If the great romaine debacle of 2018 has put you on the lookout for new and different greens, perhaps celtuce should be on your radar.

Celtuce, a portmanteau of celery and lettuce, is a green vegetable perennially declared to be the new kale, but so far it has failed to catch on with the broader public. The first syllable is pronounced “sell” and the second syllable rhymes with “bus.”

Celtuce is easily found in Chinese markets, where it’s called woju or wosun, but rarely anywhere else. It’s not well-known enough for farmers to plant it, so it doesn’t turn up in grocery stores allowing people to become familiar with it and buy it.

But there is a loophole to that vicious cycle. Celtuce seeds have been available through seed companies for almost 80 years, and perhaps longer. Celtuce first appeared in the Burpee seed catalogue in 1942 after seeds were given to the Burpee family by Rev. Carter D. Holton, a missionary who had brought seeds back from China a few years earlier.

This may not have been celtuce’s first introduction to America. Food writer Jane Grigson says the seeds were first sold in the 1890s, under the name “asparagus lettuce,” which was perhaps more apt, as the stems can be used like asparagus and the leaves like lettuce.

So if you grow a vegetable garden, there’s no reason you can’t be at the forefront of a hot new trend which has been quietly simmering on the back burner for more than 100 years.

Celtuce has a mild flavor, it’s a little nutty, and as the name implies, it is a bit of a combination of celery and lettuce. To prepare celtuce, remove any remaining leaves at the top of the stalk, but don’t toss them out. Toss them instead into a salad or a bowl of minestrone. They’re slightly bitter and a delicious addition to whatever mixed greens you have.

Peel the stalk and then cut the celtuce as desired, into coins, matchsticks, or thin planks. If you cook your celtuce, stir-frying is a good option. Some recipes are provided below, but look also to riff on recipes that call for celeriac, celery or cardoons. But be careful. Celtuce cooks faster.

Store your celtuce by separating the leaves from the stem and storing them individually. Place the leaves in a ziploc bag with a damp paper towel. They will keep for about a week in the bottom drawer. The stem is much more durable and should last for a couple weeks on its own. Keep it covered with a damp cloth to keep it from drying out too much.

A lot of celtuce recipes seem to utilize hot dressings, a nice throwback to the days when grannies doused their garden greens in hot bacon grease. And since you’re probably going to have to grow your own celtuce, at least until it finally does become the new kale, you might as well take a tip from granny. Who knows? Perhaps back in the 1890s, she was pouring bacon grease over her own celtuce.

Peel the skin of stem. Then cut it into long trips. Chop garlic clove and cut ginger into shreds. Put the long strips in boiling water for around 1 minute (control the time in order to keep the original color). Remove from the wok and set aside. Heat up some oil in wok; add ginger, garlic and Sichuan peppercorn to stir-fry until smelling the taste of garlic and peppercorn. Add cooked long strips and quick fry for about 1 minute. Add salt, mix together and serve.

1 piece of fresh ginger, equal in size to the garlic clove

1 sprig spring onion (2 if using the very thin, Chinese variety)

Wash the celtuce, slice off the leafy top and the dried-up base, then peel with a vegetable peeler; near the base you may have to go around it 3 or 4 times over to shave off the tougher skin. With a sharp knife make 3mm-thick diagonal slices, then chop these slices at a slight diagonal into 3mm-wide strips. Alternatively, use a vegetable grater with a thick julienne/matchstick attachment. Place the julienned celtuce in a mixing bowl, add the salt, then toss to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar and sesame oil; set aside. Peel and finely mince the garlic and ginger. Heat up the vegetable oil in a small saucepan or frying pan. When hot (but not smoking), add the minced garlic and ginger as well as the peppercorns. Tilt the pan to let the oil pool up so the garlic, ginger and peppercorns can float evenly in the hot oil, and let it sizzle for 30 seconds but control the flame to prevent browning. Turn off the heat and pour it into the bowl of prepared vinegar (don’t worry, it won’t splatter!). Tip this bowl of warm dressing into the julienned celtuce, toss to combine, and transfer to your serving dish. Finely slice the spring onions at a diagonal (omitting any wilted, gnarly parts near the top) and scatter it over your celtuce salad. This celtuce salad may be enjoyed as-is as a salad, cold appetizer or side dish. Pairing suggestions with leafy salad greens to make it more of a “Western-style” salad: baby watercress, gem lettuce, Bibb lettuce and endive. Serves 2 as a starter or 4 as a leafy salad.

One Celtuce plant, leaves removed and set aside

Fat: olive oil, vegetable oil or butter,

With a vegetable peeler, remove all of the fibrous skin. You will notice translucent interior after a few passes, and you want to peel until you stop seeing all the lateral streaks indicating you are still dealing with the tough outer layer. You should be left with a bright green cylinder that tapers toward the top, and has a fat base with no fibers showing. If the base seems really tough, cut it off so you are left only with tender celtuce core. Think asparagus here. In the meantime, get a heavy skillet hot, and split the entire stem down the middle so you have two half-pipes of celtuce. If it is too long to fit in your pan, you can make it more manageable by cut each piece into two smaller lengths. If the inside has split, don’t be alarmed: this happens when the plant grows too rapidly in the presence of extra water. If there are any brown splits on the exterior, remove them with a small knife, as they will also be tough.

Season the flat side with salt, and pat it down with a paper towel. You want the vegetable to be as dry as possible when it gets into the pan. This will ensure that it is seared properly before the inside gets too mushy. Add your fat to the pan when it begins to smoke, and then lay the celtuce planks, flat side down into the hot oil. Let them cook until they become nice and browned on one side before flipping, about 4-5 minutes. After you flip them, let them cook an additional 2-3 minutes before removing from the pan. They should still be bright green when you slice into them. At this point, serve them as if they were a main protein, or chop them up and add them to stir fries, or soups. If you want to go full-on root to leaf, you could prepare this easy, warm vinaigrette with the leaves to serve over the roasted stem.

Celtuce leaves, ribs taken out and set aside

Bacon lardons (Vegans may use mushrooms sauteed in olive oil until crispy, and if you’re not vegan, there’s no reason you can’t use both.)

½ cup Cider or Red Wine Vinegar

One handful of pine nuts

One red onion, finely diced

One clove garlic finely minced

Parsley, celery, or cilantro, finely chopped

Chop the ribs into small pieces, and the leaves into medium chunks, keeping them separate. Heat a medium skillet and either begin rendering the bacon lardons, or frying the mushrooms (or both). Once they have fried properly, turn up the heat, add the sliced celtuce ribs, pine nuts and garlic. Cook very briefly, until the ribs turn bright green, about 30 seconds. At this point, add the leaves and cook for another 30 seconds until they wilt. Add everything else to a bowl and combine with warm ingredients off the heat. Plate up this delicious, acidic sauce and served slices of roasted celtuce stem over it.

Reach Bill Colvard at 336-415-4699.

Reach Bill Colvard at 336-415-4699.

Marsh, Whittling Wall both honored

Author to sign shooting-related books

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?

This week I want to display the journey of Moses and God’s people into the Promised Land that initially started with a promise made to Abraham by God. Early in this column, it is essential to note that God has a promised land for each of us. Of course, that ultimate land of promise is in heaven with God in our very own mansion that has been built for us to reside in, but our promised land here on earth is found in the specific purpose He has laid out for each person individually.

You will see in Deuteronomy 10:12-13 the words of Moses to the Israelites as he prepared them for their Promised Land that was filled with a purpose for their descendants. The question posed here is what does God require of us as we journey toward that land, as we look toward residing in our purpose, or better stated, how to live a life that God desires us to live to the fullest?

As stated in the words of Moses is, five simple directives to fear God, please God, love God, serve God, and obey God. For the sake of space and time, I will not be able to go into deep detail about each of these points, but I can state that each of them can be found intertwined in the ten commandments found in Exodus 20 and echoed by Jesus in Matthew 22:35-40.

The verses in Matthew read this way, “Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

There is a commission that we are to have an attitude of fearing, pleasing, serving, and obeying, but there is something about true love that helps us bring the first four right in line with God’s will for our lives. Paul in 1 Timothy 1-5-7 states that the commandants of our life should be derived from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. This pure heart that Paul talks about gives us our genuine desire to please God through service to others. This direct obedience to God’s Word shows that we are not scared of God but possess a fear derived from reverence and respect. John tells us in 1 John 4:7-10, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

My friend God is love. Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Fearing, pleasing, serving, obeying, and loving are simple requirements when we consider that God sent Christ to forsake it all for us to have freedom from the bondage of our sin. I have found that once we begin to understand 1 John 4, we begin not only to see why Deuteronomy is pertinent but you will begin to see the truth in Jesus’s answer to the lawyer in Matthew 22. That love should compel us to love others, which will result in a display of all the requirements needed to inhabit the promises from God. Jeremiah 29:11 states, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Love God, and I promise, friend, you will experience more than you can imagine.

May God bless you and keep you and allow his face to shine upon you and give you peace. God bless you!

The Surry Art Council’s Summer Concert Series has two bands set to play this weekend. The Main Event Band will play the Blackmon Amphitheatre on Friday night. Holiday Band will take the stage on Saturday. Both shows will start at 7:30 p.m.

The Main Event Band is a party band performing R&B, soul, beach, country, and funk. Their performances also include music styles from the 80s and 90s as well as favorite songs of today. From beach to classic rock, from soul to country, from disco to Buffett, The Main Event Band brings a variety of music to the stage. Featuring top-notch vocals, a tight rhythm section, and a strong horn section, The Main Event Band offers a quality performance that is hard to rival.

The Holiday Band blends soul, blues, funk, and Carolina Beach music. Holiday has established itself as a a strong entertainment package with the always-present theme “Keep The Music Alive.”

Both concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Admission to each show is $15 or a Surry Arts Council Annual Pass. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with an adult admission or Annual Pass. The Dairy Center, Whit’s Custard, and Thirsty Souls Community Brewing will be at the concerts to provide food, snacks, drinks, beer, and wine for purchase. No outside alcohol or coolers are allowed to be brought into the Amphitheatre area. Those attending are asked to bring a lounge chair or blanket to sit on.

Tickets are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org

Books available for check-out at the Mount Airy Public Library:

Every Word Unsaid – Kimberly Duffy

The Hotel Nantucket – Elin Hilderbrand

A Face to Die For – Iris Johansen

Escape – James Patterson & David Ellis

A Flicker of Light – Katie Powner

The House Across the Lake – Riley Sager

Our First Civil War – H.W. Brands

The Lost Colony Murder on the Outer Banks : Seeking Justice for Brenda Joyce Holland – John Railey

The summer programming is underway, lasting through Aug. 8. Explore the theme of the week through stories, crafts, games and more. Spaces are limited for some events, call or come by to register to secure a spot. Call 336-789-5108. The schedule is:

• Monday at 6 p.m. – teens, ages 13-17. This week, we are making Mythical Sea Creature Flip Books and playing Mythical Sea Creature Bingo. Pizza will be provided, bring your own drink;

• Tuesday at 2 p. m. – kids ages 8-12; this week, we are painting Sea Creature suncatchers and playing Mythical Sea Creature Bingo.

• Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. – Toddler Time for children ages 2 and 3;

• Thursday at 9:30 a.m. – Book Babies for children ages birth to 2 years old;

• Thursday at 11 a.m. – Preschool Storytime – ages 4-5;

• Friday at 9 a.m. – Adults, age 18 and older; this week, we will learn how to make a tote bag from a recycled t-shirt. So bring one of your old t-shirts and make a tote bag;

• Friday at 1 p.m. – Family Movie Series, popcorn and water will be available. Feel free to bring your own snacks. Feel free to bring your own snacks too. This week, we will be watching Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

• July 21 at 4:30 p.m. Brightstar Children’s Theatre Presents “Treasure Island.” Get a crash course on this Robert Louis Stevenson classic tale of treasure, pirates and ocean adventure. For all ages.

Book Bag Giveaway. This summer, each time you check out books, put your name in the box at the check-out deks to win a bookbag full of school supplies. The drawing will be Friday, August 5.

Top Reader. The top reader of the summer, the one who turns in the most reading logs, with the most time read will win a Kindle. This contest is for youth ages 8 – 18. Turn in all reading logs by August 5.

Surry Community College is offering a fun and free English as Second Language (ESL) class at the Mount Airy Public Library Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Anyone interested should contact Jennifer Pardue at 336-386-3674.

Hooked – Come join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Tai Chi has returned to the library. Join us each Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. This class is beneficial for those with limited mobility.

The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. This month we will be reading The Mapmaker’s Children by Sarah McCoy.

Pages and Petticoats Book Club — meets on the last Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. This month we are reading A Room With a View by E.M. Forster. At our meeting we will watch the 1985 film adaptation.

Classic Movie Monday on June 27 at 5:30 p.m. will feature The Incredible Mr. Limpet, starring Don Knotts.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

There are plenty of needs in the community, from homelessness and lack of mental health care to childhood hunger and substance abuse.

For the leadership of one church in Dobson, those needs are opportunities to reach out and help others.

Scott Meadows, pastor at Dobson Church of Christ, and others in the church hosted a meeting of community leaders at their facility Wednesday, with the goal of asking how the church can help.

Among those in attendance were Dobson Mayor Ricky Draughn, Mount Airy Mayor Ron Niland, Surry County Sheriff Steve C. Hiatt, school leaders, social workers, and others, gathered for a lunch courtesy of the church ladies’ group.

“We sent out a letter to a lot of community leaders,” Meadows said of how he and church leaders went about planning the gathering. “We wanted to see if we could get the answer to two basic questions. What are the major needs in the community, and how can our church get connected in the community to meet those needs?

“We got really good responses from everybody, and it was really effective what we ended up getting,” Meadows said.

He said the two areas that stood out to him, areas he believes his church can be effective, is working to help meet the needs of children in the community, as well as finding ways to encourage those in “service work,” such as teachers, police officers, social workers, and similar fields.

Meadows said now the church leaders will get together and figure out the best way to proceed.

“We want to be focused in our efforts here, we don’t want to be all over the place…we want to have a focused effort.”

Meadows has been pastor at the 100-person church for about three months, and in that time he said he has seen a desire among church leaders and members to become more involved with the community. That is what drove them to start their effort with Wednesday’s lunch.

“We’re just trying to make the effort to reach out into the community. The church is wanting to be active in the community….now we need to prioritize the needs we found out about and go to work.”

Summer thunder: message of the trees

In the heat of a summer afternoon, the heat of the sweltering sun bears down on the leaves of oaks and maples and they respond by turning their leaves over to show their petticoats and send a subtle message that they are ready for some rain in the form of an afternoon thunderstorm. Later, the sun hides behind the clouds, thunder rolls, lightning flashes and a hefty rain falls; the leaves flip over to receive the fresh raindrops, and after the rain, there is a cool, refreshing breeze. The leaves are fresh, green, lively as well as upright as if thanking the creator for a wonderful shower of blessing and refreshing.

Vegetables need food, not fertilizers

Organic plant, flower and vegetable food is beneficial to soil as well as vegetables. Organics will dissolve quickly into soil and are finely textured and not pelletized and this promotes nutritional results. You can choose from Plant-Tone organic vegetable food, Tomato-Tone organic tomato food, Garden-Tone organic plant food, Flower-Tone organic flower food and Holly-Tone organic evergreen and azalea food. It is available in four- and ten-pound zippered bags. The four-pound bags are easier to handle and apply and can be sprinkled into the furrows and mixed easily into the soil when sowing seed.

Hoping for few Japanese beetles

As the heat of June increases, we hope the population of Japanese beetles will not increase. As Dog Days draw nearer, we should know what kind of beetle year this will be. If you see them appear, the first measure of control should be to place beetle traps in areas away from the garden and affected areas. If there is a huge infestation, spray a mist of liquid Sevin mixed with proper amount of water in a spray bottle. Allow the sun to dry the mist into the foliage.

Peat moss and Black Kow elixirs

These two organic products will give the garden an extra boost. Both are totally organic and will work wonders in warm summer soil. Black Kow is composted cow manure and comes in 25- and 50-pound bags. A 25-pound bag costs about $6. Peat moss comes in 3.5 cubic foot bales and costs about $12 per bale. Keep a bale on hand and place on seed in the furrow before you hill up soil on both sides of the furrow.

Heat up compost with grass clippings

Using residue from garden harvests, grass clippings and peelings of vegetables and other crops add extra heat to the compost and help decompose and break down the materials by bringing on the heat. Grass clippings also provide great mulch for summer vegetable crops.

Days of summer getting shorter

The days of summer are now getting shorter by one minute each evening now that summer has begun. This will continue til Dec. 21. It will be a while before we can see any difference because summer has just got started and the days of summer are long.

Staying ahead of summer weeds

The weeds in the summer garden do not take a vacation, but will continue to grow and choke out vegetable harvests. The best way to control them is to pull them up by the roots and throw them out of the garden. Those weeds have deep roots and pulling them up by the roots is the best way to destroy them.

Watching out for the deck umbrella

The warm afternoons of summer can trigger a thunderstorm that generates high winds that can blow over the deck umbrella and take the deck table over with it. If a thunderstorm is in the forecast, remove the umbrella. If you go on vacation always do these two things for peace of mind and protection: Remove deck umbrella and store it and switch off the refrigerator’s ice maker and don’t forget to switch it back on as soon as you return home.

Warm temperatures pave way for tougher grass

Warm June temperatures pave the way for tougher grass and this will make mowing a little harder. Make sure grass is dry from morning dew or a sudden shower. Never mow grass that is wet, but wait until the sun dries out the grass. Make sure the blade is sharp and adjusted to keep from cutting grass too low.

Warm days and nights cause tomato plants to bloom and form green tomatoes as we end June. Feed the tomatoes by applying Tomato-Tone organic tomato food on each side of the tomato row and hilling up soil to cover up the Tomato-Tone. Water with the wand in shower mode each week at the base of the tomato plants to prevent blossom end rot. Apply a layer of calcium carbonate (powdered lime) on each side of tomato vines when green tomatoes appear. Cover lime with soil on each side of the row. Water each week when no rain is forecast.

