January 5, 2012

Hairy & Lonely Texan Seeks Loving, Fertile Mate

Of Same Species For Some “Howdy Time”

By DAVID FLICK

Dallas Morning News

Dallas (AP) After a lonely bachelor existence, a long-term relationship may finally be in Patrick’s future.

But first he has to learn some manners.

Patrick, the Dallas Zoo’s 21-year-old lowland gorilla, does not have a good track record for courting the ladies.

A few years ago, two females, Tufani from the Cincinnati Zoo and Makena from Disney’s Animal Kingdom, were brought in as prospective partners.

The first time Patrick was introduced to Makena, he bit her on the leg.

It was boorish, even for a gorilla, but not entirely Patrick’s fault, said Lynn Kramer, the zoo’s deputy director. ``Makena was partly raised by humans and wasn’t familiar with gorilla etiquette.’’

Normally, females will stay out of the way of a mature male, known as a silverback. She didn’t.

``Patrick overreacted,’’ Kramer said. ``In any case, it clearly wasn’t working out.’’

Patrick

It wasn’t the first time Patrick had exhibited anti-social behavior.

When zoo staffers gave Patrick toys to play with, he would tear them up and eat them. He was known to throw rocks at the observation glass.

``I’m told he has a thing for women with toenail polish. If visitors stand outside the exhibit with painted toenails, he’ll tap the glass and point,’’ Kramer said. ``I’ve never seen that myself.’’

In any case, Tufani and Makena were shipped to the Kansas City Zoo in Missouri. In the years that followed, Patrick spent much of his time alone or, more recently, as part of a bachelor gorilla troop that zoo officials are putting together.

Now, zoo officials are trying once again to improve Patrick’s social skills.

Earlier this year, Kramer received approval from the Species Survival Commission, which oversees the placement of endangered animals, to temporarily acquire two new female gorillas.

Madge, 30, and Shanta, 15, arrived in Dallas from the Cincinnati Zoo last month and are in temporary quarantine.

Maria Ross, a Dallas Zoo mammal keeper, spent time at the Cincinnati Zoo observing their behavior before bringing them down to meet Patrick.

Unlike Dallas, the Cincinnati Zoo has a large troop, where the two females were well-schooled in proper primate behavior. Ross said.

``They’re used to silverbacks; they’ll know how to act,’’ she said. ``They’ll be nonconfrontational, but they’ll stand their ground.’’
Kramer said he believes that like a lot of troublesome young males, Patrick is a product of a poor upbringing.

Born in the Bronx Zoo, he was hand-raised by humans, Kramer said. Once in Dallas, he was partnered with Jabari, another young male gorilla. After Jabari was killed by Dallas police during an escape in 2004 that injured three zoo visitors, Patrick spent years largely by himself.

None of this worked to foster good gorilla manners.

If anything, Kramer said, he is surprised that Patrick’s behavior is as normal as it is.

Unlike some silverbacks raised by humans, Patrick doesn’t walk upright on two legs but drags his knuckles as a gorilla with any pride should. He doesn’t stare at other gorillas (which indicates hostility) but glances sideways.

Patrick’s basic problem, Kramer said, appears to be boredom.

``He’s a bit hyper,’’ he said, ``but I also think he’s beginning to mellow out a little bit.’’

We’ll know soon enough.

The first step is putting the prospective love interests in adjacent enclosures, a process known as the ``howdy phase.’’ Then, if all goes well, they will be introduced soon.

If everything goes really well, Patrick and Shanta may get approval from the Species Survival Commission to mate.

Patrick would then be allowed to join a full-fledged breeding troop. If that doesn’t work out, then he may be consigned to the Dallas Zoo’s bachelor troop.

And if he can’t even get along with the other guys, then it may be back to life on his own. Kramer considers that to be the least likely outcome.

Still, he said: ``Patrick has one strike against him. If he can’t be socialized with them (Madge and Shanta), then I don’t think the SSC will be inclined to send us any more. At this point it all depends on his own behavior.’’

Couple Restores Home Where Tom Sawyer’s Girlfriend,

Becky Thatcher, Lived

By DOMINIC GENETTI

The Hannibal Courier-Post

Hannibal, MO (AP) At the corner of Fifth and Center streets in downtown Hannibal, local history is coming down section by section, brick by brick.

After years of sitting empty, the old YMCA has met its fate with construction workers and equipment.

Two houses away though, where the dust of the former recreation center settles and blows by in the wind, another historical structure is being brought back to life through passion, determination and care.

