The weather reports for last weekend’s Spring Festival were pretty awful – but Mother Nature gave Rugby a bit of a break. There was a high probability of rain for Saturday, but somehow the storms seemed to pass by Rugby until late in the afternoon, so it actually turned out to be a great day for the outdoor festival.Sunday turned out to be a cool, windy day so lots of festival goers were wearing jackets and sweatshirts… but at least it didn’t rain.
The photo above shows HRI food booth volunteers Deanna Oliver and Carman Roberson.
Lots of volunteers helped each day doing everything from parking cars to selling tickets, plants and food, handling sound equipment for the music, and helping with the rummage sale and church yard activities. I know the organizers were very appreciative of all the hard work volunteers donated.
Above are festival goers in front of the plant booth. More Rugby Critters
Well, the good news is that Jodye Weiler had several sightings last week of a beautiful blue bird – the male Blue Grosbeak. I believe it is seldom seen in this area.
The other news…quickly spread around the village…is that Wil Thornthwaite has photographs of a black bear outside his Beacon Hill home taking a snack from a birdfeeder. Wil had been concerned that something had been knocking down the bird feeder. So he went out and got a special camera that he mounted outside.
The camera took several photos last Wednesday night. Here are two of the photos, which, while a little dark, show a clearly recognizable bear. Wil says it is only seven or eight feet from where they park their car. (He says to ignore the date stamp at the bottom of the photos as he had not set the date on the new camera yet.)
Here's Wil's account: “From the time stamps (I did set the camera for the correct time) it looks like the bear may have come early to be sure the feeder was up…. It was still feeding until 1:30 a.m. or so when I finally went to bed. It was making an exhaling huffing sound most of the time it was snacking.” (Emphasis added by the editor, who doesn’t ever want to be close enough to a bear to hear exhaling huffing sounds!)
Wil also said “The TWRA recommends taking down bird feeders from April through January in areas with black bears. …Normally our feeders come down in March but this year Carrie had some sunflower seed she wanted to use up before next year.”
Carrie Thornthwaite has been out of the country, traveling on a mission trip in Peru, but I am sure she will be OK with Wil's decision to take down the bird feeders!
As I mentioned several months ago in this newsletter, it is also important to not attract bears to your yard because once they get in the habit of coming to a spot, they will be likely to continue coming. So please don’t keep pet food, trash or grills outside where a bear might be drawn to them.
Dancing on Friday
Everyone is invited to English Country Dancing this Friday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Friendly House. You do not need to bring a partner and you do not need to have experience with this type of dancing – just show up.
Birthdays
May 18 - Bill Jones
May 20 - Charlie Erickson and Vince Neary
May 23 - Tyler Myers and Louise Brewster
Calendar of Events
May 22 – English Country Dancing – 7:30 p.m. Eastern at Friendly House
May 30 – Big South Fork Chapter Hike – Edwards Mountain and Rice Hollow, Wayne County, Ky. Carpool leaving Harrow Road Café at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. Tour a 400-foot-long sandstone cave (easy walking – only flashlights needed) and hike along Big Hickory Road into Rice Hollow, an easy 1.7 miles on level and downhill slope to the Gibbs' cabin for a picnic lunch. Contact Charles and Lavonne Gibbs clgibbs@highland.net to register.
June 6 – Community Potluck followed by a community discussion with Cheryl Cribbet from Historic Rugby. Topics are Pilgrimage and the Community Center.
June 11 – Baby Shower for Alicia Berry at the Community Room 6:30 p.m. Eastern. Everyone is invited. She is expecting a girl!
June 12 – History Club Annual Dinner at Grey Gables. Dinner at 7:00 p.m. followed by a presentation by Howard Ray Duncan of a late 19th Century businessman in the Big South Fork area. Dinner of salad, chicken with veggies, rolls and dessert for $12 plus gratuity. For those who prefer, Linda Jones can prepare a vegetarian or vegan meal. Make reservations with Linda Konig at 628-5243 by June 7.
Exercise Group – Monday and Thursday at 9:00 a.m. Eastern at the Friendly House
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House
HRI Workshops
(For more details about workshops go to Historic Rugby Website at http://www.historicrugby.org/ )
May 30 - Lessons With The Mountain Dulcimer – Novice/Intermediate 10 a.m.– 4 p.m. Instructor: June Goforth. Cost $30.
May 30 - Nature Night Safari 8:30 p.m. until… Instructor: Linda Konig. Cost $8
June 13 – Cast Iron Cooking Made Easy 10 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Instructor Larry Edmondson. Cost $15.
TO REGISTER FOR WORKSHOPS:
Call (423) 628-2441 or Toll-Free 1-888-214-3400. Lodging is available at Historic Rugby with a 10% discount to all workshop participants.
This Week’s Editor is Rick Murphy