Making a creamy ranch squash casserole

The summer squash are now in season and this casserole is a great way to use some of them. You will need two or three pounds of yellow summer squash, one cup of diced onions, three fourth cup mayonnaise, two slightly beaten large eggs, one envelope crushed saltine crackers, five slices toasted crushed bread, one envelope Hidden Valley buttermilk ranch dressing (dry), one eight ounce package of finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, one stick melted margarine, half teaspoon salt and half teaspoon pepper. Cook squash and onions until tender and drain. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mix mayonnaise, beaten eggs, and crushed saltines, and ranch dressing and the finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Mash the squash and onion mixture and add to the mayonnaise mixture. Pour into a casserole dish sprayed with Pam baking spray. Mix melted light margarine with the toasted, crushed bread crumbs; heat and sprinkle over the squash mixture. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until top is golden brown and bubbly.

Ethanol oil treatment on two cycle small engines

Ethanol is not good for two cycle small engines. When adding oil to the fuel, always add ethanol free oil treatment to the fuel to protect engines of weed trimmers, blowers and tillers as well as all small engines. You can purchase this additive at Home Depot, Lowe’s and most hardwares.

The blueberry harvest to begin

As June is at the close, the season of the blueberry is almost here and the harvest will run all the way into August. Unlike strawberries, it takes a lot of blueberries to compose a gallon, but their flavor in a blueberry pie or a cobbler or sonker makes them well worth the time and effort. Dog Days will soon be here, so the best thing to do is pick blueberries early in the morning before the sun heats things up. It takes patience to pick blueberries as well as a positive thinking attitude. A bit of wise advice — leave the kids with grandma because the patience of kids wear thin in the blueberry patch! One plus of blueberries is that they are easy to prepare and freeze. All you have to do is run cold in the sink. Pour a quart of blueberries in at a time in the water and remove the unripe berries that rise to the top with a tea strainer. Place berries in quart containers after draining the berries on a dry towel for a minute. Make sure berries are dry when placing in the plastic quart containers. Allow half an inch at the top of container before placing the lids. In winter, they will taste just like fresh berries.

Making a blueberry sweet dream dessert

This is a yummy recipe to think about when getting ready to make a blueberry picking visit worthwhile when you get back home. You will need one 21-ounce can of Comstock blueberry pie filling, one quart fresh blueberries, one eight ounce pack softened cream cheese, one tub of Cool Whip, two cups of graham cracker crumbs, one cup 10x powdered sugar, one cup sugar and two sticks light margarine. Run the graham crackers through the blender in “grate” mode and mix with two sticks of melted light margarine and spread in the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish or pan. Bake at 350 degrees for seven or eight minutes. Beat cream cheese and add powdered sugar. Spread over the graham crackers. Mix blueberry pie filling, fresh blueberries, one cup sugar and spread over the cream cheese mixture. Cover with Cool Whip or dairy whipping cream and serve. Keep refrigerated.

The heat and humidity of July’s Dog Days will begin in a few days. Now is the time to check out the Irish potato row or bed and see what’s under the vines. Dig under them lightly and don’t disturb the skins of the spuds. After harvest, spread a layer of powdered lime over the harvested potatoes to promote drying.

“Rock a bye baby.” Son: “Why is Dad singing so much to the baby tonight?” Mother: “He is trying to sing the baby to sleep.” Son: “If I were her, I’d pretend I was asleep.”

“Tailor made.” Customer: “I’m sorry, I wont be able to pay for this suit for two months.” Tailor: “Oh, that will be alright.” Customer: “When will the suit be ready?” Tailor: “In two months.”

“Fun pun:” “I’m going to put all my money into taxes — they are sure to go up.”

2022 Arts Alive Participants “Reach for the Stars”

Organizers of the annual Arts Alive say the 2022 version was a “blast” for all involved.

More than 100 participants ages 3-11 plus 15 volunteer middle and high school joined Emily Burgess, Shelby Coleman, and Tyler Matanick in two weeks of “Reaching for the Stars.” The camp ended with a parade down Main Street, a celebration complete with Dairy Center hot dogs, games, and face-painting, and a show featuring the participants on the stage of the Andy Griffith Playhouse.

Daily activities consisted of crafts with Emily Burgess, movement and singing with Tyler Matanick, and drama with Shelby Coleman.

16-12 Arts Alive participants and parents gather at Truist for the 43rd Annual Arts Alive Parade

16-15 Sidney Petree, front right, gathers with her family at the parade site. Sidney, age 9, is the 2022 Arts Alive tee shirt design contest winner.

16-23 The parade route is from Truist, down Main Street, to the Andy Griffith Playhouse.

16-32 Parents and participants make their way down Main Street.

16-46 Arts Alive volunteers assist with activities at the celebration.

16-55 Kids and families enjoy cornhole and activities before the show.

16-101 Participants enjoyed their chance to be an astronaut – even if just for a moment. Bruce Burgess created this incredible photo opportunity.

F16-105 Arts Alive participants figure out how to gain an advantage at cornhole!

Photos courtesy of Hobart Jones, Surry Arts Council

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

I want to start today by saying God wants you to know He is right there with you today and forever. Last week I said we would look at the splendor of God, and realizing he is right there with you is the first step in recognizing that splendor. The writer of Hebrews is clear in stating this point by first saying He will never leave you and then follows that with the wording of never forsaking you.

As I counsel people, I ask them to list their fears, worries, struggles, and most of all, their weaknesses. Very rarely do I find people with the same list. Some express identical words but very seldom do the causes behind those words look the same. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 12 that he had a thorn in his flesh that Satan used to try to keep him away from God, but in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Paul states this, “And he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

As I titled this article, I debated on calling it “Finding Strength in our Weakness,” but quickly realized that although strength can be drawn from our shortcomings, it is imperative first to accept that power into our lives.

The disciple Peter experiences God’s splendor in Matthew 14:22- 33 when Jesus invites him to walk out to him on top of the water. Peter does excellent at first because he keeps his eyes on the Son of God (God incarnate), but when he starts looking around, he begins to sink! Jesus does not allow him to go entirely under but instead pulls him up to ask about his faith. I hope you find it humbling today to know that Christ is there to catch you and even pull you up out of the sinking water of life. Peter was standing on solid water one minute and then sinking the next. His cry to Jesus was, “Save me!” Such a simple sentence in words, but so strong when we scream it with meaning.

One more time, I want you to remember that God wants you to know He is right there with you, waiting to hear not only your voice, but he wants your heart, your mind, and your soul to desire that He is the force in this sinking world to save you. So quickly, our heart says yes to the ways God tells us to face the things of this world, but our mind drifts to other means. Sometimes our mind knows that He is the only way, but that same mind becomes clouded with things of this world. We lose sight of the splendor.

Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-2,” I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Today my friend I encourage you to seek God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul. Look for Jesus and keep your eyes planted on him for your direction. Make a list of all your fears, worries, struggles, and most of all, your weaknesses, and one by one, give them to God, and he will set you on a path to strength. One last time, God wants you to know He is with you today and forever. May God bless you and allow His face to shine on you and give you peace. God bless you.

The Surry Art Council’s Summer Concert Series continues with three bands set to perform this weekend.

The Fantasy Band will play the Blackmon Amphitheatre on Thursday night. Cassette Rewind returns on Friday and Jukebox Rehab will take the stage on Saturday. All three shows will start at 7:30 pm.

Fantasy is “The Carolina’s Most Entertaining Party Band.” Whether it’s beach music, Motown, funk, soul, or smooth R&B, Fantasy does it all.

Born in the 1980s and raised on radio, Cassette Rewind is the ultimate authentic ‘80s experience. Cassette Rewind provides performances of Prince, George Michael, Journey, Whitney Houston, and countless 1980s pop icons. Grab a Members Only jacket and a pair of leg warmers to get footloose and sing along.

Jukebox Rehab is a country music band based out of Winston-Salem. They deliver a monster country show that is steeped in classic country traditional sounds ensured to lift your soul.

Each concert will begin at 7:30 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Admission to each show is $15 or a Surry Arts Council Annual Pass. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with an adult admission or Annual Pass. The Dairy Center, Whit’s Custard, and Thirsty Souls Community Brewing will be at the concerts to provide food, snacks, drinks, beer, and wine for purchase. No outside alcohol or coolers are allowed to be brought into the Amphitheatre area. Those attending are asked to bring a lounge chair or blanket to sit on.

Tickets are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org

For anyone who believes “The Andy Griffith Show’s” hold on the public may be loosening, brothers Cort and Stark Howell have a message — not so fast.

The two, sons of actor Hoke Howell (a character actor known for portraying hillbilly Dud Wash on The Andy Griffith Show), released the independent film Mayberry Man last year. While the film has had a limited release — 30 theaters spread across a dozen states altogether, according to Cort Howell, many of those showings have been sell-outs. But what really tipped the scales for the movie was getting a deal to distribute through Amazon streaming services.

“It has performed extremely well on Amazon Prime for a small indie film — huge success for a small film like ours.”

That has led the duo, along with much of the movie’s cast, to take the next step and create Mayberry Man: The Series.

“In the feature film, arrogant movie star Chris Stone’s life changes when he is forced to spend a week at a nostalgic festival celebrating ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’ the beloved television classic from the 1960s,” Cort said in a press release. “Mayberry Man: The Series picks up where the movie leaves off, following Chris Stone as he navigates his newfound relationships with Mayberry’s sweetheart Kate and the quirky characters of a modern-day Mayberry.”

The movie’s plot had its beginning in a real-life visit Stark Howell made to Mayberry Days several years ago.

“I’ve always been a fan of the show, but I was shocked to discover the spirit of Mayberry still exists today within the tight-knit Mayberry fan community,” he said. That visit started the creative wheels turning in his mind, and he and his brother, along with several other children of Mayberry stars, put the film idea together.

“It’s the perfect setting to tell modern-day, family-friendly stories that express the virtues of the fictitious town of Mayberry that we all love.”

He said during that developmental stage, he and his brother decided to produce the movie as an independent project, which he said would allow them to make a family-friendly movie without the influence of sometimes less family-friendly studios.

Stark’s younger brother Cort Howell produced the movie and will return as producer of the series. “We worked outside the Hollywood system and partnered with Mayberry fans through crowdfunding to protect the wholesomeness of the project,” Cort said. “We plan to repeat this winning formula with the series.”

Much of the funding for the project was raised through crowdfunding efforts, after a kick-off party at the Loaded Goat in Mount Airy, with many of the larger donors earning time on screen during the movie. They intend to use the same strategy for the series. While he and his brother have secured private backing for some of the cost of the venture, he said the crowdfunding component will be vital to getting the series off the ground.

“For fans who always dreamed of visiting Mayberry, they have the opportunity to participate in the show as actors and extras,” he said. When backing the project on Indiegogo beginning June 25, fans can choose from a variety of perks that include things such as getting their name in the credits, passes to a red-carpet premiere, participating on-set as a background extra, or they can even land an on-screen speaking role.

The project involves what Stark Howell calls “Mayberry royalty,” the kids of many of those actors who were in the show during its 1960-1968 run. Andy Griffith’s daughter Dixie Griffith is returning as executive producer and Karen Knotts, daughter of Don Knotts, will be a cast member. Additionally, co-producer Gregory Schell is the son of actor-comedian Ronnie Schell who appeared on “The Andy Griffith Show” and played Duke Slater in “Gomer Pyle, USMC.” Ronnie Schell is also slated to appear in the series.

The filming of the show will also follow a pattern familiar to those who have seen the movie. Many scenes will be shot in Mount Airy, especially during this year’s Mayberry Days. Much of the original movie was shot in Mount Airy and the surrounding area, including scenes shot during the 2020 Mayberry Days.

Other scenes from the movie were shot in and near Danville, Indiana, home of a smaller festival called Mayberry in the Midwest, as well as scenes shot in California.

Cort Howell said the eventual distribution of the series had not yet been determined, and most likely won’t be until 2023.

The crowdfunding campaign launches June 25 and runs through the end of July. Special events are planned throughout the campaign and can be found at mayberryman.com.

The first day of summer is only two days away and with the arrival of summer comes the expectation of evening thunderstorms that can be benefactors of the summer garden plot. Sometimes the thunderstorms on summer afternoons are the lifeblood of the garden and lawn during the heat and humidity of summer and the up and coming of Dog Days early in July. A summer thunderstorm has a certain aroma and freshness about it that perks up the garden and gives the lawn a sudden burst of energy. It gives the warm weather crops a boost as they head toward harvest stage. On a hot and humid day, after a thunderstorm, the air takes a turn for the better and is easier to breath.

Feeding the early roses of summer

The roses have bloomed all during the month of May and into June. They now need a boost of food to promote the blooms of summer. Pull off spent blooms and cut back any long canes. Feed the rose bushes with Rose-Tone organic rose food and water them to allow the food to soak into the soil. Water roses each week with the water wand in shower mode. Check roses for mites, insects and Japanese beetles and spray to control them.

Cucumbers hiding under the vines

The cucumbers are at harvest stage and they grow quickly in the warm temperatures of mid June. The foliage matches the color of the cucumbers as they hide under the spreading vines. Make a double effort to find them before they get to large to harvest and turn yellow. Use a rake to pull back the foliage and search under the leaves for the elusive cucumbers.

Feeding tomatoes for a harvest

Many tomato plants have already passed bloom stage and are forming tiny green tomatoes. Feed them now by side dressing them Tomato-Tone organic tomato food and hilling the food with soil on each side of the row. Water tomatoes at the base of the plants with the water wand in shower mode to prevent mildew when soil is dry and no rain is in the forecast. This will help prevent blossom end rot.

Grass clippings to heat up compost

Some vegetables have passed harvest stage and can be pulled up, mowed over or gathered up and placed in the compost bin or pile. Mowing season is in full swing and this is the time to save those clippings and add them to the compost bin to heat up and decompose garden residue. The summer sun shining down on the compost with the heat of the grass clippings will really make a huge difference in producing compost and mulch all summer long.

Protecting deck furniture from mildew

The thunderstorms of summer will promote mold and mildew on the deck furniture and table. You can prevent this from by mixing a half and half mix of water and chlorine bleach in a glass cleaner spray bottle and applying a spray directly on the deck furniture. Let the sun dry the mixture and the mold and mildew will disappear. You can also use this mixture on vinyl siding.

Use wisdom when watering zinnias

The days and nights of June are getting warmer and zinnias love this time of season. As the zinnias continue to grow and produce more foliage before they reach flower stage be careful when watering rows or beds. Do not spray the foliage because this causes powdery mildew on the leaves. Use a water wand and spray the base of the zinnias. This helps prevent the powder mildew and promote colorful flowers as the season progresses.

Making a creamy Moravian chicken pie

You will need a package of Pillsbury nine inch pie shells, four chicken breasts (cooked and de-boned and cut into chunks), two potatoes (boiled and cubed), one cup of chicken broth, two carrots (peeled, cooked and cubed), one teaspoon salt, three fourth teaspoon poultry seasoning, half teaspoon pepper, one fourth cup plain flour, one fourth cup evaporated milk and half stick light margarine. Mix all ingredients and pour into a pie shell and cover with the other pie crust, bind the edges and cut slits in top of crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. Pie will serve four.

Starting second crop of green beans

With the first crop of green beans ready to harvest it’s time to start the second crop. With June’s warm days and nights, the second crop will quickly grow and be ready for a harvest in mid summer. Not many vegetables are as productive as green beans. Choose from the bush varities of Derby, Top Crop, Tenderette, Strike, Kentucky Wonder Bush and Blue Lake Bush. You can expect a harvest in 65 to 70 days.

Lima beans will quickly grow in warm June soil

Lima beans are a vegetable that quickly thrives in very warm temperatures. You can choose from varities of Henderson Bush, Thorogreen, Fordhook 242 and Dixie Butterpea. Most will require a 70- to 75-day maturity date. Once the beans sprout, apply Plant-Tone organic vegetable food on each side of the row and hill up soil on both sides of the row to cover the plant food. Water every week when no rain is in the forecast.

A beautiful product of the days of summer is the rainbow that appears in the eastern sky after a summer thunderstorm. They are especially beautiful when they appear in a background of dark gray clouds that make the rainbow glow with a bright sunshine reflecting of the clouds and giving an unusual glow to the brilliance of the bow in the clouds.

Late June and the arrival of fireflies

What is as rare as a day in June, except a June night filled with fireflies? We are hoping for a bountiful summer of the firefly. These amber tailed insects are one of the highlights of summer nights. Some years are better than others for them and we hope this will be their very brightest year. At my grandmas house in Northampton County when we were kids, she lived in the wide open country where there were no city lights or street lights, but plenty of lights from many thousands of fireflies or lighting bugs as she called them.

Starting late tomato plants from seed

As we move toward July, it’s time to begin a packet or two of late, late tomato plants for an early and a late autumn tomato harvest. The seeds of autumn tomatoes should be determinate varities such as Celebrity, Marglobe, Rutgers, Homestead and Early Girl. Determinant mean varities that will produce without necessarily having to install cages, stakes or other supports. They are great for autumn because you can cover plants with layers of straw or grass clippings. To start late tomatoes, use two medium sized pots (one quart size) and a bag of starting medium. Measure out enough of the medium to fill the quart pots and allow a handful of medium per pot to cover the seed. Add water to moisten the medium and fill the two pots within a half inch from the top. In one pot, sprinkle the seed of one variety and in other pot the seed of another variety and label the pots with tomato varities. Sprinkle seeds in pots and cover with potting medium. Water seed with a mist of water from a spray bottle everyday. Keep tomatoes away from direct sunlight such as a carport. In about ten days, they will have developed two leaves. Transplant to individual pots and water each day. They should be ready to transplant in garden plot in mid August. Keep pots out of direct sunlight.

Keeping birdbaths filled with cool water

The days are getting warmer and birds are active finding food and building nests. The summer sun heats up the water in the birdbaths and evaporates a lot of it. Empty water in afternoon and refill with cool fresh water. With a fresh water supply the birds will return many times during the day.

