Broad Run Lifestyle Magazine January 2017 by Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine

JANUARY 2017

Hope & Healing

A Local Rescue Transforms the Lives of Homeless Animals Through Teamwork and Tenderness

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Northside 29 The Chakalos Family Local Artist David Williams Virginia Working Landscapes, Part 1 of sustainability series

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FROM THE

The year 2016 brought about changes for all of us here at the Lifestyle Magazines. We are now owned by Piedmont Publishing Group, which also publishes the Piedmont Virginian Magazine, The Culpeper Times and Rappahannock News. For this year, I welcome a personal transition. I will no longer be the Interim Editor. Instead, I have been asked to officially join the team as Senior Editor for our three Lifestyle Publications: Warrenton, Haymarket and Broad Run. Learning about the success of an individual, nonprofit, business or service project is most definitely one of my favorite aspects of the work I perform. I have lived in Warrenton for over 18 years and love the towns of Warrenton, Marshall, The Plains, Haymarket and all the other surrounding communities. We are so fortunate to live in an area where kindness still exists, where people bond together for great causes, and where individuals still greet one another on the streets with a hello and a smile – even if they don’t know each other! This type of atmosphere creates a unique opportunity to share a wealth of information about what makes our community special. One common thread I have found in just about every story, whether it be a piece on an

PUBLISHER: Dennis Brack for Piedmont Publishing Group dennis@piedmontpub.com

EDITORIAL: Debbie Eisele Pam Kamphuis editor@piedmontpub.com

ADVERTISING: Rae-Marie Gulan raemarie@piedmontpub.com direct: 540-589-2141

ART: Art Director, Kara Thorpe kara@piedmontpub.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Jan@rappnews.com For general inquiries, advertising, editorial, or listings please contact the editor at editor@piedmontpub.com or by phone at 540-349-2951.

EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING OFFICE: The Broad Run Lifestyle Magazine c/o Piedmont Publishing Group Mailing Address: PO Box 3632, Warrenton, Va. 20188 Physical Address: 11 Culpeper St., Warrenton, Va. 20186 www.broadrunlifestyle.com The Broad Run Lifestyle Magazine is published monthly and distributed to all its advertisers and approximately 9,500 selected addresses in the Broad Run community. While reasonable care is taken with all material submitted to The Broad Run Lifestyle Magazine, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to any such material. Opinions expressed in articles are strictly those of the authors. While ensuring that all published information is accurate, the publisher cannot be held responsible for any mistakes or omissions. Reproduction in whole or part of any of the text, illustration or photograph is strictly forbidden. ©2017 Piedmont Publishing Group.

2017 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Danica Low Aimée O’Grady Steve Oviatt John Toler Christine Craddock Andreas Keller Charlotte Wagner Fran Burke-Urr Stacia Stribling

{ JANUARY 2017 |

Joseph Kim Debbie Eisele Rebekah Grier MacNeill Mann Helen Ryan Mary Ann Krehbiel Jim Hankins Marianne Clyde Maria Massaro

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editor

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individual, business, service project, or nonprofit, is that it is the people that make our area amazing. My wish is to continue to profile all the positives in the area in 2017, and hope you enjoy each article. Remember, we welcome you, the readers, to submit story ideas and thoughts about our articles, especially the ones you enjoy! Your input is valuable and essential to keeping our community magazines discussing all the topics that make our region special. If you have a story idea or would like to submit a comment, please email editor@piedmontpub.com. Happy New Year! Thank you,

Debbie Eisele

Contents 6

David Williams Shaping An Artist BY AIMÉE O’GRADY

10 From One Village to Another The Chakalos Family Has Deep Roots BY AIMÉE O’GRADY

14 Hope & Healing WAAG: A Local Rescue Transforms the Lives of Homeless Animals BY MARIA MASSARO

24 Virginia Working Landscapes

Everyone has a story to tell. We want to hear yours... Please contact us with: - Story ideas - Photo submissions - Article reactions - Comments - Questions - Upcoming events

Part One in Three Part Series BY KATIE FUSTER

28 So You Want To Be A Winemaker?

Email editor@piedmontpub.com /broadrunlifestyle or contact us on

BY STEVE OVIATT

30 Fauquier Health Jerry Banks Credits Diabetes Classes for Healthy Turnaround BY ROBIN EARL

20 Hiking Old Rag Mountain by Moonlight BY ANDREAS A. KELLER

Cover photo: By Joanne Maisano www.joannemaisano.com

The Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine’s December issue featured an article on Leon Rector. Our sincerest apologies for omitting the photographer’s name; Paula Combs (www.photocombs.com). Thank you. { JANUARY 2017 |

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PHOTO CREDIT: CAMDEN LITTLETON

