Rugby’s Annual Christmas Hike

We will not be back in Rugby until later today, but saw this from the annual Christmas Day Hike on Facebook. 

“What a beautiful day for Rugby's annual Christmas hike to the Colditz Natural Area. The waterfall was running at full flow. Here is a picture of our own John Muir -Eric Wilson.”

This Week in Rugby

Thursday Dec. 29 – English Country Dancing at the Friendly House – contact Mary Hemminger at mejs@juno.com

Friday Dec. 30 – Music at the Café - Lesia Terry and Great Day in the Morning

Saturday, Dec. 31 – New Year’s Eve Dinners at

        Harrow Road Café - Reservations – call toll-free number 888-214-3400 or 628-2441.

        Grey Gables Bed’n Breakfast – Reservations – call 423-628-5252.

History Club Meeting Jan. 13

By Linda Konig

The first meeting of the Rugby History Club in the new year will be held at the Friendly House on Friday, Jan. 13th.  7:30 p.m.  We will discuss ideas for future meetings, etc., and some Rugby historic artifacts will be shown for our amazement and amusement.

Spirit of Red Hill

SALE UPDATE:  For our sale being held this week (December 26 thru the 31) there will be at least a 20% reduction taken on everything in the shop.   Some items will be further reduced, such as tools and Christmas vintage items (30%), and all books on the bookwagon usually seen on the front porch will be reduced 50%.  (All inside books will be 20% off.) 

Reminding all that the shop will close for the winter as of January 1, 2012 (whew – can’t believe it!).  We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday time and we look forward to seeing you this week before the old year shudders to a halt and 2012 comes bounding in.  We are so grateful for your patronage of Spirit of Red Hill, but most of all for your continued friendship and support. 

Peace - Donna and Annie

Bob Trumbo’s New Book

By Bob Trumbo

My first book titled "A Guide to Proper Governance for Dummies" has finally been published and will be in paper just after the first of the year. My publisher is "Authorhouse" and will have the book available and also available electronically with all major bookstores etc.

I think most of you know my passion to restore our once great Republic to the status once envisioned by our forefathers. It is incumbent upon all of us to do everything in our power to achieve this goal and start the process by the next election. I strongly feel this Guide is a good start to motivate everyday people to take action before we "Face the eternal
Abyss and end up on the ash heap of History."

Happy Holiday and a great New Year.

BIRTHDAYS

Dec. 30 - Ron Jackson

CALENDAR

Rugby is in the Eastern time zone, just barely.


Thursday, Dec. 29 – English Country Dancing

Friday, Dec. 30 – Music at the Café – Lesia Terry and Great Day in the Morning

Saturday, Dec. 31 – New Years Eve at Harrow Road Café and Grey Gables - Call now to book your table for a festive evening.

Tuesday, Jan. 2 – Reduced winter hours begin at Historic Rugby

Saturday, Jan. 7 – Community Potluck 7:00 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 13 – History Club – 7:30 p.m. at the Friendly House.

Saturday, Jan. 14 – Book Club – 7 p.m. at Benita and Tom Howell’s house. Two of Kentucky author Wendell Berry's works will be discussed, The Long-Legged House, a collection of essays, and Nathan Coulter, the first novel in his Port William series. The snow date will be January 21.

Quilters’ Group - Wednesdays and Saturdays, 2–4 p.m. Eastern, at the Friendly House behind Christ Church

 Rugby Yoga – Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m. Eastern, at the Friendly House.

Historic Rugby Winter Hours

 Harrow Road Café open every day except Wednesdays.  Sundays through Thursdays - 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. EST. Fridays and Saturdays include dinner seatings, 8:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. EST.

Visitor Centre and Commissary General Store - Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.  Closed Mondays through Thursdays - weekday and weekend group tours can be arranged with advance reservation.

Lodging Facilities available year-round.


NATURE NOTES

Olive Hairstreak

Orange lizard photo from last week by Carrie Thornwaite

 By Linda Konig

You may think I'm besotted, but I'm already looking forward to spring and thinking about Olive Hairstreak butterflies.  I just learned about them the other day when I was looking up information about the Eastern Cedar trees (Juniperus virginiana).  You see, the Olive Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus) spends most of its life on or close to Eastern Cedar trees.  In fact, this tiny butterfly is totally dependent in the Southeast on Eastern Cedars for survival as a species.  I've seen these green butterflies around Rugby in other years but always on wildflowers where they were sipping nectar.  They love henbit, winter cress, common milkweed, butterflyweed, white sweet clover, wild plum blossoms, Queen Anne's lace, hoary mountain mint, dandelions, and many others. 

The male butterflies, when not sipping nectar or puddling*, can be found on Eastern Cedar trees, usually near the tops.  I plan to shake a few trees to see them as they start up and flutter about.  They're quite territorial, keeping other males away from their spot, meanwhile waiting for females. 

The females come, choose Mr. Right, mate in the trees, and lay their eggs on the cedar needles, one minute pale green egg per twig tip.  The tiny green caterpillars that hatch nibble on the cedar needles, growing fatter and longer.  When I saw a close-up photo of one of these caterpillars by googling Olive Hairstreak butterfly caterpillars, I immediately knew why I haven't noticed them before.  They're an exact imitation of a cedar needle tip! You'd have to look very closely, and then you probably wouldn't spot one unless it moved.  When ready to form a chrysalis, they drop off the tree and, if conditions are right, they form a chrysalis under leaf litter directly under the tree.  If not, they have to crawl elsewhere in search of leaf litter.  In other words, conditions are more favorable for them at the edges of woods than in a well-kept lawn. 

There are two generations of these butterflies in our area, the early spring generation and the mid-to late-summer generation.  This second generation overwinters as a chrysalis. 

            *Puddling.  Only the male butterflies puddle.  When you see a damp spot or puddle with several butterflies clustered there, they're getting mineral salts they need in order to be able to mate.  It's a great photo op!  They seem especially drawn to spots where dogs and other animals have relieved themselves.  They also like to find mineral salt puddles among rocks along a creek or river.

Editor's Note:  Obviously the photo of the orange lizard above has nothing to do with the butterfly story.  Carrie Thornthwaite and Rick Murphy came across it on the trail to the Meeting of the Waters last week while we were looking at the dramatically high and fast water.  Does anyone remember the name of this creature from one of Linda's earlier Nature Notes?

This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp