Fulton, MD

OK, I could go to the local Safeway and buy a good old Butterball turkey. It spent its brief live in a turkey factory, living in a crowded cage and being fed a diet of growth hormones and lord knows what. After being slaughtered, it will have been frozen and then shipped half way across the country to some chilly warehouse. By the time it finally hits a store, it won't taste too bad because it will have been stuffed with lots of yummy chemicals (buttery flavor, perhaps?).

Or, I could get into my car and drive half way to Baltimore in the pouring rain and get a turkey who, until a couple of days. ago was running around the Maple Lawn Farms having a fun life eating grass and scratching around for an occasional worm treat. She wasn't crowded in with a bunch of cage mates. She got the run of the place. I'll bet she even got to make whoopee with some hunky Tom Turkey!

Maple Lawn Farms is a fourth generation family business known for it's beautiful Holstein cattle and delicious

So Ms. Maple Lawns, a 20 pound hen, is now in my fridge waiting to be the centerpiece for my Thanksgiving day feast. She is very fresh, having been happily running around Maple Lawns until a couple of days ago. She has never been frozen, and she is going to taste totally amazing.

I make the trek to Maple Lawns Farm a couple of times a year, at Thanksgiving and Christmas. They sell a different kind of bird than what you find at your local supermarket.

And of course it's impossible to get there and back without some sort of adventure, and I did. I wound up getting mired in some combination of mud and turkey bupkis. When two burly guys couldn't get me out of it, one of the employees pulled up in a huge truck and chain and pulled me out!

They will be open tomorrow from 7 am until 5 pm. If you've already picked up your Thanksgiving bird, keep them in mind for your Christmas bird. During November and December, they have fresh turkeys available. It's best to go to their web site if you plan to visit during December. You may have to make an appointment to buy your bird. Other times of the year, they have fresh frozen turkeys available. They are located just north of Route 29 (Colesville Road) on Route 216.

According to a very reliable source (my husband, a retail real estate guru), a senior real estate representative for Chipotle Mexican Grill was spotted in the Sidamo Coffee at Maple Lawn. Word is they are looking seriously at opening a restaurant in that development.

If this is the case, this is great news for the Fulton area. Healthier, fresh, fast food choices are currently non-existent. Although, Pita and Rye is very soon to open, enhancing our dining options.

Stay tuned....

Can the Home of Your Dreams Fit Your Eco Friendly Lifestyle? You may have heard that when looking for Real Estate, your top 3 considerations should be: location, location, location. And while location certainly matters, I've found that for most Buyers, the important factors to evaluate include:

• Location
• Schools and Family Life
• Neighborhood
• Nuisances, or the lack thereof - privacy, noise, etc.
• Lifestyle - how does a home or community fit in with a Buyer's choices in lifestyle

The last item on that list - lifestyle - I've seen a big shift recently toward Buyers who are preferring to look for homes that suit their other Eco Friendly Lifestyle choices. While it may not be at the top of Buyers' lists, it certainly is a factor for many people looking for homes today.

The home at 8100 Hunterbrooke Lane has much to offer a Buyer interested in reducing the amount of resources they use, and in living more efficiently:

Location. Located halfway between Baltimore and Washington D.C., close to commuter routes like Route 29 and Interstate 95. Also located nearby is the Maple Lawn planned community with convenient shopping, medical offices, and local business.

Schools and Family Life. School Rankings and reports for this Home*:

• Fulton Elementary School
• Lime Kiln Middle School
• Reservoir High School
• Howard County Public School System

Neighborhood. Community report for Fulton, MD.

Nuisances. Located on more than 10 acres, this home offers the ultimate in privacy, yet is also part of the Hunterbrooke neighborhood. The lot backs to the Rocky Gorge Reservoir and a Patuxent Watershed protected Forest Preservation Area.

Lifestyle. For those choosing an eco friendly lifestyle, this home has so much to offer. Organic, all natural shopping is available at David's Natural Market, MOM's, as well as Roots right down the street. The Tai Sophia Institute is just minutes away, as is the Columbia Mall, with an LL Bean Retail Store.

Your own 10 acre lot is perfect for hiking and biking, and the Rocky Gorge Reservoir is an excellent place for kayaking, shoreline fishing, horseback riding, hunting and picknicking. A permit is required for these activities; the cost is minimal, and you can contact WSSC for more information.

The home itself incorporates many natural materials, with wood, stone, granite, and marble surfaces in nearly every space. One of the most interesting features of this home is the heating system. The whole home can be heated with wood, oil or coal, and the furnace can simultaneously be used to heat the water heater.

Most eco-friendly homes in Howard County, MD will be in the price range of $500,000 to more than $1,000,000. Although the expense may be higher than the average Howard County or Montgomery County home, for those who can afford it and for whom the lifestyle is a priority, 8100 Hunterbrooke Lane offers everything you would look for in the home of your dreams.

Rocky Gorge Photo Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisbrenschmidt/
*School districting can change from year to year, and should be independently verified. Visit www.hcpss.org for more information about the Howard County Public School System.

Practical, Unique, Easy Living Spaces - What Buyers Want Today. As highlighted in a recent REALTOR magazine article, the American Institute of Architect's first quarter Home Design Trends survey showed that owners are trending more toward a preference of smaller, easier to maintain homes. Less formality, more open, flexible layouts. Consumers are moving away from the ‘Mc Mansion chapter of design', and favoring homes with unique architecture and character.

Here in Maryland, a ‘McMansion' would typically be a home that is greater than 4000 square feet, will probably be listed for greater than $1 million, and will more than likely be located in Western Howard County.

If you are like the consumers surveyed and are looking to move away from the cookie cutter design that McMansions offer, in Maryland you can find a distinctive home with interesting architectural qualities, with plenty of room for entertaining and everyday living, but without the formality of a McMansion.

If you're looking for you're one of a kind dream home with acreage to spare, and yet still in a great location for commuting to Washington DC and convenience - what is available here in Maryland?

The home at 8100 Hunterbrooke Lane in Fulton, Maryland has all of these qualities and more. The vast kitchen overlooks the spacious sunroom which opens to the pool deck and rear lawn, making these spaces the hub of this home.

The floor to ceiling bookcases in the library and the spacious dining room give the home its formal air, without the feeling of being stuffy or off-limits. A loft overlooking the family room makes for an exceptional home office - private, yet connected.

Cathedral ceilings and floor to ceiling windows make the Master Bedroom appear open, and yet you won't be saddled with the upkeep of unnecessary extra space you simply don't need or use.

Situated on nearly 11 acres backing to the Rocky Gorge Reservoir, as you drive down the wooded driveway, this home's privacy gives you the feel of entering a large estate, yet the home itself is better suited for the reality of today's casual lifestyle. Now listed at just $950,000.