Build a Birdhouse contest
Dwellings for our feathered families got a boost in style and substance at the first annual Build a Birdhouse Contest on August 8. The design/build competition was sponsored by Sherwood Forest Friends with Cedar Mountain Community Center and Sherwood Forest’s Nature Nuts. Among the offerings from avian architects were a gypsy caravan, a castle crowned with a pink hennin (after the conical medieval headdress), and a meticulously carved Green Man. Judging took place at the Cedar Mountain Community Center, where the Dearbaugh family won Best in Show for their Moss Mountain tableau. Sarah Dearbaugh and her children Micah, Hannah, and Blake created the entry in remembrance of Deb Pruitt, a recently deceased friend of the Cedar Mountain community, who left the family her art supplies. These objects and natural materials foraged by the children were assembled into a whimsical birdhouse community, roofed with an old Cedar Mountain Welcome Center sign, and…
Summer Series Update
We regret to announce that all events scheduled for the 2020 Summer Series have been cancelled. Although some areas in the country are reopening the case numbers are going up in some states, including North Carolina. With such uncertainty ahead we thought it best to put safety first. We do have events planned that do not involve groups of people in one place. Stay tuned for those announcements and visit this website for information about our summer contests. Award winning storyteller and songwriter Michael Reno Harrell was scheduled for August 22. In lieu of a personal appearance, we invite you to enjoy these videos. Remind Me Why I Came Into This Room Cleaning Out Mama’s House I’m Here Homebound
Blue Ghosts are here!
Blue Ghost Fireflies – Rare, Mysterious, and Probably in Your Yard! I gasped when I first spotted them, then I burst into tears and laughter simultaneously. Witnessing Blue Ghost Fireflies (Phausis reticulata) is a surreal experience. Southern Appalachia is the only place in the world to experience this magical phenomenon. Imagine thousands of firefly ‘fairies’ gliding above the forest floor on a dark, quiet, late spring night. They don’t flash or blink – they glow. And not bright yellow like an ordinary firefly but a constant soft blue-green. You’ll rub your eyes and blink a couple of times because you’re not sure if you’re ‘seeing things.’ The impressive display occurs between mid-May through mid-June from 9:30-10:30pm right here in Sherwood Forest. The Blue Ghost fireflies are not actually flies as the name implies but tiny brown beetles. The size of a grain of rice, the males fly just above the…
May Day, a Celebration of Spring
[gdlr_dropcap type=”circle” color=”#ffffff” background=”#cd853f”]M[/gdlr_dropcap]ay Day is a public holiday usually celebrated on May 1st. It is an ancient festival of Spring and a current traditional spring holiday in many cultures. Dances, singing, and cake are usually part of the festivities. May baskets are made. These are small baskets usually filled with flowers or treats and left at someone’s doorstep. The giver rings the bell and runs away. Sherwood Forest Friends originally planned a field trip to the North Carolina Arboretum to celebrate this spring, with cake , but in light of coronavirus precautions, we will celebrate May Day 2020 virtually! The Arboretum was established as an affiliate of the University of North Carolina System by the State General Assembly in 1986, nearly a century after Frederick law Olmsted, the Father of American Landscape Architecture, first envisioned a research arboretum as part of his legacy and plan for George Vanderbilt at Biltmore Estate. Join us for a…
Earth Day 2020
50th Anniversary of Earth Day: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally [gdlr_dropcap type=”circle” color=”#ffffff” background=”#cd853f”]F[/gdlr_dropcap]or 50 years, Earth Day has united people around the urgent need to protect our planet. A movement that has grown to involve 190 nations began in the United States on April 22, 1970, when Gaylord Nelson, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, set about planning a “national teach-in on the environment.” Events were held throughout the country and a movement was begun. Twenty million Americans, 10% of the nation’s population, came out to participate in that very first Earth Day. In December,1970, Congress passed the first Clean Air Act with only one dissenting vote. “Other immediate outcomes included the passage of the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, the establishment of the EPA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the banning of DDT, the removal of lead from gasoline, and the passage of the Toxic Substances…
COVID-19 update
The Board of Directors of Sherwood Forest Friends has made the decision to cancel all events scheduled through May. This includes: Dark Skies program at CMCC March 28 Earth Day celebration at CMCC April 22 Field trip to the NC Arboretum May 1 Blue Ghost Bubble May 21 We will post information about each topic on our website and on the SF Posse on the date of the event. Please attend our free, “virtual” events! It’s the next best things to being there! We will continue to monitor government guidelines for event gatherings and make a decision regarding the Summer Series, scheduled to begin on July 11, sometime in mid-June.
It was for the birds
By all accounts our first program of 2020 was a huge success. From 4:30 to 6:00pm on February 6, folks gathered at The Cove to learn about our winter birds and how to take care of them. The program began with a presentation from our resident “birder cum laude”, Susan Goldsworthy, on recognizing and feeding our winter feathered friends. Following Susan, Cathy Nell gave an update on Sherwood Forest’s application for Audubon certification of the gold course. As many of us know, the open grassland of the gold course presents a very different bird habitat that attracts different species than our forest. The last presentation was a hands-on demonstration on how to make tasty bird “suet” using peanut butter. Yum! As per forest tradition, refreshments were served. The “Hummingbird cake” was a huge hit (no hummingbirds were harmed.) If you have Powerpoint, you can watch the presentations from Susan and…
A New Decade
Welcome to 2020 Hello Friends! We had our first meeting of the Sherwood Forest Friends board of directors this week and you might say we “are turning over a new leaf.” We have two new directors and all new officers. You can learn about them here. We are excited about the coming year and start off with one new property donated to SFF. The Program Committee will meet next week to discuss program options. We have some exciting ideas so please stay tuned.
Membership Renewals
Whew, what a busy year it has been! This month we will be sending out membership renewal notices. Please support us by renewing at the same or a higher level. Renewing online is easy so why wait? If you missed the summer series here is a summary. Our accomplishments and our dreams are only possible because of you. Your confidence in our mission has filled us with promise and possibilities. If you have suggestions of what we might do, or do differently, we are counting on your input. Use the email link in the footer of this website or talk to a board member anytime. We are only as good as the sum of our parts and you, our members, are the most important part. Here is a list of what we have done so far this year. Facility upgrades to benefit our programs WI-fi extended to Robin Hood Barn…
Summer Series calendar
Please join us for these great events!