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Barn Owls At Clermont

Story and illustration by Doug Pifer

This past year I spent many hours inside the big barn at historic Clermont Farm just outside of Berryville. While working onsite in connection with a couple of events held there, I learned that barn owls have lived in one of the silos for many years.

Back in early February, I noticed several of the highest barn beams were streaked white with droppings, and below them I found dried droppings and owl pellets littering the floor.

Barn owls capture and feed upon small mammals and birds, which they swallow whole. Their strong digestive juices dissolve their food. Indigestible remains like hair and bones they regurgitate as pellets. Owl pellets tend to accumulate underneath perches and sites where owls nest and roost. For naturalists, pellets indicate the birds’ presence and what they’ve been eating.

The pellets I found on the floor of the barn under the white-streaked rafters were dark gray masses of hair about the size and shape of marshmallows or tater-tots. When fresh they were lightly coated with what looked like clear varnish. Pellets come out wet with the digestive fluids from the bird’s gullet but soon dry into lightweight, fragile masses that fall apart easily. These consisted entirely of rodent hair and bones. A few had starling feathers.

In late September I returned to the big gray barn. The contents had been rearranged to accommodate the summer’s hay harvest. The back doors were left open for fresh air to circulate.  And I noticed new owl evidence: fresh pellets, droppings, and feathers on the floor below where the birds had perched.

Later I observed, at the base of the silo where the barn owls nest, a pile of pellets that had disintegrated in the rain. Among them were many whole skulls and jawbones of house and field mice.  That’s why the barn owl is often called the farmer’s best friend. Unfortunately, barn owl numbers have suffered greatly from unrestricted use of rodent poisons around farm buildings,

All feathers are miraculous but owl feathers are especially unique. I sketched a barn owl killed by a car near White Post several years ago. At that time I learned that each colored feather on a barn owl has a teardrop-shaped spot of black and white near the tip, like a logo, that marks it as belonging to a barn owl. Nearly half their feathers are pure creamy white.

The biggest feather I found was shed from a barn owl’s left wing. I admired its “logo” spot, creamy color, and markings of dusky brown and golden tan. Most remarkable, though, was its “soundproofing.” A fine fringe edged all sides of the feather. Its upper surface had a velvety, pile-like finish. This made the markings on the feather softly blended, as if marked with colored chalk. Its purpose is to muffle the friction against other feathers while the owl swoops upon its prey.

Instead of rustling wings, a hapless mouse hears nothing at all.

The Steward of Dearmont Hall

Clarke County, which we find so congenial, has been viewed so for millennia. The Native Americans loved it and lived here first, and did so in a superior manner, judging by the fact that when they were gone the land and the river and the woods were pristine and full of life. The European settlers who first climbed over that mountain to the east of us were happy to build log cabins and settle on such bountiful ground.

Some number of those settlers eventually built larger, sturdier houses—perhaps frame, brick, or even stone. And the wealthy few built houses huge by colonial standards—structures meant even then to be landmarks as well as homes. A number of these houses, pre-Civil War and even pre-Revolutionary War, stand sturdily today.

In this modern time of Trex decks, many bathrooms, air-conditioning, and attached 2-car garages, just what attracts buyers to these venerable dwellings? One local owner of a historic home, Randy Sprouse, says he bought the brick Greek Revival Dearmont Hall because he has always been fascinated by old houses and the history at their hearts. “The first old house I lived in was in college, in the Fan district of Richmond, and it opened my eyes to beautiful old houses,” he said. “I started touring the houses in Historic Garden Week. We’d pick an area and spend the day looking at the old houses.”

Clearly this man was already a devotee when he bought Dearmont Hall 18 years ago. The dignified house had fallen into disrepair. The huge old windows were rotting in their frames, there was no kitchen in the kitchen, and the house was generally in a bad way. I saw it (and coveted it!) at the time, and was struck by the fact that, though in a pitiable state, the house did not invite pity, but admiration for its stoicism. One felt the passage of years and sensed the busyness of its bygone inhabitants without being weighed down by them.

Perhaps it is this very quality which draws an individual to a very old or antique house. The buyer who has the inclination and resources to restore (as originally built) or rehabilitate (updated with care for the historic architecture) does posterity the favor of handing on a glimpse into the daily lives of earlier generations.

There are buyers who purchase old houses and gut and divide and drop ceilings and vinyl-side and – well, you get the picture. Some of these houses are no longer recognizable as old. These owners are creating their image of home, rather than preserving someone else’s. Other buyers have what can only be called a reverence for the past as represented by their house, and approach any renovation in the spirit of preserving the historical architecture and, yes, the aura of the house. As one of these owners, Sprouse says, “I like to allow an old house to keep as much of the flavor as I possibly can while still keeping in mind that a 20th-century family wants to live there.”

