You wouldn’t know it was the hottest, driest part of the summer in the abundant wildflower meadow Jonathan Shaw and his wife, Anne Habberton started at their Queenstown farm two years ago. Life springs from every bright green blade of grass. Flower stalks sway with colorful heads atop grassy leaves. Most of all, the birds and the bees are very, very happy (no! not like that!). So, grab your walking shoes, sunscreen and a good hat and join Chesapeake Forum on August 2nd for a rare field trip to this spectacular wildflower meadow (https://chesapeakeforum.org).

Ever since Shaw and his wife turned 32 acres of their working farm into native wildflowers, they have seen an ever-increasing stream of insects and birds including yellow-headed bobolinks, and indigo buntings. In late summer, countless species of butterflies come to enjoy purple cosmos, yellow goldenrods, bee balm and tufts of grass seeds that were planted with the help of Washington College’s Natural Lands Project Director, Dan Small.

Shaw is a renowned wildlife artist and instructor. Born in England, he is an expert Falconer and accomplished horseman. He has a passion for raising, breeding, and training Pasa Fino horses. He and his wife Ann Habberton Shaw are long time Queen Anne’s County residents and reside on a farm in Queenstown.

Join Chesapeake Forum for a rare Field Trip to Jonathan and Anne’s Queenstown farm on August 2 from 8:30 AM – 11 AM. In person. $20. Carpool from vacant bank lot in front of Target. To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org. Be sure to bring a good shade hat, sunscreen and binoculars.

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities to residents of the eastern shore. To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information, including address and email, to [email protected].

Losing a spouse through death, divorce or disability is a thing most of us never want to think about but as Angela Rieck, Ph.D. found out the hard way – not knowing what’s ahead can compound the misery.

For example, one of the things Rieck learned when her husband died was that she would have to find his 35-year old divorcee decree before she could claim survivor benefits. A problem as she had no idea what state had issued his divorce decree.

That unpleasant surprise is just one of the things Rieck covers in her Chesapeake Forum course, Emotional and Financial Perils of Losing a Spouse created with co-instructor Doris Theune, Ph.D.   This popular course, starting on June 7th, is returning for the second time due to overwhelming demand.

The two have created an extensive checklist of tasks survivors are faced with following the death of a loved one – some mundane, some critical and some infuriating – along with ideas for managing the tasks, and accepting help. Collecting that information before disaster strikes, can help alleviate some of the stress and pain afterwards.

Emotional and Financial Perils of Losing a Spouse was inspired by a column Angela wrote about what she wished she knew before her husband’s death (https://talbotspy.org/the-widow-and-widowers-gut-punch-by-angela-rieck/).  The column received the highest readership and comments – all from widows and widowers who said how much they wished they had know what was coming.

This course will prepare you for what you will need, so that you can focus on your personal grief and your family.  You’ll learn to identify tasks that you can delegate to loved ones, and tasks that you shouldn’t delegate. There are many wonderful people that want to help and not so wonderful people that want to take advantage of you. Learn how to recognize them.

Angela Rieck, Ph.D. is a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive.

Doris (Dodie) Theune, Ph.D. holds a Ph.D. in Transformative Adult Learning. As a Senior Vice President at The Bryn Mawr Trust & Estate Division, Dodie held certifications in Financial Planning, Life and Health Insurance, and Series 7 designations. She led a popular seminar series, “Taking Control: Financial Management for Women” and “Retirement Planning.”

Emotional and Financial Perils of Losing a Spouse is a two-session course, Wednesday, June 7th and Thursday June 8th from 10 – 11:30 AM, $30.  In person at the Peachblossom YMCA, Easton. To register for this, or any other Chesapeake Forum course, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit dedicated to providing continuing education opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore. If you would like to receive the Chesapeake Forum’s monthly newsletter, please send your contact information to [email protected] with your name and preferred email.

There’s evidence that babies and pre-verbal toddlers can understand and use simple sign language to signal their needs. Researchers say that can help reduce the frustration and number of tantrums as babies begin to develop communication skills, but that’s not all.

Learning basic sign language can improve spatial reasoning as where and how you sign determines meaning.  It also helps to create better reaction times and peripheral vision, and allows the ability to communicate with a wider variety of individuals.  Plus, learning a new language has cognitive benefits.

