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PeninsulaNorthwest
SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2015
PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Acadia National Park Maine-ly for pet canines
Tulips are one of a multitude of springflowering bulbs that are commercially grown for cut flowers.
Buy bulbs now for later planting LAST SUNDAY, AS one of your late-summer chores on the to-do list, I referenced buying bulbs, but only because now is the time to do it. Your yard has the most ideal climate conditions to grow, admire and harvest spring-flowering bulbs. You can easily create your own version of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Mount Vernon. First off, spring-flowering bulbs are much like Mediterranean herbs, which prefer rocky, sandy, nutrientpoor soils that are dry during the summer (growing season) months. If anything, this year’s drought will make your bulbs even better next year because they need dry soil conditions in the summer to flourish. Next, spring bulbs like cool evenings and day temperatures below 50 degrees with no high or low temperature spikes. Daytime temperatures in the 70s or higher especially cause bulbs to “flow,” which is to fully open and then shatter in a couple of days, not prolong on the stem, as we would prefer. We are the best place on the planet to grow these botanical wonders. Daffodils, tulips, crocus and hyacinth blooms literally last for a few weeks or even a month, which is unheard of anywhere else in the world, Netherlands included. And then the “icing on the cake” is our rainfall. Bulbs need consistently damp soil throughout their growing period, and here it rains until May, which is perfect. Then, bulbs need a very, very dry summer with little moisture — again, we nail it here on the North Olympic Peninsula. If all this was not enough to convince each
A GROWING CONCERN and every May one of you to plan an extensive collection, spring bulbs, when selected correctly, bloom far longer than any other plant — six months to be precise (January through June). And since we are piling on the virtues, let us end with the superb cutflower-quality blooms spring bulbs afford us. Tulips, daffodils, iris, allium, hyacinths, snowdrops, muscari, scilla and lily of the valley are but a few of the multitude of spring-flowering bulbs that are commercially grown for cut flowers. You can plant these in your yard and have six months of bulbalistic floral arrangements. The trick is to get a multitude of bulbs and to buy several different blooming-time varieties of the same bulb species. Think “early, mid and late” in regard to every type of bulb you buy. For this week, gather money and dream of where you would plant bright-colored flowers for January, February and March. Next Sunday, I will offer you a comprehensive list of bulbs for blossoms from January through June. In the meantime, you can start buying bulbs this week. Happy gathering!
Andrew
________ Andrew May is a Port Angeles-based ornamental horticulturist who dreams of having Clallam and Jefferson counties nationally recognized as “Flower Peninsula USA.” Send him questions c/o Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362. Or email him at news@ peninsuladailynews.com (subject line: Andrew May).
THERE WERE DOGS everywhere: on trails, on top of Cadillac Mountain, kayaking on a lake and enjoying lunch with their people at Jordan Pond House. Where were we? PET Acadia CONNECTION National Park, on Maine’s Kim Campbell rugged coastline. Thornton Last year, I wrote about taking pets to national parks. It can be done, but for the most part, pets are limited in where they can go. They are usually banned from all but paved trails, as well as lodges and visitor centers (although they can walk around outside them). An exception is dogfriendly Acadia. The 74-square-mile park encompasses much of Mount Desert Island, and its features include ocean shoreline, lakes, forests and Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the north Atlantic coast. Dogs must be on a leash for their safety and that of wildlife, but that said, they have access to 100 miles of hiking trails and 45 miles of crushed-rock carriage roads, which are shared by hikers, bicyclists and horse-drawn vehicles. Dogs are allowed on carriage roads and on most trails; exceptions include difficult trails such as Precipice and Beehive, which require climbing iron ladders or rungs or crossing narrow ridges along cliff edges. The east side of Jordan Pond trail isn’t recommended for dogs, either; as we discovered, it requires quite a bit of scrambling over boulders. While we saw a pair of Brittany spaniels kayaking with their people, neither dogs nor people are allowed to swim in most of the lakes because they are public water supplies. Echo Lake and Sand Beach restrict pets during summer. Other restricted areas include the Wild Gardens of Acadia and public buildings. Dog-friendly excursions include horse-drawn tours of the carriage roads, a windjammer cruise on the Margaret Todd, a trip on a lobster boat and a nature cruise of Frenchman Bay. Leashed dogs may also ride the Island Explorer Buses that go to, from and through the park. Pets are permitted at Seawall and Blackwoods campgrounds. If that’s a little too rustic for you, the town of Bar Harbor and surrounding areas have several petfriendly accommodations, including cottages through Ryan Estate Rentals, Balance Rock Inn (which has a steep pet fee) and chains
John James Riffey Milton Raymond Roberts Gus Sarantakis Robert Joseph Wentworth Gerald Fenton Williams Howard Eugene Winters Clyde Forrest Wixom Glen Carlisle Younkin
getting married QI’m soon, and my fiance and I will be merging our households. He has nine cats, and I have six cats. What’s the best way for us to proceed without a lot of hissing and pissing? — via Facebook That’s quite a A merger. The good news is that your pets are already used to sharing close quarters. The bad news is that the stress of meeting new cats can definitely lead to urine marking on a large scale in an attempt to carve out some of their own territory. Here are some tips that may help to reduce stress and decrease the likelihood of marking. ■ Increase the amount of vertical space throughout your home with multilevel cat trees, window seats and ramps, walkways
and bridges on walls. Try to have a separate perch for each cat. ■ Give each cat his own litter box. A good rule of paw is one litter box per cat, plus one more. Place litter boxes throughout the house to make sure bully cats don’t guard them and prevent others from using them. ■ Have multiples of favorite toys and water dishes. All should have individual food bowls. Spread out the dining area so no one feels threatened. ■ Place feline pheromone diffusers throughout the house to emit calming signals. ■ To make introductions, start by separating the two groups for up to a week. Gradually introduce them to the odors of the strangers by rubbing each cat with a washcloth and letting the others sniff it. After they sniff, rub each one with the cloth of the others. This could take a while with your gang. ■ Set up a situation that allows the cats to see each other without physical contact; for instance, by stacking two baby or pet gates. Separate them this way for up to a week. During that time, feed them and give lots of treats in sight of each other so they have positive associations with each other. ■ Once you bring them together, hand out lots of treats to all of them as long as they are reacting calmly. By taking things slowly, you have a better chance of everyone getting along.
