Features (All)

Article - News; by Ashley Brotherton - 4/4/13

Name That Bird

Maryland’s license plate heron in identity crisis

You see him every time you drive to pick up Chinese. He’s lined up in the grocery store parking lot. You stare at him during rush hour. And now, you get to name him. He — or is it she? — is the blue heron on Maryland’s Treasure the Chesapeake licenses plates. Who would have thought such a popular bird was nameless? After 27 years, the bird is in identity as well as gender crisis. A name will not only solve those...

Article - News; by Cathryn Williams Freeberger - 4/4/13

Stemming the Tide

New law funds spay-neutering with pet food surcharge

To combat shelter overpopulation and reduce the number of homeless animals euthanized, the Maryland General Assembly has passed the Animal Welfare-Spay/Neuter Fund-Establishment bill. Annual taxpayers savings of $8 to $9 million are projected. The measure, which provides grant funding to rescue groups, shelters and animal control agencies, was developed by a task force appointed by Gov. Martin O’Malley in 2011. It recommended a program model used in other states,...

Article - Creature Feature; by Michelle Steel - 4/4/13

Party Animals

Bubbles and Squeak invite you to join the fun

Calvert Marine Museum’s most popular residents, river otters Bubbles and Squeak, are throwing parties to subsidize their enriched lifestyle. The parties invite up to six guests over for breakfast. Bubbles and Squeak eat while guests look on and learn from estuarine biologist David Moyer. During breakfast, the otters paint, and after the party-goers collectively choose an authentic otter artwork that is clear-coated, named and authenticated. The...

Article - News; by Cathryn Williams Freeburger - 4/4/13

The Rescuers

Helping cats and kittens on their way to adoption

Perfection: our younger son, a philosophy major, insists there is no such thing. I disagree, because nature provided kittens. True, kittens don’t stay kittens for as long as I’d like. Our house is too small to continually add more. So until we can retire to a cat ranch, my husband and I enjoy perpetual kittens as part of a five-county foster-home network. The payoff is twofold: along with contributing to an orphan’s bright future, we get the playtime fun a...

Article - Creature Feature; by Michelle Steel - 3/28/13

Who’s the Easter Bunny?

Mythical egg deliverer is maybe a hare — or a rabbit

Is the Easter Bunny a cottontail or a snowshoe hare? Both are native to North America, unlike domesticated rabbits, which are elaborately bred descendents of European wild rabbits. Hares are larger than rabbits, with bigger ears and feet. They’re born fully furred and ready to run. Their longer back legs and toes are adaptations that provide additional surface area and support for walking on snow. Hence the name snowshoe hare. They also use their...

Article - Green Living; by EarthTalk® - 3/28/13

The Scoop on Solar Roof Shingles

Dear EarthTalk: I’m getting my roof redone and have heard about solar shingles. Are they available — and are they practical for the Northeast? –John Denson, Glastonbury, CT Solar shingles are photovoltaic cells designed to look like and integrate with conventional asphalt roof shingles. First commercially available in 2005, solar shingles were much more costly than traditional bolt-on photovoltaic panels, and thus were used mainly by those wanting to go...

Article - People; by Mick Blackistone - 3/21/13

Farewell: Capt. Bob Slaff

He was ‘good for it’

“I’m the only Jewish redneck captain on the Bay. What could be better?” Captain Bob Slaff liked to say, with a huge smile beneath his signature handlebar mustache. Capt. Bob was an icon in Maryland’s recreational and commercial maritime communities. He was also my good friend, mentor and colleague. Bob and his wife Ester ran a successful marine business in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., that included distributing British Seagull outboard engines and Avon...

Article - People; by Mick Blackistone - 3/21/13

Farewell: Capt. Larry Simns

No. 1 waterman leaves a Chesapeake legacy

Word spread fast across marine radios from New Jersey to North Carolina, via e-mail, telephones and cell phones, Facebook, the Internet and Twitter on March 14. Captain Larry Simns, president of the Maryland Watermen’s Association for 40 years, passed away at age 75. Watermen, environmentalists, seafood processors, politicians, state bureaucrats and many more of us stopped in our tracks. I did, though I knew Larry’s passing was coming. Larry was known throughout...

Article - Creature Feature; by Michelle Steel - 3/21/13

Peepers Ring in Spring

Tiny frogs seldom seen but often heard

Spring has sprung. Spring peepers are wide awake and calling out loud. These tiny frogs are among the first to call and breed. Only the males sing. They’re calling for mates. Competition’s tough. Females choose a mate by the quality of his call. You can tell a peeper by a prominent dark X mark on its back. That is, if you can find one. They...

Article - History & Lore; by - 3/21/13

Time Is on Your Side

Over just three days, 379 years of Maryland history come to life

On March 25, 1634, voyagers from the ships the Ark and the Dove erected a cross on St. Clement’s Island in the Potomac River and offered prayers for surviving their four-months’ voyage. Thereupon, they took “possession of this Countrey for our Saviour and for our soveraigne Lord the King of England.” The Piscataway Indians who already lived there likely suggested the colonists go elsewhere, and St. Mary’s City became the seat of Lord Baltimore...