Features (All)

Article - Creature Feature; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 8/25/11

This Week’s Creature Feature ... A New Tree Grows in...

Pumpkin Ash found at Jug Bay adds to number of native species

When your official list of trees includes only 29 species, the addition of one more makes a big boost. Anne Arundel’s rise to 29 from 28 came from the addition of Fraxinus profunda. Profunda, familiarly known as the pumpkin ash, was identified and measured at Jug Bay Wetland Sanctuary this month by Maryland Big Tree volunteer Dan Wilson of Harford County. The pumpkin ash has its peculiarities, one of which is its territorial preference for the...

Article - Features; by Jane C. Elkin - 8/25/11

Flying High

My dad waited too long to learn to fly. I’m correcting his mistake.

A mile above the beach, I soar higher than the gulls, crisp air bathing my outstretched arms, bare feet dangling in the void. The faint whoosh in my ears could be my unfettered thoughts, some vacant, some frantic as bees. I’ve always been enchanted by the dream of flight, the Icarus myth. This is my dream come true, my ultralight flying experience, my life’s greatest rush and the reason for my current obsession: flying lessons. High-Performance Slowness ...

Article - Features; by Diana Beechener - 8/25/11

Class Is In

Once your school days are behind you, it’s time to learn for fun

Whoever said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks was barking up the wrong tree. Or visiting the wrong classroom. In a tough economy, taking continuing education courses can make you a better job candidate. The National Bureau of Labor says that the more education you have, the more likely you’ll be hired. Most of those that choose to go back to school are female, according to the U.S. Department of Education, but men are enrolling more frequently. ...

Article - Creature Feature; by Margaret Tearman - 8/18/11

Dog Days’ Creature Feature

Canine Candid Camera

We all think — make that know — that our dogs are the smartest, funniest, sassiest, most beautiful creatures in the world. To prove it, more and more of us are picking up video recorders to share our dearest with the planet. The Internet makes it easy to become an international celebrity. Sites like YouTube allow millions to watch Fluffy shred toilet paper or see Spot chase the squirrel up a tree. If you have a computer, you’ve surely...

Article - Features; by Margaret Tearman - 8/18/11

Driving to Distraction

Yes, your dog needs a seatbelt, too

Most dogs love a ride in the car. While we automatically buckle up for safety, our dogs roam the car at will, hanging out the window, climbing into the front seat and sometimes into our laps. They don’t care if we’re driving. Sometimes, we don’t either. A 2011 survey by the American Automobile Association and Kurgo, a manufacturer of pet travel products, examined dog owners’ habits behind the wheel. The survey found that our...

Article - Features; by Judith Stock - 8/18/11

Arf, Arf, Woof! The Language of Dogs

Our best friends speak through action

When you come home, your Welsh corgi Buster greets you happily, but you’re almost sure there’s something else on his mind besides that welcome home ritual. Or your chocolate Labrador, who’s always ready for fetch, has a couple of comments. If dogs used words to communicate, he might tell you, Come home from the office earlier. I want to play more fetch. Canines can’t communicate through spoken language. Of course, there is more to...

Article - Features; by Diana Beechener - 8/18/11

The Nose Knows

Dogs Finding Dogs sniffs out missing pets

Heidi doesn’t run. She surges. The original tracker for Maryland’s Dogs Finding Dogs, Heidi is expert at following the scents of animals who leave home without their owners. When the black German shepherd gets the scent, she follows her nose wherever it takes her: through brush, across mud, over concrete and anywhere else your pet may have gone. Today’s quarry is easy: Heidi is on the scent of Corpsman, a Doberman member of the Dogs Finding Dogs team. It...

Article - Creature Feature; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 8/11/11

This Week’s Creature Feature ... Travels with Buck

Like John Steinbeck, this osprey wanted to see America

In between migrations most osprey are homebodies. Conventional wisdom holds that male osprey almost always return to the vicinity of their nests to breed. Not every osprey is conventional. That’s the latest from osprey scientist Rob Bierregaard, who’s been studying the birds since 1969. Since 2000, he’s been tagging juvenile and adult birds with satellite transmitters and following their lives and adventures. Each bird has its story, and...

Article - News; by Dennis Doyle - 8/11/11

Record-Breaking Rockfish

A new world record has been set. The largest striped bass ever recorded — 81.88 pounds — was caught August 4 by Greg Myerson of North Branford, Conn., in Connecticut waters. The old record rockfish, 78.8 pounds, was caught by Al McReynolds in 1982.

Article - News; by C.T. Schwink - 8/11/11

One Big Shot

The Making of Bay Area Professional Basketball

Bodies banging, shots falling and clanking. Huffing, puffing and hustling up and down the court. Rookies and guys who’ve played in state and minor league systems, guys who’ve played in Europe for years, guys scouted in summer basketball leagues. All entertaining hoops dreams, all trying to make the cut. The 28 players on the floor weren’t the only dreamers that hot July morning at Kilby Athletic Center in Severn. From fretting “man...