April is Earth Month and it's easy to see why this month was chosen to celebrate Mother Earth. I have made two farm visits in the past 10 days, one to Porch View Farm near Lisbon and the other to the Community Ecology Institute, a brand new venture on Harriet Tubman Lane that will be welcoming community members for all kinds of farm-related and ecology activities in the very near future. At both farms, the green was starting to show on the trees and bushes, plants were starting to push up from the beneath the ground, and at Porch View, we were treated to the sight of 1 week old lambs.

As spring comes upon us and Earth Day approaches (April 20), the natural beauty of the landscape in many parts of Howard County reminds me of the importance of preserving our trees, protecting our scenic roads, and ensuring landscaped or natural vegetative buffers remain in place. We are fortunate to live in such a beautiful place. I hope we can all slow down at some point in the next three weeks and enjoy a walk in one of our Howard County parks to take advantage of our springtime weather!