B.W. Wells Heritage Day March 25, 2006

Will March ever go out like a lamb?  Our third annual B.W. Wells Heritage Day was again wrought with foul weather.  A cloudy day with forecast on and off rain loomed heavy on the heads of all the tour leaders.   Clyde Smith of the Wake Audubon Society led our early morning bird hike for two intrepid birders.  Sunrise was clear and the birds were out, but that soon changed and rain began to fall.   With tour leaders in place and all the displays cowering on the front porch of the Ray house, we waited out the rain.  It slowed and I led an umbrella tour for the several folks who were anxious to see the farm (and then get back to the warmth of their homes!)   The rain then let up and tables and displays were quickly set up.  People came and tours went, Wildflower, Geology, Zeagle’s Rock and of course B.W. Wells history.

Johnny Randall leading a wildflower hike.  Note all the raincoats!

The sun teased us a few times and the children activities were set up just in time for the crowds of families.  About 25 kids undertook the scavenger hunt game, and another 25-30 participated in the pine needle paint brush game.  The resulting paintings were or excellent quality, B.W. would have been proud.

It was very difficult to select a winner, and next year we will have to have age classes.  But give a huge round of applause to our painter of the year to Tori Bowman.  Great painting!

Several kids and adults tried their luck placing plants in the right community on the giant NC Natural Gardens map.  The only person to get a perfect score was our Kids Ecology Hike leader Deborah Robertson.

Somewhere in the middle of all the fun, we were quickly reminded of the forecast. An enormous black cloud crossed the lake heading our way.  Back go the displays and tables, but nobody could have predicted what happened next.  HAIL, well sleet technically.  Pea sized chunks of ice fell down.  Most of us were already under the porch of the Ray House and were safe and rather enjoying the site.  All the people on the canoe tour that just launched were probably not that happy.

Photo of Zeagle's Rock by Joe Caganassola.  Hope you've dried out from the canoe trip!

Very popular was our new addition by the NC Botanical Garden, a PLANT RAFFLE.  Who could turn down a chance at a free plant, escpecially after hearing the elogquent description by Johnny or Ken.  I already told them they're stuck helping us again next year!

The sky quickly cleared and the rest of the day was chilly but dry.  Hikes and tours continued, as did all the children's games.  Estimates of over 200 people enjoyed this unique opportunity.  Some came from as far as Georgia and Illinois.  Most were from Wake Forest, Raleigh, Rolesville and Louisburg.   On the way out everyone grabbed some seedlings left over from an Arbor Day Event.  Thanks to the NC State Forestry Extension Office and the Triangle Chapter of American Foresters for their donation. Just as the last geology tour of the day was coming back the  sky darkened once more.  Put everything away for good and go home to dry out.   One of my co-workers put it well when he told me that the Corps of Engineers called and requested that we conduct a B.W. Wells Heritage Day every weekend...until the drought is over!

Many thanks to all our tour leaders: Hughen Nourse, Earl Creutzburg, John Pelosi, Vivian Vanderbee, Clyde Smith, Debra Ludas, Johnny Randall, Ken Moore, Denise Heffner, Deborah Robetson, Patti Ray, Margaret Pridgen, Michael

See you next year!