Join Chesapeake Forum instructor Judith Cornette, M.Ed, SLP/CCC, on June 2nd for the “FUNdamentals of Sign Language”. You’ll be introduced to the sign language alphabet as well as basic phrases to help improve communication skills.  Following the course, you’ll have enough information to practice and use simple signs and phrases, along with the knowledge to keep improving your skills over time.

Judith Cornette is a speech and language pathologist specializing in non-verbal autistic language learners.  FUNdamentals of Sign Language is one (1) course, Friday, June 2nd from 1-2:30 PM in person at the Easton Family YMCA. $20.  To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities to residents of the Eastern Shore.  To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information to [email protected]

Recently,  the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in California announced an enormous step forward in the race to provide clean energy.  For the first time since the 1950s, scientists have been able to create a nuclear fusion reaction that resulted in a net energy gain – the so called “holy grail” of a carbon-free future.

What does this mean for the future of clean energy?  The long-awaited milestone is a critical step towards developing technology that provides unlimited, cheap, clean power but it could be still be a decade or more away from commercial use.

Join Rich Wagner and the Chesapeake Forum on June 1st for look at recent, headline-making experiments in nuclear fusion and their implications for the future of plentiful, clean power.  Don’t worry if you aren’t particularly “technical”.   A previous student commented that Rich “has a wonderful understanding of the subject that he easily transfers to the listener”.

Laser Fusion Experiments and the Implications for Fusion Power is one (1) session, Thursday, June 1st from 10-11:30 am.  HYBRID (in person at the Easton Family YMCA, ZOOM or recording).  $20.  To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.og

Rich Wagner is a physicist who worked on the beginnings of the fusion program at Livermore 1963-1981, and has been a member of government review panels on topics related to the science behind fusion since leaving Livermore in 1981 to become an Assistant Secretary of Defense, with responsibility for oversight of the US nuclear weapon program and of all Department of Defense matters related to chemical and biological weapons.

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning to residents of the Eastern Shore.  To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your address and contact information to [email protected]

Vice Presidents are like losing football teams.  No one remembers their names for long.  Out of 49 administrations, nine vice presidents have ascended to the presidency after the death, resignation or impeachment of the President.  And while 18 have run for the office outright, only 6 have been elected President.

Apparently, they can’t get no respect.

Join Chesapeake Forum and instructor Dr. Raymond Vergne for Buckets of Warm Spit: Vice Presidents of the United States starting May 10th.  Learn how the office of Vice-President of the United States came about.  Understand why the methods of electing the Vice-President (and President) may have been updated and amended several times, but the powers of the office remain virtually unchanged.

Buckets of Warm Spit: Vice Presidents of the United States is three (3) sessions May 10th, 17th, and 24th from 1-2:30.  HYBRID (in person at the Easton Family YMCA, ZOOM or recording).  $40.  To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities to residents of the Eastern Shore.  To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your contact information and address to [email protected]

What does it mean to be an American?  Philosophers, writers, statesman, artists and others have wrestled with that question over time.  Now you can share your thoughts on the subject during Chesapeake Forum’s “What is an American?  A Personal Inquiry,” led by Charles Yonkers, J.D., Ph.D., starting May 9th.

The intention of the class is to reflect on the difficulties and complexities imposed by the question, “what is an American?”, without trying to get to an answer.   Bring an open mind and a willingness to ask questions.   The first reading will be “What is an American” from Hector D Crevecouer’s 1782 book, “Letters from an American Farmer”.   The second session uses Mark Twain as mid-point in the development of the American Nation and culture. The third session draws from a reading list of contemporary writings.

Charles Edward Yonkers is a former Peace Corps County Director, lawyer (Harvard, J.D., Yale, B. A.) and adjunct professor in Georgetown’s Graduate Liberal Studies Program (M.A.L.S.).  His thesis was on “The Creative of a Sense of Place: History, Culture, and Henderson, KY”. He has taught courses on A Sense of Place since 2011.  His current place is Pot Pie Farm in Wittman., MD

What is an American?  A Personal Inquiry is three (3), Wednesday, May 9th, 16th and 23rd from 10 – 11:30 a.m., in-person at the Easton Family YMCA, ZOOM or recording. $40.  To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities to residents of the Eastern Shore. To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information to [email protected].

Has your stuff gotten the better of you?  Does the idea of moving overwhelm you?  Do you want to downsize but have no idea where to start?

Whether you plan on moving now or in the future, or you want to simplify your home and life, Chesapeake Forum’s new course, Downsizing Your Home, will teach you effective, stress-free methods for tackling what can often be an overwhelming task.