“Pieces of thoughtfulness.” A tightwad was looking for a gift for a friend. Everything he saw was too expensive except for a glass vase that had been broken, which he could purchase for a small price. He asked the clerk to mail it to the friend, hoping the friend would think it got broken in the mail. The next week, he received a letter from the friend. The letter said, “Thanks for the vase, it was so thoughtful of you to wrap each piece separately.”

Trumpets and turmoil. A man complained to his landlord about renters in the apartment above him. Every night they stomp on the floor and shout until midnight. The landlord said, “Do they bother you?” The renter said, “No, not really, I practice on my trumpet until about that same time every night.”

Books available for check-out at the Mount Airy Public Library:

The Element of Love – Mary Connealy

A View Most Glorious – Regina Scott

One Damn Thing After Another – William Barr

The Atlas of Disappearing Places – Christina Conklin and Marina Psaros

The summer programming is underway, lasting through Aug. 8. Explore the theme of the week through stories, crafts, games and more. Spaces are limited for some events, call or come by to register to secure a spot. Call 336-789-5108. The schedule is:

• Monday at 6 p.m. – teens, ages 13-17, pizza will be provided, bring your own drink;

• Tuesday at 2 p. m. – kids ages 8-12;

• Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. – Toddler Time for children ages 2 and 3;

• Thursday at 9:30 a.m. – Book Babies for children ages birth to 2 years old;

• Thursday at 11 a.m. – Preschool Storytime – ages 4-5;

• Friday at 9 a.m. – Adults, age 18 and older;

• Friday at 1 p.m. – Family Movie Series, popcorn and water will be available. Feel free to bring your own snacks.

• July 21 at 4:30 p.m. Brightstar Children’s Theatre Presents “Treasure Island.” Get a crash course on this Robert Louis Stevenson classic tale of treasure, pirates and ocean adventure. For all ages.

Book Bag Giveaway. This summer, each time you check out books, put your name in the box at the check-out deks to win a bookbag full of school supplies. The drawing will be Friday, August 5.

Top Reader. The top reader of the summer, the one who turns in the most reading logs, with the most time read will win a Kindle. This contest is for youth ages 8 – 18. Turn in all reading logs by August 5.

Surry Community College is offering a fun and free English as Second Language (ESL) class at the Mount Airy Public Library Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Anyone interested should contact Jennifer Pardue at 336-386-3674.

Hooked – Come join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Tai Chi has returned to the library. Join us each Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. This class is beneficial for those with limited mobility.

The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. This month we will be reading The Mapmaker’s Children by Sarah McCoy.

Pages and Petticoats Book Club — meets on the last Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. This month we are reading A Room With a View by E.M. Forster. At our meeting we will watch the 1985 film adaptation.

Classic Movie Monday on June 27 at 5:30 p.m. will feature The Incredible Mr. Limpet, starring Don Knotts.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

And they said unto me, “The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.” And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days and fasted, and prayed before God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:3-4

A typical thought is that when something is broken, it can never be fixed. Some would say it is ruined. Others may say it will never be the same again, but with God, that is not the case. I want to start this column by saying there isn’t anything that God can’t fix, and I will go further to say that God takes broken pieces and makes everything beautiful.

God’s people and Jerusalem in Nehemiah are only one of many examples in the Bible of God taking brokenness and creating beauty. As you can see in Nehemiah 1:3-4, the book starts with an emotional Nehemiah, but as you read through the twelve chapters of the book of Nehemiah, you will see beauty, miracles, and God-filled people. It is my favorite book about this transformational brokenness to beauty.

The process to get all this started is easily found in Nehemiah 1:4, “And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days and fasted, and prayed before God of heaven.”

It started with identifying the brokenness. This step can be challenging, I believe. If we are being honest, denial sometimes can be easier than admission. Think about it this way. You turn your car into a pole at the drive-through. You quickly look at the damage and start to reason how much damage has occurred. Anyone who has ever experienced this will know what I mean when I say ignoring the damage will lead to more problems.

When God incarnate came to planet Earth, Jesus found lots of damage that had been let go for way too long. Like Nehemiah’s perspective, we were broken, and God’s people needed to be fixed. This repair begins with us admitting that the dents, scrapes, and loose parts are present in our lives, and the master mechanic is Jesus. Listen to John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but the world through him might be saved.”

Following Nehemiah’s truthful observation, next, we see the progression of steps. Take some time to mourn. God understands our emotions; after all, He created them, but then we have to hand them over to God. Fasting and praying is a whole topic in and of itself, but in short, it is our way as believers to give everything to God. It is the act of not letting anything distract us from what needs to be handed over to the One who can fix everything and make everything beautiful.

Listen to the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” The process is not in our control, not in our time, and not in our way.

These three statements might frustrate us, but it is the only way. God’s ways are higher than ours, and his thoughts are higher than ours. Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey. Follow the process, and I promise you will experience the beauty that God will provide. Next week we will look closer at the splendor of our God, but until then, identify your broken pieces, hand them to God, and get prepared for the amazing things God will do in your life. God bless you.

Shoals Elementary School recently named 16 students as May Leaders of the Month.

The character trait for the month of May was communication. “These students were selected for showing their awesome communication skills,” school officials said.

Fireflies light the June nights

There is a new glow to brighten the nights as the arrival of fireflies give new light to the June night. The fireflies flutter on the lawn signaling with their tail lights. We hope this will be an abundant year for them. Some summers, there seems to be more fireflies than usual and we are hoping this will be that kind of summer. One factor that seems to increase the presence of fireflies is when afternoon thunder showers occur.

Still time to plant four o’ clocks

The colorful four o’ clocks can still be planted in the warm soil of June. You can purchase packets of four o’ clock seed from garden departments, super markets, Home Depot, Lowe’s and Ace Hardware. Packets of seed cost around $2 and come in colors of red, yellow, white, pink and wine. They thrive in all types of soil and will bloom all the way until frost. Use some Flower-Tone organic flower food to get them off to a good start.

Verbenas will perform in hanging baskets

The verbena produces well in hanging baskets and an unusual characteristic of the verbena is the way it cascades over the sides of the hanging baskets and fills the inside and outside of the baskets with colorful blooms and foliage. Verbenas come in red, white, pink, purple and blue. Set about three plants well spaced out in each basket so they will have plenty of room and not become root bound. Feed them once a month with Flower-Tone organic flower food and water each evening. They will bloom all summer long. Pinch off spent blooms to promote new blooms.

Investing in a part of American history

American bee balm plants are a part of American history and have been since the Revolutionary War. New England colonists used its leaves to make tea as a substitute after the Boston Tea Party when tea from England was thrown overboard into the Boston Harbor. American bee balm can be purchased from nurseries, hardware’s, garden departments as well as Lowe’s and Home Depot. If you buy one and re-pot it in a larger container, it will grow all summer long and produce plenty of leaves and pretty pink or lavender flowers. Perhaps you can make some bee balm tea from the leaves.

Time to purchase a durable weather wand

Hot, dry, humid days will soon be upon us as we move further into June. This means warm and dry soil and thirsty vegetable plants. Purchasing a durable water wand to use all summer long is a worthwhile investment that will really pep up your garden plot on hot summer days when no rain is forecast. An adjustable water wand has many settings such as stream, mist, spray, shower and pour. A wand can place irrigation in the exact place and amount without wasting water. The stream mode is a great way to water seed in the furrow before covering up seed with a hill of soil. A good water wand costs $12 to $14. The best feature of a water wand is you can place water where you need it and not waste water in the middle of the row.

Making a great moist chicken casserole

For this casserole, you will need four chicken breasts boiled until tender, remove skin, de-bone and cut into half inch chunks, one head or one pound bag of chopped broccoli, one large egg, one can Campbell’s cream of chicken soup, one eight ounce packet of parmesan cheese, one half cup mayonnaise, one fourth cup milk, small bag Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing. Cook broccoli until tender. Place cut up chicken chunks into a casserole dish sprayed with Pam baking spray and mixed with cooked broccoli. Mix cream of chicken soup, egg, parmesan cheese, mayonnaise and milk in a bowl and pour over the chicken and broccoli. Top casserole with the stuffing. Melt a stick and a half of light margarine and spread over the top of the stuffing. for at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Will serve five people.

Keeping an eye on Japanese beetles

As the days of June get warmer, it may pave the way for arrival of the Japanese beetles. We hope there will not be many of them this summer. Some years they are worse than others. They are enemies of roses, grapevines, green beans and foliage. Keep the beetle traps and liquid Sevin spray ready and control them as they make their appearance in your vegetable and flower garden. Place traps where they will draw the beetles to the traps and away from the vegetable and flower garden.

Planting portulaca in a tub or pot

It may be called desert rose, cactus flower, or rose moss. Whatever you call it, it is colorful and loves summer warmth. It blooms fresh and new every morning that the summer sun shines. The flowers are red, yellow, white, orange, pink, tan, wine, burgundy and bronze. It will be in bloom when you purchase it in six and nine packs. It can be planted in a large container or tub to produce a rainbow of color. As the foliage grows, it will cascade over the sides of the tub or container producing more flowers.

Impatiens also make colorful baskets

Of all the annuals of summer used to fill hanging baskets, impatiens make the best and most colorful as they cascade over the baskets and produce hundreds of colorful flowers. Plant only about three plants per basket to allow them to sprawl out. There are so many colors to choose from including red, white, pink, wine, salmon, bright orange and purple.

Taking care of the Christmas cactus

All the Christmas cactus are spending summer in a semi sunny location on the front porch. The containers are replenished with cactus medium and given a fresh drink of water each week. We feed them with Flower-Tone organic flower food once a month. If the cactus foliage turns reddish, this is a signal from the cactus that it is receiving too much sun and needs to be moved where it doesn’t receive to much direct sun.

Keep setting out a few tomatoes each week

To assure a harvest of tomatoes all summer long, set out a four pack of plants each week for as long as you can find healthy plants. Use calcium carbonate (powdered lime) in bottom of furrow when you set out the plants to prevent blossom end rot and feed with Tomato-Tone organic tomato food. Water base of the plants with the water wand on weeks when little rain is forecast. This will also prevent blossom end rot.

Stake or cage all peppers

All types of pepper plants will benefit from cages or stakes that will protect them from wind and summer storms. As peppers form, the cages and stakes will keep plants cleaner and easier to harvest.

Cooling off containers and the hanging baskets

The heat of the mid June sun shines down on the hanging baskets and containers all during the day, drying out the soil. Use the water wand in shower mode or a sprinkling can to apply water until it runs out the holes in the bottom of containers and baskets. Apply water in late afternoon or early evening.

Keep birds returning to the baths each day by refilling the baths with cool fresh water and emptying out the sun heated water from the all day sun. This keeps the water from being infested by egg laying insects and pollen and pollution as well as to provide fresh cool water to all types of birds.

Checking ferns of summer on the deck

The ferns are lush and green as they spend summer on the deck in a semi-sunny location. They need a drink of water each afternoon to refresh and cool them off. The panda and asparagus ferns need trimming each month to promote new growth. An application of Flower-Tone organic flower food each month gives them a boost.

“Pressing fact.” The husband came home and found his new bride crying. “I was pressing your new suit and burned a hole in the seat of your new pants.” “Forget it,” replied the husband. “Remember, I got an extra pair of pants for that suit.” “Yes, its lucky you have,” said his bride, “I used them to patch the hole!”

Doing the math. Duke: “How about lending me $50?” Luke: “Sorry, I can only lend you $25.” Duke: “But why not the $50?” Luke: “No, $25 only, that way its even, each one of us loses $25.”

The 2022 Arts Alive camp kicked off the weekly summer camp series with more than 50 participants ages 3-5 years old along with middle and high school volunteers.

Emily and Bruce Burgess are working with arts and crafts, Shelby Coleman is hosting a drama class, and Tyler Matanick is working with music. Each class rotation emphasizes this year’s theme “Reach for the Stars.” Each class is teaching and reinforcing astronomy facts but the goal of Arts Alive continues to be to have fun and engage children in the arts to build future audiences.

Participants are looking forward to the annual Arts Alive Parade on Thursday, June 16 at 5:15 p.m. from Truist to the Andy Griffith Playhouse. The parade is followed by a celebration at the Andy Griffith Playhouse featuring arts, crafts, food, face painting and a performance by Arts Alive participants on the Andy Griffith Playhouse stage.

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7

As we open God’s Word to the book of Second Corinthians, we find the letter that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. His letter carrier is Titus, an early Christian missionary and a student under Paul who has been asked to lead the Corinthian church. In his first letter to this church, he pointed out the problems, pressures, and struggles that resulted from the corrupt society that surrounded the lives of the people living in Corinth.

Regardless of the love Paul expressed to the Christians in First Corinthians, we find that some of these same Christians have been convinced by false teachers in Second Corinthians that Paul was fickle, proud, dishonest, and unqualified as an apostle. I think this is the appropriate time to include my title; there was more than meet the eyes of the church at Corinth. I am a firm believer that perception is reality to most people until reality becomes their perception. It is so easy to get caught up in the words and actions of others and dismiss the truth of what God wants to reveal to us each day.

I remember as a child, my parents and other mentors shared with me that I could not always trust the things people said and did. I also was taught that there is a difference between good things and God things. As I grew and matured, I attempted to keep these wise points in the back of my mind as I also kept Paul’s words in Hebrews 11 as a guide. Paul states in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Again, this is our call to walk by faith and not by the things we see. This verse is a difficult concept to grasp, and is probably why this group of Christians in Corinth listened to the false teachers and judged the qualifications of a man that directly had a conversation with Jesus Christ (Acts 9:1-19).

In my title, another idiom I wanted to use is, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

The Bible teaches us as we encounter people, situations, decisions, etc., that we should open those books and compare them to the book that is our accurate guide of truth. This approach opens the eyes of our heart and mind in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Just as his letter in Second Corinthians is written due to these false teachers, he gives this same warning to young Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:3-4. Paul’s words to Timothy states, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch though in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of their ministry.”

So let me end by saying that there is indeed more than meets the eye in this world. We are inundated with news, information, rumors, messages, and conversations every day. Each comes with some level of truth, but our job as Christ-following believers is to seek if it is the truth.

Our ears will fail us, our hearts will deceive us, and our eyes will trick us, but there is one source that will never let us down. That source is God. Let me close with this final verse as I encourage you to see truth as you walk in faith; 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” God bless you!

The Surry Arts Council will host a performance featuring Nadine Landry and Sammy Lind along with Kevin and Trish Fore at the Andy Griffith Museum Theatre, in the lower level of the Andy Griffith Museum, on Friday, June 10, at 7 p.m.

Nadine Landry and Stephen “Sammy” Lind are members of the internationally acclaimed Foghorn Stringband, out of Portland, Oregon. They play traditional fiddle music that has been passed on for hundreds of years, classics of the southwest Louisiana Cajun dance halls and songs that could have filled a 50s smoky bar jukebox.

Landry’s roots lie in the rural backroads of Acadian Québec, and her high lonesome vocals have delighted audiences the world over. Born in Minnesota, Lind has established himself as one of the most critically acclaimed old-time fiddle players in the country. Together they play fiddle tunes, early country and Cajun songs. They play true to the roots of American music with energy and respect. They are members of the Foghorn Stringband, the Dirk Powell Band and play with Cajun extraordinaires Jesse Lege, Joel Savoy and the Cajun Country Revival.

Kevin and Trish Fore are steeped in the traditional music of Surry County and the surrounding area. They have learned their music directly from local tradition bearers and old home recordings; they love spending time playing for people at community events, fundraisers, fiddlers’ conventions and square dances.

Music featured at this concert will include Landry and Lind performing songs and tunes as a duo and will be joined by the Fores to feature many signature tunes from the Round Peak tradition such as “Sally Ann,” “Lonesome Road Blues,” and “Breaking Up Christmas” just to name a few.

Tickets are $10 and may be purchased in advance or at the door prior to the show if available.

For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit www.surryarts.org, call the Surry Arts Council office at 336-786-7998 or email Marianna Juliana at marianna@surryarts.org.

Jim Quick & The Coastline will start a weekend filled with music at the Blackmon Amphitheatre on Thursday. The Catalinas will take the stage on Friday and Kids in America will play on Saturday. All three shows will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Pulling from the threads of soul, blues, R&B, and Americana, Jim Quick and Coastline weave together their own genre of music known as Swamp Soul. Delivered with precision by frontman Jim Quick and his band, this group captures the true, honest spirit of traditions born and bred in the small southern towns of America.

The Catalinas always play a variety of music that suits all ages. Though known for Beach Music, regionally and nationally for the mega-hit “Summertime’s Callin’ Me,” The Catalinas play all styles to a high standard of excellence.

Kids in America is a high-energy, power-packed, ultra-fun, six-piece band paying tribute to the totally awesome 1980s. Kids in America covers all genres from this timeless decade including new wave, pop, dance, rock, hair metal, and sing-along iconic ballads. Kids in America specializes in recreating the 80s visually and musically by delivering authentic sound with a vivid show for your favorite 80s hits.

Each concert will begin at 7:30 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Admission to each show is $15 or a Surry Arts Council Annual Pass. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with an adult admission or annual pass. The Dairy Center, Whit’s Custard, and Thirsty Souls Community Brewing will be at the concerts to provide food, snacks, drinks, beer, and wine for purchase. No outside alcohol or coolers are allowed to be brought into the Amphitheatre area. Those attending are asked to bring a lounge chair or blanket to sit on.

Tickets are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org

As part of the 50th Anniversary of the Mount Airy Blue Grass and Old-Time Fiddlers Convention this year, Surry Arts Council held increased the number of workshops it held this year — bringing in some new sessions and courses for fans.

Twenty-two musicians led 39 workshops from Tuesday through Friday at Veterans Park. The heat drove the workshops from the grandstand into the VFW Building during most of the week but on Friday, overcast skies permitted some of the workshops to be held outside.

Traditional music enthusiasts of all ages from North Carolina and beyond attended the workshops. Some took notes, some took videos, and several hundred just watched carefully and learned new songs and new techniques. There were more young people than ever before attending the workshops ensuring that the traditions will be preserved and passed on.

