As I ventured out this morning just before sunrise I thought about the history and changes I’ve had the pleasure and pain of witnessing in this county over a span of 53 years. We moved here when I was 4 years old so now you also know my age if you can add.

One of the things I love about where I live now in the county is that when I pull out on Woodstock road I see farmland. What I used to believe was Browns Farm and now is the Howard County Conservancy. I grew up seeing farmland and woods and wildlife. For a long time before Columbia came along, that was about it to see.

As I pulled out onto Rt 99 I said let’s go have a look at Turf Valley at Sunrise. I believe in 1992 The Turf Valley golf course opened. Not that I’ve ever played there. Today we have the new Turf Valley Towne Square. Even though the sun is coming up over it in this picture, only time will tell. I can tell you its a nicely designed strip shopping area. It has a few good restaurants and the anchor store of Harris Teeter. And while it doesn’t look that busy now wait till all those homes are built and occupied in Turf Valley.

It seems sometime every time you turn your head you see development going on and in no small way at all. It worries me that we are losing our balance in this county and its rapidly becoming a small city in itself. And if traffic is any indication we are already there. But right after I saw this new scar on the land, I looked up and here was the sun peaking over the trees as I headed out of Turf Valley.

I then took a ride down to Main Street in Ellicott City. It was still a brisk (low 20’s) this morning and there was a slight mist rising in the sunrise. There was a couple with a photographer taking what looked to be engagement photos. But for a Saturday morning this place was quiet. I’ve worked on this street for a few years (6) of my life. I’m pretty familiar with its ups and downs. It seems like it’s in a bit of a down swing at this time. While there has always been transition, renovation, rebuilding, restoring and change. There have been improvements from the local government. It does have a lot of nice restaurants. It does still have some very nice shops and businesses. But it also has its share of empty space and areas in need of repair.

That is when I ran into this guy at the bottom of the hill, All he was concerned about was that the water was getting warmer, the ice was melting and sunshine was on its way.  So that is it for the morning shoot. I hope to venture out later today to capture some more of Howard County Maryland.