Moose

It's springtime, and I remember when the view from my kitchen window was a lovely little backyard tableau of green lawn and swing set, happy tomato garden and sunny marigolds in patio pots. It was a scene that gave me a sense of order and peace. Inside, there might be laundry-basket-shaped wads of permanently creased wash dumped on my bed, an office cluttered with charge cords for every electronic device in our home and a freezer stocked with unidentifiable lumps -- but at least our backyard was lovely, pleasant and inviting.

ROCKVILLE -- Taking aim at accusations of racial profiling by officers, Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan nominated a leading law enforcement civil rights expert to head the Police Department.Charles Moose, 45, chief of police in Portland, Ore., said at a news conference yesterday that he is aware of the department's troubled past and will work quickly to restore the community's confidence."We don't have to have a lot of research and data to prove or disprove whether or not we have race-based policing.

Several weeks ago, while afloat on the Chesapeake Bay, Bob Bachman, Navy veteran, doctor of science, fish and wildlife manager, was recalling fishing trips in various parts of the world."

Bernard P. Montgomery, 89, restaurant owner, cookBernard "Barney" P. Montgomery, a former restaurant owner and cook in Baltimore, died of Parkinson's disease Sunday in Littleton, Colo., where he had lived for the past 10 years. He was 89.From 1933 until the early 1970s when he retired, he either cooked at or owned several Baltimore restaurants.Services for the native of Braddock, Pa., are scheduled today in Littleton.He is survived by his wife, the former Evelyn A. Bogan, whom he married in 1933; a son, B. Paul Montgomery of Berlin; a daughter, Sharon Edstrom of Littleton; a brother, Larry Montgomery of Spartanburg, S.C.; five sisters, Nellieanna Brown of Ottawa, Kan., Ruth Bush of San Diego, Junetta Pavlenko of Coon Rapids, Minn.

" 'Morris Goes to School' by Bernard Wiseman is my favorite book because it's about a moose named Morris Moose. It is about how Morris goes to school and learns how to count and say his alphabet. He tells how he has fun doing hoof paintings and makes silly faces in class."-- Idacers WatsonLeith Walk Elementary"I like 'Coffin on a Case' by Eve Bunting because it gave me a lot of information on how to be a detective.I think this book is good because it says to keep your mind thinking. It also says there's always a logical answer to everything."

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Kelly Gruber finally got on the board yesterday, ending an 0-for-the-exhibition-season slump with two singles in the Orioles' 6-5 Grapefruit League victory over the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium.Gruber beat out an infield hit in the fourth inning and slapped an opposite-field single in the seventh to jump-start his unlikely comeback attempt after going hitless in his first 16 spring at-bats."I felt good," Gruber said. "Things are looking pretty good so far. I guess I should be worried about putting up some stats, but you're kind of more into trying to see the ball and get in shape.

Ron Sermarini couldn't pull Western Maryland out of its early-season funk in a Sept. 21 game against Gettysburg, but the freshman pulled ahead in the team's quarterback race.Now, he needs to play well enough to stay there.Making his first start after two sub-par relief appearances, Sermarini completed 18 of 29 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-21 loss to Gettysburg. He wasn't as effective in Saturday's 7-6 defeat at Ursinus, going 4-for-11 for 42 yards and an interception, but Gavin DeFreitas rushed for 106 yards to get the Green Terror within 29 seconds of its first win.Perhaps more important than the yardage Sermarini accumulated against Gettysburg was his ability to keep mistakes at a minimum.

As a lover of nature and a rugged outdoorsperson, I enjoy going to remote wilderness areas where I can relax, "recharge my batteries" and possibly be eaten. So in late April I hopped on an airplane, then another airplane, then eight or nine more airplanes, until finally I reached Alaska (Official State Motto: "Speak Up! Our Earwax Is Frozen!").Following is Part One of a two-part report on my trip. (Part Two will appear next week.) (Both parts are tax-deductible.)Day One -- I arrived in Anchorage and, as is the ancient custom in "The Land of the Midnight Sun," I had the airplane seat cushion surgically detached from my butt.

Michigan moose munch hardwood leaves but turn up their noses at firs. Harvester ants in California may prefer "Microseris" seeds one year but target goldfield flowers the next.Grizzly bears crave the tasty bulbs of glacier lilies, even when it means digging up huge chunks of subalpine meadow to find them.Traditionally, ecologists have focused upon climate as the major factor determining where plants grow. On the large scale, nothing could rival the roles of temperature and precipitation in shaping plant communities: Palm trees clearly couldn't survive North Dakota winters.

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.