David Williamsv Shaping an Artist BY AIMÉE O’GRADY

light-filled studio describing the evolution of his career. The brilliant November sunlight beams through the skylights and windows on an unseasonably warm day. Filling the studio are roughly 400 pieces of work; mostly still lifes and plein airs, painted in his garden or on location. Hundreds more fill a nearby storage unit. Although he claims his story is much like that of other artists, there is one significant difference: Williams tried not to be an artist. His parents enrolled him in art classes when he was young, but once he reached Virginia Commonwealth University he pursued the more “practical” track of business. He then ventured into the corporate world and spent several years moving through different jobs, a period he

knapsack near the door holds painting supplies that David Williams uses when he comes across something that compels him to paint. On the wall above his knapsack is a nearly-finished still life of pomegranates with a deep aubergine background. Adjacent is a larger landscape painting of a wooded scene with a bright beam of sunlight shining through the tree trunks that is also nearing completion. A career artist, Williams has lived and worked as a commissioned painter in The Plains for the past five years and is easily inspired by the region’s picturesque landscape, architecture, and history. Williams sits in the middle of his

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refers to as the “five year float.” After this time, Williams gave in to his calling to become an artist and enrolled in the Academy of Figurative Arts in Los Angeles. He was well-informed about the uphill battle he faced if he planned to pursue art as a fulltime job. He accepted the challenge and decided the only way to do it was to do it. Twenty years have passed since then. For the first fifteen years, Williams painted exclusively, primarily on the East Coast, but also spent time in California. Although he focused mainly on commissioned pieces, he also entered plein air competitions and created pieces that hang in galleries throughout the United States. His easel holds another pomegranate still life. “They are only available for

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Seeking Photographers! The Broad Run Lifestyle Magazine is currently seeking local photographers to team up with. Get your name out there, showcase your work, and build your portfolio by contributing to the Broad Run Lifestyle Magazine. For more information, please email editor@piedmontpub.com

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Bullrush, 40” x 52”, oil version clear

Pomegranate, 14” x 29”, oil on linen

a short time to use as a subject,” he justifies using the fruit for multiple concurrent projects. This image is painted with rich autumnal colors: browns, oranges, and reds. To the left on the wall is a still life of pumpkins and gourds. Williams’ works capture the passage of time through the seasons. Although each of his paintings suggests a wide color spectrum, he maintains that he uses a limited palette of eight different colors that don’t vary often.

“Occasionally I swap out one color for another, but tend to stick with these eight colors that I have been using for some time now.” This technique has made him an expert at mixing colors, he admits with a smile, “I can blend these colors like no one else.” Each work involves broad brush strokes. “I like to say the most with the least information,” he explains. “The visible brushstrokes describe how to move through the painting.” None of his

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paintings are blended to perfection or are photographic in nature. “I prefer color harmony to perfection,” he says. Williams begins each work looking for the most prominent shapes. He explains, “Once I have the basic shapes, I can develop the picture.” A large painting of bulrush or cattails illustrates this technique: “I began with three ‘V’ shapes of different colors and then used wide brush strokes to add the plant details.” Behind him is an attractive plein air work that evokes a Provençal feel. The green tablecloth is juxtaposed with blue pitchers and bright yellow lemons set on a table in front of a blooming spring garden. “The challenge with painting en plein air is that the light is always changing. Once I sketch in the major shapes, I fill in details from memory, since the light constantly shifts and changes the images,” he explains. Williams continues, “Clouds are always made up. Without a camera, there is no way to capture the image of a cloud to recreate it.” Five years ago, he began offering art classes to supplement his finances as he witnessed more and more galleries close their doors. In his classes, Williams takes on the role of an artistic coach: “I don’t want my students to paint like me. I want them to pull out from a still life what they see, not what I tell them to

“En plein air” is French for “in open air.” In the mid-19th century, artists were able to move outside their studios with ease thanks to the advent of the French easel, or box easel.

Plein Air Competition

For an artist, the goal of the competition is many-fold. Ideally, an artist wants to sell his or her art at the reception. There are also awards and prizes, including free advertising in international art magazines. Competing in competitions can be well worth an artist’s time; the proceeds from their art and the value of prizes won can add up to tens of thousands of dollars. At the very least, an plein air competition is excellent practice for an artist at any level.

Harvest Basket, 12” x 24”, oil on linen

Provencal

Plein air competitions are held throughout the year in a number of communities. As the name suggests, the artists gather at the chosen outdoor location and paint the surrounding scenery and subjects. Once accepted to an plein competition, artists arrive on location with blank canvases that are approved and stamped by competition officials. For the following three to four days, they paint landscapes and streetscapes. Some artists can generate roughly 20 paintings in this time, others create only two to three each day. At the end of the painting period, the paintings are framed and hung in a competition gallery. At the end of the week, a reception is held for art enthusiasts to view the paintings.

see.” During classes, he meanders the room, offering students suggestions and posing thought-provoking questions, such as asking students to identify the dominant shapes and colors of the subject. His classes include students at every level. During the summer, he has high school students looking to expand their portfolios. During the school year, he has retired men and women who are returning to painting, many having not picked up a brush since high school. Some have continued with

Williams’ classes since he began teaching. Williams is pleased with the living he has carved out, doing what he loves to do despite caution from others. While there are some changes he would make to his earlier works, and commissions he wishes he had accepted, he is generally satisfied with the evolution of his art and the shape it has taken. Using linen canvas ensures that his works will last hundreds of years under the right conditions. “I’ll be around for awhile,” he concludes. ❖

Aimée O’Grady is a freelance writer who enjoys transforming stories told by Fauquier residents into articles for Lifestyle readers. She learns more and more about our rich county with every interview she conducts. She and her husband are happy with their decision to raise their four children in Warrenton.

