Stoneycreek Rendezvous May 17-19

For those in the Northern part of Hampshire County:

2013 Stonycreek Rendezvous May 17-19: Freestyle Rodeo & BoaterCross

29 April 2013 

This years Rendezvous is the weekend of Friday May 17 through Sunday May 19 at Greenhouse Park on Tirehill Road, in Johnstown, PA. There will be full 500 CFS whitewater releases all three days GUARANTEEING GOOD FLOWS for the entire weekend. For those that haven’t paddled the river with just the release, 500 CFS brings the river up to about 3ft. on the put-in bridge gauge which makes for a great playboating level and dozens of playspots all down the run.

The weekends paddling events include :
Friday May 17th – Class II – III Downriver Race : Starts at Carpenter Park ( take-out for Stony Canyon Run ) and ends at the Playpark/Festival site. Registration starts at 5:00 race starts at 6:30. Follow this link to pre-register.

Saturday May 18th – Class I Downriver Race : The Saturday River Race from Greenhouse Park to the Inclined Plane in Johnstown. This is a 7 mile race on a class I section (One Class 2 ) of the Stonycreek River. Particpants can utilize any craft they choose with classes for both doubles and singles. Registration 11:30 – 12:30 Race starts promptly at 1:00 pm. This is a fun family oriented race. Follow this link to pre-register.

Team "CR" representin'

Saturday May 18th – Freestyle Rodeo : Classes for all craft will be made based on # of participants. This is a fun, friendly event, and as a World Kayak HomeTown ThrowDown, we encourage anyone who’s take a spin in a hole to come out, compete, and most importantly have fun. The Stonycreek Rock Trophies are up for grabs as well as ton’s of schwagg from the generous World Kayak sponsors. Registration starts at 1:00 event starts promptly ( in kayak time ) at 2:00. Pre-registration is APPRECIATED. Pre-register Here
Saturday May 18th – PlayBoaterX Cross Race : Our 6th year for this fun spectator friendly event. This event will start right after the Rodeo. Paddlers will be grouped into heats and navigate from the top of the playpark through a set course with a finish line just beyond the main playpark wave. All paddlers will get at least 2 runs in the attempt to make it to the championship bracket. Stonycreek River Rock Trophies are up for grabs as well as TONS o’ Schwagg from the generous World Kayak sponsors. Pre-registration is APPRECIATED. Pre-register here.

Stonycreek Rendezvous Playboater X race

Camping is available at the festival site and food, beer, and gear vendors will be on site all weekend.
For more details and information check out Benscreek Canoe Club’s Site / or on FaceBook at World Kayak Western PA Region
If those don’t help :
Jason Rigby
jay@stonyboater.com
or
412-610-2303
Hope to see you on the RIVER!!!!

New WV Rivers bumper stickers

West Virginia Rivers Coalition

Or send a self addressed stamped envelope to
WVRC
329 Davis Ave Suite 7
Elkins, WV 26241

and they will hook you up!

Photos from the Springfield-Green Spring Elementary Tree-Planting

Lyrid viewing overnight (best at pre-dawn)

For those who wake up early for work on Mondays:

Tree Planting at Springfield-Green Spring Elementary School this Friday!

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second best time is

this Friday, April 19, 1pm at 

Springfield-Green Spring Elementary School. 

Help students spread mulch, dig holes, or take photos.

We’re welcoming volunteers to help students plant 25 flowering trees around the school grounds.  Rain or shine, please come!

We'll have all necessary materials, but feel free to bring your favorite shovel.

Click here for weather for Friday afternoon.

Sponsored by the South Branch Watershed Partnership and Project CommuniTree Partners: 

Localvores: West Virginia Falls from 11 to 23

  Reposted from the Strolling of the Heifers blog: 

Stroll’s 2013 Locavore Index ranks states in terms of commitment to local foods

BRATTLEBORO, VT — How does your state stack up against all the others when it comes to availability and consumption of locally-produced foods? Strolling of the Heifers has the answer.

The Vermont-based local food advocacy group has released its second annual Strolling of the Heifers Locavore Index, ranking the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of their commitment to local foods.

Using recent indicator data from multiple sources, the Index incorporates farmers markets, consumer-supported agriculture operations (CSAs) and food hubs in its per-capita comparison of consumers’ interest in eating locally-sourced foods — also known as locavorism.

The top five states for locavorism, according to the Index, in order, are Vermont (first), Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Iowa, while the bottom five are Texas (last), Florida, Louisiana, Arizona and Nevada.

Coronal Mass Ejection Viewing Conditions for Tonight

Thanks for the alert on FB from Steve M.:

Hampshire Review Story About our Cleanup

Thanks to Alana Hartman of WVDEP for the scanning, but also all the connections and advice that made the cleanup successful.  (Click the image for a larger version, and in Firefox or Chrome use Ctrl+ to enlarge.)

Monthly Master Gardener Update

There's a lot of good stuff here (all hyperlinked), so I'm re-posting in its entirety.

Springing into Vegetable Seed Saving

Seed Saving: Knowing the Difference Between Hybrids, Heirloom, and Open Pollinated Plants.  John Porter covers the pros, cons, and does a little myth busting about hybrids, heirlooms, and open-pollinated plants, all as they relate to seed you may to want save and plant in your vegetable garden.