All these extra workshops were made possible with a grant to the Surry Arts Council from the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and Come Hear NC, and a subgrant to Veterans Park Inc from the Grassroots Program of the North Carolina Arts Council.

The strawberry harvest grand finale

The strawberry harvest in Surry County is its the final days. There may still be enough time for one more visit to a field near you to pick some for shortcake or to freeze for next winter. Call before you go to make sure they still have berries available.

Pathway to summer harvest begins

The nights and days of late spring are warm and soil temperatures are ready for all warm weather vegetables. As we enter June, it is the ideal time to plant squash and cucumbers for a harvest in 65 days. They will sprout and grow quickly in warm June soil. Set out a few tomato plants each week for as long as you can find healthy plants and set out different varities for an extended summer harvest.

Warm nights and first fireflies of the season

As the nights continue to get warmer and the summer thundershowers appear each evening, conditions should improve for the arrival of fireflies to light up the sky at eventide. Perhaps this will be an abundant season for the fireflies. They seem to be more plentiful some years than others. Sometimes we wonder if light pollution causes many of them to migrate to wide open country. We notice that the best opportunity to see an abundance of fireflies is to ride down a country back road, turn off the vehicles lights and see a field swarming with fireflies. Nothing is more beautiful in summertime than an evening filled with fireflies. During all of the month of June this year, we are going to spend several minutes each evening doing a firefly count and record our findings for the month. We will let you know in the July Garden Plot the results of the count.

Planting seeds of late cucumbers and squash

As we move into June, the time to plant late crops of squash and cucumbers is now so you can enjoy a harvest in late summer. Great cucumber varities for late cucumbers are Marketmore 76, Poinsett 76, Straight Eight, Long Green and Ashley. Early Prolific Straight is the best late squash variety. Keep late squash and cucumbers watered with the water wand in shower mode on humid days with no rain in the forecast.

Enjoying a container of Dragon Wing begonias

The Dragon Wing is the most beautiful of all begonias. They have glossy, dark green oblong foliage and are adorned with clusters of hot pink or red blooms. The Dragon Wing sprawls out of its container like an umbrella and showers itself with massive clusters of colorful blooms. They continually bloom all the way until frost. You will need a large container of potting medium to accompany this high production, colorful begonia. Feed it with Flower-Tone organic flower food once a month for summer long beauty.

Prevent tomato blossom end rot

As tomato plants continue to grow, prevent blossom end rot by applying calcium carbonate (lime) on both sides of the plants and hill up soil on both sides of the row to cover the powdered lime and retain moisture. When you feed the plants, use Vigaro tomato food with enriched calcium. You can purchase it in two pound bags at Home Depot. Hill up soil on both sides of the row after you apply Vigaro with enriched calcium.

Feed your vegetables and flowers organic foods

Improve flower and vegetable production and growth with organic plant foods such as Plant-Tone, Garden-Tone, Tomato-Tone, Flower-Tone, Holly-Tone for evergreens and azaleas, Rose-Tone for rose bushes. These products are available in four- and ten-pound plastic zippered bags. The four-pound bags are lightweight and the zippered bags make them easy and clean to apply to plants and flowers. It is fine textured and the adjustable zipper allows you to apply the food right where you want it and the amount you desire right into the furrow with no excess or mess. These products have proven themselves organically in gardens for well over 130 years. The products have fine non pelletized texture and absorb quickly into the soil.

Starting a row of green beans

The very best and most productive of green bean varities is defiantly the Strike. They are a bush type that will produce a long harvest. The beans are pencil shaped and totally string-less and have a maturity date of about 65 days. The best feature of these beans is you can sow a couple of rows now and follow up with another row in July for late summer harvest. These beans are productive and will yield beans for several weeks. A pound will sow a 50-foot row or two 4×8 beds.

Setting out heat performance tomatoes

There are hundreds tomato varieties in all sizes, shapes, colors and types and a few of them perform and produce better than all the other hundreds, especially when it comes to performing in the heat and humidity of summer. When we were growing up as kids in eastern North Carolina, there were certainly not as many varities of tomatoes as there are today. My father only planted three varities and they were Homestead, Marglobe and Rutgers. He set them about two and a half feet apart, placed no cages or stakes around them but allowed them to sprawl. When they developed green tomatoes, he would apply long leaf pine straw around them so ripe tomatoes would not be muddy at harvest. He harvested bushels of tomatoes on a hundred foot row. These were not potted green house plants but tomato slips sold in bundles of a hundred at the local hardware, raised by local farmers. Good hot weather tomatoes are Homestead, Rutgers, Marglobe, Big Boy, Park’s Whopper, Mortgage Lifter and Celebrity. These tomato varities will endure the heat and humidity of summer and provide a late summer harvest. Feed late tomatoes with Tomato-Tone organic tomato food once a month and these proven tomato varities should produce a harvest late into summer. Use the water wand to keep base of plants moist.

Making a summer sweet apple sonker

This is an easy sonker with a crust made of raisin bread slices. Peel and core 10 fresh apples. Cut the apples into half-inch chunks, add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the apple cubes. Mix in one cup sugar and half cup light brown sugar to cubed apples. Add one teaspoon apple pie spices, half cup milk, one stick light margarine, two teaspoons of corn starch, one teaspoon vanilla flavoring and half teaspoon cinnamon. Boil the apple mixture until apples are tender and the mixture thickens. Spray the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan or dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or more if necessary. Make a sauce for the sonker by mixing one cup milk, half cup sugar, one teaspoon apple pie spices, one teaspoon vanilla. Mix all ingredients together to a boil on medium heat. Mix half cup cold water in a glass with three teaspoons of cornstarch. Pour a little of corn starch mixture at a time into sauce mixture until sauce gets thick as you desire. Pour sauce over the sonker.

The sweet essence of honeysuckle perfume fills the air at twilight and the scent emits from the rear of the garden plot to the front porch. It is very easy to breath in this pleasing scent as it wafts its way into the nostrils. No other wildflower can compare to the essence of honeysuckles in the air of June, on a late spring evening.

The nights and days are now warm, pleasant and consistent. The Christmas cactus are now ready for a move from the sunny living room to the back deck to spend spring, summer and early autumn. The secret of blooms at Christmas time lies on the time spent outside in the warmth of spring and summer. Outside, they prefer a semi-sunny location with zero direct sunlight. They need water every 10 days and Flower-Tone organic flower food once a month.

“Marriage Rebate.” Groom: “Pastor, do you believe it is right for one man to profit from another man’s mistake?” Pastor: “Most certainly not.” Groom: “Good, then do you mind returning the hundred dollar bill I gave you for marrying me and my wife last year?”

A “grave” situation. A young man had a job with a company where he had to work late at night. In going home one late night, he found a shortcut through the graveyard that was near his home. One night when he was very tired, he accidentally fell into a freshly dug grave. At first, he was not very concerned until he realized he could not get out because the hole was too deep and he panicked. Finally he became exhausted, sat down in the corner of the hole and fell asleep. Shortly thereafter, another man decided to take a shortcut and fell into the same grave. He also went to a great effort to get out but could not. Then he moved around in the grave and stepped on the man who was asleep. The first man suddenly woke up and shouted to the other man, “you can’t get out of here,” but he did!

The almanac for the month of June 2022

Sunday, June 5 is Pentecost Sunday. The moon reaches its first quarter on Tuesday, June 7. There will be a full moon on Tuesday, June 14. The name of this moon is Full Strawberry Moon. Flag Day will be celebrated on Tuesday, June 14. Fathers Day will be celebrated on Sunday, June 19. The moon reaches its last quarter on Monday, June 20. The first day of summer will be on June 21. The new moon of June will occur on Tuesday, June 28.

Books available for check-out at the Mount Airy Public Library:

The Deal of a Lifetime – Fredrik Backman

Countdown to Midnight – Dale Brown

Chasing the Boogeyman – Richard Chizmar

Cloud Cuckoo Land – Anthony Doerr

Sound of Darkness – Heather Graham

With a Mind to Kill – Anthony Horowitz

Old Cowboys Never Die – William W. Johnstone & J.A. Johnstone

The Summer Place – Jennifer Weiner

The Story of the Masters – David Barrett

Lidia’s A Pot, A Pan and a Bowl – Lidia Matticchio Bastianich

How to Love Animals In a Human-Shaped World – Henry Mance

The Debt Trap – Josh Mitchell

The Hero’s Way – Tim Parks

Grant’s Tomb – Louis L. Picone

Vanderbilt – Anderson Cooper (regular and large print)

House of Gucci – Sara Gay Forden

The Letters of Shirley Jackson – Laurence Jackson Heyman

The summer programming is underway, lasting now through Aug. 8. Explore the theme of the week through stories, crafts, games and more. Spaces are limited for some events, call or come by to register to secure a spot. Call 336-789-5108. The schedule is:

• Monday at 6 p.m. – teens, ages 13-17, pizza will be provided, bring your own drink;

• Tuesday at 2 p. m. – kids ages 8-12;

• Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. – Toddler Time for children ages 2 and 3;

• Thursday at 9:30 a.m. – Book Babies for children ages birth to 2 years old;

• Thursday at 11 a.m. – Preschool Storytime – ages 4-5;

• Friday at 9 a.m. – Adults, age 18 and older;

• Friday at 1 p.m. – Family Movie Series, popcorn and water will be available. Feel free to bring your own snacks.

• June 11 at 2 p.m. Author Meet and Greet – Come by and meet Sarah McCoy and listen as she talks about her new book Mustique Island.

• July 21 at 4:30 p.m. Brightstar Children’s Theatre Presents “Treasure Island.” Get a crash course on this Robert Louis Stevenson classic tale of treasure, pirates and ocean adventure. For all ages.

Surry Community College is offering a fun and free English as Second Language (ESL) class at the Mount Airy Public Library Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Anyone interested should contact Jennifer Pardue at 336-386-3674.

Hooked – Come join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Tai Chi has returned to the library. Join us each Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. This class is beneficial for those with limited mobility.

The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m.

It’s Yoga Y’all – Yoga with Ms. Heather will be the third Saturday of every month at 10:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted.

Pages and Petticoats Book Club — meets on the last Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m.

An Author Meet and Greet with Sarah McCoy, author of several novels, will take place on June 11 at 2 p.m. She will be talking about her new book, Mustique Island.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

Several students from Meadowview Magnet were selected to have their art pieces on display in the Viticulture Center at Surry Community College as part of the Superintendent’s Art Contest in May.

Meadowview Art Teacher Krista Culpepper told selected students, “What a great opportunity to see your work hung alongside your fellow classmates and other art students throughout the county.”

Sixth grade students selected were Ameryka Garcia-Espinosa, Dare King, John Simmons, Quinn Simandle, Anali Lopez Bedolla, Heather Childress, Juliett Martinez, Kailey Cockerham and Kynlee Venable.

Seventh grade students selected were Sadie Sherlin, Kaylin Adame, Carter Klein, Katie Waddell, and Neira Mares-Hernandez.

Eighth grade students selected were Allee Glen Kiser, Aniston Lowman, Alexis Vanhoy, Byron Brown, Colton Moore, Charlotte Williams, and Westyn McCraw.

Alexis Vanhoy brought home a first-place award for her art.

Holy Angels Roman Catholic Church in Mount Airy hosted the pilgrim statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Mother of God May 27-30.

“This Marian Pilgrimage was one of the signature events planned by the Diocese of Charlotte in commemoration of its 50th anniversary year,” church officials said in a statement about the event. Since 1972, the diocese has grown from 30,000 Catholics to more than 500,000 today, according to the church.

The statue, representing the Virgin Mary, will travel to more than 100 locations across the diocese during the year — visiting churches, schools, events and sites of significance to Catholics in western North Carolina.

To open the golden anniversary year, the statue was blessed by Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte, on Jan. 12, just before the start of Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In his proclamation of the anniversary year, Bishop Jugis noted – “Mary, the patroness of our diocese is so closely connected with her Son’s work for our salvation, we also draw close to her in this special year of grace.”

“Having welcomed this spiritual pilgrimage, the parish of Holy Angels, under the guidance of Rev. Peter Nouk, pastor, inspired its parishioners to go to deeper with their faith and celebrate their own church history and contribution to the growth of the Catholic Church in western North Carolina,” the church said in its statement.

The Surry Arts Council has received a $50,000 grant from the Chorus America Music Education Partnerships Grants program.

Through a new funding opportunity, Chorus America’s inaugural Music Education Partnerships Grants program provides funding of more than $1 million to 22 community organizations across the United States and Canada working to increase access to choral music education and promote non-arts learning and cultural literacy. The projects funded in the 2022-2023 school year also uphold the principles of access, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Surry Arts Council is one of 22 grantees located across the program’s four regions – British Columbia/Northwest U.S., Central Appalachia, Southwest U.S., and Upper Midwest – that each received grants ranging from $25,000-$50,000.

The Surry Arts Council is partnering with the Mount Airy City Schools and the Surry County Schools to support a choral program for three elementary and middle schools. The students will be a part of a weekly after-school choral program taught by certified music educators in the school systems. The students will be immersed in choral music education and will also be taught different musical cultures by local guest musicians who will provide the students with authentic performance techniques and history relating to the music genre focus of each of the three schools. The students will be bused home following the after-school classes.

Participating students will also take part in monthly gatherings led by Surry Arts Council Artistic and Technical Director Tyler Matanick. These will be held at the Andy Griffith Playhouse and Historic Earle Theatre. These gatherings will promote cultural exchange among all the students in the participating schools.

For additional information, contact the Surry Arts Council at 336-786-7998 or email marianna@surryarts.org.

The 50th Annual Mount Airy Blue Grass and Old-Time Fiddlers Convention, featured in a story on page 1A today, will feature more workshops than ever this year.

These will take place on Tuesday, May 31 through Friday, June 3 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. each day at the Grandstand at Veterans Park. It brings master musicians directly to attendees who want to learn from them and play with them. The workshops are another way to enhance the experience for those from across the nation attending the Fiddlers Convention.

Instructors include Wes Clifton, Darrius Flowers, Kevin Fore, Trish Fore, Chester McMillian, Michael Motley, Lucas Pasley, Aaron Ratcliffe, Bill Sluys, Nancy Sluys, Martha Spencer, Emily Spencer, Kirk Sutphin, Adam Lowe, Mecca Lowe, Tammy Sawyers, Jim Vipperman, and the Mustard Cutters Band.

The workshops begin on Tuesday at 10 a.m. There are multiple classes in fiddle, banjo, and guitar as well as dances, jams, workshops focusing on vocals and playing together.

During the first weekend of June, thousands of old-time musicians and enthusiasts from all over the country and the world congregate at Mount Airy’s Veterans Memorial Park for the annual Fiddlers Convention. This year, the celebration of the 50th Annual Convention is featuring extra opportunities funded by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and Come Hear NC. The Surry Arts Council received these funds that will be used to pay area musicians to host these free workshops.

The Tuesday through Thursday workshops are sponsored in part by a grant from the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources along with Come Hear NC.

The Friday workshops are funded in part by a subgrant from the Surry Arts Council to Veterans Memorial Park Inc. with funding from a Grassroots Grant from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

The workshops are all free. There is no advance registration. Instructors will gather at the grandstand prior to each class. A complete schedule of workshops may be picked up at the Veterans Park gate. For additional information contact marianna@surryarts.org.

Most varities of corn require a growing season of 90 days and should be planted early in June to assure a harvest by mid-August. You can choose from Golden Queen, Silver Queen, Kandy Corn, Early Sunglow, Butterfruit, How-Sweet-It-Is, Chief and Golden Bantam. Sow at least three rows for pollination from bees and wind. Make sure the three rows are the same variety. Sow seeds in furrows about four inches deep. Sow seed four per hill and 10 to 12 inches apart. Spread a layer of peat moss in the furrow and sow corn seed on top of the peat moss. Apply another layer of peat moss on top of the seed. Apply an application of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food and hill up soil on both sides of the furrow. Tamp down top of the row with the hoe blade for good contact with the soil. Allow enough room between rows to cultivate and control weeds and keep soil hilled up for support from the wind and storms. You will need room between rows over a 90-day period to control Japanese beetles and ear worms as the season progresses. Side dress the corn with Plant-Tone organic vegetable food every three weeks. When corn sprouts, thin to two plants per hill. Keep soil hilled up to the corn as it continues to grow week by week. Add some calcium carbonate (powdered lime) when corn gets a foot tall and hill soil over the lime.

Planting in June will keep garden in tune

All crops that love warm weather will thrive and survive in the warmth of the June garden plot soil. All vegetables will respond quickly to the warm days and nights. Set out tomato plants every week in small numbers for as long as plants are available and healthy. A four pack a week will extend the tomato harvest all summer long. Try as many different varities as you can find for a varied harvest. One of the best attributes of an abundant harvest of tomatoes is the opportunity to share their bounty with others.

Peppers are as tropical to the garden plot as vegetables can get. June is the absolute best time to set out pepper plants. Set out sweet bells such as California Wonder, Big Bertha, Keystone, Candy Apple, Great Stuff and Parks Whopper II, as well as Candy Bell, and least we forget, the famous Door Knob! Set the sweet bells out this week on a warm June day. Keep hot pepper varities a distance away from sweet bell peppers. Set peppers at least two feet apart. Stake and cage them for extra support and protection from thunderstorms and strong winds. Keep soiled hilled up around pepper plants for extra support and feed every three weeks with Garden-Tone or Plant-Tone organic vegetable food. Water every week when rain is not in the forecast. Apply calcium carbonate when peppers reach one foot tall.

Lima beans also need warm days and nights to produce a mid-summer harvest. You can choose from Fordhook 242, Henderson Bush, Thurogreen and Dixie Butterpea. Sow lima beans in a furrow about three or four inches deep. Place peat moss in bottom of the furrow and sow seeds on top of the peat moss. Place peat moss on top of the seed and apply an application of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food. Hill up soil on both sides of the furrow and tamp down soil on top of the hilled up soil for good contact with the soil. Feed the lima beans every three weeks with Plant-Tone organic vegetable food. Hill up the soil on both sides of the row after feeding with Plant-Tone. Water top of row each week if no rain is in the forecast.

Setting out a full row of tomato plants

The main harvest of tomato plants should be set out in the next few days for a bountiful harvest. There are so very many to choose from including Big Boy, Better Bow, Early Girl, Oregon Spring, Marglobe, Rutgers, Homestead, Beefy Boy, Beefsteak, Mortgage Lifter, Parks Whopper, Cherokee Purple, Mountain Pride, Roma, Yellow Jubilee. Plant tomato plants in a furrow five or six inches deep. Add a layer of peat moss and a handful of Black Kow composted cow manure to the furrow, and then mix in an application of Tomato-Tone organic tomato food. Set the tomato plant and add another handful of peat moss before hilling up soil all around the tomato plant. When tomato plants are well established in about three weeks, apply Vigaro tomato food with enriched calcium on each side of the tomato row and hill up the Vigaro on each side of the row to cover it up. Every three weeks apply a layer of Tomato-Tone organic tomato food. Hill up soil on each side of the row after applying Tomato-Tone. When the plants reach one foot tall, apply calcium carbonate on each side o the row and pull up soil up on each side of tomatoes to cover the lime. Water around the base of the tomato plants with water wand in spray mode when there is no rain.

Adjustable water wand-a good investment

With warmer days and nights and some days without any raindrops in the forecast, an adjustable water wand is a good investment. A wand will pay rich dividends and boost production in the garden plot. They cost around $12 to $14 and have adjustable settings of spray, shower, mist and an off and on switch. Never drag the hose with the wand attached because you could break the spring attachment on the wand.

End of May brings fireflies

There are a few flickers of yellow in the backyard and on the edge of the garden plot as we get close to the end of May. As June makes its way to the scene, a few more warm evenings will bring an abundance of them. We hope this will be a bright and productive year for them. To really appreciate the glow of fireflies, you have to drive down a Surry County country lane where there is not much traffic and no street light. Stop, turn off the lights, and enjoy an extra special light show.

Get Japanese beetle traps ready

The nights and days are warming up and soon June will be here with the start of a few humid days and perhaps the arrival of the dastardly Japanese beetles as they make their appearance on lawns, rose bushes, grapevines and foliage of flowers and vegetables. We hope there will not be many this year. Now is the time to clean and prepare the traps and purchase a few baits and lures. As soon as you see the first beetles, place a trap away from where you see them to draw them to the traps. One advantage of beetle trap is to draw beetles away from garden, roses, grapevines and foliage and into the traps. If we have a large infestation, spray lightly with liquid Sevin. Use a glass cleaner spray bottle mixed with water and Sevin to apply a light mist. Kill beetles in the traps by boiling a pot of water, pour it in a bucket and dip the trap of beetles into the bucket of boiling water. Pour hot water and the beetles on the driveway to avoid killing grass on the lawn. Birds will eat beetles. Invest in a durable two-piece plastic trap with a screw on plastic container to catch beetles. Unlike the plastic bag traps that blow all over the place, the durable traps will last for years and you don’t have to replace those fragile bags or dispose of them.

The roses put on a show all during May and as we get ready to enter June, its time to feed them as they get ready for another round of blooms for summer. Pinch off spent blooms and feed the roses with an application of Rose-Tone organic rose food that you can purchase in four-pound bags with a plastic zip lock bag and loaded with an organic boost of nutrients to boost foliage. A little goes a long way.

Organic food for summer annuals

A four pound plastic bag of Flower-Tone organic flower food will provide flowers of all types a boost of vital nutrients. Apply several tablespoons in each container of annuals or perennials and stir into the medium. It is finely textured and absorbs and gives quick response. The zip block bags makes the food easy to apply. Feed the flowers once a month all summer long.

Late cucumbers should be planted now

To extend the cucumber harvest later into summer, a late row or bed should be planted within the next week. Best hot weather varities are Marketmore 76, Poinsett 76, Ashley, Long Green and Straight Eight.

Cooling off hanging baskets, pots

The flowers in hanging baskets, pots and containers are responding to the May afternoons. They quickly dry out in their containers as the sun heats up their pots as well as the soil inside them. Water them each evening before sunset and water until the water runs out the hole in the bottom of baskets and containers.

“Back seat driving.” A man was driving the car with his wife in the back seat. The car stalled on the railroad track. An Amtrak train was roaring toward the vehicle. The man’s wife screamed, “Go on, speed it up!” Her husband replied, “You’ve been driving all day from the back seat. I’ve got my end over the track, see what you can do with your end!”

The weather for the first weekend in June possibly will be sunny and hot, but there’s a 100% chance of pleasant sounds during the 50th annual Mount Airy Bluegrass and Old-Time Fiddlers Convention.

In celebration of this milestone, a special concert is planned Thursday night to help kick off the convention that will feature competition both Friday and next Saturday when it concludes.

And free old-time and bluegrass workshops are offered from Tuesday to Friday, designed to perpetuate the area musical legacy for another 50 years or more through passing it on to younger generations.

The Mount Airy Bluegrass and Old-Time Fiddlers Convention is held on the grounds of Veterans Memorial Park at 691 W. Lebanon St.

Established in 1972, it is dedicated to the two musical genres, along with dance, and traditionally is held on the first weekend in June — although the coronavirus forced its cancellation in 2020.

The event resumed in 2021 and gradually is recapturing its pre-pandemic stature based on attendance by the public and participation of musicians vying for cash prizes, trophies and ribbons in various competition categories.

“We’re about halfway there, I guess, three-quarters, something like that,” Veterans Memorial Park President Doug Joyner said this week of the convention’s recovery from COVID, judging by last year’s event and interest in the one upcoming.

Based on everything that’s happened, this year’s golden anniversary has special significance, Joyner added.

“It’s been going on a half-century,” he said of the convention, “and we’re glad that the park can be putting it on every year (now).”

Joyner hopes fans will come out and help celebrate the occasion.

The convention officially starts Friday at 7 p.m. and will resume next Saturday at 9:30 a.m. for a day-long slate.

However, there are always early arrivals who set up shop in camping areas at the park and provide music throughout the week.

The competition categories at the convention are open to both youth and adults, including old-time and bluegrass band, bluegrass and old-time fiddle, bluegrass and old-time (clawhammer) banjo, guitar, mandolin, bass, dobro, dulcimer, autoharp, folk song and dance.

In addition to the performances during the convention, many impromptu jam sessions typically can be found when circulating around the grounds — and one never knows who might be involved.

Members of the group Donna the Buffalo have been spotted over the years along with other notable musicians such as Dom Flemmons of The Carolina Chocolate Drops.

The special Thursday night concert to celebrate the convention’s 50th anniversary will feature The Junior Sisk Band on the main stage at the park.

It is scheduled for 7 p.m., with $20 wristband tickets for the performance to be sold at the gate.

The admission cost to the park to attend both Friday and Saturday sessions is a $10 wristband each day.

Joyner says interest is high among musicians, including many returning performers.

“These people, they like to pick and grin,” he said.

“They keep emailing about it,” Joyner related. “I got a phone call the other night from a guy in England.”

That individual wanted to attend the convention in June 2021, but was prevented from doing so by COVID travel restrictions.

Joyner said he also has been contacted by a band in Russia which might show up for the event.

While convention organizers don’t relish capitalizing on others’ misfortune, the Mount Airy gathering also stands to benefit from the apparent demise of an early spring event in Dobson, the Surry Old-Time Fiddlers Convention. It has been cancelled the last three years due to the coronavirus and other factors.

“I think it will help us,” Joyner said of that development, particularly among the old-time musicians the Dobson convention was geared toward who desire a performance outlet to fill the void.

Another highlight of the convention week will be the free workshops in both the old-time and bluegrass styles.

The sessions are scheduled Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the grandstand area at Veterans Memorial Park.

Workshops are to feature the fiddle, banjo, vocals, guitar, jams, dance and more, organizers say.

Participating instructors and bands will include Emily Spencer, Martha Spencer, Kirk Sutphin, Kevin Fore, Chester McMillian, Wes Clifton, Trish Fore, The Mustard Cutters Band, The Pilot Mountain Bobcats, Nancy and Bill Sluys, Darrius Flowers and others.

A number of award-winning performers from the Galax fiddlers convention and others are among their ranks.

The special week-long workshops are made possible by grants from the Grassroots Program of the North Carolina Arts Council, with additional funding provided by the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources in honor of the convention’s 50th anniversary.

A complete schedule of workshops, jams and dances will be available at the park gate, according to organizers.

More information about the convention can be found at https://www.surryarts.org/mafiddlersconvention/index.html More information about the workshops can be found on page B12 of today’s paper.

Books available for check-out at the Mount Airy Public Library:

The Haunting of Leigh Harker – Darcy Coates

The Family Plot – Megan Collins

The Bookseller’s Secret – Michelle Gable

Labyrinth of Lies – Irene Hanon

Beneath a Starless Sky – Tessa Harris

The Vanished Days – Susanna Kearsley

Daughters of the Resistance – Lana Kortchik

A Little Christmas Spirit – Sheila Roberts

The Girl Behind the Wall – Mandy Robotham

The Secret of Snow – Viola Shipman

What Passes As Love – Trisha R. Thomas

The Attic on Queen Street – Karen White

What Happened to the Bennetts – Lisa Scottoline

The Pioneer Woman Cooks – Super Easy! – Ree Drummond

The Joy of Sweat – Sarah Everts

The Bomber Mafia – Malcolm Gladwell

The Quiet Zone – Stephen Kurczy

Until Proven Safe – Geoff Manaugh

The Secret of Life – Howard Markel

All Made Up – Ray Nudson

The Secret History of Food – Matt Siegal

The First 21 – How I Became Nikki Sixx – Nikki Sixx

Below the Edge of Darkness – Edith Widder

The summer programming is underway, lasting now through Aug. 8. Explore the theme of the week through stories, crafts, games and more. Spaces are limited for some events, call or come by to register to secure a spot. Call 336-789-5108. The schedule is:

• Monday at 6 p.m. – teens, ages 13-17;

• Tuesday at 2 p. m. – kids ages 8-12;

• Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. – Toddler Time for children ages 2 and 3;

• Thursday at 9:30 a.m. – Book Babies for children ages birth to 2 years old;

• Thursday at 11 a.m. – Preschool Storytime – ages 4-5;

• Friday at 9 a.m. – Adults, age 18 and older;

• Friday at 1 p.m. – Family Movie Series, popcorn and water will be available. Feel free to bring your own snacks.

• June 11 at 2 p.m. Author Meet and Greet – Come by and meet Sarah McCoy and listen as she talks about her new book Mustique Island.

• July 21 at 4:30 p.m. Brightstar Children’s Theatre Presents “Treasure Island.” Get a crash course on this Robert Louis Stevenson classic tale of treasure, pirates and ocean adventure. For all ages.

Surry Community College is offering a fun and free English as Second Language (ESL) class at the Mount Airy Public Library Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Anyone interested should contact Jennifer Pardue at 336-386-3674.

Hooked – Come join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Tai Chi has returned to the library. Join us each Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. This class is beneficial for those with limited mobility.

The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m.

It’s Yoga Y’all – Yoga with Ms. Heather will be the third Saturday of every month at 10:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted.

Pages and Petticoats Book Club — meets on the last Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m.

An Author Meet and Greet with Sarah McCoy, author of several novels, will take place on June 11 at 2 p.m. She will be talking about her new book, Mustique Island.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

Three Surry Arts Council Summer Concerts are slated for this week.

Fantasy Band will start off a music-filled weekend at the Blackmon Amphitheatre on Thursday. Holiday Band will play on Friday and Cassette Rewind will take the stage on Saturday. All three shows will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Fantasy is sometimes called “The Carolina’s most entertaining party band.” Whether it is beach music, motown, funk, soul, or smooth R&B, Fantasy does it all.

The Holiday Band blends soul, blues, funk, and Carolina beach music and has established itself as a premier entertainment package. The Holiday Band has played thousands of shows from Cincinnati, Ohio to Cozumel, Mexico, with the always-present theme “Keep The Music Alive.”

Born in the ‘80s and raised on radio, Cassette Rewind bills itself as “the ultimate authentic ‘80s experience.” Cassette Rewind provides dynamic performances of Prince, George Michael, Journey, Whitney Houston, and countless 1980s pop icons. Grab a Members Only jacket and put on some leg warmers because nothing’s going to stop folks from getting footloose and singing along.

Each concert will begin at 7:30 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Admission to each show is $15 or a Surry Arts Council Annual Pass. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with an adult admission or annual pass. The Dairy Center, Whit’s Custard, and Thirsty Souls Community Brewing will be at the concerts to provide food, snacks, drinks, beer, and wine for purchase. No outside alcohol or coolers are allowed to be taken into the Amphitheatre area. Those attending are asked to take a lounge chair or blanket to sit on.

Tickets are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org

A container, pot or tube of portulaca

The unusual and colorful portulaca, which is also known as cactus rose, desert rose, rose moss and cactus flower, features colors of red, yellow, pink, orange, tan, wine and white. The plants are small and will sprawl over the sides of their containers and you can plant them close together. They are sun-loving plants and absorb plenty of sunlight each day. On cloudy and rainy days, not many of them will bloom. Different flowers bloom each morning for a varied display of colors. For the portulaca, you can use cactus medium instead of fine potting medium. Feed them with Flower-Tone organic flower food each month and water them when rain is not in the forecast for several days. My Northampton County grandma always had a tub of rose moss on her front porch that bloomed all summer long.

The Irish potato row may have new potatoes

The Irish potato row or bed should now have plenty of lush green foliage and also some white blooms which may signal that there are some new potatoes under the vines at the bottom of the hills. Do not disturb the hills, but scratch around and harvest one or two from several hills. Don’t peel them but place in a pot and cover with water. Boil until you can stick a fork through them. Add salt, pepper and half stick light margarine. Serve with a bowl of green beans.

Strawberry harvest still in progress

The strawberry harvest in Surry County still has about two weeks remaining. There is time to harvest a few gallons of fresh strawberries to freeze for winter enjoyment. Don’t allow the season to pass by without freezing some strawberries. You can pick your own or purchase them already picked if you call ahead. Ready-picked costs about a dollar more per gallon. They are defiantly worth the time and effort.

Strawberries: ingredients of this crumble

For this recipe you will need one quart of fresh strawberries, capped and cut into quarters and coated with three-fourths cup sugar and one-fourth cup plain flour. Stir together and pour into a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish or pan sprayed with Pam bakers spray. Mix the plain flour and one cup sugar and one stick of light margarine. Beat mixture until it is crumbly. Add one-fourth cup milk and a teaspoon of strawberry flavoring. Mix with a large spoon and spread over the strawberry mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, covering the baking dish or pan with a layer of aluminum foil. Remove foil after 30 minutes and bake until the crumbs are light brown. This recipe makes six servings.

Warm days and nights pave way for tomatoes

With days and nights beginning to warm up, a row of tomato plants can be safely set out. They will thrive in the warm May temperatures. When you purchase tomato plants, buy those that do not have blooms on them or that have very long stems, and please do not buy plants with green tomatoes already on them, they are born losers and have been pampered and already produced. Buy strong, healthy plants with olive green stems that will adapt well to your garden soil. Choose from proven varities such as Big Boy, Better Boy, Early Girl, Rutgers, Marglobe, Homestead, Mountain Pride, Celebrity, Parks Whopper, Beefsteak, Beefy Boy, Mortgage Lifter and Pink Girl. Use great organic plant foods like Tomato-Tone organic tomato food and Dr. Earth tomato food and Alaska Fish Emulsion. Add a handful of calcium carbonate (powdered lime) to each tomato plant to prevent blossom end rot as the plants develop. Set plants about 18 to 24 inches apart in a 5- or 6-inch deep furrow and hill up soil on both sides of the row. About every three weeks, side dress the tomato plants with Tomato-Tone organic tomato food. Apply a handful in the furrow when setting out individual tomato plants. You can also give tomato food with enriched calcium to prevent blossom end rot.

We are reaching further in the month of May and the days and nights are getting warmer and soil temperatures are getting ideal for planting and sowing warm weather vegetables. The risk of frost has passed and warm weather is consistent. Any vegetable related to warm temperatures can now be planted in the spring garden plot.

American history in a bee balm plant

The American bee balm is an important part of early American history that lives today in the form of the American bee balm plant. You can purchase open at most nurseries and garden departments. Buy a larger container to transplant it in a bag of fine potting medium because it will grow quickly in the warm weather of late spring. Some have pink blooms and the taller varities have lavender blooms. Birds will love their seeds and tea can be made from the leaves.

The front porch on a spring morning

The front porch on a spring morning with a piece of toast and a cup of coffee is a great way to start a day. The aroma of sweet honeysuckles and the first annuals of summer getting ready to bloom and trees greening up for a long summer. The birds are plenty active at the feeder and the birdbath and also searching for nesting materials. The sun warms up the Carolina blue sky. It is a great privilege to breathe in that fresh air of spring. Is there anything as rare and wonderful as a warm, sunny spring morning?

Planting a row or bed of cucumbers

Cucumbers love warm nights and also warm May soil to get them off to a good start. They perform well in beds or rows. You can choose from many varities. Choose from Ashley, Long Green, Straight Eight, Boston Pickler, Eureka, Goliath, Sweet Slice, Summer Dance, Muncher, Marketmore, Diva, Poinsett 76, Bush Pickler and Armenian. Most cucumber varities will produce a harvest in 60 to 70 days. Its a good idea to plant a row or bed now and another row or bed in about two weeks from now to extend your harvest. Sow cucumber seed in a furrow about four inches deep. Apply a layer of peat moss in the bottom of the furrow. Sow four seeds per hill about a foot apart. Cover the seeds with another layer of peat moss or Black Kow composted cow manure and then an application of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food. Hill up soil on both sides of the furrow and tamp down soil on top of hill for good soil contact. When seeds sprout, they develop two leaves. Thin the plants to two per hill. Feed by side dressing every two weeks with Plant-Tone organic vegetable food. Keep soil hilled up on both sides of the row after feeding. Water with water wand in spray mode each week if no rain is in the forecast.

Planting hills of summer squash

A row or beds of summer squash will produce a harvest in 50 to 60 days. Squash will produce a large harvest in a short period of time. We like to can plenty of them because in winter they make great sonkers as well as casseroles and squash fritters. You can choose from the straight neck or crookneck varities. We prefer the straight necks because they have smaller and less seed and are more suitable for canning. Another factor is they don’t have as much moisture in them as crooknecks and they are also much meatier which makes them ideal for sonkers. In squash varities, you can choose from yellow crookneck, Early Prolific Straight neck, Saffron Straight neck or Enterprise Straight neck. Plant squash in a furrow about four inches deep. Apply a layer of peat moss in the bottom of the furrow and sow seed on top of the peat moss. Sow four seeds per hill about a foot-and-a-half apart. Cover seed with another layer of peat moss and an application of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food. Hill soil up on each side of the row and tamp the soil on top of the hill down for good soil contact. When the squash plants develop two leaves, thin them to two plants per hill. Apply Plant-Tone or Garden-Tone organic vegetable food on each side of the row and hill up soil to cover the plant food. Water each week with the water wand on spray mode if no rain is in the forecast.

-“Last minute prayer.” The cruise ship was sinking and the captain shouted, “Does anybody on board know how to pray?” A minister on board said, “I do.” “Good,” said the captain, “You start praying, the rest of us will put on life jackets. We are one jacket short.”

-“May I have this dance?” A clumsy and rather awkward high school freshman finally got up enough nerve to ask a cute girl to prom. “I never dance with children,” said the cute snob. The freshman gave her a critical look and said, “Please forgive me, I did not realize you were pregnant.”

-“Getting your act together.” Patient: “Doctor, I’m worried, I think I’m a curtain.” Doctor: “Stop worrying, pull yourself together.”

Books available for check-out at the Mount Airy Public Library:

The Stranger in the Lifeboat – Mitch Albom

Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters – Jennifer Chiaverini

The Appalachian Trail – Phillip D’Anieri

Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost – Lindsay Marcott

The Lincoln Highway – Amor Towles

Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket – Hilma Wolitzer

The Stranger in the Lifeboat – Mitch Albom

Learning in Public – Courtney E. Martin

E.R. Nurses – James Patterson

Made in China – Anna Qu

The summer programming will be getting underway soon, lasting from May 23 to Aug. 8. Explore the theme of the week through stories, crafts, games and more. Spaces are limited for some events, call or come by to register to secure a spot. Call 336-789-5108. The schedule is:

• Monday at 6 p.m. – teens, ages 13-17;

• Tuesday at 2 p. m. – kids ages 8-12;

• Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. – Toddler Time for children ages 2 and 3;

• Thursday at 9:30 a.m. – Book Babies for children ages birth to 2 years old;

• Thursday at 11 a.m. – Preschool Storytime – ages 4-5;

• Friday at 9 a.m. – Adults, age 18 and older;

• Friday at 1 p.m. – Family Movie Series, popcorn and water will be available. Feel free to bring your own snacks.

• June 11 at 2 p.m. Author Meet and Greet – Come by and meet Sarah McCoy and listen as she talks about her new book Mustique Island.

• July 21 at 4:30 p.m. Brightstar Children’s Theatre Presents “Treasure Island.” Get a crash course on this Robert Louis Stevenson classic tale of treasure, pirates and ocean adventure. For all ages.

Surry Community College is offering a fun and free English as Second Language (ESL) class at the Mount Airy Public Library Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Anyone interested should contact Jennifer Pardue at 336-386-3674.

Hooked – Come join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Tai Chi has returned to the library. Join us each Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. This class is beneficial for those with limited mobility.

The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. This month we will have local author Tasha Greer speaking on May 25 at 1 p.m. She has written two books, Grow Your Own Spices and Weed Free Gardening.

It’s Yoga Y’all – Yoga with Ms. Heather will be the third Saturday of every month at 10:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted.

Pages and Petticoats Book Club — meets on the last Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m.

Happy Birthday and Summer Learning Kickoff on May 27. The library has been at its current location for 40 years this month. To celebrate, we will have fun and games outside, hot dogs and cake. Come join us to celebrate this milestone and get signed up for Summer Learning.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

ELKIN — Plans have been announced for the Reevestock Music Festival in Elkin, which will feature Hiss Golden Messenger, a Grammy-nominated band specializing in Indie folk, blues, alternative country and country rock sounds.

Reevestock, now in its 11th year, has grown into a two-day musical celebration held in both downtown Elkin and the town’s Hidden Amphitheater.

The grassroots festival is slated for Aug. 5-6, with early bird tickets now on sale, according to information from Sam Tayloe, its director.

Reevestock is a signature annual event for Elkin which also draws music fans from throughout the Carolinas and beyond, festival organizers say.

The bulk of activities will take place during its second day on Aug. 6, a Saturday, at Elkin’s Hidden Amphitheater a privately owned entertainment venue with a main stage featuring a gazebo surrounded by a running stream with connected waterfalls.

Hiss Golden Messenger, led by Durham-based songwriter MC Taylor, will be the featured act that day, scheduled to perform at 8:05 p.m. Taylor conceived the name Hiss Golden Messenger for the folk music group, which has been described in the Washington Post as eliciting both biblical serpents and the white noise of cassette tapes.

Its 2019 release “Terms of Surrender”was nominated for the Best Americana Grammy Award.

“Sanctuary,” a single emerging in 2021, additionally has gotten much airplay.

Also slated to perform on Aug. 6 are Momma Molasses (1 p.m.), Handmade Moments (2:15 p.m.), Dreamroot (3:40 p.m.), host band Time Sawyer (5 p.m.) and Daniel Donato (6:30 p.m.).

Reevestock will kick off on Aug. 5 with the Downtown Get-Down Block Party at 5:30 p.m. in Elkin. The free outdoor party to launch the festival is to include music by Luke Mears and Robert Holthouser, billed as a “guitar-driven blues-influenced singer/songwriter duo.”

Reeves Theater will be open for drink purchases and food trucks are slated to be on hand for dinner.

After the block party, a ticketed show at the Reeves Theater will feature Stillhouse Junkies and Clyde Williams, with festivities continuing with a free late-night jam at Angry Troll Brewing featuring Pennsylvania’s Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers.

Cindy Baucom has been tapped to serve as emcee for the festival. She is a broadcaster, producer, promoter, singer, musician, writer and photographer whose radio show, “Knee-Deep in Bluegrass,” airs weekly in nearly 100 markets.

Organizers promote Reevestock as a relaxed, family friendly festival that features children’s activities during daylight hours, plenty of shade and free nearby parking along with free shuttle service.

Local vendors will offer food, beer and wine.

The festival benefits the Reevestock Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to seniors at Elkin, East Wilkes and Starmount high schools seeking to continue their education through any four-year, two-year or technical program.

Ticket sale and other information is available at https://reevestock.com/

Surry’s Sweetest, Type 1 Diabetes support group received a surprise donation from Sheriff Steve Hiatt at an event on May 14, 2022 at the Dobson First Baptist Church. Surry’s Sweetest is a support group for children living with Type 1 Diabetes and their families. The group is coordinated by the Diabetes Program at the Surry County Health and Nutrition Center.

Surry’s Sweetest began 10 years ago and was created as a partnership between Surry County Health and Nutrition Center and local school nurses. The support group is solely grant- and donation-funded and has been supported by the Surry County Health Foundation through the years. The group provides fun events and activities at no charge to participants and their families. Children make friends with other children living with Type 1 Diabetes, and it strengthens relationships between school nurses and families affected by Type 1 Diabetes.

The most recent event was held May 14 at the Dobson First Baptist Church. Children as young as age 3 through high school age attended with their families. Two area school nurses were also in attendance. At this event, Sergeant Jacob Wyse from the Surry County Sheriff’s Office, and father of Presley Wyse (who has Type 1 diabetes), allowed the children to get an up-close view of his patrol car. Joining Sgt. Wyse was Deputy Rachael Spainhour and her K-9 partner, Dixi. The attendees got to interact with Dixi and see her in action with Deputy Spainhour.

During the event, the group also received a surprise visit from Sheriff Steve Hiatt and his wife Rhonda who presented a donation of $1,000 to the group on behalf of the Surry County Sheriff’s Office. This is the second $1,000 donation from the sheriff’s office to Surry’s Sweetest.

Surry’s Sweetest leaders say they are grateful for all of the community support and welcomes children and families to join the group. For more information about Surry’s Sweetest, contact Kelly Whittington at 336-401-8419.

The Ararat Ruritan Club has sprung into action this spring, with lots of community service activities keeping the membership hopping.

Four members of the club braved the cold, windy, first Saturday of Spring and picked up trash alongside Ararat Highway, gathering 14 40-gallon bags of litter.

A barn quilt painting class was held in Aprilwith lots of spring designs provided by Lisa Martin, owner/operator of The Wormy Chestnut.

During the club’s March bingo, players donated items for the Redemption House-Surry for an extra coverall ticket. During the monthly business meeting, representatives from the organization presented their purpose and vision for the house, which among many other things, houses men who are recovering addicts. The collection of donated items were given to the house to help with their ministry.

The Ruritan club building is used in many ways — as a site for fundraisers, as well as being available for tent for reunions, showers, birthday parties, or other get-togethers.

On May 21 a cruise-in is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. for classic cars, trucks and local police, fire and rescue vehicles. Concessions will be available. Hot dogs will be served at the cruise-in and during the Jackpot Bingo later that evening. Doors open at 5 p.m. for the 6 p.m. bingo.

The club meets on the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m.. The public is invited to visit and help the club help the community meet its needs. Follow the group on Facebook to keep up with the club’s activities.

The Surry Arts Council’s Summer Concert Series has a full schedule this weekend starting with Band of Oz on Thursday. The Tonez will take the stage on Friday with CAT5 to follow on Saturday. Each show will take place at the Blackmon Amphitheatre at 7:30 p.m.

The Band of Oz is one of the most successful groups in the Southeast and continues to get the best reviews from the top people in the entertainment business. The band now features a full horn section to total a dynamic eight-member group. They still perform well more than 200 shows per year for corporate events, festivals, concerts, wedding receptions, and many other public and private events.

The Tonez are an eight-piece band dedicated to keeping crowds on their feet dancing and enjoying live music. With a growing mix of oldies, Motown, rock & roll, country, funk, R&B, and beach music, The Tonez can play it all. The combination of a three-time Cammy-nominated core with a high-powered horn section, the Tonez feature seven vocalists, and every note of every performance is live — no recorded tracks.

Cat5 burst on the scene in June of 2019 from a trio of top East Coast Bands. The band performs everything from beach music, originals, top 40 country, ’90s country, old yacht rock, and classic rock. Cat5 is a group of professional musicians that have come together with a common purpose to provide the best music possible to audiences all over the world.

Each concert will begin at 7:30 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening. Admission to each show is $15 or a Surry Arts Council Annual Pass. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with an adult admission or Annual Pass. The Dairy Center, Whit’s Custard, and Thirsty Souls Community Brewing will be at the concerts to provide food, snacks, drinks, beer, and wine for purchase. No outside alcohol or coolers are allowed to be brought into the amphitheatre area. Those attending are asked to bring a lounge chair or blanket to sit on.

Tickets are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. Annual passes are on sale for $135 (including tax.) For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org

Members of a local drama group are putting their musical talents on stage in support of the theater they call home.

The NoneSuch Playmakers will present “Lift Your Voice for Jones,” a wide-ranging musical revue being staged as a fundraiser for the L.H. Jones Auditorium in Mount Airy on Saturday, May 21.

“The Jones Auditorium has been our home stage for several seasons now,” said NoneSuch co-founder Brack Llewellyn. “The J.J. Jones Alumni Association, which operates the space, has always been supportive of us. We wanted to do something to show our appreciation.”

Llewellyn noted that, like all other performance venues, the L.H. Jones Auditorium was dark for more than 18 months during the pandemic.

“But they still had to pay their power bill, and their water bill, and maintain the facility with no income,” he said. “Now that NoneSuch can get back on stage again, we felt a fundraiser might help them out a bit. So we’re doing it the best way we know—with a show.”

The May 21 revue features some of the theater group’s best singing voices, he said. The performers include Jennifer Johnson Brown, Dani Davis, Jennifer Freeman, Shanna H. Jones, Angela Llewellyn, Chris Powell, Billie Smith, Cindy Southern Marion, Jane Tesh — who doubles as accompanist — and Elkin resident Christine Werner Booher.

“It’s going be a truly eclectic evening,” said Llewellyn. “We asked our singers to choose three or four songs each that they would like to perform, regardless of the style. You’ll get to hear everything from pop to country to Motown to show tunes to Gospel. We even have some original compositions. We want everyone to come out and enjoy the music, and also to see what a great performance space the Jones Auditorium is.”

“Life Your Voice for Jones” will begin at 7 p.m. A minimum donation of $10. per person is suggested, with larger amounts will be “gratefully accepted.” The evening will also feature a silent auction and a raffle, with those proceeds also going to the organization.

The L.H. Jones Auditorium is located at 215 Jones School Road, Mount Airy.

Auditions for the Surry Arts Council’s production of “Music Man” directed by Tyler Matanick are being held on Tuesday, May 17 and Wednesday, May 18 from 6 – 9 p.m. at the Andy Griffith Playhouse.

Those auditioning should wear appropriate audition attire (no sweatpants or hoodies). Each auditioner should bring dance clothes/shoes for the dance audition and should prepare a 32-bar to 64-bar piece of any musical theater song. Sheet music should be brought for an accompanist to play along with the audition. Anyone not bringing sheeting music may sing a cappella. No monologue is necessary.

The public performances will be on Friday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, July 24 at 3 p.m.

The “Music Man” follows fast-talking traveling salesman, Harold Hill, as he cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band that he vows to organize — this, despite the fact that he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef. His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian, the librarian, who transforms him into a respectable citizen by curtain’s fall.

For additional information, contact Tyler Matanick at 336-786-7998 or tyler@surryarts.org. Tickets for the shows are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street.

Surry strawberry season now heads full steam

The warm morning of mid-May, the sweet perfume of honeysuckles, the sounds of the birds, plus the aroma of fresh red strawberries beckon us to that special strawberry field on a country road in Surry County. Several gallons of beautiful berries are waiting for us to pick! The is nothing quite like the red tint and sweet aroma of freshly picked strawberries on your fingertips. It is always fun to go berry picking in the morning when the air is fresh, the warm sun shines down and the scent of honeysuckles and strawberries fill the countryside. This seems to be the best time to pick with no distractions. If you don’t have time to pick berries, you can always call ahead and place an order and they will have them ready when you arrive. It costs about a dollar more per gallon if they pick berries for you, but still well worth the price.

Strawberry cappers make processing easier

With a strawberry capper, you can dig the cap out of the berry without any damage to the fruit. You can purchase one at a pick-your-own field for about a dollar or at most kitchen specialty shops. They are a great investment that makes processing strawberries easier as well as cleaner.

Freezing strawberries for year-round use

Strawberries are the easiest fruit to freeze and they taste almost as good as fresh in the winter. To freeze the berries, begin the process as soon as you bring them home from the field. For best results, always use plastic quart containers instead of bags to better protect and preserve the berries. Never run any water over the strawberries because this destroys the tiny seed on the berries and also makes berries mushy. Process one quart at a time, by capping the green caps and place in a one quart pan. Fill one side of the sink with cold water and gently place one quart of berries in the water and then drain them on a dry towel before placing the berries in a plastic quart container. Avoid pressing or mashing the berries. Make sure lids are tightly sealed to avoid freezer burn. Repeat process quart by quart and immediately place in freezer.

To make a strawberry refrigerator pie

This is an easy pie to prepare and is especially great while strawberries are in season. You will need one box of vanilla wafers, two sticks light margarine, one and a half cups 10x powdered sugar, one teaspoon vanilla, one tablespoon strawberry flavoring, two large eggs, one quart fresh cut up strawberries, one pint dairy whipping cream. Run the box of vanilla wafers through the blender in grate mode. In a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan or dish, spread half the vanilla wafers. Cream the 10x powdered sugar and light margarine. Add eggs one at a time and beat well, add vanilla and strawberry flavoring (and a little milk if necessary). Spread the mixture over bottom layer of grated vanilla wafers. Mix the quart of fresh chopped strawberries with half a cup of sugar (not powdered but cane sugar). Spread the strawberries over the top of the pie mixture. Sprinkle remaining grated vanilla wafer crumbs on top of the pie. Place in refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Cut pies in squares.

A step ahead of pollen

The dusty yellow tree pollen covers the driveway, carport, and vehicles and the porch. It reaches into nostrils and promotes sneezes and wheezes and makes a dusty mess as it sticks to everything it touches. Keep the leaf blower and water hose handy as well as a bottle of spray glass cleaner. Blow the porch, carport and vehicles off every day and rinse pollen off the vehicles. Clean the windshields with glass cleaner and wipe inside the doors of vehicles and wipe the engine with a spray of Armor-All. The pollen season will extend all the way into the month of June.

We are in the midst of Blackberry Winter

The season of Blackberry Winter is still in progress which means we may still have a few more cool nights to deal with. We celebrated Saint Dunstan’s Day last week, and he says that the cool nights of May are past and the norm will be warmer days and nights. If Dunstan is right, he will have to override Blackberry Winter. We believe Dunstan has been dead too long and Blackberry Winter is still very much alive and the blooms are still white. The nights are still cool because the fire flies have not arrived. Their flickering amber lights will let us know when warm nights are here to stay. It is then that all warm weather vegetables can be planted.

The sweet aroma of wild honeysuckles wafts its way across the fields, meadows and country roads of Surry County. What a sweet perfume they emit! Stop along a country lane in Surry County and gather a bunch and bring them home to place in a bud vase so that sweet scent can waft its way through the house and delight the nostrils and promote sweet dreams.