Sprouse says of his time as owner of Dearmont Hall, “I have always felt that I’m more the steward than the owner. The house is approaching its 165th anniversary, and I have only owned it for a little more than 10 percent of its life. I hope whoever has it after me will continue the stewardship to the benefit of the house.”

And Dearmont Hall lays claim to a generous slice of Clarke County history. On the property are the remnants of a pre-Revolutionary War house called Soldier’s Retreat, built by Major Lawrence Butler, an aide-de-camp to General George Washington. When Butler the soldier made the ultimate retreat, he was buried on the land near his beloved homesite along the Opequon Creek.

After Soldier’s Retreat was lost to fire, the current house was built and eventually bought by and called after the Dearmont family, one of whom was at Colonel Robert E. Lee’s side at Harper’s Ferry during the John Brown raid. He later rode into history as one of Mosby’s Rangers, roving the countryside and leaving the home place sheltering 23 women and children.

Walking through Dearmont Hall today, I am relieved to see that Sprouse’s loving rehabilitation of the house has left the high ceilings, the spacious bedrooms, and the lovely porches intact. I am especially happy to gaze on the untouched grace of the pair of staircases with the unique curved landings. I am no expert, but I have never seen staircases like these. And one would be hard-pressed to find the equivalent of the magnificent ironwork of the front entrance.

 

Dearmont Hall is now on the market, and available to make a new owner justifiably house-proud!

 

Wendy Gooditis is a real estate agent on the Chip Schutte Real Estate Team with ReMax Roots at 101 East Main St., Berryville, VA 22611, (540)955-0911. Wendy can be reached at Gooditis@visuallink.com or at (540)533-0840.

A Sunday Afternoon of Cello the Magician Renowned cellist Tanya Anisimova appears at the Barns of Rose Hill

The internationally-recognized Chechen-born cellist and composer Tanya Anisimova will play a solo concert at the Barns of Rose Hill in Berryville on Sunday, November 23, at 4pm. Titled by the artist “Cello The Magician,” the program will include virtuosic and mystical cello solos from the Baroque and Romantic eras as well as the performer’s own improvisations.

Anisimova’s playing has inspired Pulitzer Prize winner David Del Tredici and the Dean of Yale School of Music Ezra Laderman to write works specifically for her. Other noted composers who have written for Tanya include Francis Thompson McKay, Judith Shatin and Gary Powell Nash.

Described by The Washington Post as an artist graced with “spiritual authority” and “easy mastery of her instrument,” Tanya Anisimova enjoys a career as a concert performer, composer, and recording artist. Her original works, described as “melodious, mystical and deeply emotional,” are being performed internationally.

Born in the Chechen capital city of Grozny into a family of scientists, Tanya’s musical talent was obvious by age six. As a child, she studied at the famed Moscow Central Music School and graduated with honors from the Moscow Conservatory.

Anisimova continued her studies in the United States, at Boston University and at Yale School of Music, where she earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree studying with Aldo Parisot.

Anismova’s discography consists of nine albums and includes the only recording of the Complete J.S.Bach Violin Sonatas and Partitas on a modern cello, in her own cello transcription (Cellestial Records, 2001).  The album brought Tanya international recognition. The distinguished cellist Janos Starker called Anisimova “an Everest climber…a high-class cellist with a strong, inventive musical mind.”

Tanya’s live improvisations with her own vocal accompaniment have become the signature feature of her style and have won her many new fans. Upon listening to Tanya improvising during her concert in Mexico, music critic Macias Sanchez wrote that “Tanya played an encore that ended up being one of the most notable musical moments I remember. She improvised on her cello and vocalized with it in a very refined melody, clearly Slavic-style, with such subtle harmonies that it took us from the Earth to stellar spaces.”

The concert is at 4PM at the Barns, 95 Chalmers Court in Berryville. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, and may be reserved by calling 540-955-2004.

Oakland Tree Farm

By Anne Young

A few years ago I was bumping along in a bright yellow school bus filled with singing kindergartners and their parents. We were on our way to Oakland Tree Plantation for our annual field trip to pick out a Christmas tree. The bus slowed and turned at the road where the sign with a Christmas tree in a large red apple marks the entrance to Oakland. We pulled into the long gravel road leading to the tree plantation where we were greeted with the sight of rows and rows and rows of evergreen trees.

The kids squealed and wiggled with delight and excitement. As we tumbled out of the bus our boots and untied shoes crunched on the frosted hard grass and soil. I busily zipped up coats and passed out extra mittens and hats that I had packed in my field trip backpack. This is how one of my favorite Christmas memories begins.

After a visit to the residential goats to watch them eat, play, and teeter along on the “skywalk,” the students and I would wait impatiently for the tractor-pulled wagon to come and take us to the fields of trees. After scrabbling up into the wagon and counting 20 chilly red noses, and wiping a few, we would head out. The Blue Ridge Mountains drape themselves in the distance beyond the farm. The low hills and rows of trees provide a lush green that is usually lacking this time of year.

