Well, Berryville, we have reached the end of the year and the holiday season is upon us. We wish you and your family a safe and happy end to the year.

The end of the year is always a time to reflect, but also look ahead. One of the exciting projects we are looking forward to in 2020 is a revamped John Rixey Moore playground in Rose Hill Park. The project entails keeping many of our popular playground features, and making some necessary updates.

Central to the project is the replacement of the current playset structure. The current structure is expected to be removed sometime in December. In its place will be a new play structure ideal for ages 5 to 12 years old, with slides and climbing structures. 

We have made sure to maintain some of the current playground’s biggest draws. The four-seated seesaw and riding horses will remain, though they will be repainted to match the new play structure. New diggers will be installed. The swing set structure will remain, but with new swings — including two that are ideal for younger riders — and new chains. It will also be repainted. 

There will be some new additions to accommodate our younger residents and visitors. There will be a stationary car, a basketball goal and musical equipment, all appropriate for children aged 2 to 5. 

For those sunny days, we hope you will appreciate the installation of a shade structure, fixed to a picnic table, to provide some relief from the heat. As part of this project, we will also seal and re-line the basketball court, and make some improvements to the central feature of the park, the gazebo. All told, our total budget for this project is not to exceed $60,000.

The construction schedule is extremely weather dependent, as one can imagine, but we anticipate completion by late winter or early spring. We look forward to the warmer weather when town families and visitors, young and older, can enjoy the playground and the park. We anticipate a grand opening celebration sometime in the spring.

This monthly column is authored by the members of the Berryville Town Council. For more information on town government, including meetings, agendas, and contact information for the Town Council and town staff, visit www.berryvilleva.gov.

By J.C. Moore

There is nothing like a debilitating injury to kick in a reflective mood. ‘Flying branch meets knee’ has had me on the meditation bench for over a week. The crisis is over, and now it’s the droll work of healing and what it takes to do that. The usual heat and ice, a little ibuprofen, moderate movement—all help. The good side is that pulling out all the stops for full-on healing brought me closer to things that matter most, and often get taken for granted. Amazing how many of the usual distractions and priorities are just not so important. The good things come to light, the real antidepressants: relax, breathe, check the attitude and where the 
energies go. 

Be aware of the ones you’re feeding. There has been a lot of pain, but how it’s dealt with is a choice. There is plenty to feel good about; choose to focus on the progress rather than what was lost, relieved it wasn’t worse. Extra time at home is always nice, maybe now I’ll get that house cleaning done (maybe).

I’m reminded of the things of everyday life we should not forget. Most obvious are the loved ones that get you through these things. They can even be people you didn’t know you knew. How reassuring it is just knowing they’re around, and magically how they appear when you need them. 

And also the less obvious things you love, that inspire and touch your soul, bring you uplifting energy. For me it’s music and Tai Chi. Both for the joy of learning and ‘grounding’, reconnection to the original creative energies, also those ‘forever’ projects. You know those great ideas that may take forever—junk sculptures, great homemade wine, the masterpiece you want to paint. But that’s alright. It’s the joy of doing them, and not necessarily the result, but the good space they create. That’s the inner space.

But without the outer space of community to ground it, there would be little comprehensive meaning. I never stop marveling at this beautiful environment we live in. After all the years and changes, I still find this place breathtaking when I stop and take the time to notice. I take comfort just being in town, the farmers market where families (Fido included) come to partake of the wonderful provisions of local farmers and craft persons, the coffee shop experience for lovers of socializing and caffeine, eateries etc.

It’s hard to not gush with pride when speaking with those who come to the Barns for the first time. “This community is amazing!” I tell them. It’s very active, diverse, and has a lot to be proud of. We are capable of so many things. If more localities could have what we do, humanity would be profoundly better off. This grounding is our foundation. 

What makes it possible? Where do we get the freedom and peace of mind to do all of this? Much of it is about those who are always there, 24/7, dependably, no matter what. The “first responders,” those quietly working behind the scenes, ready for anything. If community was a school of fish, they’d be the water. 

I’ve started volunteering at the local Policeman’s Appreciation Awards Banquet for the last several years, and have gotten a better perspective of what these people actually do and who they are. Some I’ve known for decades, but most are new to me. Now, I’m not exactly “Mr. Law & Order,” but if these members of our community can be out there every day of the year, at least I can carry things around and set up some chairs once a year to show that I do appreciate them.

Like the natural environment, we have great resources in those dedicated to protecting us. I want everyone to realize how good we have it. It’s easy for “news” of the world to give us distorted perceptions. With media’s obsession to sensationalize the news, there’s a tendency to internalize negative things around us. But let’s remember where we are. Here, our sheriff is elected by us with much deserved popularity and respect. We often get good “face time” with our deputies and officers in casual settings. Even though it may be fleeting or go unnoticed, don’t underestimate the importance of this recognition.

