THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 TAG: 9605070140
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Long : 107 lines
Prairie dogs, the latest fad in the pet trade, have reached Virginia Beach, said a distressed Margaret Traylor.
``But they aren't pets,'' the wildlife rehabilitator and animal lover said.
Traylor played detective and went to one store where she was told all she needed was a five-gallon aquarium in which to keep the little brown animals. But, said Traylor, the squirrel-size rodents live in huge prairie dog ``towns' covering acres of land on the western plains.
Thousands of their homes, which are underground burrows, dot the landscape. Whenever danger threatens, the shy little animals emit a warning call that sounds like a bark, thus their name, prairie dog. Then they pop down in their burrows to hide.
A home aquarium could never become a suitable habitat for animals such as these, Traylor said, because they are masters at digging holes and they thrive in large groups.
``Since they are colony animals, they are extraordinarily unhappy and will pine away if there's only one,'' she said.
Or if they can't dig.
``They are as cute as they can be but they aren't pets,'' Traylor stressed once again.
IT COULD ONLY HAPPEN AT JUNGLE GOLF.
Owner Preston Midgett and his wife, Kim, had a baby boy last Tuesday, Preston Midgett III. On the same day, the mama mallard duck that frequents the ponds at the miniature golf course on Pacific Avenue had 12 baby ducklings. Little Trey weighed in at 9-pounds, 13-ounces. The ducklings, maybe 1 ounce?
Both moms and babies were doing fine.
ALTHOUGH TRADITION HOLDS that the full moon in May brings on the first big blue crab shed of the season, there are no soft-shell crabs, to speak of, out there this week.
``I think the full moon was too early in May this year,'' said Dick Galloway of Virginia Beach Seafood. ``The water's too cold. We haven't been offered any (by dealers) and I suspect it will be between the 18th and 25th of May before we get any.''
The water needs to get up above 60 degrees, he said, and it's almost there. But it's been slow, because the winter was so cold.
``The severe winter has backed everything up,'' he said.
DAME'S ROCKET, a beautiful wildflower that made it through the cold winter, is in full bloom at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center on Diamond Springs Road, Master Gardener Holly Cruser reported. Dame's rockets are growing in the center's trial gardens where they are being tested for roadside plantings of wildflowers.
``It has a creamy purple spike, about 3 1/2 feet tall,'' Cruser said. ``They're wonderful!
``And it did shoot up just like a rocket,'' she added. ``One week it was a rosette of leaves and the next week, an entire flower spike had been launched.''
Dame's rocket can be found in the perennial garden next to the gazebo. In fact the perennial garden itself is beautiful now, Cruser said.
The trial gardens at the research center are a little-known resource for local gardeners who want to know what grows well in Hampton Roads. You can stop by the gardens at 1444 Diamond Springs Road any time.
P.S. Take a walk on the Nature Conservancy's North Landing River Preserve marsh trail with the South Hampton Roads Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society at 10 a.m. Saturday. Meet at the parking lot on Blackwater Road, 1/2 mile south of the Blackwater Fire Station. Call 421-2939.
WATCH BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS on a two-hour ocean cruise with the Virginia Marine Science Museum at 4:30 p.m. Sundays, May 12 and 19. Trips leave from the Virginia Beach Fishing Center at Rudee Inlet. The fee is $12 for adults and $10 for children, 11 and under. Call 437-6003 for reservations.
TAKE A COMPOSTING CLASS from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Norfolk Botanical Garden. Participants will take home a guide and a cage composter. Class fee is $23 for garden members and $26 for non-members. To register, call 441-5839. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY REID BARROW
Mama duck and her babies sun at Jungle Golf. The ducklings were born
on the same day as the owner's baby boy, Preston Midgett III.
Prairie dog suns on a rock.
by CNB