Our goal was to pick a tree to bring back to school to decorate. Finding consensus among 20 five-year-olds was a leap of faith, and there were so many to choose from. We marched around choosing this one or that one, finally settling on a perfectly triangular tree—our cold toes making the decision that it was time to choose a tree quickly. I was handed a bow saw and knelt down to saw away until graciously accepting the offer from a student’s dad to finish the job.

With 500 acres and eight varieties of evergreen trees growing, it is a veritable forest. But the employees direct customers to the kinds that are available and sizes requested. Canaan Fir, Blue Spruce, Wilson Spruce, Concolor Fir, Douglas Fir, White Pine Norway Spruce and Scotch Pine are all available to cut yourself. Customers are provided a bow saw. They can walk, drive or take the wagon to get a tree. The trees are loaded on the wagon and taken back to the barn where they are shaken, baled and measured. They will even tie the tree on your car for you. Some varieties are available up to twelve feet high—so you might need a big car.

Typically, when people look for a fresh cut Christmas tree they are looking for good needle retention, strong branches for hanging ornaments, and a fragrant piney smell. Firs and pines have the best needle retention of the varieties. The Canaan Fir and Douglas fir are some of the best. Most of the trees have strong branches. The Blue Spruce, Concolor, Wilson Spruce, Canaan and Douglas Fir can handle ornaments like that beaded pin cushion Aunt Gertrude made in the 1970s. The smell of fresh pine is evocative of many Christmas memories. The Canaan, the most popular choose-and-cut variety, and the Douglas Fir, give scent to the season.

Fresh cut Virginia grown Fraser firs are available precut in the barn. Fraser firs, known as the Cadillac of Christmas Trees, grow at higher elevations.

Live trees that are dug in December, balled and wrapped in burlap are also sold. Evergreen wreaths, pine roping and other seasonal decor are available for sale in the barn as well. Pricing and pictures are available on their website.

The barn provides some welcoming warmth with cups of steaming hot mulled cider given to visitors—I remember passing out the cider to my chilled students’ mittened hands. Kids even get a Christmas coloring book. This time of year can be so magical. Simple gifts of cider and books lit up the eyes of my joyful, squirming crew.

Oakland Tree Plantation has been making memories like mine for twenty-five years.

The farm opens the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, and is open seven days a week from 9 in the morning until dark. They close December 23—plenty of time to find your perfect Christmas tree and make a new holiday memory.

Oakland Tree Plantation is located at 33 Oakland Lane, Berryville. Contact them at 1-800-727-XMAS or at Oaklandtreeplantation.com.

Bringing Together Body and Mind

By Victoria Kidd

The holidays bring weeks punctuated with family dinners, days consumed by sledding on snow-covered hills, and nights spent wrapping gifts in front of a well-loved fireplace. Often, though, thoughts of joy and nostalgia inherent in early November are often quickly replaced with feelings of stress and tension by December’s end. One could argue that the first two months of the year are spent recovering from the previous year’s last two!

These months are particularly challenging for people with underlying health conditions. These individuals often feel a very physical response to emotional stress, and one method of overcoming the stress of the season is for them to surrender that anxiety to the hands of someone skilled in therapeutic massage—or, more specifically, someone who understands the connection between mind and body. Understanding that connection is of critical importance, according to Mimi Cifala-Turner, a licensed massage therapist, and Tina Johnson, a licensed professional counselor, of Berryville’s Whole Body Therapy. The business provides affordable massage therapy, as well as essential oils classes and wellness counseling services.

Cifala-Turner was introduced to the mind-body connection at a young age by her grandfather, John Cifala. He was the first osteopathic physician to practice at Arlington Hospital. At just ten years of age, Cifala-Turner would receive instruction from him on how to detect adhesions (or knots) in the muscles and on how to manipulate the soft tissue to relieve pain. Of his tutoring, she says, “My grandpop believed in me at such a young age, and he gave me the encouragement and knowledge to find my path.”

She would go on to complete the massage therapy program of the Virginia Learning Institute. As an expert in deep tissue massage, prenatal massage, and geriatric massage, her services are in demand. She has even worked with a few well-known athletes, including several DC area professional football players.

She believes that massage is not simply her line of work; it is her calling. “Honestly I feel this is my gift from God,” she says. “I love to help people feel better. Massage helps in so many ways—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.”

In addition to enjoying the feeling of helping someone feel better, Cifala-Turner also enjoys the personal aspects of this line of work. “There is also a rapport built between my clients and me,” she explains. Her services start with her seeking to understand the client’s specific needs. There is no “cookie-cutter” method for making someone feel better, meaning she has to take time to get to know each client and understand their particular desired outcomes. The relationships built with clients are valuable to not just her business, but to her personally. “That makes it all so much more worth it,” she said.