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PHOTO CREDIT AIMÉE O’GRADY

From One Village to Another The Chakalos Family Has Deep Roots in Warrenton Planted by Their Grandfather

BY AIMÉE O’GRADY

n 1974, Spiro Chakalos stood on Route 29 North in New Baltimore just outside of Warrenton. Behind him was the diner where he was a partner and had worked with two Greek church members since 1971. He had recently been offered an opportunity to buy the partners’ shares and the diner, including its lot and neighboring lots, all adding up to a 7.5-acre parcel in rural Virginia. With the diner behind him, he looked across the quiet road and saw nothing but fields and pastures lining the north-south corridor for miles. His family in Maryland thought he had lost his mind, “Why would you go so far west?” they asked him and teased that he was “going to visit the cows.” Spiro, with his fourth-grade education, had travelled west all the way from a small village in Greece to arrive in Maryland. He planned to trust his intuition as he had many times before to make this decision. He was going to buy out his diner partners and own the large parcel. Spiro was a visionary. Today, his son, William (Bill) Spiro Chakalos, his wife Tracey, and their three sons, Spiro, Alexander, and Constantine, own the large road front parcel and continue to operate the diner, now called Northside

29. They also own the Effee’s Ice Cream and 7-11 buildings, and the family even owns and operates Spitony’s Pizza. In the 1930s, Chakalos’ grandfather, Vasili, left Vourvoura, Greece, a small village between Sparta and Tripoli with a current population of around 300. With limited opportunities in Vourvoura, Vasili moved to the United States with plans to eventually bring his family. Vasili worked in Washington, DC as a fruit cart vendor. He sent all of his earnings back to his family in Greece, returning every few years to visit. Spyridon “Spiro,” who was born in 1929, did not meet his father until he was 16 years old. Nonetheless, young Spiro had inherited his father’s work ethic and was determined to make a better life for himself than what Greece could offer to him. Emboldened by his father’s drive, he too left Greece at age 25 to live in the United States. Sadly, his father had passed away just one year prior to his arrival, and the two never had the opportunity to know one another. Spiro, much like his father, dedicated himself to hard work. Spiro kept in contact with family in Greece. He wrote to Toula, a young woman 8 years his junior from Vourvoura. The two had

Opposite Page: Bill and Tracey, owners of Northside 29. Above (center): “Yia Yia” and “Papu.” Above (bottom): Bill with his parents, Spiro and Toula, in Spitony’s Pizzeria in the mid 1990s.

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“Not only does the family hire local talent to cook, prepare, and serve the food, they source countless ingredients from local farms and individuals in the region.” met years prior and both had arranged marriages planned. Neither was happy with their respective situation, and shared their concerns through correspondences. Through their letters, Spiro proposed to the young Toula, who accepted, ending both marriage arrangements. Spiro asked for her dress size, promising her a wedding gown from the United States. She took some yarn, wrapped it around her waist and sent it to him. He purchased a gown and made his way back to Greece with the large dress box. The couple was married in Greece and shortly thereafter returned to the United States. Toula did not speak English, but was pushed by her own drive to succeed. She taught herself English and eventually attended cosmetology school to become a beautician. Today, the Chakalos family has instilled this same work ethic in their sons. “All I have to do is send out a 911 text and everyone comes to help,” Tracey says of the family pitching in to run the business. With all three sons in their 20s, pursuing their own interests, and one in medical school, that is saying a lot. Northside 29 offers “Comfort Food at Its Best.” The restaurant, owned by the Chakalos family since the 1971, had been leased for 14 years until Bill and Tracey took it over again in 2011. The third generation family-owned business promotes the motto “give back to the community that gives to us,” says Tracey. This motto is evident throughout the operations of the restaurant. Not only does the family hire local talent to cook, prepare, and

