More Help Needed to Meet April 1 Deadline
A couple of weeks ago we reported that Historic Rugby has recently been offered a rare opportunity to pay off its land conservation debt. If Historic Rugby can raise $26,427 by April 1 it can fully take advantage of a donor match which will pay off the remaining debt.
An impressive $14,210 has been raised so far. Executive Director Cheryl Cribbet says “We at Historic Rugby are so thankful for all the wonderful friends of Rugby who have helped. This shows how much people really do care about the special places in and around Rugby.”
That leaves $12,217 that needs to be raised by April 1.
This is a great opportunity to double your donation to Historic Rugby, so if you can help, please make a contribution to Historic Rugby Inc., at P.O. Box 13, Rugby, TN 37733 or go to its website at historicrugby.org and make an online donation.
| Historic Rugby has worked hard to protect the beautiful land around the Rugby Historic District, including more than 725 acres that are now part of the Rugby State Natural Area. Paying off the remaining debt will not only remove the burden of having to make payments on the debt, but will also help Historic Rugby keep another 45 beautiful acres along the White Oak which currently secures that debt. This 45-acre tract is an important property because it fronts the beautiful White Oak River and also includes an impressive rock formation known as Kellogg’s Crack. If you would like to visit Kellogg’s Crack tract, join us for the Soup Hike this Saturday and we will walk through that area on our way back from seeing the Truck Bypass. Rugby Truck Bypass Hike on Saturday This “Soup Hike” will take hikers 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 Hwy.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.  Local Animal Sanctuary Needs Our Help By Barbara Stagg Best Friends Animal Sanctuary needs our support. We have been able to find homes for many stray dogs from the Rugby area through them. The dogs are taken to a no-kill facility in Ohio and adopted out there. They are having their annual "Spayghetti Dinner and Live Auction" Saturday, April 7, from 6 to 8 Eastern Time at the Pine Haven Community Center. It is located on Hwy. 154 (shortly after you turn off Hwy. 127 toward PIckett, but before bypass). The spaghetti dinner is $10. In addition to attending, items in good condition can be donated for the auction by March 31. I'll be getting some items to them, and will be glad to take others. Best Friends also provides special neutering efforts, fostering and vet care of animals till they can be transported, AND publishes columns in the Fentress Courier to encourage more responsible care of pets. Phone number for more information is 931-261-9820. The photo above shows two "dumped" dogs that Cheryl Hodgkins and Barbara Stagg picked up at Brewster Bridge last fall. They fostered them in Rugby for a week or so, with Gayle Minor's help, and then took them to a Best Friends drop-off point to be taken to Ohio. BOTH have found forever homes. Barbara and Cheryl hope to continue working with Best Friends as needed.
By Linda Konig History Night in March will be on Friday night, March 9 at 7:30 at the Friendly House. The speaker will be Linda Konig talking about the Stockton family, one of the more prominent ones in the Rugby area before Rugby was founded. One of them, Grover Stockton, once owned a store in Rugby. Another Stockton, Kate Bradford Stockton, ran for governor of Tennessee! The Stocktons were a fascinating family, wild and wooly pioneers, yet claiming a heritage from one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the first governor of Massachusetts. They were always concerned with the education of their children and their neighbors' children. Come see how they were related to the Brooks, Jake Fletcher's family, and who knows who else! Wilo’th’Wisp Opens By Vi Biehl Wilo'th'Wisp celebrated opening day Saturday the 25th, and as folks who stopped by can attest, much remains to be done. It will be a 'work in progress' sort of shop. (Eric says it has taken me about a decade to finally open it!) but the important thing is folks getting together for an afternoon coffee/tea/snack break with others and just relaxing. This week I have my dad's 'egg'/glass paperweight collection on display. Coming weeks will highlight other folks' collections. SHOP HOURS from today through next Sunday are 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., except closed Wednesdays. My 'closed' day may vary from week to week due to physical therapy appointments, etc., so please check Rugby Week for hours the coming week. *My apologies to anyone who didn't know about the opening day: I actually forgot to write the notice about it for Rugby Week. Hope to see you soon! Delay Burning Until Next Rain By Tom Howell Morgan County has been experiencing a spate of out-of-control brush and grass fires in the last two days. Probable reason: air is suddenly drier after a period of wet weather, and the tender surface growth has become flammable, like tinder. In addition, the wind has been blowing. For this reason, burning is inadvisable until immediately after the next rains in the middle of the week. When you do burn, rake around the burn area down to bare earth—mineral soil. Remember to get the required burn permit: either call 346-6655 or go to the TN Forestry web site burnsafetn.org where you can obtain a burn permit online. (Note, however, that the web site works out of Nashville, and it runs on Central time.) | ||||
Rugby is in the Eastern time zone, just barely.