The need for customized services that treat the “whole person” has forged a partnership between Cifala-Turner and Johnson that allows them to work cooperatively on several initiatives that will aid clients. In a recent program announcement, the pair indicated that research has demonstrated that our brain, our behavior, and our overall health (in particular, our immune system) are fundamentally linked. Things like meditation, massage, visualization, and support group participation can directly impact our health and feelings of wellbeing. These types of therapies, according to Cifala-Turner and Johnson, have been shown (in numerous studies) to reduce anxiety, decrease pain, help patients better tolerate medical treatments, and ultimately, to improve health. The two will be offering numerous workshops and programs to introduce local residents to additional techniques and methods they can deploy to feel better.

One program is coming up November 21 at 6pm. Cifala-Turner and Johnson will be on hand that evening to provide what they have called a “Mind-Body, Self Care, and Stress Reduction Workshop.” (Seating is limited, and interested individuals are asked to call 540-454-5888 for additional details.)

Cifala-Turner, who launched Whole Body Therapy in 2014, envisions a business that is truly dedicated to making people feel better from the inside out. Initial workshops such as the one occurring later this month, are just the start of her plans to do so. Over time, she will assuredly find even more ways to bring mind-body therapies to Clarke County. In fact, expanding services is already something she has considered among her future plans. “I would love to expand and offer a variety of services, including acupuncture and reflexology,” she says. Until those services are ready for launch, she will continue to focus on (and apply her expertise to) one patient, one specific set of needs at a time.

If you have a health concern necessitating therapeutic massage, or if the holidays simply leave you desperate for relief, visit www.wholebodytherapy.net or call (540) 514-8362. There is little doubt that both your mind and your body will benefit from making the call.

Doing Good Locally—One Dollar at a Time WINC-FM’s Chain of Checks Campaign

Clarke County commuters have driven with WINC-FM’s morning show host Barry Lee for 30 years—starting the workday with entertaining banter. But his greatest contribution to the area is his work with the annual Chain of Checks campaign. To date, the campaign has raised over a million dollars for charitable causes and other worthy programs in the area. While that is an impressive amount, it all started with a simple, on-air request.

In December 1986, Lee asked listeners to send greeting cards to decorate the broadcast studio for the holidays. He has been known to call his listeners “extended family,” and the cards would serve as a means of connecting in a tangible way with those he served. Recognizing that local families often have increased need for support during the holiday season, Lee asked those sending cards to include a donation for charity by way of a check written for just one dollar. The organization he selected as the campaign’s first beneficiary was CCAP, a cooperative ministry and charitable program providing financial, material, and supportive assistance to those in need. CCAP would use the funds collected through the card campaign for blankets and heating oil desperately needed in the cold, winter months.

That card campaign had no name, no official structure at the time. It was just a simple request, but the checks did start rolling in. Lee constructed a paper chain of the checks and “decked the halls” of the studio and the adjacent offices. One check, one dollar at a time, the WINC-FM Chain of Checks was born. Twenty-eight years later, the campaign is still going strong—although the chain is now made of reproduction checks, while the real ones are kept secure!

While most attribute the campaign’s success to Lee’s dedication and good rapport with the community, he believes that the Chain of Checks is nothing more than another example of the community’s extraordinary generosity. “I could never have imagined the success we have had raising this money,” Lee says. “I am continually humbled to be a part of this campaign, and I am always in awe of the generosity of this community.”

“I still run into people who talk to me about the beauty of that initial idea—the beauty and simplicity of simply asking for one dollar and raising funds one dollar at a time,” Lee continues. “In the early days, people would include ten checks for one dollar each, just to make the chain longer. We raise between $40 and $70 thousand each year now, but we still keep a small version of the chain in the studio to remind us of how it all started.”

Over the years, numerous agencies have benefited from the funds reflected in those chains. One year brought with it an experience that impacted Lee forever after. At the end of the 2006 campaign, a letter sent to CCAP (a repeat beneficiary) was shared with Lee. The letter was from a young boy whose family received support from CCAP.

The letter thanked “the peoples of CCAP” for milk, because the family often had to use water for their cereal. It also relayed a heart-wrenching thank you for socks. “Thanks for the socks,” it read, according to Lee. “Now my feet don’t hurt when I wear shoes.”

“I carried that letter around with me for a long, long time,” Lee recalls. “His name was Corey. I’ll never forget that. We have the letter in our archives, but they made me a copy that I have shared with others over the years. After thanking CCAP for the milk and the socks, almost as an afterthought, he thanked them for a bicycle he received. That really struck me. He was most grateful for the little things that made his life better.”