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serve the food, they source countless ingredients from local farms and individuals in the region. “We’ve been getting our meat from Wilson’s Butcher in Catlett for 30 years, our order of 4,000 eggs each week is filled by local farmers, and our vegetables are from the valley. We order from Messick’s Farm Market, Buckland Farm Market, Blue Ridge Grocery, Crabill Slaughterhouse, Ottenberg’s Bakers, Bender Farm, Shenandoah Growers, and so many more. Our coffee is made especially for us from a roaster in Madison named Mad Hollow.” Tracey explains. The recently renovated bar offers liquor, beer, and wine from local distilleries, breweries, and wineries. “We are one of the few bars in the area that promote local spirits,” says Tracey. These include Catoctin Creek Mosby’s Spirit, white whiskey made from Mosby’s original recipe. “It’s been a lot of work to scout out sources for ingredients and nurture relationships over the years, but it was the opportunity to stand out that we embraced,” says Bill. Even dessert is locally sourced from Cheesecake Heaven, a drive thru cheesecake kiosk

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in New Baltimore adjacent to The Fauquier Bank parking lot. Bill and Tracey met on a blind date and recently celebrated 31 years of marriage. Together, they have raised three men and instilled in them the old-world values of hard work, ethics, and loyalty to family. “We are a dying breed,” acknowledges Tracey. “Not many families have their children working in the family business that was built by their grandparents,” she affirms. “It’s the Greek influence,” says Bill “You can’t be afraid of hard work and you must be resilient. My father came here with nothing, and thought if he lost all he built, he would still be left with what he started with.” Every few years the Chakalos return to Vourvoura to visit the two-room cottage with a dirt floor, where Vasili Chakalos lived prior to coming to the United States. The cottage has remained in the family over the years. “It’s important to remind ourselves of where it all began when we visit with family members in Greece,” says Bill. When they return to Warrenton, it’s back to work at the restaurants, work, and school. The Chakalos family doesn’t know any other way. ❖

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necessary to improve the lives of animals. Created in 2012, WAAAG is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that finds safe and loving homes for displaced dogs and cats—and offers end-of-life care for those that are not adoptable. WAAAG takes in animals from both unsuitable homes and overcrowded shelters, as well as animals that have difficulty adjusting to a home or shelter environment due to trauma, temperament, injury, or disability. “We give them this environment where they can just come and heal,” said Founder, President, and COO Angie Webber of WAAAG’s opendoor policy. Located on the John Marshall property in Delaplane, WAAAG is nestled on ten acres of land between the Barrel Oak and Blue Valley wineries. This t the heart of idyllic location offers the every rescuer animals much-needed space, is the desire to peace, and quiet to restore help the vulnerable and their health and rebuild disadvantaged, and at the their trust. Central to the core of every effective rescue therapeutic surroundings organization is the awareness are the property’s two that passion is only one climate-controlled cabins, component of change. With which offer the animals an aptness for transforming their own rooms and access altruism into activism, the to covered porches, kennel Washington Area Animal runs, and play areas. WAAAG Adoption Group (WAAAG) typically accommodates is hitting its stride by going about five animals at a beyond the standard of time, and its team of nine care and using all means regular volunteers are

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treats animals and to create better lives for them through rescue, foster, adoption and hospice.” As Webber explained, there is always the need for more financial, medical, and community support, and WAAAG offers volunteering options that suit a variety of skills and interests: “We encourage people to help in many ways. If they can’t come out and walk the dogs, they can transport or foster the animals, assist with adoption or fundraising events, or donate money or supplies.” Anyone experienced or interested in construction, repairs, or maintenance is also encouraged to contact the organization, especially now with the green light to build additional lodgings. WAAAG volunteers undergo training that stresses consistency in animal care, commands, and compassion. Regular volunteers work in shifts from 7:30 a.m.

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to 10 p.m., devoting individual time to each animal. With an emphasis on rehabilitation, WAAAG provides unique services focused on socializing and stimulating animals that have too often experienced abuse, neglect, or abandonment. In keeping with this principle of recovery, volunteers provide extraspecial treats for the dogs that include meals in town, rides in the countryside, and relaxing walks through the surrounding woods and fields. A pool of twenty asneeded volunteers are also instrumental in fulfilling the many functions of promoting, financing, and maintaining the shelter. The shared ideal of saving animals combined with the tactical approach to enhancing their quality of life is what makes the WAAAG team excel in rehabilitating and rehoming our furry friends. Both an air force veteran and a board member of the Animal Rescue Leadership Group, Webber is a natural strategist in fighting for a cause, optimizing appropriate resources, and coordinating with other organizations to realize collective goals. Formerly an analyst at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Webber boldly leapt into the nonprofit sector after taking a leave of absence from the university, a decision that was prompted by her involvement with WAAAG and her recognition of the organization’s potential. Recalling this turning point, she remarked, “I was just trying to make a difference. I had this opportunity, and I said ‘why not.’ ”

