Monday Musings - August 29, 2016

1. It is the last Monday of August 2018. The eighth month of the year will come to an end later this week leaving us at the mercy of September.

Sunrise at Renditions in Davidsonville, MD
August 28, 2016

2. Early morning golf, just at sunrise on Renditions in Davidsonville, MD. It was a beautiful morning and I do enjoy watching the world wake from the serenity of a golf course.

3. I just learned that although Maryland has a 6 percent sales tax rate, and a separate 9 percent tax on alcohol, it also has a variable tax on other items, like golf courses, up to 10 percent. Based upon cost of living computations, Maryland residents are the 7th most taxed in the country, ranking 44th out of 51. 

4. The Zika panic is spreading across the country after cases have been discovered in Florida. Could it come here? With the exception of Wyoming, it already is, although Florida is the only state, so far, where the virus is being caught from local mosquitoes. 

Little League World Series Winners
Maine-Endwell, NY

5. I love the Little League World Series. I enjoy watching the boys play baseball in its nearly pure form. And I enjoyed watching a team from near where I grew up win it all this year. Congrats to Maine-Endwell, NY. 

6. I remember reading an interesting assessment of the most dangerous, to humans, animal in the world. It was the mosquito.

7. After giving up 25 runs in their previous two games against the "team whose name shall not be spoken" from up north, the Orioles clawed out a stirring 5-0 victory yesterday. Sitting at 3 games out of first place in the division, and with the division leaders coming to town tonight--this series could be for the division lead!

Preparing to Blend a Bordeaux Style Wine
Pearmund Cellars, VA

8. If you want to have some fun, try this test from the Washington Post--try naming 10 national parks just by looking at their maps. I did OK (7 of 10). 

9. Had fun blending wine with friends this weekend at Pearmund Cellars. A different approach to blending great wine. We even got to bring some of our blend home. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD