Antlers

There's a new animal reigning atop home decor. Cheetah, tiger, and leopard prints and other pieces are sharing space — peacefully — with deer- and moose-inspired merchandise. And while the trend seems made for the coming holiday season, home decor experts expect that it will continue well into next year. The thought of antlers on a wall might bring to mind elements of taxidermy rather than the trappings of decor. But antlers aren't reserved for man caves and hunting lodges.

There's a new animal reigning atop home decor. Cheetah, tiger, and leopard prints and other pieces are sharing space — peacefully — with deer- and moose-inspired merchandise. And while the trend seems made for the coming holiday season, home decor experts expect that it will continue well into next year. The thought of antlers on a wall might bring to mind elements of taxidermy rather than the trappings of decor. But antlers aren't reserved for man caves and hunting lodges.

So what if the Grinch had the idea first.That didn't stop a group of pet owners from dressing up their dogs up as reindeer for a contest at the Severna Park Jaycees holiday festival yesterday.But the Grinch had more luck making his dog pull the sleigh full of toys than Kristin Stolkovich had with her Jack Russell terrier, Spot.Spot, a bit overwhelmed by her fake fur and antlers, scampered away in fear as Kristin tried to tie her to the little red wagon.A German shepherd named Echo was less intimidated by her wagon full of toys.

Brian Reynolds of Fallston writes: My backyard runs down into a gully. Through the winter, we see deer move back and forth on a daily basis. I have never seen a deer with antlers even though, often there may be six or nine deer together. Can you help a city/suburban guy understand? Outdoors Girl turns to another Brian, DNR's chief deer dude, Brian Eyler , who replies: That is a great question. There are several explanations for what you are seeing. First, only male white-tailed deer have antlers, and in the deer world most times the population will be made up of more female deer than male deer (normally between two to five females per male)

So what if the Grinch had the idea first.That didn't stop a group of pet owners from dressing up their dogs as reindeer for a contest at the Severna Park Jaycees holiday festival yesterday.But the Grinch had more luck making his dog pull the sleigh full of toys than Kristin Stolkovich had with her Jack Russell terrier, Spot.Spot, a bit overwhelmed by her fake fur and antlers, scampered away in fear as Kristin tried to tie her to the little red wagon.A German shepherd named Echo was less intimidated by her wagon full of toys.

Brian Reynolds of Fallston writes: My backyard runs down into a gully. Through the winter, we see deer move back and forth on a daily basis. I have never seen a deer with antlers even though, often there may be six or nine deer together. Can you help a city/suburban guy understand? Outdoors Girl turns to another Brian, DNR's chief deer dude, Brian Eyler , who replies: That is a great question. There are several explanations for what you are seeing. First, only male white-tailed deer have antlers, and in the deer world most times the population will be made up of more female deer than male deer (normally between two to five females per male)

Howard County schools have provided The Sun with winning entries in the county's Young Authors Contest for second- through fifth-graders. These pupils advanced to the State of Maryland International Reading Association Council (SoMIRAC) contest. In both contests, the authors' works were judged without their names and schools attached.The Sun will periodically publish students' short stories, poetry and photos that have won recognition in school contests and other educational arenas.Kelly HetzlerThunder Hill ElementaryGrade 3Mr. and Mrs. Dear Learn a LessonMr.

Say what you will about the eccentric, never-met-a-soapbox-he-didn't-like Dale Brown, but give him this much: The Louisiana State coach understands the incredible potential of sophomore center Shaquille O'Neal.As if O'Neal weren't dominant enough, Brown recently arranged for a couple of personal acquaintances to visit Baton Rouge and spend a few days with the 7-footer.Shaquille, meet Bill . . . as in, Walton.Shaquille, meet Kareem . . . as in, legend.What a tag team of tutors this was. Bill Walton visited LSU about two weeks ago and worked with O'Neal for almost four days.

The flower buds on my Cherokee Brave dogwood are dried out. Half the trunk is damaged from deer rubbing their bodies against it. Is it dead? When deer rub their antlers on bark, it damages the cambium layer beneath. The cambium layer transports nutrients and water. It appears your dogwood could not get enough water up to open buds. If the tree leafs out, it may survive the damage, though always suffer from losing so much bark. Water deeply during droughts and mulch (no more than 2-3 inches)

Family musicalsEnter into a world of fantasy, music and adventure this weekend as the Pumpkin Theatre offers two unique performances. Tomorrow, the Pumpkin "Storybook" Theatre performs "Small Crimson Parasol," an interactive musical adaptation of "Little Red Riding Hood" - set in Japan. The tale is presented for one show only at the Hannah More Arts Center, as part of "Friday Family Night Out."This is the final weekend to see performances of the original family musical "Alice in Wonderland" at the Arts Center.