“We treat them like they’re our own, making them feel comfortable and safe, because that’s how they heal the fastest.” Rounding out the leadership team are Director of Adoption Marylee Materna, Board Secretary and Fundraiser Holly Vandervort, Director of Social Media Sherry Miller, Volunteer Coordinator Patricia Reid, and Chairman of the Board Stephan Lofaro. These volunteers, among others, tirelessly support WAAAG’s goals of meeting each animal’s needs and collaborating with other rescue organizations as needed to arrange transport, available space, and adequate care. The team’s skillfulness at branching out has yielded strong and supportive relationships with businesses, legislators, and advocacy groups to promote the safety and wellbeing of all animals, not just those waiting to be adopted. “It’s a great network of people—the volunteers, the board members,” said Webber. “We all look at this from love, and we’re all in this because we want to save animals. That’s what we do. In rescue, we have a lot of successes, but we also have difficult times. One of the great things about our team

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A view of WAAAG’s picturesque compound.

is that we are also here for each other during the difficult times.” With a combatant approach and a committed crew, Webber leads by example and stays the course through the support of animal-loving allies, advancing rescue work by way of organization, collaboration, and mobilization: “You could almost look at this as a war that we’re trying to fight, a war to end animal homelessness. And everybody has their role— each rescue, each shelter, the transport, Animal Control. We’re all connected, and we all need to work together, because no one organization is going to end this.” Indeed, there is no simple solution to the complex problem of animal overpopulation—and rescues remain an interim solution for the foreseeable future, routinely contending with

barriers to animal welfare and incessantly striving to save animals day-in and day-out despite incredible odds. But organizations like WAAAG demonstrate the reach of compassion, the importance of cooperation, and the impact of a value system that prizes the dignity of every animal it serves. May this openminded and open-hearted methodology inspire other organizations to coordinate, innovate, advocate, and create better lives for all animals. For more information about WAAAG, please visit www. waaag.org. For direct inquiries, please contact Angie Webber at 571-393-4980 or angie@ waaag.org. Many volunteer opportunities exist and can be found on the “Volunteer” page of the WAAAG website. WAAAG is also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WAAAG ❖

Maria Massaro is a Warrenton resident and freelance writer who has worked as a community counselor in Fauquier County since 2005. She is a certified Peer Recovery Specialist and the founder of Pharos, a local and online support network for individuals experiencing depression.

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s the most popular hike in the Shenandoah National Park, over 100,000 hikers visit Old Rag each year looking for the adventure of scrambling on rocks, through crevices, and over boulders. At 3,268 feet the mountain’s summit rewards its hikers with the most spectacular panoramic views of the Blue Ridge to the north and the rounded peak of Hawksbill Mountain to the west.

Hiking Old Rag Mountain by Moonlight

The Trails of Old Rag Reaching the summit of Old Rag can be done in three ways. The most popular route is via the Ridge Trail, an 8.7 mile loop with 2,300 feet elevation gain. The Ridge Trail hike is recommended because the scrambling to go uphill is easier and more enjoyable. A second route, mostly known only to climbers heading for the cliffs on the mountain, starts from the Berry Hollow trailhead, which shortens the distance to the summit to 2.8 miles one way, with about 1,800 feet of elevation gain. Old Rag has over 100 established routes scattered at various crags which offer some outstanding climbs. A third route of about 15 miles starts from the Skyline Drive

BY ANDREAS A. KELLER

Who doesn’t love Old Rag Mountain? With its mass of exposed granite resembling alpine mountains, it is considered the most impressive mountain in Virginia, if not the entire Southeast. 20

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and involves significantly more elevation gains to reach the summit than the other two trails and is only chosen by some of the tough hikers who are looking for a hard workout.

Adventures Of Hiking Old Rag Each season offers a different view and distinctive characteristics of this magnificent mountain. Spring awakens new life with pink mountain laurel greeting the hiker, while summer in its fullness presents the trails with the melodies of songbirds. With fall comes the changing of the colors, and in winter the stillness covers trees and rocks with snow and ice. Is there a best time to visit Old Rag? On a picture-perfect summer or early fall weekend there are crowds of visitors to Old Rag, imposing waits on the trail and congestion at the outcrops. Due to the popularity of this hike you are rarely alone on this rugged trail, even at night. Some people hike up in the early morning hours to watch the sunrise, and some people, like the Boots ‘n Beer club, like to hike Old Rag in moonlight. For six years Boots ’n Beer has been hiking Old Rag in moonlight. This hike must be

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accomplished during a full moon in order to have sufficient light on the trails, and is only possible when all the leaves are off the trees. Unfortunately, in the late fall of 2015 and in early winter months of 2016, not one of the full moon nights was conducive to such an adventure due to either heavy clouds or icy conditions. This fall, however, bestowed us the gift of the Supermoon!

Hiking Old Rag in the Supermoon Astrologer Richard Nolle coined the name Supermoon in 1979. He defined it as “a new or full moon which occurs with the moon at or near its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit.” In short, the earth, moon, and sun are all in a line, with the moon in its nearest approach to earth. The most recent Supermoon occurrence was on November 14, 2016. This was the first Supermoon occurrence since January 26, 1948, and will not occur again until November 25, 2034.