Lee wants to meet Corey one day, but not to reply to his letter. Instead, Lee wants to thank Corey because on one of the campaign’s annual match days (a day where a business matches funds that are raised from the community), Corey’s words moved the heart of a corporate sponsor. “I was just talking to him, and I shared the letter with him,” Lee recalls. “He was so moved that he doubled the company’s gift on the spot. I’ve shared this letter several times since, and I hope someday I can tell that little boy, who would be a young man now, what a difference his words have made.”

Corey is joined in making that difference by thousands of people who have supported the Chain of Checks by donating money or participating in a number of events and activities that support the cause. Many supporters participate in the annual Columbus Day golf tournament that provides the initial funds to kick off the campaign. The bulk of funds raised on that day are provided by area businesses that serve as “hole sponsors.”

While those businesses have been able to support the campaign through the golf tournament for the past 23 years it has been held, they have a new opportunity to support the project this year. Lee is looking for 50 businesses to place collection canisters at their offices. Collected monies will be brought to the station on this year’s match day, thereby providing a significant boost to the campaign’s total heading into its final stretch.

Businesses do a lot to support the Chain of Checks, but the contributions of private individuals are of equal importance to raising the significant totals the campaign brings in each year. Every year, local residents come out to listen to the benefit concerts and performances of local organizations or to visit Clearbrook Park’s “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” annual light show during a particular evening where a percentage of admission fees are donated back to the campaign. (Clarke County’s own Clarke County Community Band will perform for the benefit of the campaign on December the 6th.)

This year, supporters will have additional opportunities to be a part of the campaign through remote radio broadcasts and two special movie showings (on November 29 and December 3) where guests can enjoy a meal and a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Winchester. Lee and his colleagues have really put a lot of thought into engaging the public to support the organizations benefiting from the funds raised.

This year, funds raised will assist Special Love, the Freemont Street Nursery, and the WATTS program. Each of these beneficiaries was selected following a thorough review of submitted applications and an assessment of both financial need and potential impact.

Special Love, a nonprofit organization that provides support for families impacted by childhood cancer, wants to increase its recreational and support offerings for children battling cancer. They already offer an acclaimed camp called “Camp Fantastic,” which is a weeklong program that gives participants a chance to step away from the reality of life with cancer and enjoy childhood activities in a supportive environment.

The Freemont Street Nursery is a nonprofit organization that provides safe, secure, and educationally appropriate childcare that is affordable for lower-income families. The program enables families to obtain and keep steadier employment while ensuring children are safe during standard working hours. They seek funds to purchase a used, 15-passenger van that will transport their charges during various fieldtrips and outings.

The WATTS program (short for Winchester Area Temporary Thermal Shelter) is a nonprofit program that provides overnight, temporary shelter for homeless and needy persons during the coldest months of the year. Local faith-based organizations host the individuals in need for one week each, providing them a warm place to sleep, a nutritious dinner, and a light breakfast. The program seeks funds to increase their ability to shelter individuals (or guests, as they are called by program volunteers) for an additional two weeks of the winter.

These three causes with their described needs are only the latest in a long list of chartable organizations and programs that have benefited from the generosity of the public and the existence of WINC-FM’s Chain of Checks. Supporting Lee’s initial vision has become a holiday tradition for many area families, and it will almost certainly continue to be so for many years to come.

If you are thinking of sharing holiday joy in a very real and impactful way, you can contribute to the 2014 Chain of Checks and its three worthy beneficiaries by visiting www.chainofchecks.com.

At Watermelon Park With Sam Bush

By Steve Chase

There is a good vibe when you walk through the camping area at Watermelon Park. It is a group serenity that is framed by the smells of woodsmoke and BBQ; the bright assemblies of tents and trailers; and the camp music that flows through the fields in harmony with the Shenandoah, which runs past the eastern boundary of the place. In the background comes the sound of the stage acts, and kids playing ball or swimming in the river. It really has to be experienced, and it is pure Americana.

I had the chance to chat with the great Sam Bush (www.sambush.com) on the last day of the Watermelon Park Fest after he had performed to a packed workshop of fans. He was part of a mandolin trio made up of Leftover Salmon’s Drew Emmitt and local favorite Danny Knicely (www.dannyknicely.com).

Sam Bush is a fiddler, mandolinist, singer, and bandleader and is the founder of the seminal New Grass Revival as well as being a several time Grammy winner. He is also know as the King of New Grass; is a sought-after country, bluegrass, and jam band guest artist; and was honored by all in attendance this year for his 40th consecutive appearance at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.  When I sat down with Sam backstage at Watermelon, he told me he was just getting over a cold, but nobody should worry:

 

SB: Once the down beat starts, I don’t feel sick. Once we start playing, I’m fine.

 

  TO: The last time you played here was with the New Grass Revival in 1973. What do you remember about that gig? And how does it feel to be back so many years later?

