Winter in Rugby is for Hiking
A really good turnout was in evidence Saturday for the Soup Hike to Jones Waterfall. The group also went down to a sandy area along the Clear Fork River and to the area believed to be the historic Ladies’ Swimming Hole.
The next hike is planned for Saturday, Feb. 11, although if anyone wants to invite folks on an earlier hike, just email us and we will put it in Rugby Week.
Clockwise: A scenic spot looking down the Clear Fork. Jonell Hester peeking through the rhododendrons at a beautiful rocky stream. A small waterfall. Eric Wilson, Tom Howell and Benita Howell at a sandy spot along the Clear Fork. Photos by Rick Murphy
This Week in Rugby
Friday, Jan. 13 – Music at the Café- Leonard Anderson, 6:30 - 8:30 EST
Friday, Jan. 13 – History Night – 7:30 p.m. – Friendly House – discuss history topics for 2012 and share “show and tell” items
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.
Rugby Donkey’s Great Adventure
Our History of Mischievous Donkeys
A booklet for sale at Rugby’s Commissary Store and at the Visitor Centre tells about a donkey that lived in Rugby from the 1880’s into the next century. His name was Tom Donkey, and he was known for getting out of his enclosure at Walton Court, wandering the village and getting into great mischief. He could open gates and get into people’s gardens, which is why there is a special type of gate latch on the gates at Kingstone Lisle and Walton Court. (The gate latch at Walton Court was found in the ruins of the burned house and restored onto the new gate when the house was reconstructed.)
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| Tom Donkey at Walton Court about 1906 |
In recent years we have had the occasional horse or dog get loose in Rugby. Plenty of wild critters have wreaked havoc, but as far as I know it has been quite a while since a donkey has wandered around the village.
So, there was great excitement in Rugby a few days ago when the Ericksons’ new donkey decided to go for an excursion. We first learned about it when tourists at the Café said they had seen a donkey walking down the side of the road as they drove into town. Jessica Erickson quickly left the Café where she was working (Shelia was there to cover the tables) and rushed down to secure the donkey, later safely returned to his home.
When I have been down to the Uffington greenhouse recently I have sometimes heard the donkey braying, so I guess he is still getting used to his new surroundings. Hopefully he will settle in soon, and maybe when the new bypass is completed next winter it will be a little safer for him to wander through the village.
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| Donkey at end of its 2012 excursion |
When I have been down to the Uffington greenhouse recently I have sometimes heard the donkey braying, so I guess he is still getting used to his new surroundings. Hopefully he will settle in soon, and maybe when the new bypass is completed next winter it will be a little safer for him to wander through the village.
Mail Delivery Issues
Rita Myers wants to make sure everybody understands that the Rugby post office will not be providing any services until March due to the reduced winter hours at the Commissary.
Someone mentioned that there might be some special issues related to mail delivery during January and February since the Commissary post office is closed those two months.
I called the Robbins post office and the representative there said that if the mail deliverer finds a package is too big to be put in the large package boxes at the bottom row of the mail box kiosk, then he will put a note in the person’s box telling them to pick up the package at another post office. In most cases that will be the Robbins post office.
They also said that outgoing mail will only be picked up once a day from the slots at the mail box kiosk.
I was also told that the mail deliverer usually carries a supply of stamps, so that if someone needs stamps they can request them when he is putting in the mail at the mail kiosk.
Otherwise, mail delivery for Rugby is not expected to be any different. If you have additional questions, call the Robbins post office at 423-627-2520
We have had critters in our attic. For months. After some sleepless nights, I bought a live animal trap. In the last few days we have caught three flying squirrels. It may actually be just two. The first one we relocated only three miles away, and that may not have been far enough. Next time: 10 miles out!
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| Miss Annie the cat admires the first trapped flying squirrel |
BIRTHDAYS
Jan. 14 - Drew Martin and Charles Crabtree
Jan. 15 - Margaret Erickson
CALENDAR
Rugby is in the Eastern time zone, just barely.
