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| The water is up at the Gent's Swimming Hole due to recent rain |
Saturday Tree Treating Demonstration
Learn How to Save Your
Hemlocks
By Hadley
Hury
We hope
everyone will join us Saturday, August 18 at 10:00 for a brief demonstration
lesson on treating hemlocks. Marie Kerr Taggett, ranger with Big South Fork,
will be on hand to give us the basic information, answer any and all questions,
and lead us in a hands-on demonstration. The method involves just a bit of
how-to knowledge and some care but it is not complicated.
From this
training you will learn what you need to treat any trees on your own property
and to help, whenever you can make the time, with a group of us who plan to
treat a priority list of our beautiful hemlocks around Rugby. The always
quickly fatal HWA (hemlock wooly adelgid) has moved to within striking distance
of us--sighted just a few miles away--and we want to begin this process right
away. Marie's talk, the Q&A, and demo will not last terribly long so please
do commit to coming.
We meet at
10:00 at the trailhead to the Gentlemen's Swimming Hole at Laurel Dale
Cemetery. The trees in question are not very far down the trail at all, so no
serious climbing will be involved. You should wear pants, socks, and a
long-sleeved shirt. Also, should you want potentially to take part in treating
one of the trees, please bring a pair of glasses or goggles.
The only
weather postponement will be in case of very heavy rain. Please call me to let me
know that you plan to join the group, so we will be able to let you know if we
need to choose a rain-date option (by around 9:00 Sat. morning.) Please come be
a part of this urgent tackling of a profound threat to our hemlocks! Thanks. Hadley
Hury 628-6454.
History Author in Rugby Saturday
Help Welcome Historic Rugby’s New Exec. Director
Reception Sat. August 25
Mike Harris recently began his work as Interim Executive Director for
Historic Rugby. To show their
appreciation, Historic Rugby's Board of Directors and a number of folks in the
community cordially invite you to attend a reception in his honor. Everyone is invited. Saturday, August 25, at the home of Harry and
Jody Hester, 138 Cumberland Avenue in Rugby’s Beacon Hill. 5:30 to 6:30 p. m.
EST. Light refreshments. Due to limited
parking, it is suggested that those who are able might park at the Church and walk
the short distance to their home.
Historic Rugby has also begun its search for a permanent Executive
Director. Please help spread the word to
qualified folks who may be interested in living and working in our little part
of paradise. Information about the job
and how to apply are on Historic Rugby’s website at http://historicrugby.org/execdirector.php
There was a reception
for outgoing Executive Director Cheryl Cribbett recently – sorry we
missed it! Best wishes to Cheryl and
Dennis, hope to see you both back in Rugby lots!
Bypass Bridge Update
The photo shows work
on the Little Creek Bridge along the new bypass from two weeks ago. They originally only had two columns for the
bridge. When they realized that they needed a higher bridge, they had to take
down all the beams that originally connected those two columns, as well as
break off the two column caps. Now, they have two new columns. Also, as of two
weeks ago, they had a new cap built on one of the original columns. In the
picture, you can see the difference in the color of the top most section of
each of the two original columns. There's also been a lot of work moving dirt,
buidling up either side... especially the east side of the bridge.
Hadley’s Poem
http://community.berea.edu/appalachianheritage/
Gardening Volunteer Opportunity Tuesday
By Rick Murphy
Since I have been out of town for a few weeks and Rugby has had
lots of rain, the gardens at Kingstone Lisle need some attention. I will be working over there tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug.
14 from 9 a.m. to noon. If anybody would
like to enjoy this beautiful weather and help pick up limbs, and/or do a little
trimming and weeding, please come join me.
Bring gloves, hand clippers, and whatever you have for weeding. Thanks!
BIRTHDAYS
August 14 - Jim Allen
August 15 - Christopher Buck
CALENDAR
Rugby is in the Eastern time zone, just barely.
Rugby is in the Eastern time zone, just barely.
