Thank you all for the warm welcome. After reading through a few of the other intro threads I realized I was pretty sparse with sharing non-musical information about myself. Since you obviously have a 'family' atmosphere here and I can't very well expect to be treated like family without sharing a bit more about myself.  

As I said originally, I'm a 27 yo guy who lives in the rural (well, rural by Maryland standards) area about 35 miles north of Washington DC (between Baltimore and Fredrick) I live here on what I call a small farm but really it is just a house with a big yard with my wife. No kids or pets although my wife has recently gotten the idea that we are going to keep chickens. 

I am a professional horticulturist by trade. Currently I manage a research greenhouse and run a plant transformation laboratory. I also teach a variety of classes about horticulture and arts-n-crafts classes within my community. Prior to this I've worked in many aspects of horticulture from production to retail.

In my spare time I collect hobbies. Of course I grow a large garden with all the 'regular' stuff like tomatoes and cucumbers but I also grow more exotic faire such as wheat (which is uncommon for the home garden), broomcorn to make natural fiber brooms, and mustard seeds to make prepared mustard. My beautiful wife holding some potatoes we grew: 

http://i64.photobucket.com/alb.....925306.jpg

I also love to work with my hands. I do a bit of blacksmithing although I have not secured a proper anvil yet so I am somewhat limited. I also do non-blacksmithing metal fabrication such as this welded folk-art piece I made for my mother for her birthday last year- 

http://i64.photobucket.com/alb...../TPAG2.jpg

I also work on small and occasionally large engines. I have a 1952 Simplicity Model W walk behind tractor that I have completely rebuilt after finding it rotting in the woods behind a guys house and buying it from him for a few dollars. Here is a picture of me pulling a 10" moldboard plow in the garden with it:

http://i64.photobucket.com/alb.....owing1.jpg

I hope I still work that hard when I'm 50 years old!

Other hobbies include home brewing, home wine making, home cheese making, canning and preserving, fiberglass fabrication, mold making and casting, wood working, bee keeping, stained glass and glass mosaics, and I'm always looking for new things to learn. I love to discuss any/all of my hobbies and I'm always on the hunt for new ones. If you participate or are interested in any of the things I've mentioned here I'd love to discuss them at further length with anyone who is willing to listen. 

Finally, I thought I should share this picture of where I hope to play the fiddle once I get good enough to practice outside. This is in my back yard under a mature maple tree. The chairs are store bought but I made the wine holder thign in the middle and I think the only thing that could make a scene like this more perfect is a little music from the heart.

http://i64.photobucket.com/alb.....068471.jpg

Thanks for reading. 

Best,

-Ryan

PS: The screen name is a take-off of the character "Handsome Rob" from The Italian Job, as you can see, I'm actually quite average looking. Sorry to disappoint anyone.  

Fiddlestix said
...was wondering if you are anywhere near Ann Arundel County.

 

I live in Howard County which shares a border with AA County. My wife and I were just at the Arundel Mills Mall on Thursday doing some shopping at a couple of the stores there.