Articles by Margaret Tearman

Article - Creature Feature; by Margaret Tearman - 7/7/11

This Week’s Creature Feature ... The Cat’s Meow in...

Disneyland Mousers get housing, food, health care — and a job

The cat’s out of the bag. And Calvert’s feral cats may be out of a home. After nine mostly quiet years, Calvert County’s feral cat sanctuary is roiled by the national debate on birds vs. feral cat colonies. Now the county is divided over whether the managed population of cats should be allowed to stay on the county-owned tree farm in Prince Frederick — or be kicked out to fates unknown. While opinion rages on...

Article - News; by Margaret Tearman - 7/7/11

High Five for Maryland’s Animals

America’s No. 1 animal rights advocate joins state activists to celebrate a landmark legislative year It has been a very good year to be an animal in Maryland. Propelled by the volunteer organization Maryland Votes for Animals and bi-partisan support, five animal protection bills became law in 2011. “This year was unprecedented,” says Carolyn Kilborn, founder and chair of Maryland Votes for Animals. It’s about time. The national...

Article - News; by Margaret Tearman - 7/7/11

The Museum Behind the Music

Mixing rock, country and comedy to feed Bubbles and Squeak

For a quarter-century, music fed Calvert Marine Museum’s otters and salaried its staff. In service of the museum’s twin causes of local history and science, Los Lobos howled, Crosby Stills and Nash harmonized, Bob Dylan growled and the Allman Brothers jammed. Calvert brought Southern Maryland the big names of rock and country music, and if some of them were slightly off their prime, the fans didn’t care. The classics...

Article - Creature Feature; by Margaret Tearman - 6/30/11

This Week’s Creature Feature ... Crane Flies Bugging...

While they don’t bite, mosquito-like giants do pester

First it was the invasion of the stinkbugs that had Bay Country residents bugged. Those pests have, for the most part, left our homes for the outdoors — unfortunately to eat their way through summer crops. But that’s another story. Now it’s another flying insect driving some of us nuts. “Has anyone at Bay Weekly investigated the flying insect infestation at the Windward Key Development?” asked Chesapeake Beach reader Angie...

Article - News; by Margaret Tearman - 6/30/11

Legally Local

It’s easier to say that popular word than to define it

Buying local is all the rage. But what is local? Until now, there has been no way to guarantee that what you’re buying is grown locally — whatever that is — or even grown in Maryland. Now, thanks to a new law taking effect June 27, foods sold in Maryland as “locally grown or produced” must be identified by state of origin. Raw meat, eggs, fish, fruits, vegetables, shellfish and processed dairy products all fall under the law. ...

Article - People; by Margaret Tearman - 6/23/11

Finding Murphy

A village turns up for a lost cat

Murphy is missing. The sweet-natured cat disappeared from her home in Chesapeake Overlook, near the Anne Arundel-Calvert line on Sunday, June 5. Finding Murphy has become a community effort. There isn’t anything particularly exceptional about Murphy, says her human, Colleen Sabo. “We’ve had a lot of pets over the years,” she tells Bay Weekly. “But for some reason this cat has captured my heart. I just love...

Article - Creature Feature; by Margaret Tearman - 6/23/11

This Week’s Creature Feature: Protecting a...

Five Smithsonian cheetah cubs thriving

For five cheetah cubs born May 28 at the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., the first doctor’s visit was a house call. In mid-June, Smithsonian biologists spent a few minutes examining the two-pound furballs — and happily reported all five cubs to be healthy and active. “When I was weighing the last cub, he was being a very tough little guy,” said Adrienne Crosier, cheetah biologist. “We...

Article - Creature Feature; by Margaret Tearman - 6/2/11

This Week’s Creature Feature ... Zombie Alert

Preparing for disasters natural and unnatural

The zombies are coming! Well, maybe. Actually, not likely. But just in case, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the ever diligent government agency that tracks all things vital to our health — has published guidelines so that you’re prepared if the unlikely happens. Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse has been added to the centers Public Health...

Article - Green Living; by Margaret Tearman - 6/2/11

Breeding Local

Dale and Debbie Jones want you to know what you eat, where it came from and how it was raised

What are you eating and where did it come from? That’s Dale and Debbie Jones’ mantra. On Windy Willow Farm in Sunderland, the Joneses raise pastured, grass-fed beef, lamb and goat. Theirs is a relatively new business venture: they’ve been selling meat for only two years. Spend just a while talking with them, and you know what they do is more than a business. It’s a mission. “This was my grandparents’ farm, and it is...

Article - Creature Feature; by Margaret Tearman - 5/26/11

This Week’s Creature Feature ... Horseshoe Crabs...

June 1’s full moon begins the season

Love is in the air — and on Bay beaches — as love-struck horseshoe crabs begin their annual mating ritual. These ancient marine arthropods — despite their name, they are not crustaceans — respond to the pull of the moon and spring tides to procreate. Their spawning peaks during evening tides over three to four days centered on the full new moon dates. At peak spawn, the tide lines of prime beaches may be covered in spawning...