5 Seed Saving Lessons From the Ground Up.   Connie Schultz shares how some of her ‘old favorite’ seed varieties needed to be replaced with ‘new favorites’ as she relocated to a new climate (but not a new hardiness zone).  You won’t want miss out on her 5 seeds saving lessons, or perhaps sharing some of your own.

Star of the Vegetable Garden.  Connie shares how one mystery plant became the star of her garden. Now she wants to know: What’s yours?

Admiring Spring – Where Spring Exists.

This month’s Wordless Wednesday contributors helped us wind up our spring gardening imagination.

Poppy in Chihuahua Desert

April Showers Bring May Flowers – contributed from Nebraska, Terri couldn’t take the winter/spring anymore, so she fast-forwarded to May flowers.

What’s in Your Lawn?  This month, Connie prompted us to consider what we appreciate or don’t appreciate in our lawns.

Spring in the Chihuahua Desert - a second Tuesday WW contributor, Sylvia Hacker shared some stunning views you won’t want to miss.

Wordless Wednesday Wanderings, last but not least, MJ shared how her recent WW contributions have changed the way she observes her garden and nature.  Would you be interested in being a WW contributor, she asks?

Free for Kindle at Time of Posting: Gardening

Originally by Scarlett, on April 8th, 2013

Gardening books, Free for kindle at time of posting. Get them while they are still free.

Click here for a Free Kindle App so you can read on your PC and other devices. 
Here is a site that will show you how to convert Kindle books to other readers like Nook:
http://www.teleread.com/drm/the-abcs-of-format-conversion-for-the-kindle-sony-and-nook-plus-some-calibre-tips/

Free Kindle Books

• How To Build A Raised Garden Bed

• The Vertical Gardening Guidebook: How To Create Beautiful Vertical Gardens, Container Gardens and Aeroponic Vertical Tower Gardens at Home (Gardening Guidebooks)

• Gardening for Little Girls

• The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming.

• Organic Gardener’s Composting

• Home Vegetable Gardening -a Complete and Practical Guide to the Planting and Care of All Vegetables, Fruits and Berries Worth Growing for Home Use

April humor

Heirloom Seeds

South Branch Cleanup - By Canoe!

The South Branch Watershed Partnership is organizing a canoe-based river cleanup near Green Spring in northern Hampshire County from Blue Ford to Indian Rock fishermen’s access areas (along Arnold Stickley Road) on Saturday, April 6.  This is part of a larger collection of Potomac River cleanups supported by The Alice Ferguson Foundation and Project Clean Stream.  See

http://trashnetwork.fergusonfoundation.org/event/1911/show  for detailed directions.

South Branch Consortium volunteers will provide canoeists who arrive at the Indian Rock Fishermen’s Access before noon with a shuttle to the upstream launch point, so participants only need a single vehicle.  There is no rain date but Partnership volunteers try to be available to help with a shuttle any day someone wanted to do a canoe-based cleanup on this somewhat isolated stretch of the South Branch.  West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection encourages cleanup activities like this throughout the year, because the groups involved are providing a valuable service to our community.  Paddlers, especially, can reach some tough spots where trash accumulates in our otherwise beautiful creeks and rivers.

View Larger Map

There are tall cliffs on the northern side of each meander of the South Branch near Indian Rock, so this is among the prettiest stretches of the river; but the flood plains opposite the cliffs also collect significant flood debris from upstream.  We're always a little surprised by some of the things we find after the winter.  One year we found a canoe, and the next year we found a small sailboat, both in fine condition.

To take advantage of the shuttle, arrive at Indian Rock between 9am and noon, or call 304-492-4292 to make special arrangements.  

Weather is expected to be terrific. Kids will certainly enjoy this trip with their parents, but should never be unsupervised.  And everyone should be cautious with extra weight in their canoes, especially while the water is still too cool for swimming.

Cell phone access in this part of the South Branch valley near Green Spring and Levels is very limited, even with a tower in nearby Oldtown, MD.  Sometimes U.S. Cellular customers get phone or data access, and others may get lucky, but don't relying on cell service.

To get to Indian Rock, go through Green Spring and then south along Arnold Stickley Road. The South Branch Consortium will provide gloves and bags to participants, and arrange disposal of collected trash.

West Virginia Youth Science Camp - Rising 10th graders

West Virginia Youth Science Camp

Share this with every WV 9th grader you know.   The 2013 West Virginia Youth Science Camp (WVYSC) is a residential science education program that honors and challenges one rising high school sophomore from each West Virginia county.  Integrating proven elements from the National Youth Science Camp and the West Virginia Governor’s School for Mathematics and Science, the WVYSC features a broad science curriculum, special events, and recreational activities.

The WVYSC is offered at no cost to its participants.  This includes all educational and recreational programming, meals, and lodging.  Applicants must be in the tenth grade for the 2013-14 academic year, either at an accredited West Virginia high school or in an approved home school.  The WVYSC will be held at the Cedar Lakes Conference Center near Ripley, West Virginia from Monday, July 15 thru Tuesday July 23.  More information is available online at:  http://2013.wvysc.org