The Buzz — with Dr. Marty Becker and Kim Campbell Thornton ■ Residents at One Brooklyn Bridge Park condominium complex in Brooklyn, N.Y., are facing an inescapable poop patrol: They must now have their dogs’ DNA tested and registered. Owners can no longer get away with not cleaning up their dogs’ feces, urine and vomit. Using forensic science in the form of a product called
PORT ANG OF
Request for Proposals Visitor Center Operation Services (RFP CD-1502) The City of Port Angeles is offering an exciting opportunity for a well-qualified business or organization to submit a proposal for the operation of a visitor center facility for the purpose of promoting destinations and activities within Port Angeles and the North Olympic Peninsula region. A full description of the visitor center services being requested can be found on the City’s web site at www.cityofpa.us. Questions must be submitted in writing to smartgrowth@ cityofpa.us. The deadline for final proposal submittals is September 18, 2015 5 PM.
Poo Prints, building management can identify scofflaws and levy $250 fines per incident. Overall, the program has proven to be a significant deterrent, reports The New York Times. Since enforcement began in May, seven matches have been made. ■ You probably haven’t given your pet’s microchip much thought since it was implanted. Out of sight, out of mind, right? But it’s a good idea to check the status of your pet’s chip annually during his veterinary exam. You may need to update your address or phone number, for instance. Without accurate information in the registration database, your pet may not be returned to you if he’s ever lost. And if your pet isn’t already ‘chipped, that’s something to schedule at his next visit. In combination with a collar and tag, it’s the best way to ensure his safe return. ■ The spotted Egyptian mau may well descend from the cats worshipped by ancient Egyptians. Who wouldn’t worship a cat depicted on a 3,400-year-old tomb as retrieving a duck? The present-day mau loves to fetch toys and is a highly competent hunter of live prey if given the chance. Reserved toward strangers, he is fiercely loyal to his family and chortles to them in a quiet, melodious voice. The mau’s mediumlength coat has silky, fine fur in silver, bronze, smoke and black, plus blue versions of those colors. His light-colored eyes are described as gooseberry green.
_________ Pet Connection appears every Sunday and is produced by a team of pet-care experts headed by veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. The two are the authors of several best-selling pet-care books. Email them at petconnection@ gmail.com or visit www.pet connection.com. Or write to them c/o Universal/ UClick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
Peninsula Births Olympic Medical Center Stefanie and Travis Anderson of Sequim, a son, Mason Maverick Anderson, 6 pounds, 14 ounces, 9:40 p.m. Aug. 4.
Harrison Medical Center Caitlyn Dupuy and Chris Storm of Port Ludlow, a daughter, Avery Belle Storm, 8 pounds, 12 ounces, 8:33 a.m. July 21. 581395540
Donald Everett Huckleberry Richard W. King Robert Alan Massey William Henry Miller Bruce Garr Oldfield Craig Roger Owen Gary A. Parker Wallace K. Peterson
Q&A — with Mikkel Becker Johnson and Kim Campbell Thornton
CITY 581306989
On the last Friday of every month the Clallam County Veterans Association conducts a ceremonial bell ringing at the Veterans’ Park located next to the courthouse (on Lincoln Street). The ceremony begins promptly at 1:00 p.m. when the courthouse clock tolls. This ceremony is to honor all Clallam County Veterans who have died in the previous month. On Friday, August 28, the following names of deceased Veterans from July 2015 will be read: Nelson Duane Catract Dwane Cauthtrack Calvin Palmer Cole Douglas Bruce Cudd Jon Robin Folk Harry James George George Richard Gurr Richard Armstrong Howe
such as Holiday Inn and Quality Inn. Dawn Celapino of San Diego and her cairn terrier Jack visited Acadia on a recent 10-week road trip to promote fitness for people and dogs (Jack’s Journey USA). When they weren’t driving through the park or hiking in the rain, they parked their RV at Hadley’s Point Campground, a few miles west of Acadia. Amenities included a laundry facility and Wi-Fi. An alternative suggested by Marie C. Taylor in her book Doggy Walks and Destinations: Acadia National Park and Vicinity is to board your dog at a kennel with in/out privileges so you can take him on some outings but still have a place for him to stay if you go somewhere he can’t. Boarding him also increases your choice of lodgings. Ironically, our dogs didn’t accompany us on this trip. Flying one of them crosscountry, let alone three, just wasn’t in the cards, but if we go back, we’ll definitely hope to bring them along.
S ELE
Monthly Veterans’ Bell Ringing Ceremony
The 74-square-mile Acadia National Park encompasses much of Mount Desert Island, and its features include ocean shoreline, lakes, forests and Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the north Atlantic coast.
Phone information about athome or out-of-town births to 360417-3527 or 800-826-7714, ext. 5250.