The weather forecast for Saturday, November 16, promised the clearest night with seasonal temperatures and a 96 percent visible moon. It was the rare, perfect night for a bunch of Boots ’n Beer hikers to tackle Old Rag. Around eight o’clock at night we started uphill through the dense hardwood forest on the moonlit trail, the youngest of our eight hikers being 31 and the oldest being 74 years of age. Our chatter, mixed with the initial fast hiking pace to warm up, hid the frequent stubbing of our hiking boots on roots and rocks until our eyes adjusted to different shades of the moonlit trail. The moon itself was hanging like a large, unpolished silver disk right over the horizon. One hiker wondered aloud, “You think we’ll encounter bears?” There is certainly a lot of wildlife in the Shenandoah National Park. On the lower slopes of Old Rag mountain you may encounter black bears, deer, fox, chipmunks, squirrels, and, on rare occasions, a bobcat. But on this

night, our chatter, laughter, and clanking of the hiking sticks must have signaled the bears to run. We only spotted one white-tailed deer the entire night. When we reached the first switchback, our talking subsided as we began the zig zag up the mountain. Our breathing became heavier. Hiking in silence, we only rested once at an outcrop before entering the world of rocks and boulders. Soon after crossing half a mile of rock, the trail descended into a narrow crevice about 8 feet deep. We found ourselves hiking through a huge crack in a granite wall which resembled a cave. Later, we came up to a natural rock staircase only to be greeted by a large granite boulder wedged in the middle which we all had to crawl under. In some of the more difficult passages, we needed the additional help of our headlamps in order to see where we could locate rocks to grip or where to pull or place a foot to push ourselves onto the trail. On those occasions, hikers lent a hand and helped one another over boulders, through crevices, and sometimes with the simple push from behind that can get a hiker unstuck. Knowing you can depend on each other builds great teamwork and camaraderie! We continued the moonlit trek, passing dark silhouettes of huge round boulders rising up against the starry night before finally stepping out onto the mountain’s summit. There it was! The gigantic, breathtaking Supermoon, so bright we could have read the headlines of the newspaper. Bathed in its glow, unhindered by wind or cold, we thoroughly enjoyed a well-deserved midnight snack under the stars. The Old Rag Saddle Trail, leading into Weakley Hollow and down the fire road, was the return route. We arrived back at the parking lot around three in the morning where we all enjoyed a crisp beer out of the cooler. By the time we arrived back in Warrenton we decided on a hearty breakfast at the diner, and that first cup of hot coffee never tasted so good! ❖

Andreas A. Keller is a passionate hiker, avid backpacker, and a Charter Member of Boots ’n Beer, a drinking club with a hiking problem. He can be reached via email at aakeller@mac.com.

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Below: Citizen scientists in training. Photo by Jen Davis.

VIRGINIA WORKING

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ew people have more beautiful workplaces than Tom Akre and Charlotte Lorick, the Director and Outreach Coordinator, respectively, of Virginia Working Landscapes (VWL). That is, if you can make it past the death-defying drop just outside the door to their offices. “I’m thinking you need more handrail here,” I mutter as I shimmy past the drop and step down to level ground. Akre and Lorick are taking me on a ten-minute hike out to see VWL’s demonstration plots at the Smithsonian Biology Conservation Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal. The SCBI is a lovely 3,200-acre campus of rolling hillside just across Remount Road from Shenandoah National Park. “It is pretty awesome to look out and see the Shenandoah

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Valley over there,” Akre says as we hike. The locale is the perfect headquarters for VWL, whose mission is to study and promote practices that increase the biodiversity, or varieties of plant, pollinator, and animal life, in the agricultural landscapes in Virginia. Some 30-40% of the Commonwealth is some form of agricultural landscape – either grassland, cropland, or pasture. Over the last 200 years, many native grasslands have been lost. Sometimes this is because landowners replace them with non-native cool season grasses, like fescues. Other times it is due to intensive land management, or to invasive plant species like Autumn Olive, which outcompete and displace native grasses.

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The VWL program was formed in 2010 in response to grassroots demand from “a community of folks who wanted to learn how to improve stewardship of grasslands,” Akre says. He and Lorick explain that when we lose native grasslands, we also see a decline in the numbers and varieties of plants, birds, and pollinators like bumblebees, honeybees, and butterflies. Native warm-season grasslands, lands where grasses, flowers, and herbs flourish during summer months, increase biodiversity. They also improve the health of the local ecosystem by serving as better habitats for native species. Lorick hand-painted a pair of illustrations to show the differences that make a native warm-season meadow preferable to a non-native coolseason meadow. “When you look at a native warm-season meadow, you see different plant structures, different root systems, and more open space,” Lorick explains. “These grasses tend to grow in clumps and be mixed in with flowers and flowering plants, whereas non-native cool-season fields are pretty much a mat. If you imagine a quail trying to move through the landscape, it doesn’t have