Friday, Jan. 13 - Music at the Café – 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Eastern - Leonard Anderson
Rugby is in the Eastern time zone, just barely.
Friday, Jan. 13 - Music at the Café – 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Eastern - Leonard Anderson
Friday, Jan. 13 – History Night – 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.
Friday, Jan. 20 – Music at the Café – 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern - Butch & Doug
Saturday, Jan. 21 – Commissary Craft Demonstration – Bill Henry carving
Saturday, Jan. 21 – Historic Rugby Board Meeting – 1 p.m. at the Community Building
Sunday, Jan. 22 – Commissary Artist Demonstration - Mara Trumbo-Painting
Friday, Jan. 27 – Music at the Café – 6:30 p.m. - Robin Branstetter and the girls
Saturday, Jan. 28 – Commissary Craft Demonstration – Sue Duncan spinning with Angora bunnies
Saturday, Jan. 28 – Lantern Tour Onstage – 4 p.m. Eastern at the Visitor Centre Theatre. Adult admission $15 at the door. K-12 students, $7.
Sunday, Jan. 29 – Commissary Artist Demonstration - Mara Trumbo-Painting
Saturday, Feb. 11 – Soup Hike – Hike the beautiful Thomas Hughes trail along the White Oak. This is a relatively good trail, but there are a few fairly steep areas and a few short areas that are a little rocky. Meet at the Café at 10 a.m. Eastern
Saturday, Feb.11 – Valentine Dinner at the Café. – Four-course dinner and special gift. Lodging packages available for Historic Newbury House B and B and Cottages
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. Friday and Saturday hours 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. Post Office in the Commissary is closed until March
Lodging Facilities are available year-round.
NATURE NOTES
Hazel Alders
I've recently become interested in a common native bush/tree that often grows around ponds and other bodies of water around here. It has many names: Hazel Alder, Common Alder, Smooth Alder, Tag Alder, Red Alder, ad infinitum. The Latin name is Alnus serrulata. When Wendy Whitten gave me a few twigs from a Hazelnut tree last week, I noticed how much their catkins looked like the alder bush catkins around ponds, so that got me to studying the alders.
I went to the big pond at Clear Fork Farm and immediately saw how these two different species of bushy trees could be confused. I broke off a branch of one of the bushes to take it home for comparison. The hazel alder catkins are larger than the hazelnut catkins and were a reddish tint. They looked as if they could start blooming at any time. These alder catkins usually bloom in February. I'm hoping they bloom even earlier this year. The tiny red female flowers, on the same stem (again like the hazelnut's red female flowers), bloom in the spring. The hazel alder's female flowers will eventually form little cone-like fruits containing many seeds in the fall.
When I first discovered these hazel alder bushes in winter a few years ago, I gathered a few tiny cones and used them as Christmas tree decorations. I didn't spray them, but you could spray them gold or silver, and they would be lovely on a small tree or on a wreath. Right now, I have a couple of twigs in water near a window, hoping I can force the male and perhaps even the female flowers to bloom. To see good close-up photos of the leaves, flowers, and cones, try www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/alse.html .
The seeds in the cones are highly prized by birds: among them, Wood Cock, Ruffed Grouse, Black-Capped Chickadees, Pine Siskins, and Goldfinches. Some birds like to build nests in hazel alder bushes: Red-Winged Blackbirds, Goldfinches, etc. Deer and beaver eat the twigs in winter. Wild ducks like to use the bushes as cover when they spend the night on ponds. In summer, several kinds of caterpillars graze on the hazel alder leaves. On the other hand, the Harvester butterfly caterpillar only eats the wooly aphids that feed on the alder bushes. They do this while being concealed by the wooly aphids' wooly fluff that has gotten caught on the caterpillars' hairs. This is the only caterpillar in the U.S. known to be carnivorous. The adult Harvester butterflies live on the aphids' honeydew, again, found on the alders. You could write a book about a year in the life of these bushes!
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