Awaiting the arrival of springs fireflies

Now that we have reached the halfway point of the merry month of May and almost the middle of Blackberry Winter the season of the glowing fireflies cannot be that far away. There are some years we see more fireflies than others. We believe wet summers and late springs have adverse effects on fireflies. We definitely don’t think it is global warming, but it could be the human factor of using too many pesticides and chemicals or sprays. We are hoping they overcome these situations and that this will be a great and a bright season for them. Their flickering tail lights are a welcome sign of spring and all God’s children need to know how to catch a firefly and also learn what they smell like.

Keep hummingbird feeders filled up

Even with the honeysuckles in bloom, it is a great idea to keep hummingbird feeders filled so that you can keep hummers in the area of your home and also they will have an alternative food supply of nectar for a quick sip. You can make your own nectar with one cup sugar and one and a half cups water and several drops of red food coloring. You can also buy ready-to-use nectar in half gallon bottles and a powdered mix in envelopes that you mix with water. Check the feeders every three days and fill with fresh nectar to avoid fermentation.

Rows or beds of green beans can be planted

Green beans are one of America’s most popular vegetables and their are so many varities of them to choose from. They can be planted throughout the spring and summer with a harvest date of 60 to 70 days to produce a crop. Green beans can be used fresh in many recipes and casseroles and be canned and frozen for meals from the garden all winter long. The most popular of green beans are the bush varities and you can choose them in varities of Derby, Top Crop, Strike, Tenderette, Blue Lake, Bush, Kentucky Wonder Bush and White Half Runners. You can also choose from pole varities that require a longer number of days until harvest. Plant green beans in a furrow about four inches deep. Fill furrow with a layer of peat moss and sow seeds on top of the peat moss. Apply an application of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food and a layer of Black Kow composted cow manure and hill up soil on both sides of the furrow and tamp down soil with the hoe blade for good contact with the soil.

The spring dynasty of weed is beginning

With the arrival of mid-May comes the debut of the season of pesky weeds in the garden plot as they begin their destructive task. You can stay ahead of the weed population by pulling weeds up by the roots and throwing them out of the garden. Get rid of morning glories while they are young and have not developed long root systems. Pull up Bermuda grass, nut grass, crab grass and lambs quarters before they get out of hand. Weeds deprive plants of vital nutrients and choke out their growth. Do not use harmful weed killers, but use your two hands to get rid of the weed population.

The beauty of the Full Flower Moon

The full moon of May will occur on Monday, May 16, and this full moon will be named Full Flower Moon. It will be eclipsed on the Sunday night before and also early that Monday morning, an event that will last four hours and 19 minutes in its entirety and begin at 9:26 p.m. Sunday, and end at 2:30 a.m. Monday.

The Surry Arts Players will be performing “Little Women” directed by Shelby Coleman this weekend. There will be a Saturday performance at 7:30 p.m. and a Sunday performance at 3 p.m.

Based on Louisa May Alcott’s life, “Little Women” follows the adventures of sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March. Jo is trying to sell her stories for publication, but the publishers are not interested – her friend, Professor Bhaer, tells her that she has to do better and write more from herself. Begrudgingly taking this advice, Jo weaves the story of herself and her sisters and their experience growing up in Civil War America.

“Little Women” offers a night filled with laughter, tears, and a lifting of the spirit.

The production stars Raegan Amos as Jo March, Madison Stowe as Meg March, Cassidy Mills as Beth March, LillyRuth Beck as Amy March, Laura Hutchins as Marmee March, Scott Carpenter as Professor Bauer, Greg Matthews as Mr. Laurence, Django Burgess as Theodore Laurence III “Laurie,” Walker York as Mr. John Brooke, Shawn Murphy as Aunt March, Ashley Mills as Mrs. Kirk, Madelyn Holladay as The Hag, Alexis Holladay as Sir Braxton Prendergast, Kaitlyn Holladay as Rodrigo II, Thomas Holladay as Rodrigo, Abbie Schuyler as Clarissa, Kori Hawks as The Troll and Robert Parks as The Knight.

The Surry Arts Players are welcoming newcomer Laura Hutchens who has performed with the Piedmont Opera and serves as an adjunct professor of voice at High Point University. Madison Stowe is also a newcomer and is from Martinsville, Virginia. has performed in numerous community theater productions around the tri-state.

Serving on the production crew is Director/Choreographer Shelby Coleman, Music Director Katelyn Gomez, Conductor Hollie Heller, Costume Designer Khriste Petree, Lighting Designer Tyler Matanick, Set Design by Shelby Coleman, Set Construction Tyler Matanick and David Brown, Set Painting Shelby Coleman and Lori Hawkins Beck, Prop Master Shelby Coleman and Cassidy Mills, Sound Engineer Tyler Matanick, Production Assistant Reese Cox, Pianist Teresa Martin, Trumpet Allen Nichols, Percussion RJ Heller, Clarinet/Tenor Saxophone Bobby Heller and Stage Crew Revonda Petree, Noah Petree, Reese Cox, Isabelle Cowan, Patrick McDaniel, and Noah Wilkes.

Performances are on Saturday] at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Andy Griffith Playhouse. Tickets are $20. Tickets are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street, or at the box office one hour before the performances. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org.

The Konnection Band returns to the Blackmon Amphitheatre stage on Friday, while Gary Lowder & Smokin’ Hot will take the stage on Saturday night. Both shows will start at 7:30 p.m.

Founded in 2005, The Konnection has been tabbed as one of the East Coast’s premier party bands, specializing in a variety of music including Top 40, Rock, Country, R & B, Beach, and Oldies.

Gary Lowder & Smokin’ Hot are known as a Soul, R&B party band based out of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Their musical repertoire covers decades of hits from favorite artists and genres of music including soul, rhythm and blues, funk, reggae, jazz standards, country, 50s, 60s, and Carolina Beach Music. In addition to performing some of the most current hits that are topping the charts today, the group has had many successful chart-topping hits on local radio and internet stations across North and South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida.

Admission to each show is $15 or a Surry Arts Council Annual Pass. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with an adult admission or annual pass. The Dairy Center, Whit’s Custard, and Thirsty Souls Community Brewing will be at the concerts to provide food, snacks, drinks, beer, and wine for purchase. No outside alcohol or coolers are allowed to be brought into the amphitheatre area. Those attending are asked to bring a lounge chair or blanket to sit on.

Tickets are available at the gates one hour before the concerts, online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org

The weather was not cooperative, with heavy storms on Friday evening and rain off and on much of Saturday, but the annual Pilot Mountain Civic Club Mayfest returned this year, filling the streets with vendors and shoppers.

While the crowds might have been off from what organizers were hoping for as a result of the poor weather, thousands still made their way to Pilot Mountain for the three-day event.

Mayfest, the major annual fundraiser for the local Civic Club, is a popular gathering, where town residents, as well as visitors from all around the region, visit Pilot Mountain for live music, a variety of food booths, and a number of craft and other vendors.

The event, an unofficial beginning of summer for many, had been cancelled the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but folks seemed to enjoy this weekend’s event even through the stormy weather.

Before the nights of May get warmer, we have to go through “Blackberry Winter.” This is the time when wild blackberries are white with blooms along the fields, meadows, and country roads of Surry County. As they bloom for the next two or three weeks, we can expect a few more chilly days and nights.

A trip to the Surry strawberry patch

The scent of the wild honeysuckle mingled with the sweet aroma of strawberries emitting from fields of pick-your-own strawberry farms in the rolling hills of Surry County on a May morning is an experience to remember. Whether you pick your own or buy them ready-picked, it is a fun place to visit. There is something extra special about picking your own berries and being close to them and getting the stain and aroma on your fingertips.

Total eclipse of moon is May 15-16

A total eclipse on the moon will occur on Sunday and Monday, May 15-16, and it is an event that will last from 9:26 p.m. Sunday until 1:55 a.m. Monday. The length of the lunar event will be four hours and 19 minutes. The eclipse will be visible all over North America and begins at 9:26 p.m. Sunday night, Eastern Daylight Savings Time, when the moon enters the penumbra and at 10:27 p.m. the moon enters the umbra. The moon leaves the umbra at 1:55 a.m. Monday. The moon leaves the penumbra at 2:50 a.m.. Totality will last one hour and 24 minutes. The eclipse ends at 2:50 a.m. Monday. In referring to the penumbra, which is the Latin word for “Shadow” or the darkest part of the shadow where the light is completely blocked. The umbra is the area not only some but all the light is blocked.

We kick of the 2022 season of the strawberry harvest with a strawberry cream salad. You will need two quarts of fresh strawberries, two three-ounce boxes strawberry Jello, two cups boiling water, one cup cottage cheese, one pint dairy whipping cream, one cup sugar, one teaspoon strawberry flavoring. Cap and cut strawberries into halves. Stir the berries into one cup sugar. Dissolve Jello into two cups water and one teaspoon of strawberry flavoring. Chill the Jello in refrigerator until it is slightly thickened. Stir in the strawberries and cottage cheese. Beat dairy whipping cream until thick. Fold whipped cream with tablespoon of sugar added to it and fold the whipped cream into the Jello mixture. Pour into a bowl sprayed with Pam. Chill in refrigerator until firm. Makes eight servings. Keep salad refrigerated.

The sweet perfume of honeysuckles

The first warm evenings of May evokes the fresh scent of the wild honeysuckles and their blossoms wafting in the twilight breezes. The white and coral blooms are things of beauty. In the twilight air of the deck, they are a treat to the nostrils. Pick a bud vase of honeysuckle blossoms and place them in the kitchen, den or bedroom for a sweet spring perfume.

The nights of May are now beginning to have a hint of warmth. This is good news for the warm weather vegetable crops. Frost danger should be a thing of the past. Green beans in such varities as the Top Crop, Strike, Tenderette, Kentucky Wonder Bush, Blue Lake Bush and Derby can now be planted. Wait another ten days to plant squash, cucumbers, pepper, tomato plants and egg plants. By that time, soil temperatures will be consistent and warm and so will the nights.

Starting a container or a pot of Coleus

Coleus or Josephs coat adorns any deck or porch with a coat of many colors. Coleus comes in colors of pink, cream, maroon, yellow, mint green, red, purple and lavender. The colors are framed in a mostly green border. As they continue to grow, they produce stems of very light purple flowers. When you continue to pinch these flowers off more leaves begin to form and you will have plenty of foliage till frost.

Planting summer squash for sonkers

If you live in Surry County, you are no stranger to sonkers because they are a tradition as well as a treat. My mother-in-law, a native of Surry County, made squash sonkers with a layer of biscuit dough and fresh summer squash, milk (evaporated), butter, vanilla, sugar and thickened with corn starch. It was unforgettable and we still remember its wonderful flavor. You can use many fruits and a few vegetables such as squash and sweet potatoes to make sonkers. We think squash make the best because they are so unique. The very first sonkers made way back when, were probably made from squash simply because they were so available and everyone had plenty of them. You can use canned squash to make them all year long. The season for planting summer squash is almost here with the soil warming up. Several varieties of summer squash make better sonkers than others. The best varities for sonkers are the straight-necks simply because they are meaty with less moisture. Several varities that meet these conditions are Early Prolific straight-necks, Saffron by Burpee Seed, Enterprise by Park Seed. These are all straight-neck varities and they can be split and seeds removed easily for a more tasty sonker, meaty, without seed or much water. Better squash make tastier sonkers. Long live the sonker!

Make waves with the wave petunias

Of all the petunias, the wave variety is the best, especially the hot pinks. These waves are available in several colors including white. They produce bountiful hanging baskets of continual blooms that cascade over the sides of the baskets. You can also set several out in large pots or containers. Feed them with Flower-Tone organic flower food once each month. As they finish their bloom stage, pinch of spent blooms to promote new blooms. As the season advances, trim off long runners to strengthen blooms for a longer season.

Warm soil will cause potato vines to grow and also attract Colorado potato beetles. If you detect any, spray a mist of Sevin spray directly on the foliage. Check soil underneath the vines to see if any potatoes are forming. Pull the soil up to the base of the plants on each side of the furrow.

Planting a piece of true American history

The American Bee Balm plant has been an important plant in our country’s history since before the revolutionary war. It’s leaves were used as a substitute for tea after British tea was dumped from their ships into the Boston Harbor in the Boston Tea Party. This act was done in protest to British taxation as well as British dominance. American colonist boiled the leaves of the bee balm to make a form of tea. It most likely was a common plant that grew wild in the New England woodlands. You can plant a piece of American history on your front porch and enjoy pretty pink or lavender flowers and mint green leaves all spring and summer and perhaps make some bee balm tea. Most nurseries, garden shops, hardwares, Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement and Ace Hardware have it. Transplant them from the small pot they came in to a larger container filled with a fine textured potting medium. It will grow fast after being transplanted. Feed it with Flower-Tone organic flower food once each month. Some varities will grow taller than others. You can winter them over by trimming them back and move to a protected area on the porch and cover with a towel on freezing nights. We have one that is several years old and produces new foliage every spring. We believe the American colonists used the taller varities.

Setting out a few early tomato plants

It is still a little early for setting out the bulk of the tomato plants harvest because nights are still inconsistently cool, but a few varities such as Early Girl, Celebrity and Oregon Spring which are determinants can be set out for an early harvest. Set out only what you can cover for warmth at night. You will need just a few because in a few more weeks, you can set out the main harvest of tomatoes. You can stake the early tomatoes and cover with plastic bags (clear). Cut clear plastic bags and cover soil around base of plants to promote warmth in the soil. Anchor bags with a layer of soil. Feed with Tomato-Tone organic tomato food.

“Doing the math.” On the first day of school the teacher of the first grade said, “If anyone has to go to the bathroom, hold up two fingers.” A small voice from the back of the room said, “How will that help?”

“Not me.” The preacher said, “Prepare to meet thy maker. Every single member of this congregation is going to die.” One man in the congregation seemed to enjoy the preachers words, “What’s so funny?” the pastor asked. The man answered, “I’m not a member of this congregation.”

“Sign me up, sir!” Army recruiter: “What do you mean you want to join the army? You’re still in high school, you are only an infant!” Teenager: “Yes, sir, I want to join the infantry.”

Books available at the Mount Airy Public Library:

The Emerald Tide – Davis Bunn

Island of Time – Davis Bunn

Sons of Thunder – William W. Johnstone & J.A. Johnstone

Country Born – Linda Lael Miller

22 Seconds – James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

When She Dreams – Amanda Quick

The Good Left Undone – Adriana Trigiani

A Sunlit Weapon – Jacqueline Winspear

The Last Kiss Goodnight – Kat Martin

The Last Chance Library – Freya Sampson

The summer programming will be getting underway soon, lasting from May 23 to Aug. 8. Explore the theme of the week through stories, crafts, games and more. Spaces are limited for some events, call or come by to register to secure a spot. Call 336-789-5108. The schedule is:

• Monday at 6 p.m. – teens, ages 13-17;

• Tuesday at 2 p. m. – kids ages 8-12;

• Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. – Toddler Time for children ages 2 and 3;

• Thursday at 9:30 a.m. – Book Babies for children ages birth to 2 years old;

• Thursday at 11 a.m. – Preschool Storytime – ages 4-5;

• Friday at 9 a.m. – Adults, age 15 and older;

• Friday at 1 p.m. – Family Movie Series, popcorn and water will be available. Feel free to bring your own snacks.

• June 11 at 2 p.m. Author Meet and Greet – Come by and meet Sarah McCoy and listen as she talks about her new book Mustique Island.

• July 21 at 4:30 p.m. Brightstar Children’s Theatre Presents “Treasure Island.” Get a crash course on this Robert Louis Stevenson classic tale of treasure, pirates and ocean adventure. For all ages.

Surry Community College is offering a fun and free English as Second Language (ESL) class at the Mount Airy Public Library Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Anyone interested should contact Jennifer Pardue at 336-386-3674.

Hooked – Come join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Tai Chi has returned to the library. Join us each Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. This class is beneficial for those with limited mobility.

The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. This month we will have local author Tasha Greer speaking. She has written two books, Grow Your Own Spices and Weed Free Gardening.

It’s Yoga Y’all – Yoga with Ms. Heather will be the third Saturday of every month at 10:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted.

Pages and Petticoats Book Club — meets on the last Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

For the first time in three years, area residents were able to gather publicly to mark the National Day of Prayer in both Mount Airy and Dobson.

The annual observance, held the first Thursday in May across the nation, was cancelled locally in both 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving the Mount Airy Ministerial Association to commemorate the day with local radio broadcasts.

This year, the organization was able to once again hold public gatherings, with more than 40 people on hand for the noontime observance in Mount Airy, and more than 60 turning out in Dobson for the prayer service.

“A sweeter day in the whole year cannot be found,” Dr. David Sparks told those who were gathered on the lawn of the city municipal building in Mount Airy. Calling it a “very solemn day,” Sparks — pastor at Flat Rock Pentecostal Holiness Church — said thousands upon thousands of people were gathering publicly across America for the Day of Prayer.

Mount Airy Mayor Ron Niland said this year’s service takes on a particular poignancy because of the Russian invasion of and war with Ukraine.

“We are gathering today to pray, while they are just trying to survive,” he said, urging those in attendance to pray for Ukraine and its people as well as for America.

During his remarks, Rev. Danny Miller of Central United Methodist Church spoke of the Apostle Paul and his writing to the church in Colossae, telling the church members there that he prayed for them daily, seeking God’s guidance in their growth and maturity as Christians.

Miller said Paul encouraged them to pray as well, to stay true to God, and to not be discouraged or led astray by false teachings — “disinformation, if you will,” he said.

Miller then encouraged those in attendance to remain strong in their prayer life, because that was a key to building a relationship with God.

“This shouldn’t be the only day that we pray. That wouldn’t be much of a relationship,” he said, exhorting those wishing to grow in their relationship with God to pray daily, to pray multiple times a day.

“Prayer is just talking to God. It doesn’t have to be fancy.”

His comments came after Mayor Niland had read a proclamation declaring Thursday a Day of Prayer in Mount Airy. During his remarks, he traced the history of the National Day of Prayer, with its earliest mention coming in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonists to pray for “wisdom in forming a nation.”