They don't call it wildlife for nothing. In South Carolina, a governor redefined the term "hiking on the Appalachian Trail," while in Bald Eagle, Pa., a flock of dead geese rained from the sky, the victims of a vicious downdraft during a February thunderstorm. And on the New Jersey Turnpike, Tammy the wild turkey was captured just before Thanksgiving at Exit 14B, after months of dodging cars, and given an E-ZPass to a local zoo. So without further ado, the staff and management of this column bring you our much-anticipated but seldom-remembered look back at the zany and misguided things performed by animals of the two- and four-legged variety.

Deer stripped a lot of bark off my magnolia 2-3 feet from the ground. I fenced the magnolia, but should I wrap the damaged branches to protect them from winter cold? The living part of trees is located immediately under the bark. This cambium layer is only about 1/4 inch thick but is where the trees' vascular system is located. When the bark is damaged or removed, the cambium layer is usually destroyed also. Deer rub their antlers on trees in the fall, and if bark is stripped all the way around the trunk, the tree will die above the damage.

Somebody in North Baltimore ZIP code 21212 offered this for free on Yahoo: "Frozen moose head." "okay, gross, yes, but this is left from a documentary done on moose," the "freecycle" posting said. "it's frozen, in a large tote, does not have the antlers, from neck up. sooner pick up, the better ... please get it outta here!" Gotta be a great story there. And I'd like to bring it to you. But for some reason, the lady who posted the thing has been reluctant to go public. Looked at first like she'd cooperate, and I was all ready with the classic who, what, where: Who'd watch a moose documentary?

News item: Orioles starting pitcher Erik Bedard told The Sun he is resigned to being traded, but would still consider signing a contract extension if the price were right. My take: Here are some clues to point you toward the team that will eventually give him that extension. Bedard is the best pitcher developed by the Orioles since Mike Mussina, whose nickname is Moose. There is a team in the American League West whose mascot is a Moose. You have five seconds. News item: The Ravens put their offense in the hands of former Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron, who won just one game in his first season in Miami.

The flower buds on my Cherokee Brave dogwood are dried out. Half the trunk is damaged from deer rubbing their bodies against it. Is it dead? When deer rub their antlers on bark, it damages the cambium layer beneath. The cambium layer transports nutrients and water. It appears your dogwood could not get enough water up to open buds. If the tree leafs out, it may survive the damage, though always suffer from losing so much bark. Water deeply during droughts and mulch (no more than 2-3 inches)

Antlers: What's the point? MADRID, Spain - When male animals strut their stuff - the rainbow plumes of peacocks, the mighty tusks of an elephant - they might be flaunting their potential for fatherhood, researchers in Spain say. Biologists working for the government's top scientific research body say they have found evidence of this phenomenon in deer that might apply to other species. Features long considered to be only for show or self-defense might indicate the quality of an animal's genes.

Antlers: What's the point? MADRID, Spain - When male animals strut their stuff - the rainbow plumes of peacocks, the mighty tusks of an elephant - they might be flaunting their potential for fatherhood, researchers in Spain say. Biologists working for the government's top scientific research body say they have found evidence of this phenomenon in deer that might apply to other species. Features long considered to be only for show or self-defense might indicate the quality of an animal's genes.

Some of the city's top legal minds are tussling over the final resting place of a large and slightly scruffy stuffed moose head.At issue is whether the moose, bagged by a founding partner of old-line law firm Venable, Baetjer and Howard, belongs to Venable or to the law library at the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse.And because of an unusual deal struck last year between a city judge and a Venable attorney, the moose is likely to rest, however uneasily, at Venable -- which may dispose of the head and hang only the broad antlers atop the checkout counter of the firm's library.

If you always wished to catch a glimpse of Santa's reindeer up close before they land on the slate roof of a Whiteford house on Christmas Eve, you may be in luck. Just 20 minutes north of Bel Air, nestled in the rolling hills of Whiteford and open for the Christmas season, is a 100-acre farm with a reindeer village on the Pennsylvania end of the property. Sassy, Molly, Minnie and a baby named C.J. romp and play to the delight of schoolchildren taken on tours by farmer Brian Adelhardt. On Dec. 5, Santa will stop at the reindeer corral before he visits 1,500 homes a second, at an average sleigh speed of 3.6 million mph, while carrying about 156,000 tons of cargo, according to "Santa Claus: Ergonomic Risk Assessment" from the System Concepts Web site.