 |
| Donna Heffner - Guest Performer at Cafe - photo by George |
Making Everything Alright
Well, it has been a bit confusing this week. Monday we went to Memphis and just after we got there it started sleeting. Thursday, Friday and Saturday I spent most of the day working outside in shirtsleeves in Rugby sunshine because the weather was so nice. And then Sunday it snowed all afternoon.
So, this crazy week is reflected in this edition of Rugby Week. Below you will see lots of photos of snow, while Eric and Linda talk about early signs of spring.
Thank goodness for Donna Heffner’s music Friday night at the Harrow Road Café. Somehow it made everything make sense!
| ||||||
By Eric Wilson
After a day of marking boundary lines at his property in Kentucky last week, Charles Gibbs discovered that he and his helpers had run into a real mess of ticks. I think he said about 20 ticks per person. I guess it is time to begin taking precautions. Last summer Vi and I invested in treated socks from L.L. Bean. Although expensive, I found that after switching to them (and putting away the bug spray) I had no more tick or chigger bites.
February 24 - Laura Martin 27 - Lynn Takacs | ||
Rugby is in the Eastern time zone, just barely.
Friday, Feb. 24 - Music at the Harrow Road Café - Victory Bluegrass with Wayne Rogers and Friends
Saturday, Feb.25 – Craft Demonstration at the Rugby Commissary Store - Bill Henry-Carving
Saturday, Feb. 25 – Book Club at 7 p.m. Eastern/6 Central at the home of Kit and Candy Howes. The book the group will be reading is The Tiger: A true story of vengeance and survival, by John Vaillant
Saturday, Mar. 3 – Soup Hike - along Rugby's Truck Bypass for an ‘Engineer’s Guide to the Truck Bypass.” Mike Harris' son-in-law, Matt Bullard, a civil engineer, will be able to add some insight about the construction of the roadbed and the bridges. Mike Harris and Carrie Thornthwaite will be co-leading this 90-minute hike that will start at 10 a.m. from the Cafe and end at the picnic area along 52. Hikers will also see the interesting rock area known as Kellogg’s Crack. Cars will be available at the picnic area to take hikers back to the Cafe for soup and fellowship. Anyone who can volunteer to leave their car at the picnic area prior to the hike, please let Carrie know. Drivers will be shuttled back to the Cafe by noon.Saturday, March 3 – Grey Gables - Barbecue and Bluegrass. Call for reservations and information 423-628-5252
Saturday, Mar. 10 – Outdoor Volunteer Activity - Invasive Plant Removal - State Natural Area representative Lisa Huff will lead volunteers in helping remove invasive Japanese spirea from the Massengale Loop Trail. Meet at the Harrow Road Café at 9:30 a.m. Eastern
March 17 – Grey Gables - Fundue Benefit. Call for reservations and information 423-628-5252
Saturday and Sunday, March 24 & 25 - Celtic Knot-Quilting Workshop with Joyce Lantz - Time: 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Eastern. Fee: $45. Joyce was a design major in college and developed a crafts interest that expanded over time. Needlework and crafts of all types have been important pieces of her life from an early age. She shares her passion of crafting, teaching and demonstrating in shows and exhibits in western North Carolina.
Save the Date
October 6, 2012- Annual Michaelmas Festival with crafts, children's activities and a wonderful English Cream Tea. More information to be announced in coming weeks.
Ongoing Activities
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.
Christ Church Episcopal -- Sunday morning services, 11 a.m. Eastern year round; all are welcomed.
Carrie Thornthwaite’s Weekend Wanderings – Saturdays and Sundays – Join Carrie to hike. On Saturdays she usually leaves from the Cafe around 10 a.m. for a 1½ to 2 hour hike in the area. On Sundays she usually leaves, again from the Cafe, about 2 p.m. If you'd like to join her, please e-mail her to confirm that she is walking and to let her know you are coming at thornthwch@lipscomb.edu . She will leave no later than 5 minutes after the hour.Rugby Yoga – Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m. Eastern, at the Friendly House.
Christ Church Episcopal -- Sunday morning services, 11 a.m. Eastern year round; all are welcomed.
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, including dinner seatings, 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. EST (7:30 to 7:30 Central).
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
Wings of Spring
One of my favorite signs of spring in Rugby is the northward flight of Greater Sandhill Cranes as they make their way back to northern breeding sites after spending winter in Tennessee or Florida. Yes, though we don't live on one of the more major U.S. bird migratory routes, we are fortunate to be on the Sandhill Crane flyway as it angles southeast across the Cumberland Plateau.
A major staging point or winter home for them is at Hiawassee State Wildlife Refuge near Birchwood, Tennessee, where over 20,000 of them have recently found cornfields and marshy areas to their liking. The Tennessee Wildlife Agency protects and feeds them there and has built an observation deck for viewing and photographing. I was glad to learn recently that a few whooping cranes have starting wintering there also. That's major good news since whooping cranes have been hovering on the verge of extinction.
I was lucky enough to be outside at Laurel Dale Cemetery last Wednesday about noon and heard a familiar rattling noise up in the sky. Their call is really hard to describe, but you owe it to yourself to hear it. If you see a ragged "V" of them flying over, roll down your car windows or run outside to listen. I've read that their distinctive call can be heard for over a mile. In a few moments they flew over, looking like arrows in the sky in a loose arrow formation. Even if you can't hear them for traffic noise, they're easy to differentiate from flying geese because the cranes are much larger. I wondered if they'd spent the night at Todd's Bottom on U.S. 27 between Elgin and Glenmary. Annie Patterson told me Friday night she'd been seeing them there lately.
I've read that Sandhill Cranes only starting migrating through Tennessee in the 1990s. At one point, they 'd been nearly all killed off. By the 1930s, there were only 25 breeding pairs left in the North American continent! It looked as if they were headed for extinction since they produce relatively few offspring in a lifetime. Since then, they've made a dramatic comeback. For some beautiful photographs of Greater Sandhill chicks with parents, as well as more information about them, go to: http://vickiehenderson.blogspot.com/2010/11/sandhill-crane-hunting-in-tennessee_24.html
I thought the other day when I saw them that they were perhaps over-eager to start back this early in the year, but when I read about them some more, I found I was wrong. The usual time for some of them to begin heading north is mid-February, but they'll continue travelling through late March. Have a nice trip, guys, and hope to see you again in the fall!
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