Let us consider the many relevant themes in the childhood classic The Cat in the Hat. There is the "stranger danger" theme: Look what can happen when you allow a lanky cat wearing a candy-striped hat into your home! There is the "latchkey child" theme, which can foster discussion on what to do and not to do when left unattended for a day. Finally, there is the "family ties" theme, evidenced by the siblings coming together to contain the chaos caused by the cat before Mom returns home.

Getting kids off the streets can be a daunting problem. But on a recent Sunday afternoon, about 25 children packed into a room at the Aberdeen Moose Chapter 1209 to play bingo. "We wanted to do something that might interest kids of all ages," said Rose Dalton, the senior regent of the Women of the Moose, as the games started. "Eventually, we hope to have this room filled with kids." The afternoon bingo marked the launch of the Aberdeen Moose KIDZ Club last month at the Aberdeen Moose Lodge Chapter 1209.

I saw two moose on a bike trail in Anchorage last week and did not kill either one of them, neither the cow nor her calf, though under the Bush Doctrine I certainly had a right to, since the cow could have charged and pinned me to a tree and danced me to death. Should a man wait for the beast to attack and then have to make a difficult over-the-shoulder shot while running hard and loading his pants? Should he not simply level his Munchhausen-Weltschnauzer 480 and blow her brains out then and there, call in support and hold the perimeter?

I am sitting in the solarium of Scott Donahoo's baronial Cockeysville home, staring up at a moose head that looks like something Sarah Palin brought down on her vacation. The house is stunning, all glass and stone and burnished wood overlooking Loch Raven Reservoir. "Twelve-thousand square feet of sheer maintenance" is how Donahoo, the celebrity car dealer, describes it. It even has a name: Hidden Waters. His summer home in Pasadena has a name, too: The Point. "That's what happens when you become a rich [expletive]

Forbes magazine recently listed Howard County as the 17th best place to raise a family in America. But what Howard countians really want to know is: When does the "Janet's World List of Best Places to Raise a Dog in America" come out? Well, as it happens, just today I have ranked Howard the 15th best place to raise a dog in America. I proudly announce this designation after lengthy interviews with the judges, comprising of our dog, Moose, as well as his friends Luna, Scooter, Noelle and Angus - none of whose names have been spelled backward because they don't actually read the paper, they just fetch it from the driveway.

Our dog, Moose, has many talents. He can dribble a half-cup of water from his mouth after just the briefest sip from his bowl. He can howl a very irritating high-pitched tone whenever anyone sings above middle C. He can sleep soundly for long periods. You may not have considered this last one a talent, but that only indicates that you are not yet eligible for membership in AARP. Still, the most unusual talent Moose has is an affinity for surreptitiously snatching items that are top-of-mind to a family member, and carrying them around in his mouth until he hears the "Drop it" command.

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?

On January 19, 2008, WILLIAM ALBERT SINGLETON; beloved husband of Virginia G. (nee Arnold); devoted father of William A. Shepard of New Castle, DE and the late Michelle Hope Freimiller; brother of Mildred V. Lehner, Lucy B. Long and the late George Daniel and David Allen Singleton. Also survived by two grandchildren. The family is planning a Memorial Service for a future date. Please omit flowers. Those desiring may send memorials to: Moose Heart Charities, P.O. Box 6005, Carol Stream, IL 60197 or National Fish and Wildlife Foundation-Save the Tigers, 1120 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 900, Washington, D.C., 20077.

With a few ticks left on the clock, it's an iffy proposition to pick the strangest outdoors stories of the year. I mean, what happens if Diamond Jim, the Howard Hughes of Maryland striped bass, gets reeled in tomorrow? Not likely. Old DJ probably was snapped up by a Virginia angler down at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and is a candidate for freezer burn right now. Let the games begin. Like mother, like ... Debbie Bitter was southbound on Route 213, heading for Centreville in her Chevy TrailBlazer on the evening of Nov. 9. Several miles away on the Eastern Shore, her daughter Morgan Baker was behind the wheel of her Nissan Xterra on Route 544, just outside Crumpton.

Civility begins with a simple wave to a stranger. If you feel a wave is over the top, you can give a little head-nod, or an eyebrow-flash and accompanying smile. If you are more verbal, utter a chipper "hello" or offer up some obvious comment about the weather. The point is, it is always nice to put forth a gesture that is a positive acknowledgment of another's existence. I practice this every morning when I walk through my neighborhood and possibly yours with my dog, Moose. Of course, if he gets close enough to you, Moose will attempt through enthusiastic sniffing to provide a much more personal, uncomfortable acknowledgment of your presence, but this will be explored in a future column on pet etiquette.