 

SB: I just remember us feeling successful about the gig and that it had come to a time in the music—‘cause Berryville in ’72 and ’73 wasn’t an old time bluegrass festival per se, at all. Carl Haney (bluegrassmuseum.org/hall-of-fame) was the promoter and he sort of prided himself in groundbreaking thoughts of promoting music. I think it might have been that year, 1972, that he promoted a festival, called New Grass Festival at Camp Springs, North Carolina, in the spring. Now, he had his Labor Day festival, too, so that this one (in Berryville) would have been maybe July?

Last time we played here we were still camping out at festivals. And you know, that’s one of those things where you pick until like, 3 or 4 in the morning, jamming with your friends around a campfire and then you know, crawl in your tent about 4am and by 7:30 the sun is beating down on the tent, and you’re like, ‘I gotta get outta there’.

So, you never slept and you picked all day and night. And so even though we were playing here at the festival, that was one of our great things was to get to play. And even back then, you know, seeing the Osborne Brothers (www.sonnyosborne.com), and the Dillards (www.the-dillards.com), they were incredibly progressive. We were playing our rock and roll kind of bluegrass, but we were still only playing over three or four mics and we didn’t plug in yet, and the Osbornes and the Dillards, they were totally professional, they had their whole trip down great. They were really influential on us.

It was really at Berryville, we got to know the Dillards better, and I remember it being kind of a wide-open time for music at that time. It’s interesting, right now we’re pretty much backstage at the same stage that I played on, I guess. I’ve heard they’ve moved it around and now it’s back where it was. My memories of 1972 and ’73 are actually pretty good; I can remember that better than yesterday. So it’s neat to be back here, and there are lots of pleasant memories.

 

  TO: At the workshop today you told a story about some guys at that 1973 gig who were going to cut your hair?

 

SB: I don’t know their names, and ‘cut my hair’ was the least of the things they threatened to do to me. It was the one you can put in print, uh, but yeah, it was a rare occurrence. That happened at a couple truck stops, but never at a festival, so, yeah fortunately Mack Wiseman came around the corner and just kinda said ‘How ya doing, Sam?’ and I said “good,” and Mack said “you better come with me.” And I said, “I think that’s a great idea, Mack.”

So, yeah, the sea parted and Mac Wiseman walked in . . . I was surrounded and was concerned to say the least. Cutting my hair was not what I was concerned about. Walking away uninjured, having all my fingers work—that was of concern, it was one of the threats. It was interesting, and it was always weird to me, because all we do is stand there and play music, and you get a reaction. So, I guess you could say we must be doing something right if I’m getting a reaction. But we just played it the way we heard it, we played it the way we loved it. And everybody else did, too. We were all just doing it like we felt, and everybody felt a bit different, and that was what was so great about it. Still is.

 

  TO: The vibe here at Watermelon Park today is amazing. Compared to some of the other places I’ve been to recently.

 

SB: Yeah, I agree.

 

  TO: In the New Grass/Jam Band world you’re definitely one of the most desired guests. I can think of a few shows I’ve heard recently, they were just amazing. You bring everybody up a full notch when you play with them, and I’m wondering whom you’ve sat in with recently who really got you fired up and whom might you want to sit in with in the future?

 

SB: It wasn’t a sit in, but at the Lockn festival, Larry Keel and I did a set together with Jenny Keel on the bass, and that was really fun. It was hard work because it was just Larry and I taking on the solos, but it was really fun. And I really enjoyed his “royal-Keelness”.

I am fortunate. When our band’s not playing, I often get invitations to sit in. Leftover Salmon is now the oldest of the young bands that I get to sit in with. The Infamous Stringdusters, I sat in with them recently. For years I’ve sat in with Yonder Mountain String Band. Gone on the road with them, been in their bus together. String Cheese too; and now Greensky Bluegrass, I’ve played with them on occasion. So, it’s a fortunate situation. As my wife once said, “You know if you don’t get out and jam with the young boys, you’re not gonna be jamming.’” Because I’m one of the oldest young guys I know . . . it’s neat ‘cause they’ve grown up listening to the music I’ve been part of, and now I get to play with them.

 

TO: The music business has been going through a revolution in the past ten years or so due to the Internet, digital music, illegal downloading, all that stuff. Getting an album made today can be really tough for some artists, because they wonder if they can break. Then there are the streaming services like Spotify where you get paid a fraction of a cent per play. This means you have to have an awful lot of plays to get a few dollars. How has all this affected you?

 

SB: I don’t know how accurate I am, but I’ve been hearing about lately how some, certain digital domains, will give a certain loyalty to major label artists, but not people in my position. Which is odd to me. We’re the ones who could really use it. Those of us that, I would say, come from the NPR world. One of the good things is, we do make royalties as performers on records through digital domains, and that’s the only time that’s ever happened these days, so, I like that.

