…

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Nearing the end of our time in Maryland…I am acknowledging what I will be miss from this area of the county. It’s been our home turf for almost 40 years. From the very beginning, I’ve enjoyed:

Big trees. When we first moved from Texas, the big trees were one of the first things we noticed. We had several very large oaks in our Virginia house and maples that got much larger in the time we lived in our second. At the house we are moving from (our third in the area), there is a large oak, sycamore and maple in the yard…and a forest of trees dominated by tulip poplars behind the house. Our house in Missouri has younger trees…and varieties that won’t be as tall. It has the advantage of making the roof ideal for solar panels. I am glad that the area does have big trees though; I don’t think I would want to live in a part of the country that didn’t!

Historical sites/monuments. The Washington DC is full of historical sites and monuments. Our long-time favorites are Mount Vernon, the Washington Monument, The Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, and the Dupont museums around Wilmington (Hagley, Winterthur, Nemours). Will we miss them in our new home? Probably not…but we have always included historical sites and monuments in our travels; that will continue.

Gardens. Brookside Gardens, the National Arboretum, Kenilworth Aquatic Garden, US Botanical Garden, tidal basin/cherry blossoms and Longwood Gardens have all been some of our favorite places in the area. We already know that the Springfield Botanical Gardens are something we’ll enjoy close to our new home…and I’m already anticipating a long weekend to explore the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis.

Seasons. We thoroughly enjoyed the seasons in Virginia/Maryland: the colors of fall, the snow in winter, the trees and bulbs that bloom profusely in spring, and the summers that don’t get as hot as in Texas! In Missouri we are expecting somewhat similar although a little drier and, perhaps, more extreme.

I will miss aspects of the area that I’ve enjoyed post-career too:

Education and volunteering opportunities. I thoroughly enjoyed the volunteer opportunities in Maryland – particularly Howard Country Conservancy and the butterfly exhibit at Brookside Gardens. The educational opportunities associated with my volunteering (Maryland Master Naturalist and Howard County Legacy Leadership for the Environment, for example) were appreciated too. I’ll look for similar opportunities near my new home. I already know there is a Missouri Master Naturalist program and some potential volunteer opportunities that I can pursue in Springfield…..or maybe I’ll find some tangential interests that will lead to very different education/volunteering opportunities.

Forest behind my house and lots of birds. This spring the area around our house in Maryland seems to be particularly lush and our two bird feeders have been very busy. I will miss that in our new house because the vegetation is not as large. On the plus side, the new yard will work reasonably well for astronomy and there is room to add some plants that I’ve never had before (like an oak leave hydrangea…and a pollinator garden that needs full sun).

Birding tours. We’ve enjoyed the tours with Delmarva Birding and the festivals at Cape May. We’ll be exploring new ones closer to our home in Missouri. I anticipate seeing the migrating sandhill cranes along the Platte River some time!