There is an announcement in this week's Morgan County News and on the website for the Tennessee Dept. of Conservation and Environment about various grants recently awarded under the Local Parks and Recreation Fund Grant Program. Historic Rugby is receiving a grant of $32,320 for the construction of a 1.5-mile loop hiking trail and information kiosk at the Rugby State Natural Area. This grant requires that HRI provide a 20% match. The trail will start near the Rugby Community Building and go to the Massengale Homeplace.
The grant program is described in a little more detail at http://www.state.tn.us/environment/news/release/2008/Aug/parksrec_grants.shtml. Scroll down near the bottom of the page to see to a table of all the grants, listed by county. The HRI grant is the second listing under Morgan County.
Barbara Stagg added that work on this is expected to start this fall and winter, including trail layout and building, trailhead and Massengale signs/kiosks, etc. Currently, the expressed goal is to have it ready to dedicate as a new Rugby State Natural Area trail and outdoor exhibit by next spring or summer. Volunteers will be welcome and needed as part of the match.
Friday Night Dancing
Another evening of English Country Dancing was held last Friday evening, August 22, in the Community Building. Mary Hemminger organized the event and had seven couples participating. The dances that they learned… or “almost” learned… included the Geud man of Ballangigh, first published in 1698; the Hop Ground, published in 1794; Alice, written in 2002 and danced to an old tune written by a contemporary of Bach.
Mary reported that, by request, they repeated The Hole in the Wall, (1696) that they danced a month ago. Tom Howell on flute provided much appreciated music to dance to as he could regulate tempo and start and stop with much more expertise than was possible when Mary ran the ipod. Mary wrote that she wished to express “many kudos to Tom, and all the energetic and patient dancers that came out. We will keep folks informed as to the next dance in Rugby.”
Water Levels of Local Rivers
With of lack of rain recently, the water level of area rivers has really been receding. The picture above shows the current level at the Gentlemen’s Swimming Hole. While hiking to the Meeting of the Waters, Carrie noticed some points that looked like it would have been easy to walk across to Fentress County on all the rocks that are usually submerged. Last week, the park service had cut four of the trees that had recently fallen down along the path. Yet, Saturday, another tree had fallen, although this one is easy to by-pass. Despite those problems, the collage below shows that the trail is still a wonderful place to hike.
Top left: Meeting of the Waters; Top Right: White Oak Creek;Bottom left: Beaver activity: Center: Indian Paintbrush; Last: along trail
Harvest Dinner at Grey Gables
Grey Gables is having their annual Fall Harvest Dinner on September 13, 2008 at 6:30 pm EDT. Jeff Crouch, The One Man Band, will be performing Country, Rock, Bluegrass and other types of music. He has opened for stars such as George Jones, Lee Greenwood, John Anderson and Mel McDaniels. They are offering several choices of appetizer plus tomato Florentine soup, tortellini – broccoli parmesano salad, a main course of red wine beef burgundy, roasted potatoes, vegetable medley and dessert of Black Forest Parfait, as well as Highland Manor Wine and Almond Tea and Coffee. Dinner is $37 per person, or $160 for double occupancy lodging including Harvest Dinner and Country Breakfast. Tax and gratuity is extra. Reservations required – call 423-628-5252.
Birthdays
August 27 Polly Allen
August 27 Jessica Neary
Calendar of Events
August 30 – Concert – Farr Horizons Trio – 7:45 pm EDT at the Rebecca Johnson Theatre. Tickets must be purchased in advance through Historic Rugby at 888-214-3400 or locally at 628-2441. Adult tickets $10 in advance, $12 day of the concert. Under-age-18 tickets $6 in advance and $7 day of the concert.
September 1 – Labor Day Hike Around Historic Rugby. Meet at Harrow Road Cafe at 9:30 am EDT. Contact Julian Bankston (jrbankston@nxs.net) or Benita Howell (bjhowell@highland.net) for more information.
September 6 – Community Potluck – 7:00 pm
September 13 – Fall Wildflower Walk – Instructor Jack Carman. Walk around Rugby to see autumn wildflowers including several rare species. Plus slide presentation and book signing. 10:00 am to 5:00 pm EDT with lunch break. Fee $12, lunch additional. Contact Historic Rugby for reservation 888-214-3400 or locally at 628-7842
September 13 - Fall Harvest Dinner at Grey Gables - 6:30 pm EDT. Reservations required. Call 423-628-5252.
Exercise Group - Monday and Thursday at 9:00 am EDT at the Friendly House
Dulcimer Class – Tuesdays, 2:00 pm EDT at the Friendly House
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm EDT at the Friendly House
Nature Notes by Linda Konig
People have been seeing foxes in Beacon Hill in recent weeks as well as in the vicinity of Newbury Pond. Mostly grey foxes, but one or two red once, too. Then the other day, someone told me how to recognize fox scat. It looks just like dog poop except it’s full of berry and grape seeds. Yesterday, as I walked about Rugby, I saw what looked like fox scat in the churchyard, on the footpath between Martin Roost and Uffington, and on the drive across Faringdon Road from the Commissary.
Grey foxes, in particular, are fun to watch. Though they’re in the dog family, these foxes are very cat-like in their behavior, reminding us that dogs and cats are both descended from the same ancestor. A few weeks ago, Pearl Nestor and some of us enjoyed watching a grey fox vixen and her kit near High Wray one evening. The kit was frolicking about and its mother would pause occasionally in her mouse-hunting to nuzzle and lick him.
Another way in which foxes are more like cats than dogs is that they’re solitary hunters, unlike dogs, which hunt in packs. Foxes stalk and pounce on their prey as cats do. Foxes’ eyes are like cats’ eyes, their pupils a narrow slit in bright light, round in the dark. Yet another example of grey foxes’ cat-like behavior is the fact that they can climb trees. They often do that to reach wild cherries and mild grapes, two of their favorite foods.