But there are many domains where the musicians, writers, singers, songwriters . . . you make nothing, and so, it’s such new and changing technology, there isn’t a sweeping answer yet of how to go through this. And I’m thinking many that are smarter than I, are trying to go through this, and trying to think how this could benefit musicians.

You know, there’s definitely song writing money not being made by worthy song writers, and so, that is of concern. And just recently,  I’m getting over my YouTube paranoia, of not doing any new songs until I record them, ‘cause they’re going to be on YouTube tomorrow. And my question is, and I don’t know the answer, will people still buy your record when you make it, and you’ve gone to great pains to make that song sound terrific . . . I don’t know the answer yet.

I’ve started throwing in brand-new tunes in the last month; they’re fun to play, and we need to play new songs in the band. Years ago, we would work them up on the road, and you refine them, and play them in front of audiences and you find out what works. Not so much from audiences’ reactions, but how it feels on stage. Did that work? Do we need to change anything? So we haven’t been able to do that as much in the last few years, and I haven’t recorded for five years.

So, I have plenty of songs right now, I’m sitting great. We, too, are trying to figure out, my deal is technically up with a company named Sugar Hill, although we still work together. I don’t know where I’ll end up. It may well be back with them. But everything has changed, and the way records are paid for has changed. So, we’re just trying to figure it out. I’ve got the material. I’m ready.

 

TO: Thanks for everything you do. You guys are getting the short end of the stick right now.

 

SB: But on the other hand, we’re employed, and we’re here, and we get to play. What we do is travel for a living. Our bonus is that we play music. Seriously, our time is spent traveling, that’s what you’re really doing. The musical part, that’s the perk, totally the perk.

 

  TO: Last question. Who inspires you today in music? Who are you listening to on your iPod?

 

SB: Whew, all kinds of things. It’s amazing. I go through phases, but a constant staple that I go to is the fun years of Los Lobos. When I listen to bluegrass, I like to listen to the masters, who I grew up learning from, like Bill Monroe and  Flatt and Scruggs, the Osborne Brothers, Jim and Jesse, and the Dillards.

As far as things I get inspired by, right now, I was always a J.J. Cale fan. I knew him a little bit from hanging out in Tulsa. So the Cale tribute record that Clapton just put out, I love the way they did it because it sounds like Cale is in the room. They do a few songs off that Cale record—Okie, that I’ve always loved, and Reggie Young’s lead guitar on Cajun Moon.

I like the Tom Petty, Clapton version of (Sam sings) “Rock and roll records for a dime, makin’ my living just to feed my children . . .” Yeah, I love Cale.

I have recently gone through a re-discovery of my love for Jean-Luc Ponty’s records. I’ve always loved Jean-Luc. He recorded New Country with us on my record Laps in Seven. That was a lifetime thrill.

I find myself going back to the staples of Clapton and Jeff Beck. As of late, I’ve been into some of the Jethro Burns solo mandolin records, he was my friend and mentor. I find myself going back and rediscovering certain things sometimes. I’ve been listening to, gosh, I don’t even know what year it was, ’70, ’71—The Birds Live at the Fillmore. Clarence White is just, absolutely mind shredding to me, still to this day.

And I also find myself going back and listening to Doc Watson. I miss Doc. And not necessarily songs that I’ve played, that’s got nothing to do with it. It’s just there’s a place that I go to in my mind when I hear Doc’s voice that’s a safe place to be. I love Doc.

 

SC: Thanks, Sam.

 

That evening the great Leftover Salmon came on the Watermelon Park stage, and true to form, Sam Bush soon joined them, with a big grin and infectious enthusiasm that electrified everyone, on the stage and in the audience. When Sam’s band took the stage later, the rousing energy continued and you couldn’t help but smile and shake your head in amazement. He’s been doing it for more than 40 years, and there’s no end in sight, thank goodness.

Bladderworts Are “Non-Vegan” Plants

By Doug Pifer

We’ve passed that pond hundreds of times, in a clearing in the woods just next to the road. But last week I discovered something miraculous there.

The pond seemed to be covered with tiny bright yellow flowers the size of buttercups that seemed to glow in the late September sun. I hurried back to investigate.

I parked the car and walked to the pond, carrying with me one of the small Sierra cups we keep in the car for when we need a drink. The pond was shallow and the recent drought made it easy for me to approach the hundreds of tiny flowers. Each was perched on the top of a leafless, wire-like stem poking out of the shallow water.

I scooped up a mat of vegetation containing a flower and several stems that seemed to be in bud, and carried it back to the car in my cup. Examined closely, the delicate flower resembled a small yellow snapdragon or orchid. It had a lower lip with a short spur, upper petals like a hood, and a nose-like structure in the center marked with several fine, rust-colored stripes. There were no leaves, even on the stems in bud.

I had a good idea what this plant might be, and when I got home I double checked it in a few reference books in our home library. Sure enough, they were bladderworts—tiny, aquatic, carnivorous plants. Yes, this delicate little flower was a meat eater.