“…the call to prayer has continued through our history, including President Lincoln’s proclamation of a day of ‘humility, fasting, and prayer’ in 1863.”

In 1952, he read from the document, Congress passed a joint resolution — which was signed by President Truman — declaring a national day of prayer, and in 1988 the law was amended and signed by President Reagan setting the day as the first Thursday in May.

A similar scene played out in Dobson at noon, with Pastor DM Dalton, president the ministerial association, overseeing the service there, with Dr. Rick Jackson of Welcome Baptist Church delivering the message to those gathered on the courthouse lawn.

Some area residents — particularly those around Pilot Mountain — can be forgiven if they believe we haven’t had a proper spring in three years.

Their wait is about to end.

Friday, the three-day Pilot Mountain Mayfest, sponsored by the Civic Club of Pilot Mountain will return for the first time since 2019, after a two-year COVID layoff.

“The only Mayfests I’ve ever missed are the two we’ve canceled,” said Michelle Fallin, Pilot Mountain Civic Club president and head of the volunteer force putting on this year’s event. “It is a huge tradition for us who live in Pilot Mountain, for people who like to visit Pilot Mountain. I’ve always thought of it as the traditional way to kick off spring and summer.”

She is not the only one — traditionally more than 30,000 people flock to the small town in the shadow of Pilot Mountain for the three-day event, with several streets in downtown Pilot Mountain lined with craft vendors, food booths, along with live music and a game or two for the children.

While Mayfest has been around for several decades, this year’s festival seems to have a special meaning.

“It’s a breath of fresh air,” said Jenny Jessup Kindy, the town’s Main Street coordinator. “It is making life feel more like normal. We’re excited to welcome something like 30,000+ visitors back to town.”

“I have heard a lot say they are glad we are back,” Fallin said. “From what I’m hearing, from people in the community, they are so ready to get back to enjoying everything Pilot Mountain has to offer.”

It’s not just the lure of a downtown festival that has Fallin and others excited. The civic club generally donates between $10,000 and $15,000 to non-profit agencies in Pilot Mountain to meet needs in the community, in additional to some direct donations to families who are in the midst of a crisis, as well as some scholarships to local students.

“Mayfest has always been our biggest fundraiser, it given us the opportunity to do that for our community,” she said. With no Mayfest the past couple of years, it has been difficult to maintain that level of non-profit support. “The money we raise this year will enable us to get back to where we used to be.”

She said this year those attending will notice a few differences, with some of the vendors and music in different places. Part of reorganizing the design is to move the food vendors to Main Street, with tables set up nearby so people can sit and eat.

“That’s been kind of one big struggle each year, for people to be able to sit down and enjoy their food.”

In addition to the vendors — many of which will be new this year — Fallin said many of the downtown businesses plan to set up booths.

“We have some awesome businesses that have come into town the last couple of years,” she said. “Our town in general has done an excellent job of bringing people in to shop. I think a lot of the newer businesses see that and want to be part of Mayfest.”

Mayfest will have its grand opening at noon on the stage set up on Depot Street. The ceremony, in addition to a big welcome to those in attendance, will include remarks by Mayor Evan Cockerham, singing by the 3- and 4-year-olds from First United Methodist Church, with the East Surry High School JROTC serving as color guard.

Fallin said the festival will be from noon until 8 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Saturday, and 1 to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

The Embers featuring Craig Woolard return to the Blackmon Amphitheatre on Thursday followed by North Tower Band on Friday and Envision on Saturday. All three bands are set to play at 7:30 p.m. each day.

The Embers are widely considered a musical marvel and have laid the groundwork for what has become known as ‘Beach Music’ in the Carolinas, Virginias, the gulf coast region of North America, and every beach in between.

“They are a true musical tradition with which many Americans have listened to from childhood to adulthood,” according to the Surry Arts Council, sponsors of the Summer Concert Series. “The Embers consider the genre of Beach Music as ‘music with a memory’ and have been creating lasting memories since its inception in 1958. Simply put – Heart and soul, rhythm and blues, feel good music.”

North Tower has been one of the South’s party bands for more than 35 years, providing the best in Top 40, beach, funk, and oldies. “Sizzling brass, super vocals, and a wide-ranging repertoire all contribute to making your event a night to remember.”

“Envision’s stage show is as exciting to watch as it is to dance to, covering hits from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, all the way up to the contemporary sound of today’s Top 40,” the arts council said. Although specializing as a party band, the group’s repertoire encompasses a wide variety of musical styles, including R&B, beach, motown/oldies, pop, dance, funk, and Jazz.

Admission to each show is $15, plus tax, or a Surry Arts Council Annual Pass, which costs $135, including tax. Children 12 and younger are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. The Dairy Center, Whit’s Custard, and Thirsty Souls Community Brewing will be at the concerts to provide food, snacks, drinks, beer, and wine for purchase. No outside alcohol or coolers are allowed to be brought into the amphitheatre area. Those attending are asked to bring a lounge chair or blanket to sit on.

Tickets are available at the gates on the nights of the concerts, online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org.

For the past two years, the Mount Airy Ministerial Association has moved its annual Day of Prayer celebration to the airways — broadcasting a brief talk and prayer time on local radio station WPAQ.

This year, the ceremony will move back to the open air, in-person gatherings the organization has been holding in Mount Airy for years. And, for the second time, there will be an observance in Dobson as well. Both services and prayer times will be on Thursday at noon.

Pastor D.M. Dalton, president of the ministerial association, said he and the association are thrilled to be able to return to holding the services in public.

For years the ministerial association, working with local officials, have held a gathering at the Mount Airy City Hall, on the lawn just outside the front doors. In 2019, the group expanded, with a second service in the county seat of Dobson, on the Courthouse Lawn facing Atkins Street.

The 2020 and 2021 gatherings were cancelled as a result of public gathering prohibitions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, with cases low and those regulations largely repealed, both services will be held at noon.

In Mount Airy, Dr. David Sparks of Flat Rock Pentecostal Holiness Church will serve as moderator, while Rev. Danny Miller of Central United Methodist Church will be sharing a sermon. Dalton said that Police Chief Dale Watson and Fire Chief Zane Poindexter would be serving as flag-bearers for the ceremony.

In Dobson, Dalton will serve as moderator while Dr. Rick Jackson of Welcome Baptist Church will share the sermon. The Surry County Sheriff’s Office will be serving as Honor Guards there.

This year’s theme is from Col. 2:6-7, which reads “Exalt the Lord Who has established us.”

Dalton said he has appreciated the way so many people and groups have stepped up to help, not only this year, but in previous years. He said the county was quick to support the effort in 2019 and again this year with the expansion in Dobson, as the city leaders have been through the years. He also praised the sheriff’s office for readily helping, and specifically cited John Kennedy from Salem Baptist Church as someone who has “been there to do anything we need.

“Everyone has been absolutely marvelous. Everyone really seems to embrace this,” he said.

Buds of wild blackberries prelude “Blackberry Winter”

The tiny buds on the wild blackberry vines along country roads in Surry County are a prelude that makes us aware that we are on the verge on an annual “Blackberry Winter.” This will be in full swing at the end of next week and be with us until almost the last week of May. This is sort of the last hoorah for cool weather and uncomfortable nights even though the heavy frosts and ground freezes are not a threat. Snow is certainly no threat. In a few more weeks, nights will begin to warm up and the weather will be warmer at nights and make sowing of warm weather vegetables favorable and safe.

Pollen season in full swing

The dusty yellow pollen of one tree variety after another fills the eyes and nostrils with the dusty substance. The pollen is so fine that it reaches the inside of vehicle doors and under the hoods of cars and coats windshields. Keep the hose and leaf blower handy. Rinse the car each day and blow the pollen from porches and carports to keep from tracking into the house. Wipe pollen from inside the vehicle door panels. Use glass cleaner to keep windshields front and back cleared of pollen.

Planting a packet of the amazing moon flower

The pure white blooms of the moon flower open and bloom at night. An amazing thing about the moon flower is that the flower will open while you are watching it at twilight time each evening and bloom for only one night. Ever night, new blooms will take their place. Many strange pollinators and night flying insects visit the flowers during the night. Packets of moon flowers cost around $2. Plant the moon flower seed in a large container of fine potting medium near a porch post or pillar so the flowers vine can climb up the post or pillar. They resemble a huge morning glory and emit an unusual aroma that attracts nighttime pollinators. Plant about four or five seed per container and thin to three when they sprout. Feed monthly with Flower-Tone organic flower food.

Don’t worry about any remaining frost

There may be a couple of scattered frosts, but nothing killing or even to be concerned about. May will bring some cool nights but not many freezing temperatures. Wait until closer to the end of the month of May to plant most warm weather vegetables. You can gamble with a few tomato plants and a row of green beans and a couple of hills of squash and cucumbers, but wait until temperatures become warmer and more consistent later in the month.

Starting a row or bed of early green beans

Its not too early to plant a row or bed of green beans to see if you can enjoy an early harvest. Top Crop or Strike are good varities to sow for an early row or bed. Plant seed in a furrow about 3 to 4 inches deep and apply a layer of peat moss, then sow the seed and top with another layer of peat moss. Apply an application of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food and hill up soil on both sides of the row and then tamp down with the hoe blade. In the “Blackberry Winter” soil of early May, green beans may take longer to sprout, but be patient with them, they will be worth waiting for.

Summer annual flowers can be planted

Summer annual flowers especially, those set out in containers and pots or hanging baskets, can now be planted in potting medium and will thrive because most of them will be on porches and decks and will receive some protection from the small amount of cooler weather we have remaining. If you plant flower seed, the soil will be warmer by the time the seeds sprout.

Ethanol oil additive in two-cycle engines

Leaf blowers, weed trimmers and weed eaters need ethanol-free fuel or ethanol-free oil treatment additive to add to the fuel. Gasoline with added ethanol can be a hazard to two-cycle engines and cause damage to these engines. If you don’t use ethanol-free gasoline in two-cycle engines, you can use ethanol fuel treatment that comes in three ounce bottles that you add to a gallon of gasoline. Most hardwares sell ethanol-free fuel in one gallon containers that is ready to use.

Moving ferns for spring and summer

The ferns have spent all fall and winter in the sunny living room and this week is the time to move them to a semi-sunny location on the deck. They will need a few handfuls of potting medium and a trim to get them on their way to a successful spring and summer. You can now purchase panda and asparagus ferns in small containers as well Boston ferns and transfer them to larger containers after you bring them home and allow them to grow outside during spring and summer and then bring them inside to winter over in a semi sunny location.

Keeping birdbaths and feeders filled

As we get more warm days and plenty of sunshine, keep plenty of fresh water in the birdbath and replenish the feeders often. Birds are building nests, searching for nesting materials, visiting the baths and feeders often. We hope they will build a nest near your home so you can watch them.

As we reach the first of May, the season of the Piedmont strawberry harvest is almost here. The season officially gets on the way the week after Mother’s Day and that is only a week away. A few fields have already opened and in Surry County, many will open in the next seven days. Plan now for a visit to a pick-your-own field near your area and enjoy strawberries all season long.

Kicking off the strawberry season with a strawberry-banana salad with simple and colorful ingredients. You will need two three-ounce boxes of strawberry Jello, one cup boiling water, one a half-quart of fresh strawberries, four bananas (diced with a few drops of lemon drops added), half cup chopped pecans, one carton of sour cream, one cup sugar. Dissolve the boxes of Jello in the boiling water, add the fresh strawberries (cut in halves), the diced bananas, sugar and chopped pecans. Pour half the mixture into a tube pan, chill in refrigerator until firm. Spread the sour cream and then cover with the remaining Jello mixture and chill in the refrigerator until firm. Makes six to eight servings. Keep refrigerated.

Do strawberries have caps or hulls?

The answer to this question is simple. Strawberries have caps. You do not hull strawberries, but you remove the little green caps from them. This is properly done with a strawberry caper which can be purchased where you buy your strawberries for around a dollar each. Kitchen departments at Target, Walmart and hardwares feature capers. They make capping berries much easier than using a knife and certainly not as messy. Every strawberry lover should have a couple of them in the kitchen drawer. They are a great investment. Buy several to give to friends and family.

Keeping an eye on blackberries bloom

The blackberries are now in full bloom along roadsides, fields and meadows as they cover Surry County with their snow white blooms. Mark and take note of the areas where they are abundant. During the next two months, they will develop green berries, then red, and around the last of June or the first of July, the berries will be black and ready to harvest. Many will be along country roadsides and easy to pick, just watch out for the briers, remember the other name for a wild blackberry is “briarberry.”

What’s that smell? Its the skunk coming out of hibernation and wondering around. No animal has such a long-range scent as a skunk that sprays the area. Even when a motorist hits one on the highway, the scent can be smelled for half a mile. We have an unusual recipe if by any remote chance your dog or cat or (heaven forbid), a family member gets a spray from a skunk. Grandma’s Northampton County recipe for skunk spray was tomato juice which is a mild remedy and not too effective. She used it on her hounds which was on rare occasions. It seems like the local paper mill out stank the skunk population! This surefire skunk deodorizer is a good scent remedy for dogs, cats and people. Mix one-fourth cup baking soda, one tablespoon dish detergent and one quart of hydrogen peroxide. Mix in a two litter bottle and shake gently to mix. Apply to the affected areas, avoiding the eyes. Do not place lid on bottle and mix only what you think you need. Discard the rest after application. Use it like you would soap and avoid direct sunlight. Lather up affected area, wait five minutes and have the animal or person, wipe and dry. A special note: The reason to avoid direct sunlight is the peroxide will bleach the hair of dogs, cats, and yes, people.

“Praying and driving.” One friend said to another friend, “You drive the car, and I will pray.” The other friend said, “What’s the matter, don’t you trust my driving?” The praying man said, “Don’t you trust my praying?”

“Clean sweep.” A wife came home from a political rally and told her husband, “Everything is going great, we are going to sweep the country.” Her husband said, “Why don’t you start with the kitchen?”

“Rev. Longwind.” “We call our pastor Reverend.” “What do you call yours?” “Neverend!”

Today, May 1, is known as May Day. Cinco De Mayo is celebrated on Thursday, May 5. The moon reaches its first quarter on Sunday, May 8. Mother’s Day is celebrated Sunday, May 8. A total eclipse of the moon will occur on the night of May 15, and will be viable in much of the United States including North Carolina. The beginning is around 9:30 p.m. and will last until 2:52 a.m. May 16. The moon will be full on Monday, May 16. The name of the moon will be “Full Flower Moon.” Armed Forces Day will be Saturday, May 21. The moon reaches its last quarter on Sunday, May 22. Memorial Day will be Monday, May 30. The moon reaches its new moon phase on Monday, May 30.

Books available at the Mount Airy Public Library:

Dark River Inn – J.R. Erickson

Darkness Stirring – J.R. Erickson

Helme House – J.R. Erickson

What Happened to Mary Faye Hunter? – Brad Golson

Hart of Madness – Lynne Kennedy

Murder in the Crypt – Irina Shapiro

Miss Etta – Deanna Lynn Sletten

The Ones We Leave Behind – Deanna Lynn Sletten

Dark Sacred Night – Michael Connelly

The Berlin Exchange – Joseph Kanon

The Rose Code – Kate Quinn

This Might Hurt – Stephanie Wrobel

Murder in a Rear View Mirror

“STEAM”ed UP on Mondays at 4 p.m. — Join us for science stories and simple experiments for grade school ages. Toddler Time for children ages 2-3 Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.; Book Babies for children ages birth to 2 years old Thursday at 9:30 a.m.; preschool story time for ages 4 – 5 Thursday at 11 a.m.

Surry Community College is offering a fun and free English as Second Language (ESL) class at the Mount Airy Public Library Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Anyone interested should contact Jennifer Pardue at 336-386-3674.

Hooked – Come join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Tai Chi has returned to the library. Join us each Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. This class is beneficial for those with limited mobility.

The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. This month we will have local author Tasha Greer speaking. She has written two books, Grow Your Own Spices and Weed Free Gardening.

It’s Yoga Y’all – Yoga with Ms. Heather will be the third Saturday of every month at 10:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted.

Pages and Petticoats Book Club — meets on the last Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. This month’s book is Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James.

Muffins With Mom – Come join us, Friday morning, May 6 at 10a.m. for a Mother’s Day themed storytime and muffins.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History will be celebrating Cinco De Mayo over the coming week, with dancing, music, food, crafts, a raffle, kid’s activities, and a History Talk about the holiday presented by a local historian.

Always free to the public, the History Talk for this month will be held at the museum on April 30, in the third-floor program space from 2 -4 p.m. Presenter Justyn Kissam will be talking about Mexican history and culture as well as the origins of Cinco De Mayo.

Though the holiday falls on a Thursday this year, the museum will be having its Cinco De Mayo celebration on Saturday, May 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., all of which is free to the public. This celebration will have food and crafts for sale, music, and free crafts for children at the kid’s activity table. The highlight of the event will be the dance performance where the museum’s Mexican Dance Bootcamp group as well as a local professional dance group will perform several traditional dances in authentic outfits.

The event will take place in the back-parking lot behind the museum and is accessible through Virginia Street and W. Oak Street through the gate. Just look for the food truck and the women in colorful dresses.

The museum also has its Wheelbarrow Full of Fun Raffle sponsored by the Women’s League of Mount Airy during the celebration. This wheelbarrow is full of assorted local spirits from wine to gin. The raffle will be held in the courtyard at the museum and tickets are on sale now for $10 for a single ticket or $20 for 3.

Anyonewith questions about the events can contact The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History at mamrh@northcarolinamuseum.org or call 3336-786-4478.

Dancers from the Mount Airy Museum of Regional Histories’ Mexican Dance Bootcamp that will be preforming at the Cinco De Mayo Celebration

Caption: Mexican Dance Bootcamp instructors Carmen Mungia and Luz Maria Alvarez, as well as other local dancers, during their performance at Peacefest in traditional Aztec dance outfits which will also be showcased during the Cinco De Mayo Celebration.

© 2018 The Mount Airy News