a way to get through a coolseason field.” But in a native warm-season meadow, “the quail can move under the cover of the native plants and weave through them and over patches of bare ground.” And when winter snows cover the meadow, dormant native plants provide places for birds to perch on, seeds for them to eat, and structures that they can use to hide from predators. “Quail are one of the species that have declined in the Southeast,” Akre says. “That decline has been in large part because of fescue. We’re at the

edge of the quail range, but our partners are trying to restore quail across Virginia, and we want to be part of that process through restoring warm-season grassland habitats.” This was VWL’s mission at its founding – installing and restoring native warm-season grasslands. To do this, the program works with a variety of landowners with different goals. Some of the landowners are ranchers who come to VWL for help establishing patches of native warm-season grasses in their grazing land. “The native warm-season grasses have a peak growing

season in the summertime, in hotter, drier months,” Lorick says. “The cool-season nonnatives grow in the spring and then again as summer ends and we enter fall.” If you have a combination of both grasslands, you can graze your stock almost year-round. Other landowners who come to VWL are hunters. “They want to establish wildlife habitat, and native grasses are great for that,” Lorick says. In partnership with VWL, private landowners have established hundreds of acres of native grasses to attract turkey, deer, quail, and doves. “That’s their primary objective, but at the same time, they’re benefitting a lot of different animals,” including grassland birds, the second most endangered type of bird in America. Then there are the people who consult with VWL for the sole pleasure of looking out on a native meadow. “Some people establish native fields for the reason of ‘I like birds, and I want to see more of them in my landscape,’” Lorick says, “or ‘I like pollinators, and I want to do something to help these native species that rely on these grasslands.’” When landowners come to VWL for help, Akre says, the program determines their needs and plugs them into VWL’s information-

Warm season (left) and cool season (right) meadow illustrations by Charlotte Lorick. Above: Tom Akre, Director of VWL, and Charlotte Lorick, Outreach Coordinator, pose in front of VWL’s demonstration plots at the SCBI.

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Citizen scientists birding at SCBI. Photo by Charlotte Lorick.

sharing network. “We have private landowners and ‘citizen scientists’”, volunteers who help out by collecting data and information. “We have agency professionals and contracting professionals that actually provide services, and then NGOs (non-government, non profit organizations) that foster these relationships and act as either networks themselves or clearinghouses of information. And at the same time, we’ve got boots on the ground with graduate students, who are leading interns and citizen scientists to do plant, bird, and pollinator surveys.” VWL, its partners, and citizen scientists

complete wildlife surveys in the 15 counties that surround Shenandoah National Park. “We’ve worked in Fauquier County and around Warrenton for five years now,” Akre says, ticking off survey sites like the Volgenau property in Orlean, Kinloch Farms, and Sky Meadows State Park. It was at the state park that a citizen scientist found an endangered bumblebee that was long thought to have been extirpated from the area. As we trek across the SCBI campus, Akre stops to point out a hillside of native grassland. Now that the weather has turned chilly, the site, called Redmond Hill, has become brown and thick. Nearby, cool-season fescues are, as Akre puts it, “photosynthesizing like crazy.” Ecological land management keeps Redmond Hill biodiverse. “Native grasslands are maintained by either grazing, or burning, or both. So one of the reasons native grasslands aren’t common anymore is because we don’t have any more bison, and we’ve suppressed fires for a couple hundred years now.” A controlled burn, performed every March in thirds on a three-year rotation, controls plant growth on Redmond Hill. “This whole area is an old United States Cavalry Remount Station,” Akre says as we hike on. “It was given to the USDA after World War II. But before that, it was essentially a horse-breeding facility for the military.” One of the hills on the SCBI campus is named for the racetrack that once encircled it. Just north of Racetrack Hill are eight native meadow demonstration plots. Akre explains that students from the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) monitor the diversity of plants, pollinators, and birds in these plots as they are preserved and maintained. The plots are also used for landowner workshops, teaching, demonstration, and outreach. “These are primarily demonstration sites, so the students and landowners are looking at gross differences in the composition of plants, or gross differences in the amount of pollinators there.”

Akre’s background as a university professor comes to life here. He points to the first two plots, each 0.3 hectares. “What differences can you notice between Plot 1 and Plot 2?” he asks, turning his interviewer into a student. I point out tall switchgrasses and goldenrod growing in the first plot alongside clumps of shorter, bushier flowering plants and the already-brown spires of dormant warm-season plants. “The second plot looks less biodiverse,” I say, tentatively trying out my newly-learned term. “And the plants there are about the same height.” “Right. Each of these has a different establishment technique, and a different maintenance technique,” Akre explains. “Plot 1 was installed with herbicides and then burned for maintenance, and Plot 2 was installed with disking and then mowed for maintenance,” Akre says. He explains that visible differences between plots can be chalked up to both installation techniques and management. There are two sets of plots, one installed organically and one conventionally. One plot from each set is managed using either herbicides, prescribed burns, mowing, or hand-pulling of non-native plants. “They’re all done differently so that people can see how they turn out when they’re all established differently, or maintained using a different method,” Lorick adds. This helps VWL’s audience of landowners, students, and citizen scientists learn how each approach affects the diversity of plant, bird, and pollinator life. Akre ends our tour on a philosophical note. “One of the things we’re trying to do here is connect the health of these wildlife populations that we care about to the health of ourselves. These animals are emblematic of healthy, functioning ecosystems, which are what we need to survive – all of the resources we need, the clean air and water, the healthy economies, and sustainable futures. It’s a stretch, but it’s a stretch that’s necessary for the next century – for our children and grandchildren.” ❖