To some, 210 Fifth Street is just another house standing amongst the many older homes in the neighborhood. It’s been there for a century or more, has had a number of residents call it home, and eventually it suffered damage and fell into dire straits.

But Nora Creason wanted this house. She had purchased the Cerretti House next door and when this house became available she went after it. After all, this was the home of a famous Hannibalian, Laura Hawkins Frazer. It’s where she lived her remaining years with her son, it’s where she was living when the world found out who she really was, it’s where she died and went from popular citizen to Hannibal legend.

``That opportunity just dropped in my lap,’’ Creason, who divides her time between Seattle and Hannibal, said. ``We knew it was the famous Laura Hawkins home, so we jumped on it, made an offer to F&M Bank and got it.’’

If you’re not familiar with who Hawkins Frazer was, it’s probably because you know her under a different name. She’s better known as Becky Thatcher.

Laura “Becky Thatcher” Hawkins

Hawkins was the childhood sweetheart of Samuel Clemens and when he grew up and began writing stories under the name Mark Twain, he used his old flame as the model of the girl who steals the heart of Tom Sawyer in the classic novel, ``The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.’’ Twain modeled Sawyer after himself from his youthful days.

``We learned quite a bit of history, although there’s very little written history about her. We know of that stuff about her that you can find if you scour history books,’’ Creason said. ``The thing about Laura Hawkins, is after she got married and saved her husband (Dr. James Frazer), her husband was supposed to be shot during the Civil War, after that, there’s no written information about Laura Hawkins until way after (her husband died) and she became matron of the friends of the homeless. Since we bought the Laura Hawkins house, our interests have turned more toward restoring historical Hannibal and really educating ourselves on a lot of the history in Hannibal other than Mark Twain, and that’s how we came to restoring the Laura Hawkins house.’’

Creason and her husband, Don Metcalf, bought the home in 2007 and have been working to restore it to the days of Hawkins Frazer’s residency. The house had previously been foreclosed on by F&M Bank and was gutted out by Ron Smith who was hired by Creason and Metcalf to renovate it. Previous owners didn’t leave the structure in the best shape.

``It was nasty,’’ Smith said. ``There was junk everywhere, old wood, old clothes, it was a shamble. I took three 40-yard dumpsters out of this place and a 20-yard dumpster out of the garage. There was so much (stuff) in here it was like everybody left everything they owned in here.’’

With the trash cleared and a plan in place, the former home of Laura Hawkins Frazer is being rehabbed back to life. Within the next year, Creason hopes to be 90 percent of the way done. Once again, the staircase in the front of the house will stand grand, the fireplaces will burn long trails of smoke out of the chimney tops and the custom windows will bring sunshine into home for the first time in years.

``Our restoration plan is to restore it as Laura had lived there. We would keep all the old radiators and we would do it in a way people would not notice that. We’ll be putting a new efficient furnace in there, but at the same time we will still be keeping the old heating registers,’’ Creason said. ``We’re going to get something as similar, historical in reproduction as what was originally there. The only wallpaper we were able to match, almost exactly, is the wallpaper that’s going to be put along the hallways. We were able to find that with a little more embellishment.

``The plan is to make it a museum. We want this to be as period as possible, trying to replace everything as close as possible, of course that’s hard to do, and I have to rely on folks who used to live in the house, what their memories were of it. We’re basing the interior of the house on those sources.’’

Yellowstone Wolves Help Trees Rebound

By Matthew Brown

Billings, Mont. (AP) - Scientists say in a new study that the return of gray wolves has dramatically altered the landscape in portions of Yellowstone National Park by curbing foraging elk herds that prevented new aspen, willow and cottonwood trees from taking root.

Study author William Ripple from Oregon State University said tree stands are expanding in areas where for decades dense elk populations prevented new growth.

Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995 and 1996 after being killed off early last century. About 100 now roam the park, and elk numbers have dropped sharply.

As fewer elk allows the trees to rebound, Ripple says they are providing new habitat for songbirds and more food for beavers.

The findings from Ripple and co-author Robert Beschta will be published in the scientific journal Biological Conservation.

National Cherry Blossom Festival Centennial Celebration, Mar. 20

Washington, DC – “America’s Favorite Cherry Tree,” an online poll launched today by the Arbor Day Foundation and the National Cherry Blossom Festival, allows all Americans to participate in the Festival’s Centennial Celebration by casting their vote for one of three finalists: the Yoshino, Kwanzan, or Autumn Flowering cherry tree.

