Maryland Daily PhotoEvery Week Day a New Picture from MD

Driving home the other day I was intrigued by the constructon scene near my office.  This particular area is going to be a new grocery store soon.    It is just across the street from a totally failed retail mall, but I guess that someone thinks that people want to buy more goods, its just that those goods are fruits and vegetables, not specialty retail.

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Going back to yesterday’s mystery.  It was in fact a storm water runoff.  Of course, in the middle of a nice park area, they didn’t want it to be just an everyday stormwater drain, so they spruced it up a bit.  They added those nice stones and built a pleasant walkway next to it.

However, a lot of time has passed since Columbia was planned, and that runoff creek is clearly in need of some work, both due to its collapsing walls an its overgrowing shrubbery.  I had to follow it for a bit to see if there was something at the end of the runoff.  There was.

That storm water runs into the place pictured today: Lake Elkhorn.   I’ve pictured it’s interesting dam in an earlier post.  When I came upon it by following the path next to the drain, I was pleasantly surprised.

Then I was shocked by the green film that covered the entire lake.  The town has been dredging the lake for some time now and I cant say if that has anything to do with this film.  Perhaps because of the dredging they have slowed the flow of water through the lake and given time for this algae to build up.  Perhaps it’s always like this.  Either way, it was quite a scene to behold.

Part of the appeal of Columbia, as it was originally conceived, was the sense of small communities within the town.  The communities were accessible by walkways, which were to be the veins of activity in the planned community.

Driving through Columbia today, as with all things in Columbia, you have to look hard for the walkways. However, like the magic-eye of community building, you soon realize that they are everywhere.   The walkways really could connect almost the entire town.

Seeing as I frequently find myself looking for photo opportunities in Howard County, I thought it best to take advantage of the opportunity to explore some of these walkways.  I’m starting slowly, as this one is between the food store and the gas station, both of which I frequently use.

Of course, like a page out of a real estate guide, I ran into a rabbit within the first minute on the trail.   Then I found a clump of very pleasant long grasses.   After passing a elderly couple enjoying the scene on a park bench, I ran into this  mysterious waterway.