We can all benefit by making more intentional contact, like complementing a friend just to make their day better. It doesn’t cost anything, but gives so much return!

The awards banquet brought to awareness that these people are not all about the dramas of sensational “cop stories,” though sometimes it does get like that. They risk their lives everyday. But the care-taker aspect of how proactive they are in preventing problems in the first place is understated, like the creative genius that enables them to de-escalate domestic violence and handle a serious drug overdose, restore functionality to a traffic accident, education programs for the public—it never seems to stop.

The awards for administrative improvements and things that just make them better coordinated and functional demonstrate how these agencies are constantly improving themselves. The different enforcement agencies in the area, including Clarke County, Fredrick County, Berryville and Mount Weather, had previously not been communicating much before these gatherings. Now they are more familiar with each other and their operational procedures. It’s reassuring to know that in the event of a catastrophe, the local agencies are prepared for a 
unified response.

But what I like most about the ceremony is that it is homegrown. Social and formal, it’s attended by many of the local and state politicians. Like many things in the community, someone saw a need, got others on board, and it grew. It was spawned out of the Horseshoe Curve Benevolent Association under the dedicated ministry of Jim Wink, who deserves special recognition for his tireless efforts.

Don’t wait until you’re knocked down to say “thanks” to those who are there for you.

Story and illustration  by Doug Pifer

The caravan of cars reached the top of South Mountain. A couple dozen riders emerged into the night, bundled into parkas and wearing winter coats. As we inhaled crisp November air, our ears were blasted with a continuous amplified recording that sounded like a big truck backing up.

We were members of the Potomac Valley Audubon Society (PVAS) at the South Mountain owl banding station near Boonesboro, Maryland. We hoped to witness the capture and banding of migrating saw-whet owls.  The owl banding shed accommodates only a few people, so we gathered in front of the banding station, met station Coordinator Steve Huy and listened to his introduction. 

During October and November, Huy and a few intrepid volunteers band saw-whet owls as they migrate from their breeding grounds in the Canadian forests to their wintering grounds in the eastern United States. For Steve Huy (pronounced like the slang word for U-turn) this is a labor of love. He’s become accustomed to sleepless fall weekends.  

The smallest bird of prey in the eastern United States, a saw-whet weighs no more than a robin. The owl got its name from its nocturnal “song” that reminded early settlers of a whetstone sharpening a saw.  To twenty-first century ears unfamiliar with saw sharpening, the analogy is lost. It sounds more like a backup alarm. 

Banding migratory birds requires special licenses and training, under strict state and Federal regulations. Bird banding stations use mist nets, of mesh so thin it’s virtually invisible, to catch birds flying through the woods.  In the 1960s, bird banders discovered that if they opened their nets at night, they sometimes caught many migrating saw-whet owls. Now 125 partnering bird banding stations participate in Project Owlnet, with funding from the Maryland DNR and many other agencies.

In 1966, when Wisconsin ornithologist Tom Erdman played a recording of a male saw-whet owl’s call, he captured eleven times more saw-whets than he had before. Project Owlnet banders now routinely broadcast recorded songs of the male saw-whet owl as an audio lure.  Huy said barred and screech owls prey upon saw-whets, and sometimes get tangled in the nets. They too are banded and released “farther down the mountain.” 

Once captured, an owl is removed carefully from the net and placed in a cloth bag. This minimizes stress on the bird during transport to the heated, well-lighted bird banding shed. There the owl is weighed, measured, and an aluminum band is gently slipped over its tarsus, the feathered part of the leg just above the toes. Leg bands identify place and date of capture. If a bird is already banded, data from the band is recorded. 

Age and sex are determined by weight and feather condition. Males are generally one-third smaller than females. The owl is aged by shining an ultraviolet (UV) light on certain feathers. The fresh plumage of an owl then fluoresces bright raspberry red.  The fluorescence comes from a coating of pigment called porphyrin, which breaks down over time. The overall fresh feathers of saw-whets less than a year-old glow brightly. The more worn feathers on older birds glow quantitatively less under UV light.

Then after a short interval to allow its eyes to readjust to darkness, the little owl is released into the night. 

Why put a yellow-eyed bundle of feathers through the trauma of capture, banding and release?  Project Owlnet, a dedicated group of trained biologists and private citizens, has been gathering fascinating data on banded saw-whets for the past 20 years.  Recently, sophisticated nanotags and geolocators also enable bird students to track the wanderings of these owls. Saw-whets migrate erratically, and they’re far more numerous than was once believed. Over 90 percent of all captured owls are female, with only a few first-year males.

How many are there and are populations increasing or decreasing? Do adult males travel elsewhere or stay on their northern breeding territories? Like most research, the data leads to more questions. The more we learn about these wonderful owls, the better our ability to protect them in the future.

Illustration by Doug Pifer courtesy PA Game Commission. Photo credit: Photograph of saw whet owl at South Mountain by Tykee James, Governmental Affairs Coordinator, National Audubon Society.