The air has chilled and the calendar has finally caught up to the commercial start of the holidays. As we begin this season of Thanksgiving and joy, we can take advantage of many local activities.

Two area churches invite the community to join their special Thanksgiving worship services. Chapelgate Presbyterian, which lies across from Turf Valley Resort at 2600 Marriottsville Road, offers its service Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Call the church office at 410-442-5800 with any questions.

Thanksgiving service at West Liberty United Methodist Church takes place Thursday, Nov. 27 at 10 a.m. The address for West Liberty is 2000 Sand Hill Road, in Marriottsville. For more details, call 410-442-2969.

Between now and Dec. 5, the Marriotts Ridge High School chapter of the National Honor Society is sponsoring a holiday toy drive for the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. Drop off your donation of a new, unwrapped toy in the front office of the school weekdays between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

The Marriotts Ridge High School Music Foundation would like to remind the community that its citrus sale ends soon. Place your order for oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, or a variety pack by Dec. 1 for pickup at the school on Dec. 13. Order forms are online by clicking here. For more information, call Carita Carlyle at 410-465-2344 or e-mail ccarlyle3@verizon.net, or call Karyn Littlejohn at 410-442-5440 or e-mail mrhsfruit@yahoo.com.

On Dec. 6, the Howard County Conservancy, our county's only nature center, presents its annual holiday sale and nature crafts from 1-4 p.m. Throughout the day, Master Gardeners will demonstrate how to craft natural holiday decorations from items found in the woods, the garden, and the produce market. Children and adults alike can create holiday critters of their own to take home.

Additionally, the event will feature local artisans selling handcrafted items such as soap, beeswax candles, pottery, jewelry, children's toys, and more.

Proceeds will help fund programs at the Conservancy's Gudelsky Environmental Education Center. For more information, call Sheila Welton, the center's manager, at 410-465-8877, or go to www.hcconservancy.org. The Conservancy is based at Mt. Pleasant Farm, 10520 Old Frederick Road (Route 99), in Woodstock.

The Howard County Council of Garden Clubs is sponsoring its annual holiday makeover of Waverly Mansion, with tours available Dec. 7 from 1-4 and Dec. 8 from 10 a.m. to noon and candlelight tours offered Dec. 8 between 6:30 and 9 p.m. Die Liedersanger Madrigal Singers will perform during the Dec. 7 tours and also during the evening tours on the 8th. Enjoy this chance to view an interesting part of our county's history.

According to "The Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland," by J. D. Warfield, Waverly Mansion once housed two of our state's most distinguished founding families, the Dorseys and the Howards. Nathan Dorsey first built the main house between 1756 and 1764 upon a tract of land known then as "Ranter's Ridge." His father, Col. John Dorsey, was one of the first commissioners of Baltimore.

In 1786, Col. John Eager Howard purchased the mansion to give to his son George. The elder Howard, our county's namesake, soon thereafter became the fifth governor of Maryland (1788-1790), and his son later became the 25th governor (1831-1833).

The Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks Web site explains that George Howard and his wife, Prudence, named the mansion after Sir Walter Scott's first novel, Waverley, published in 1814.

During this holiday season, 10 different Howard County garden clubs will join forces to decorate the mansion, each taking responsibility for a separate room. To view their handiwork, visit the estate at 2300 Waverly Mansion Drive in Marriottsville.

The tour costs $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, and $2 for children. The garden clubs will also offer wreaths and other holiday decorations for sale during the tours.

For more about the mansion, call 410-313-5400 or go to www.co.ho.md.us/RAP/rap_waverly.htm. For information about Howard County garden clubs, please speak to a member during one of the tours.

Finally, I wish you and your families a safe and bountiful Thanksgiving celebration. In this troubled economy, we may find helpful the words of the Greek philosopher Epictetus, who said, "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."

Happy Thanksgiving!

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