Sunday, September 21, 2014

Heritage Art & Food of the Cacapon Valley



5th Annual Fall Fundraiser
                                     October 4, 2014  *  11 am to 5 pm


Location:  WVU Experimental Farm - Reyman Memorial Farms
                  Route 259, just North of Wardensville, WV  


Join Trust staff and board members as we celebrate and support our local watershed community. The Cacapon and Lost River Valley is rich in more than just our natural resources. Come experience the wonderful art, food and music of the watershed and most importantly, have a great time. This year’s event will also feature a live auction, raffle, and lunch that will be available for purchase from our local food vendors. Information about the work of the WVU Experimental Farm and a brief tour of the facilities will also be offered.    


Tickets: $10 each until September 20, 2014, $15 after that date (limited quantity). Kids 12 and under are free. 
P.O. Box 58
Wardensville, WV 26851
www.cacapon.org
304-268-6167



Local Artists
We are thrilled to have three local artists from Hardy County participate in this year's event. Meet the artists, learn about their work and purchase one of a kind pieces created right here in the watershed.    

Joshua Miller Design
joshuamillerdesign.com
Furniture and Timber Frame

Albert Hutchings
albertsglass.com
Fused Glass

Kathy Kavanagh
Kahoka Hand Built Stoneware
Blog link



Local Food Vendors 
We are trying something new this year and will have a variety of food items available for purchase at the event.  The goal is to not only provide you with good local food, but to help support these types of businesses in our community.   

The Pink Knife – Personal Chef and Catering
BBQ Pork, sides and drinks
Facebook/ The Pink Knife Personal Chef and Catering

Capon Crossing Farm Market
& Sandy’s Grass-fed Beef
Burgers, sides, drinks



French’s Mill
Grow your own mushrooms, Shitake Mushrooms Logs will be available for purchase.



Local Music
Rain Crow
Rain Crow plays vintage rock-and-roll songs from the late 1950s and 60s. A typical performance includes the tunes of Chuck Berry, The Ventures, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Wilson Pickett, and Roy Orbison. At most gigs, they urge folks to get up, shake off the dust, and cut the rug.



They include four vintage guys. Jim Morris, retired police officer, singer and lead guitarist, who has opened for Franky Valli & the Four Seasons, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, and others. On rhythm guitar and singing, Steve Bailes is a retired Hampshire County middle-school social studies teacher, a guy who doesn’t know a stranger in these parts. Recently retired from his chimney-sweep business, Bill Harris, their bass guitarist, has opened for George Jones, Seldom Seen, Vince Gill, and others. Bill flashes the smile of a new grandfather. George Constantz, retired from ecological research and teaching,
but not from writing, beats his vintage Slingerland drums.

Rooted in Hampshire County, West Virginia, Rain Crow enjoys performing at local venues and for good causes. Three band members live in the Cacapon River watershed, while two have direct connections to lands under conservation easement.



Thank You To Our Business Sponsors  

     



 
      


                                    Campon Bridge Family Dentistry   Capon Valley Bank

                                  Shenandoah Restorations   Keaton Frazer & Mileson PLLC

 
Individual Sponsorship Levels

River Otter
@ $100 - $199 includes 2 tickets 


Brook Trout
@ $200 - $299  includes 4 tickets

Wood Turtle
@ $300 - $999 includes 5 tickets

Benefactor
@ $1,000 and up includes 10 tickets 



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Sunday, September 14, 2014

Toad abodes

My husband and a neighbor were chatting on our porch when I got a call from Jo, who ordered two toad homes. The story was that she couldn’t move her trash container without disturbing the toad that lives under it. Her neighbor had a similar problem, so they needed two toad homes. And the structures have to have big, wide “Denver doors” because these are big, wide toads. Did I get eye rolls from the guys when I reported my new project!
When I got ready to build toad homes, Jo’s neighbor, Janet, decided she would come and make her own. What fun we had! Janet used a pumpkin mold for hers. I made Jo’s with coils. Janet fashioned a pumpkin flower top and will add a copper tendril. I used a pumpkin leaf to roof the ventilation holes in Jo’s toad’s abode. We used a couple different clays to make them earthy. I doubt there are a lot of toads out there with elegant stoneware homes, but there are at least two. The data are not yet in on how much they improve the quality of life of big, wide toads, but they were fun to make!



Thursday, September 4, 2014

Small things



I like to make large pots. I have been known to lop the top off pots to get them to fit in my kilns. On the other hand, I don’t like firing those kilns with gaps on the shelves—and big pots leave large unused spaces between them. 
Consequently, I began making small cookie-cutter shapes and inch-round beads to fill the spaces. Putting those glazed beads in one at a time is not my greatest joy, but living near the Chesapeake Bay for a long time, I had driftwood to play with. Who could resist the combination? 
Along came those Kahoka mobiles and windchimes because stoneware resonates so beautifully. I experimented on my neighbors and found that the wind often untied the knots, so drops of epoxy were introduced. I conferred with someone from the Division of Natural Resources about moving wood around, and we concluded that a few coats of polyurethane spray would do in any wood-borne critter that survived the brackish bay water. Now, hundreds of mobiles later, they still do not do well in gale force winds, but they are not merely an artifact of filling up the shelves. I have fun making 
them.