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 insight about construction of the roadbed and the bridges. Mike 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 – Community Potluck – 7 p.m. at the Friendly House behind Christ Church
Saturday, March 3 – Grey Gables - Barbecue and Bluegrass. Call for reservations and information 423-628-5252
Friday, Mar. 9 – History Night – 7:30 p.m. at the Friendly House. Linda Konig will talk about the Stockton family.
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 and 25 - Celtic Knot-Quilting Workshop - Note this Workshop has been Cancelled
Saturday, April 14 – Historic Rugby Visiting Speaker - Long-time Rugby friend and author Nancy Jensen will offer readings, discussion and book signing for her praised novel The Sisters. This will also be the selected book for the Rugby Book Club.
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.
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
Ants in February
Ants are all pretty much the same, right? At least, I used to think so. What did I know? There are many different kinds of ants, and I've recently learned some amazing things about what is probably our most common ant around here, the Mound-Building Ant, sometimes called the Cornfield Ant, the Lasius neoniger. In case you haven't been taking any close-up photos of our local ants lately, take a look at http://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants/Natural-History/Queen-Ants/9403452_rFTpLK/1016635588_t4d28#!i=1 .
They live in yards, fields, golf courses, and even cracks in sidewalks. They make crater-like mounds that are entrances to their underground domains. The mounds are granular-looking. You'd have to be from Mars not to have seen these before. I've often heard and read about ants tending aphids but have seldom seen these in action. I should have been looking in corn fields! Farmers know several ways to foil the corn aphids and their shepherds, the Cornfield Ants, but chances are you can still find some in fields.
But what do the ants do in winter? And how can the corn aphids survive till next year? Never fear, Mother Nature has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. In fall, the Cornfield Ants take the last Corn Aphid generation's eggs underground into their nests and tend them. In January, February, and into March, the ant tunnels are piled with Corn Aphid eggs. If the weather is warm enough, they bring the eggs up to the surface so they can benefit from the sun's warmth. If the weather is too cold, the ants take the eggs farther down into their deepest tunnels to keep the eggs from freezing. In April or perhaps earlier, the eggs hatch. The ants then carry the miniscule aphid nymphs to the roots of smartweed, foxtail grass, crabgrass, pigweed, wild mustard, plantain, purslane, sorrel, broomcorn, dock, knotweed, sorrel, squash, cotton, or even wheat where the aphids can get nourishment. Later, the ants may carry the nymphs either from the roots of these plants to corn roots or, if the corn is started early enough, they carry the nymphs directly from the ant tunnels to the young corn plant roots. Succeeding generations of corn aphids throughout the summer will make their way up the corn stalk to suck the life out of the corn plant. I also found out that Cornfield Ants will tend other kinds of aphids on other kinds of plants, too. Sounds as if they have their hands full.
Sometimes cornfield ants will even fight off some the aphids' enemies such as ladybugs. Chemical secretions from the ants' feet tranquilize the aphids, causing them to remain in a group and not wander off alone, which also protects them. Why do the ants go to all the trouble to take care of the corn aphids? For the honeydew that's secreted from the corn aphids' bodies. Honeydew is a sweet waste product aphids make that various other insects find nutritious. The ants stroke the corn aphids' bodies with their antennae, thus milking the aphids of honeydew. The more I learn about nature, the more I see that truth really is stranger than science fiction.
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