The poll can now be accessed at arborday.org. On the website, participants can also purchase individual cherry trees, with a portion of every sale benefiting the National Cherry Blossom Festival. This year’s Festival commemorating the 100-year anniversary of Tokyo’s gift of cherry trees to Washington, DC, begins on March 20, 2012.

Results of the online voting will be announced on April 27, 2012. April 27th is National Arbor Day and the last day of this year’s festivities.

“By voting in the poll and purchasing a cherry tree, Americans can bring the Centennial Celebration to both their computer and backyard,” said Diana Mayhew, president of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

“We’re thrilled to add a new chapter to this great American tradition,” said John Rosenow, founder and chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “With this year’s poll and the availability of online cherry tree purchases, Americans can take part in this historic event even if they are unable to travel to the nation’s capital.”

The three finalists, selected by Festival and Foundation staff, were included in the gift from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912. Since their introduction, they have become favorites along Washington, DC’s Tidal Basin, as well as in yards, parks and neighborhoods across the United States.

About the Arbor Day Foundation: The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation and education organization of more than one million members, with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs is available at www.arborday.org.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is the nation’s greatest springtime celebration. The 2012 Festival, March 20 through April 27, includes five spectacular weeks of events and features diverse and creative programming promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty and community spirit.

How To Avoid ‘No-Show’ Plantings Of Spring Bulbs

By DEAN FOSDICK

For The Associated Press

Flower bulbs are a forgiving bunch. They can be buried upside down, stomped on or ignored, yet most will bloom for several seasons.

There are the occasional no-shows, of course, those that fail to flower and deliver the first burst of color in early spring. Here’s why some bulbs fall short, and what you can do about it:

-- Bad bulbs: Even proven flower bulbs can go bad. ``Give them the squeeze test,’’ said Brent Roozen, spokesman for Washington Bulb Co., the continent’s largest tulip grower, in Mount Vernon, Wash. ``If there are brown or black spots on them or they’re soft to the touch, don’t use them.’’

Tulips

-- Poor timing. Spring-blooming bulbs need time to go dormant if they’re to bloom. Planting dates vary with the climate but often extend into the winter. Just get them into the ground early enough so they can develop roots.

-- Expired shelf life. ``You can’t carry them over (from season to season). The bulbs will dry,’’ Roozen said. ``When customers ask me about the best time for planting, I always tell them `today’.’’

-- Crowding. ``Bulbs will grow, even if you don’t give them enough shoulder room,’’ Roozen said. ``But in a few years, the flowers and the blooms will progressively get smaller.’’

-- Predation: ``Tulips are the `chocolate cake and ice cream’ of the bulb world if there are voles or deer in the area,’’ said Becky Heath, co-owner of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs at Gloucester, Va. ``We spray our tulips with a nasty smelling substance to mask their sweet smell, and it really helps, but sometimes for only one year.’’ Daffodils, leucojum, galanthus and colchiums are the bulbs to choose if you want something that no animal eats, she said.

Hyacinths

-- Environment. ``If bulbs are a failure because they fail to bloom year after year, it’s probably because the gardener is in `shade denial’,’’ Heath said. ``There can be a lot of sun when the bulbs are in bloom, so that seems like enough sunlight. However, when photosynthesis happens after flowering time, which is crucial for the bulb to generate enough nutrients for the next seasons, the leaves are on the trees and there often isn’t enough sunlight. Then the bulbs dwindle.’’

-- Planting depth. ``Bulbs planted at too shallow a depth are vulnerable to frost heaves that can expose them to drying winter winds and cold,’’ said Hans Langeveld, vice president and owner of Longfield Gardens LLC, a source of bulbs and perennials in Lakewood, N.J. Plant tulips and daffodils 6 inches deep where winters are the coldest, he said. Plant smaller bulbs like crocus and muscari 4 to 5 inches deep.

-- Over-watering in summer. Most bulbs come from arid climates and thrive where summers are dry, Langeveld said.

Plan to start a new batch next fall unless bulbs are labeled ``Good for Naturalizing,’’ he said. ``Most tulips are annuals for American gardeners, but some are famous for coming back, including the Darwin hybrids. Other naturalizers include daffodils and other narcissi, muscari, alliums and crocuses.’

Online: For more about the care and feeding of flower bulbs, see this Clemson University fact sheet:

http://www.clemson.edu./extension/hgic/plants/landscape/flowers/hgic1155.html