Democratic Club Meeting

by Jane Haltmaier, Member, LOW Democratic Club

The next Democratic Club meeting will be Feb. 8 at the Community Center. We will start with a social half-hour at 1PM, followed by our speaker, Willow Drinkwater. Willow is the founder of Feed My Sheep, located in Gordonsville. Members of the program donate food to students in Gordonsville on a weekly basis. The organization also runs an emergency food pantry and takes care of the Gordonsville Community Garden.

Wed, Feb. 1 – Guacamole Restaurant, Locust Grove. Meet there at 4:30 PM and please RSVP to POC by 11 AM that day.

Wed, Feb. 8 – Logan’s Roadhouse, Spotsylvania Mall Drive. Meet there at noon for brunch and NOTE - RSVP to POC by 11 AM on Tuesday, Feb. 7 to allow time for reservations to be made.

Wed, Feb. 15– Bella Cucina/Mexican, Locust Grove. Meet there at 4:30 PM and please RSVP to POC by 11 AM that day.

Wed, Feb. 22 – 2 Brothers, Locust Grove. Meet there at 4:30 PM and please RSVP to POC by 11 AM that day.

Willow has been active in politics since voting for John F. Kennedy when at Smith College. In the 1960s she was Vice President of the League of Women Voters in Potsdam, New York, where she helped establish the first Health Department in St. Lawrence County. Willow also worked at Attica Prison after the riots in 1972, bringing in Genesee Community College courses. After moving to Gordonsville, she worked at WJMA, where she produced the Swap Shop and Monday at One programs. She also worked as a social worker at the then Gordonsville Hospital. She founded Feed My Sheep 16 years ago.

Willow Drinkwater

All are welcome to attend the meeting and presentation. Attendees are encouraged to either make donations of non-perishable food, or bring a check written to Feed My Sheep.

Lioness Club

Mardi Gras Dinner Dance

by

Julie Phend, Member, LOW Lioness Club

Plans are well underway for the Lioness Club’s Mardi Gras Dinner Dance on Saturday, March 4, at Lake of the Woods Clubhouse. The festive evening begins with a cocktail hour at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:00. The Reunion Band will play from 8:00-11:00 p.m. for your dancing and listening enjoyment. Dress is semi-formal, with Mardi Gras masks optional, (but so much fun).

Tickets go on sale online February 11th, and the cost is $65 per person plus a processing fee. When you go online to purchase your ticket, you will be asked to choose your entrée and table number.

MENU:

New Orleans style appetizers.

Mardi Gras Salad:

• A mix of baby spinach and romaine with carrot, red onion, mandarin orange, and bacon served with blueberry pomegranate dressing. Served with Corn bread and butter.

A Choice of Entrées:

• Chicken Jambalaya

• Blackened Catfish

• Beef Medallions

• or a vegetarian option of Mushroom Wellington. All entrée’s served with red beans and rice and French green beans

Dessert: French Quarter Apple Torte

There will be a silent auction and raffles to raise money for the Lioness Foundation, which supports local causes including Wilderness Food Pantry, Orange County Animal shelter, Living Waters Free Health Clinic, Piedmont Dental Clinic, LOW Fire and Rescue, SAFE House, and scholarships to local students, as well as the Lions Hearing Foundation, Sight Foundation, and others.

You can purchase tickets online beginning February 11, at lowlioness.org For further information or questions regarding ticket purchase, please call Nicki Buell at 703-217-5615, or Ellen Bearden at 540-222-7390.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, March 4th! Invite your friends and join us for a fun evening that supports many worthy causes in our community.

Calling All Art Lovers

by Maribeth Logan, Member, LOWArts

Do you enjoy going to art museums, exhibits, art galleries, dinner theaters, gardens, watching art being created, crafts and good fellowship? Then come and check out Lake of the Woods Arts (LOWArts). We are a group for artists and art lovers. Yes, there are a lot of artists in the group, along with many who claim to have no artistic talent, but love art.

Personally, my talent is buying art supplies and watching You Tube videos. One of these days, I may actually create something. In the meantime, I enjoy the company of wonderful people and attend great events, like going to Riverside Theatre or Crossroads Art Gallery in Richmond.

Come give us a try. Next meeting is Monday, Feb. 6 from 2 to 3:30 PM. Christy Rappoport will be discussing her fabric medium and techniques. Her work is beautiful and is currently part of the Fareways art show. Visit us at lakeofthewoodsarts.com or on Facebook.

Nuts about Squirrels?

by Mary Titone,

Member, Friends of Wildlife at the Lake

There are widely varying opinions about squirrels. Some people think squirrels are adorable; some people think they’re simply rats with a tail. Whatever your opinion, there’s no question that gray squirrels are thriving at Lake of the Woods.

Eastern gray squirrels were here long before we were. They were found in the United States in great numbers during colonial times. Deforestation, as well as hunting, reduced their population. But then, squirrels were reintroduced to American cities to bring more nature into urban areas. According to Style

Weekly, in the mid- to late 1800s, squirrels in Richmond’s Capitol Square were so beloved that a portion of the governor’s discretionary budget was spent on nuts for them. They were considered a “state treasure.” These small creatures can be considered synanthropes, which means that they benefit from close association with humans, and we can gain something from them.

Squirrels are widely recognized as being beneficial to our ecosystem, due to the many seeds and nuts that they bury and never reclaim, which then sprout into new plants and trees. They can be very entertaining for humans to watch as they scurry up and down the trees, doing their typical mating chase.

A common complaint about squirrels is their ability to steal food from bird feeders. They live in female-dominated family groups, and kits are taught by their mothers and grandmothers how to get into feeders. They are extremely agile and can rotate their hind feet 180 degrees. The National Wildlife Federation has these tips for thwarting backyard squirrels:

1) Cylindrical baffles on the pole under the feeder, placed in the open, well away from trees, as squirrels can jump about eight feet.

2) Tilting baffles placed above feeders for yards with lots of trees. Specialized feeders designed to deter poaching.

Love them or hate them, squirrels are here to stay. Every Jan. 21, you can celebrate these clever, resourceful creatures on National Squirrel Appreciation Day! Questions about wildlife? Email fowloflow@gmail.com or leave a message at 540-395-3205.

Follow us on Facebook at Friends of Wildlife at the Lake Public Group.

LOW Players

by Sandra Frame, Member,

Heads Up, Everyone!

LOW Players

Sunday, Jan. 29, is the first of two days of auditions for the May production of Into the Woods, to be performed by the Lake of the Woods Players. If you cannot make the Sunday audition, there is another chance on Monday, Jan 30. Both auditions go from 7 to 9 PM. All the information, performance requirements, link for music, part descriptions, and forms for the auditions can be found on our home page: www.lowplayers.org Music by Stephen Sondheim and story by James Lapine takes the audience on a journey through some well-known fairy tales, but with a twist. Rehearsal will begin in February and the performances will be held May 5, 6, 12, and 13 at 7 PM, and May 7, 13 and 14 at 2 PM. There will be more information as we get closer to the show dates. I hope that anyone who missed earlier information on these auditions, via the Players home page or other sites, will fill out the form and show up for the auditions.