Rugby was greeted with an ice storm Thursday morning which compounded problems from the snow we had earlier in the week. Steps and walkways were very treacherous Thursday morning, and remained that way in spots for several days. But the slippery conditions began to clear, and the Cafe was busy Saturday and Sunday, so things seem to be getting back to normal.
In spite of salting of Highway 52, several vehicle accidents were reported late last week. Chuck Leeds said that five vehicles were involved in an automobile accident near White Oak Circle. He said a sheriff’s department car responding to the accident also slid on the road and became involved, as did a garbage truck and a salt truck that spewed out pounts of salt in all directions as it tried to stop. In addition, a vehicle went off Highway 52 across from the driveway at Roslyn knocking down the pole with a pedestrian crossing sign and one of the new Neighborhood Watch signs.
While there is the potential for more freezing rain in the forecast for Monday night and Tuesday it appears that things should improve later in the week as we approach Christmas day.
Below are several photos from last Monday and Tuesday of the snow in Rugby taken by Rick Murphy and George Zepp.
Below is a photo taken by Jim McBrayer, showing Tom Howell shoveling snow in front of the Commissary last Monday. Jim said Bob Trumbo pitched in later to help finish the job.
THANK YOU FROM RITA
By Rita Myers
My sincere thanks to every special person of Rugby and Historic Rugby for their thoughtfulness, prayers, beautiful flowers and unbelievable generosity during the recent passing of my mother. You truly made a made a heart-warming difference.
BIRTHDAYS
Dec. 19 - Mary Hemminger
Dec. 22 – Nicholas Coker
Dec. 24 - Charles Gibbs and Bobbie Jo Thomas
CALENDAR
Friday, December 24 – Christmas Eve Service at Christ Church, 5 p.m. It will last about an hour and will be followed by a potluck. All are welcome. Special Christmas music will also be performed at the church on Sunday, December 26, during 11 a.m. EST services.
December 25 – Christmas Day Hike. Meet at Colditz Cove parking lot at 2:00 p.m. for a short hike.
Friday, December 31 – New Year’s Eve Dinners at the Harrow Road Café and Grey Gables. Both require reservations.
Saturday and Sunday, January 1 and 2 – Harrow Road Café open
Saturday, January 8 – Community Potluck, 7 p.m. followed by Neighborhood Watch meeting – Community Building
Saturday, January 15 – Book Club at the home of Kit and Candy Howes. Book selection is AMERICAN LION by Jon Meacham
January and February 2011 – Historic Rugby Winter Hours: The Schoolhouse Museum will be open Monday – Saturday for tours. The Post Office will be at the Schoolhouse Museum on normal winter hours (closed Tuesday and Sunday). Lodging will be offered on a self-catering basis only. The Café, Visitor Centre and Commissary will be closed for repairs. Normal operations will resume in March.
January and February 2011 – Grey Gables will be open for meals Friday and Saturday nights in January and the first two Friday and Saturday nights in February. A limited menu selection will be offered, but they hope it will give you a choice for food service during the time that the Harrow Road Cafe is closed for rejuvenation. Reservations are not required, but appreciated.
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2-4 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House
NATURE NOTES
Northern Flickers
By Linda Konig
Lavonne Gibbs brought me a dead Northern Flicker the other day. She and Charles had found it in one of their cabins up in Wayne Co., KY. Evidently, the poor bird had flown down the chimney seeking shelter but then couldn't make its way back out. It was a male; you could tell from its black mustache. Of course, it wasn't a real mustache, but Northern Flicker males have black streaks to either side of their bills that look like mustaches. I'd never seen a Flicker up so close before. It was a perfect beauty with yellow tail and wing feathers that you don't ordinarily see when they're feeding, a patch of red on the nape of its neck, a black gorget at the throat, with most of its feathers having precise dark brown dots on them. They're in the woodpecker family. I've seen them a few times in Rugby, but they don't seem to be as common here as their cousins, the Pileated and the Red-Belly woodpeckers.
Later I found some interesting facts about our eastern Northern Flicker, sometimes called the Yellow-Shafted Flicker. For one thing, the males and females share the familial duties, with both sexes excavating the nest holes in dead or dying tree trunks. Then they share the egg-sitting duties with the male sitting at night. Even more astounding, the hatched nestlings are brooded solely by the male for the first 3 weeks of their lives while the female goes out in search of food. By that time, the tiny birds are about ready to fly away. So, I guess you could call him a house-husband.
It's especially sad to find a dead Northern Flicker because they're one of the most rapidly disappearing birds in North America. Their numbers have been steadily decreasing since the mid-1960s, with some estimating that we have approximately 1/3 of what were once living in the eastern U.S. Experts think there are several reasons for this, and you can probably guess some of them - -for instance, increasing human destruction of their habitat (dead trees near the edges of woods) and the use of pesticides (their chief food being ants and other insects). They'll also eat wild winter berries and seeds. If you'd like to attract Flickers to your bird feeders this winter, you might try putting out suet as well as seeds. Meanwhile, you can see a great close-up of an eastern Northern Flicker at http://www.flickr.com/photos/stylurus/2916134557/ .
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
