First days of school, last days of summer.  Today Around Davidson touches on those events and has a note about summer pests.  No, not our children, but rather those pesky garden variety “varmints” that require vigilance if we want to harvest any end-of-summer tomatoes.–

Happy to be in school are Hallie (l) and Caroline Smith.

THRILLED TO BE IN SCHOOL

Thanks to Heather and Mark Smith for sharing this photo of the first day of school for daughters, Caroline and Hallie.  These young ladies love the small classes and individual attention of McKinney Academy, located at 412 Armour Street in Davidson.  In its fourth year as a private elementary school, McKinney Academy has approximately 60 students in Kindergarten through fifth grade.  Headmistress Andrea Mckinney and her staff welcomed students back for the 2010-2011 academic year on August 19.  McKinney Academy is located in the old Liburdi Dimetrics Building which now shares space with Davidson Parks and Recreation as well as the Community School of Davidson High School.

NEW LOCKS FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Aubrey Dyckman donated 10" of her hair to Locks of Love

Kudos to Aubrey Dyckman, daughter of David and Tammy Dyckman and a rising 5th grade student at Davidson Elementary School, has a beautiful new hair cut for the first day of school.  Aubrey donated 10 inches of her hair to “Locks of Love” on August 20th at The Catawba House Salon in Cornelius.  Locks of Love is a charitable organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.

With the help of stylist, Jennifer Knott, Aubrey is 10" shorter

A donor must provide at least 10 inches of hair for each wig.  Aubrey said she was ready for a change and that it felt good to help others at the same time.  Jennifer Knott, stylist at Catawba house, sheared Aubrey’s tresses and gave her a new style. What a great idea and we thank Aubrey for sharing her new “school tresses” with us.  (Want to know more about Locks of Love?  Access www.locksoflove.org)

(l-r) Robert and Jane Avinger, Mary Charles Montgomery, Anna Avinger, Findley Montgomery, Caroline Avinger, Catherine Montgomery, Baker Avinger, Harris Montgomery, Grandma Jane and Grandpa Bob

RIDING THE RANGE WITH THE AVINGERS

A highlight of summer vacation for the Avinger family was a trip to Colorado for a week at “R Lazy S Ranch.”  Bob and Jane Avinger traveled to the ranch just outside Jackson Hole with their children and grandchildren.  Coming from Nashville, TN, was their son, Robert Avinger, with his wife, Jane, and their children Anna (11), Baker (10) and Caroline (8). Their daughter, Mary Charles Avinger Montgomery came from Asheville, NC, with her children, Findley (16), Catherine (14) and Harris (almost 10).

"Cowboy cousins" on a Colorado fence: Anna, Findley, Caroline, Catherine, Baker and Harris

What a week they had.  With beautiful scenery greeting them each morning from the front porch of their cabins, the group took trail rides (yes, even grandparents Jane and Bob climbed aboard patient steeds!!), went trout fishing, hiking, tubing and additional daily activities for every age.  They also enjoyed visiting the Wednesday night rodeo in Jackson Hole.

A maximum of 40 guests are at the ranch during any given week so there is ample time for relaxation and a chance to get used to being “unplugged!”  The ranch is owned by the Stirn family who have North Carolina connections in that their son, Matt, is a senior at Davidson College this year.  A younger son is beginning his college career at Elon University.

What a nice week for all the Avingers to be together in the beautiful, wide open spaces just beneath the Grand Tetons.

A NOTEWORTHY NOTE

All Things Bright and Beautiful – Almost

Every time I hear the words, “All things Bright and Beautiful, All Creatures Great and Small,” I think of the bright and beautiful, great and small creatures that inhabit our farm.  Live and let live is my mantra, until a creature, regardless of size, sets its sights on my tomato plants. Thankfully, the deer, turtles, hedgehogs and crows all leave my dozen beautiful plants alone.

But then the inevitable happens.  On my way to the clothesline I spot the telltale evidence.  A tomato plant stripped clean of every leaf.  Only bare stems remain.  The culprit? A green tomato worm that blends so perfectly with the tomato stalk that you have to study the plants with CSI precision to detect it.  These worms would win a blue ribbon in any competition based on beauty so it is always with a heavy heart that I gingerly remove them from the plant bound for a final resting place in the trash.  Disposing of ticks, fire ants, fleas or roaches causes me not one moment of anxiety but a worm as beautiful as these tomato “vultures” does give me pause.  They are a study in the beauty of nature so perfectly camouflaged.  As another gardening season comes to an end, I marvel once more at “all things bright and beautiful” and hope that these small “creatures” will humor me in 2011 by relocating to Outer Mongolia!

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Have news for Around Davidson? Write to Brenda Barger at hbarger@bellsouth.net.