Saturday, August 18 –
Demonstration – Treating hemlocks for the woolly adelgid, led by Marie
Tackett from the Big South Fork National RRA. 10 a.m. Trailhead to the
Gentlemen’s Swimming Hole near Laurel Dale Cemetery.
Saturday,
August 18 – Appalachian Writer Series – 7 p.m. EDT/6 Central. Author Jennifer
Bauer. Bauer, a former interpretive specialist
with Roan Mountain State Park, will be visiting Rugby to speak on her new
historical book, "Roan Mountain: History of an Appalachian
Treasure," with several parallels to the Rugby story – including another
destination 19th century hotel. A book-signing opportunity will
follow the discussion.
Saturday, August 25 -
Reception for Mike Harris – 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. The home of Jody and Harry
Hester in Beacon Hill.
Saturday, August 25 (this might be rescheduled due to reception
for Mike Harris) - Debbie Harris will host Rugby Book Group Saturday evening,
August 25, at 7:00 p.m., for our second anniversary meeting. The book
selection is Jim Webb's Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America.
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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.
Historic Rugby Workshops
“Mountain Splendor” Painting With Oils Workshop – Saturday, August 18 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fine art made easy with step-by-step instruction in composition design- sky, mountains and waterfall in an evergreen forest setting. Mara Trumbo was born in Italy, raised in Southern Africa and now lives in Rugby. She has studied and acquired various techniques, which reveal themselves in her romantic paintings and pottery creations. Mara is a member of the Cumberland Art Society and displays her work in Crossville and Cookeville galleries. The cost for this class is $65.
To register for workshops, call toll-free 1-888-214-3400 or
423-628-2441. Lodging may be available at 1880 Newbury House and Rugby's
cottages at a 10% discount to students. Food service is available at the Harrow
Road Café.
Trogus Pennator
The other day I was walking along the old disused highway strip near Brooks Store when I saw a colorful wasp that was about an inch long, bright orange-red with black wings. It didn't look very much like a wasp because its waist wasn't the typical long narrow wasp waist. It was busily crawling over the vegetation near the ground as if looking for something. Last year I recall seeing one of these same wasps behind Uffington and wondering what it was. It had the same eye-catching colors and behavior, busily searching.
So I got out my trusty insect field guides, and, with a little
patience, I found it! It's one of the
Ichneumon wasps, one of the kinds of solitary wasps that don't sting people or
build nests. Most wasps have thin
waists, but this one didn't, and I believe he was a Trogus pennator. They're often found at woods' edges and are
thick-bodied. I know he was a male
because he didn't have a long needle-like ovipositor on his rear. I assume he was looking for flowers because
Ichneumon wasp adults live on flower nectar.
There were plenty of wildflowers about.
For a good photo of a Trogus pennator, try
www.flickr.com/photos/54352856@NO4/7132068673/.
If it had been a female Ichneumon wasp, however, she might well
have been looking for fat Swallowtail caterpillars to lay her eggs in. The Trogus pennator females specialize in
Swallowtail caterpillars. Ichneumon is a
Greek word meaning tracker. They track their victims by the sense of
smell, the fresh smell of leaves that are being chewed by caterpillars or fresh
frass (the end product of all that leaf-chewing). Her needle-like ovipositor functions pretty
much the same way as a hypodermic needle.
She injects her egg into a caterpillar.
At the same time, she also injects the caterpillar with a dose of
Polydnarius, a substance that fools the caterpillar's immune system, telling it
to ignore the egg and the developing wasp larva.
So the caterpillar's body ignores the intruder. The intruder grows and feeds off the interior
of the caterpillar, not eating its vital organs until after the caterpillar has
pupated. Then the intruder finishes off
the rest of the innards and any other scraps, pupates within the butterfly
pupal shell and emerges as an adult Ichneumon wasp from the empty butterfly
pupal shell. So there you have it: a
great plot line for a horror movie.
Nature is fascinating and beautiful; but she can be deadly. Just be glad you're not a caterpillar.
This Week’s Editor: Rick Murphy (George is at Walton Court in
Ireland!)