Learn from two professional organizers how to approach the process of clearing out your possessions, carefully and systematically. Discover some great tips to make the process go smoothly, along with ideas of what to do with discarded items.

Downsizing Your Home is one (1) session, Tuesday, May 9th from 1-2:30 PM.  $20. HYBRID (In person at the Easton Family YMCA, via ZOOM or recording). To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Instructors Nadine Sachs, owner of Shorely Organized, and Jenna Blake, a Feng Shui specialist, and senior level organizer, help transform spaces into organized, peaceful and functional settings for clients on the Eastern Shore.

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities to residents of the Eastern Shore. To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information to [email protected]

Around 6,000 B.C. Georgians in South Caucasus discovered wine after the grape juice they buried underground for the winter fermented.  That lucky accident set the stage for wine growing and making throughout the millennia.

While making wine at home isn’t quite as easy as burying grape juice in the cellar, it’s close.  Join Oenophile Bill  Frost as he explains the ins and outs of home winemaking for Chesapeake Forum on May 4th.

Frost will review the equipment needed and the approximate costs involved in making wine at home.  He will also review the steps involved in making wine, from purchasing wine juice to opening your first bottle of home-made wine. Participants will learn about making wine from juice, as well as making wine from grapes. There will also be a brief discussion of making wine from other fruits, such as apple cider.

At the end, participants will leave with a step-by-step set of basic instructions and some commonly used terms in wine making and big savings.  After expenses, the average cost of a homemade bottle of wine is about $3.  Now that’s a bargain. Bottoms up!

Introduction to Home Wine Making is two (2) sessions, May 4th and 11th from 1 – 2:30.  In person at the Easton Family YMCA with one field trip to see Bill’s winemaking set up.  $30. To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities to residents of the Eastern Shore.  To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, send your contact information and address to [email protected].

If you’ve driven to Cambridge recently, you’ve passed by the new townhome development in Trappe called Lakeside.   The controversial development is just one example of county planning and zoning decisions that affect residents of Talbot County (the Maryland Department of the Environment ultimately approved Lakeside after the county planning commission withdrew its approval).

Learn about the role of municipal, county, and state jurisdictions in aspects of land use planning from Talbot Council Council member Pete Lesher on May 1st as he explains the rules affecting planning and growth decisions.   Lesher will outline the management tools currently in place, and describe options for additional policies that could shape future development.  He will cover the role of municipal and county Comprehensive Plans, along with impact fees, transferable development rights, and the Chesapeake Bay Critical Areas.

Finally, hear what options are being considered for the future, including an adequate public facilities ordinance, and the possible impacts of other tools (if enacted), and gain an understanding of why community engagement is so important to the Comprehensive Planning process.

Pete Lesher is a member of Talbot County Council, elected in 2018 and 2022. During the day, he also serves as chief curator at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, where he has served on staff since 1991.

Talbot County Planning and Growth is one (1) session, May 1st from 5:30 – 7 PM.  Hybrid (in person at the Easton Family YMCA, ZOOM or recording). $20. To register visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore.  To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and address to [email protected].

The word “active” may take on a different meaning as we age, but that doesn’t mean the end to physically engaging vacations.  In fact, there are so many options for mixing comfort and activity, most people can find something to suit their needs.

Join Chesapeake Forum instructor Mark Mulligan on April 27th from 1-2:30 pm for a look at some active biking or hiking options for seniors.  Many tours include good food, fine hotels and great sightseeing as you travel under your own power.  No need to rough it!

Mulligan will introduce participants to the types of tours offered by three different companies that bring 800 active tourists to the area each year.  Find out what to expect on an active vacation – how many miles per day, what happens if you don’t want to ride or hike on one of the days, how to prepare for a tour and finally, what about e-bikes and how can they help?  Finally, learn what kind of active vacation is right for you and how to find a suitable tour operator.

Mark Mulligan is a retired Naval Officer and Federal Civil Servant. He leads bike tours in Talbot, Dorchester, and Kent Counties and works part time as a bicycle mechanic in Annapolis.

Is an Active Vacation Right for Me? is one (1) session, Thursday April 27th from 1-2:30 PM.  Hybrid (in person at the Easton Family YMCA, ZOOM or recording). $20.  To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities to residents of the Eastern Shore. To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, send your name, address and contact information to [email protected]