Mother Nature

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. - Ashley Grier will play on the weekend at the U.S. Women's Open, albeit under different circumstances. Consistent weather delays suspended the majority of Friday's second round and, in some cases, prevented players from even beginning their round, including Hagerstown's Grier. "We just sat around and waited, but the lightning kept on and then it finally started to rain about 4 (p.m.)," said Grier. After shooting a 10-over-par 81 in Thursday's opening round of the 62nd U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Resort, Grier knows how low she'll have to go today in order to have a chance at making the cut for the final two rounds.

Remember when you were young and used to look forward to snow days? Of course, we didn't have the responsibilities then that we do now. All we needed to do was bundle up, find a good hill to sled down and be home before dark. Now we have the responsibilities of shoveling the sidewalk and the driveway, cleaning off the cars and - unless you have a cushy government job - still reporting for work despite the weather. How I'd love to be searching for that hill again. I hate to sound like I'm bellyaching, but ... well, that is what I'm doing here, isn't it?

Left. Right. Left. Right. I got together with a couple of buddies and went out for a nature walk last Monday. It had been two years since I got out to experience the outside world in all its splendor. It was left, right, left, right. There were trees. Maple. Oak. Pine. Evergreens. There was grass. Short. Tall. Ankle deep. Thigh deep. There were animals. Squirrels. Groundhogs. Geese. Deer droppings.

Area drivers and residents battled Mother Nature's blows Tuesday in various ways as rain continued to push rivers and streams higher and roads were closed.

Mother Nature takes over with her own version of the weather as the temperature reads minus-100 degrees on a Hagerstown Trust sign Thursday on West Washington Street.

Mother Nature has stolen two days from Washington County public school students' spring break. The holiday will begin Friday, March 28, when all schools and the central administration office will be closed. Schools and the administration office will remain closed through Monday, March 31. The central office will reopen on Tuesday, April 1, and teachers will return to work for a professional day on Wednesday, April 2. Schools will reopen for students on Thursday and Friday, April 3 and 4, for snow make-up days.

Mother Nature has a way of creating her own art. Several local photographers captured some of the masterpieces Mother Nature made on her earthy canvas this winter. We want to run readers' best recent photographs from the Tri-State area. This is a chance for amateur photographers to share their best images. Quality is key. Sharp, large, color images look best. Close-up photos show detail better. If the subject is small, get close or use a telephoto lens to make the subject large in the photo.

WILLIAMSPORT - Mother Nature handed the Williamsport Food Bank less than great weather for the annual Harvest Hoedown last Saturday. "We're off between $5,000 and $6,000 and we didn't get as much food because a lot of people didn't come," said Mary Anna Kline, director of the food bank. Kline said about 7,000 pounds of food were collected Saturday, down from the goal of 10,000 pounds. And while $7,000 was collected, several bills associated with the hoedown haven't been paid yet which will lower that figure.

Woolly bears are out and about and collecting them can mean big money for those who find the cutest and cuddliest and the biggest and woolliest. Entrees for the 16th Annual Woolly Bear Contest held by the Hagers-town Town and Country Almanack must be in by Oct. 31. Those entering the winning woolly bears will receive $100. Runners-up will get free copies of the 1999 almanac. Woolly bears can be sent to the almanac office at 1120 Professional Court, second floor, Hagerstown, according to Business Manager Gerald W. Spessard.

The bad news is that the stock market was off 300 points in a single day, but the good news is that we can clone mice. Or, depending on your perspective, the good news is that the stock market was off 300 points in a single day and the bad news is we can clone mice. I consider myself to be firmly in the latter category. I can think of nothing more pleasing than the sight of a Wall Street cellular-phone-squawking calculator head pulling out what insignificant strands are left of his hair over something that to most of us isn't going to matter for another 30 years.

Sue Lloyd's sunset photo could be a painting. Bill Taylor's moon rising could be a postcard. When it comes to landscapes and brilliant skies, Mother Nature is the premier artist working on the world's largest canvas. The Herald-Mail runs readers' best recent photographs taken in the Tri-State area on this page. Quality is key. Sharp, large, color images look best. Close-up photos show detail better. If the subject is small, get close or use a telephoto lens to make the subject appear large in the photo.

Have you ever had the munchies and wished for a little something to snack on without blowing your day's calories? A new trend in food marketing is the 100-calorie snack pack. These are a nice option, and all the math is done for you. Rather than bringing home the big bag of chips that offers no stopping once it's opened, you get a fixed number of items pre-portioned into 100-calorie packages, assuming you stop after eating only one package. In some cases, food manufacturers might simply be putting 100 calories' worth of the original product into a smaller package, much like you could do at home using little plastic bags.

About 12 years ago, returning to Hagerstown after spending an April Easter vacation in Connecticut at grandma's house, we were blindsided by the biggest snowstorm seen that winter. Going through New York and Pennsylvania via Interstate 84, the snow began and we cruised along at 20 mph to 30 mph unable to see far, when all traffic stopped. We learned later that a semi had overturned on the slick road. We sat in the car in the mountains for over three hours, constantly brushing snow off the windshield and trying to keep warm by running the car for heat, then turning it off because of the fear of running out of gas. The kids were 3 and 8 and all we had for food was an orange and a can of soda.

Mother Nature takes over with her own version of the weather as the temperature reads minus-100 degrees on a Hagerstown Trust sign Thursday on West Washington Street.

If you want to be literal about it, the Hagerstown Suns got blown out on Friday. No, not that way. This was as huge curve thrown by Mother Nature with lots of movement which ultimately canceled the Suns' home opener against the Lake County Captains at Municipal Stadium. It started with pelting rain which began flying horizontal with the help of 35 mph winds, turning the field into a slip-n-slide. After about an hour of work, the game was postponed and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader today at 5:35 p.m. because another storm was pending.

Mother Nature has a way of creating her own art. Several local photographers captured some of the masterpieces Mother Nature made on her earthy canvas this winter. We want to run readers' best recent photographs from the Tri-State area. This is a chance for amateur photographers to share their best images. Quality is key. Sharp, large, color images look best. Close-up photos show detail better. If the subject is small, get close or use a telephoto lens to make the subject large in the photo.

Over the years, Charles Town Races & Slots has lost numerous live racing days because of drainage problems on the track. A few too many raindrops or snowflakes produced a dangerous racing surface. That has not been the case in 2008. "I think we've only lost two or three days so far in 2008, and those dates will easily be made up later in the year when we go to a three-day-a-week schedule," said Richard Moore, director of racing at Charles Town. "It's been a mild winter but an improved racetrack surface has eased the weather concerns.

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. - Ashley Grier will play on the weekend at the U.S. Women's Open, albeit under different circumstances. Consistent weather delays suspended the majority of Friday's second round and, in some cases, prevented players from even beginning their round, including Hagerstown's Grier. "We just sat around and waited, but the lightning kept on and then it finally started to rain about 4 (p.m.)," said Grier. After shooting a 10-over-par 81 in Thursday's opening round of the 62nd U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Resort, Grier knows how low she'll have to go today in order to have a chance at making the cut for the final two rounds.

WILLIAMSPORT - Mother Nature handed the Williamsport Food Bank less than great weather for the annual Harvest Hoedown last Saturday. "We're off between $5,000 and $6,000 and we didn't get as much food because a lot of people didn't come," said Mary Anna Kline, director of the food bank. Kline said about 7,000 pounds of food were collected Saturday, down from the goal of 10,000 pounds. And while $7,000 was collected, several bills associated with the hoedown haven't been paid yet which will lower that figure.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - When she saw that temperatures Tuesday would be just a shade below 100 degrees, Carole Smith decided to give away something everyone would want. She even made a sign - "Free ice water. " Smith is store manager at World Treasures Thrift Shop on East Franklin Street, where she set up a cooler filled with water and plastic cups for shoppers or anyone who walked in off the street. The high temperature Tuesday was about 94 degrees, AccuWeather meteorologist John Gresiak said.