Bladderworts grow either floating in quiet water or in saturated, wet soil. They’re specially adapted to catch small aquatic invertebrates and microorganisms that live in ponds and boggy areas. This they do using tiny, inflated traps growing from the underwater portions of the plant. Bladderworts don’t have actual roots or leaves, since they get nearly all their nutrition from these specialized traps called “bladders.” The suffix “wort” is an ancient word for plant.

The way these bladders work is so fantastic it’s hard to believe. They are balloon-like structures with a trap door surrounded by fine, hair-like triggers. When a tiny insect or microscopic animal swims up against one of these triggers, the trap door opens, the pressure change inside the bladder forces the tiny animal inside and . . . slurp! The trap door instantly closes and the captured prey is “digested” by special secretions made by the plant.

I couldn’t find any bladders on the plant I brought home until I poked around in the brown mat of wet stems with a pair of tweezers. Then I discovered them: pearly-gray structures the size of those little plant-food beads you can buy at garden centers.

About a dozen bladderworts grow wild in the eastern United States, and I’m not sure which species these were. Most bladderworts have bright yellow flowers that bloom from April through September in shallow ponds and boggy wetlands. Some are native and some are foreign transplants. A few are endangered. But they’re all meat eaters!

An Autumn Bucket List of Local Food

 

By Anne Young

As one season slips into another, our senses are filled with all things autumn. The katydids’ whirring and whining was replaced by the drone of crickets through day and night. Even that song has been silenced as nights become chillier. A formation of geese flew over my head and my own tame flock of ducks cocked their heads up in wonder. This is the time of year we rush to complete outdoor tasks. Farmers also scurry to finish harvest and prepare for frosts. Our calendars are filled with fun events and outings. So just in case you are stressed you won’t fit in the fun, I present to you the Fall Bucket List.

I stumbled onto one Fall Bucket List on one of my favorite Parents blogs, Tinkerlab. Of course, I hone in on all the activities to do at farms, orchards, and wineries. This harvest season calls out for one more hurrah at the farms surrounding us. The Fall Bucket List invites you to visit a pumpkin patch, pick apples, make leaf prints, carve pumpkins, make popcorn from a cob, find your way through a corn maze, bob for apples, jump in puddles, drink apple cider, bake pumpkin bread, and make an apple pie. Visit any farm this time of year, and you can happily check those things off your list as well as making memories to warm you into the next cold season.

A quick drive up Route 7 cutting through Clarke County gives you ample opportunities to complete your bucket list. Mackintosh Farms entices us with pick-your-own apples and red raspberries. It is so difficult to not eat them all at once, they are so delicious. But you can make jam in a snap. You can get single serving pectin packets that use only one and a half cups of berries and some sugar. Voila! You have two jars of jam to refrigerate or freeze for later.

A few weeks ago, I taught my young daughter how to gently twist the ripe apple off the tree so as not to damage the fruit or branches. She giggled as the apple came loose into her hand and promptly dropped it hard on the ground in delight. So I advise you, if you want undamaged fruit, choose your picking partners wisely.

Wander down Route 7 a little more and you can’t miss the superhero characters at Wayside Farm. “Heroes of the Corn” Maze is their theme this year. Make sure you have plenty of time and are ready for plenty of laughs as you find your way through the maze. Folks can also enjoy pig races, pumpkin smashing, the combine slide among the perennial favorites of pumpkin patch picking and visiting farm animals. Now how many new Fall Bucket List items can you add to the list after that visit?

But if that sounds a bit too active for your type of fun, drive a bit further down Route 7, and you’ll find Veramar Vineyards. The view is as delicious as the wine. A friend and I left our kids with our husbands and snuck away to the vineyard to sip on the wine and drink in the view. The layers of hills and mountains overlap and seem to lead on into the clouds. The vineyard is open during the week so it is easy to find a moment to slip away and relax, wineglass in hand.

One of my favorite bucket list autumn activities is making pies. It takes awhile to prepare the fruit and then the dough, rolling it all out smooth and laying it in the pie pan with anticipation of the final product. Not a baker? You can still check this item off your bucket list. Nalls Farm Market has been in the business for a long time, and I think they have perfected pie making. With fifteen kinds of pies that can be ordered two hours in advanced you may just have to skip the time it takes to make your own and let them do the work for you. They also have seasonal flavors of mincemeat, pecan and pumpkin pie.

Clarke County Farmers market continues every Saturday morning from 8am till noon through October. Enjoy a few more strolls around the market and stock up on seasonal vegetables, eggs and meats as well as fresh baked goods all while listening to local musicians serenade the street.

So now is the time to start a Fall Bucket List of your own and start checking off the fun. Enjoy the autumn colors in your backyard or at local farms around the area.