Katie Fuster lives in Warrenton with her husband and two children. Visit her Web site, katiewritesaboutlove.com, for more about this story.

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So you want to be a

Winemaker?

Opportunities for those aspiring individuals exist locally BY STEVE OVIATT

irginia is becoming well known for its growing wine industry and the increasing quality of its wines. This has led to increasing interest in vineyards as an agricultural endeavor and wine making as a hobby or career. However, local education for aspiring wine makers has been sparse; most people learn by reading and researching on their own, trial and error, or by consulting friends and family who also have an interest in wine making.

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Normally, the result of these initial efforts by the novice winemaker are not drinkable, so most give up and move on to another hobby. Some lucky individuals have either apprenticed under a practicing winemaker, or attended schools like Virginia Tech or the University of California at Davis. A formal program on providing vineyard management and winemaking skills at Lord Fairfax Community College in Warrenton closed several years ago. To fill the void, the Vint Hill Craft Winery has been offering aspiring winemakers opportunities to make wines in state-of-the-art facilities under the supervision of experienced winemakers. This initiative has been responsible for helping several local wineries open and thrive over the years. However, the instruction at Vint Hill deals with winemaking only, not growing and cultivating grapes. For the agricultural management

the course Lineup VEN 100

Intro to Viticulture VEN 130

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Topics in Wine Aging II

portion of the process, most local vineyards hire skilled individuals, pay consultants, and learn by trial and error. But soon there will be another local resource for those wanting to learn. This spring, the Horticulture Department at Northern Virginia Community College will be offering several courses in Viticulture and Enology at its Loudoun Campus and at Hillsborough Vineyards. These classes may be taken “a la carte” or can be part of a twoyear horticulture degree with a specialization in Viticulture and Enology. The curriculum is modeled on a similar, successful program at a North Carolina Community College. Intro to Viticulture (VEN 100) will be a thorough study of what it takes to start a vineyard from the ground up and manage it for the production of premium wine grapes. The focus of the course

includes the cost of establishing a vineyard, canopy management, pests and pesticides, harvest parameters, and more. Intro to Winemaking (VEN 130) will give students an understanding of the world’s winegrowing regions, theory on sensory analysis, and basic winemaking processes for white and red table wines, sparkling wines, and fortified and dessert wines. Sensory Perception of Wine (VEN 293) will teach students, through blind tasting of a wine, to accurately describe the color, aroma, scents, flavors, alcohol level, tannin level, acid level, age, condition, region of origin, grape variety, and quality of the wine being sampled. Upon completion of this course, individuals will be able to convey this information to others through a well-crafted tasting note. Topics in Vineyard Pruning (VEN 195-001L) will give students actual

pruning exercises and instruction in various pruning methods, measuring pruning cane weights and bud viability. This is an outdoor class. Topics in Wine Aging I (VEN 195060L) will allow students to work in a professional cellar to experience the aging process of both red and white wines. Individuals will get hands-on experience in a variety of skills such as stirring/ topping barrels, racking, oxygen management, and lab analysis. Topics in Wine Aging II (VEN 195-080L) will allow students to continue the cellar work during the pre-bottling process of red and white wine. This instruction will include blending/bench trials, filtering and lab analysis, and bottling line operation. Registration for these classes closes January 6th. For more information, visit the Northern Virginia Community College web site at www.nvcc.edu. ❖

Steve Oviatt is Past President of the Haymarket Gainesville Business Association who runs his own consulting business in addition to working with a number of local and international wineries. Steve acknowledges his daughter taught him everything he knows about wine. He lives in Catharpin with his wife, Nancy.

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Jerry Banks Credits Diabetes Classes for Healthy Turnaround didn’t have any symptoms, I was able to ignore it. I weighed 254 and my A1C (a three-month blood glucose marker) was 8.4. I was taking insulin injections and metformin (a diabetes medication). I kept telling my doctor I was going to lose some weight, but never did. I heard my doctor say to his nurse, ‘Patient is unable to lose weight.’ For some reason, those words really stuck with me.” In six months, Jerry lost 20 pounds, mostly by cutting back on his portion BY ROBIN EARL sizes. In January of 2016, he started a othing succeeds like success. After diabetes education class at the Wellness Center. There he learned about the seven years as a diabetes patient, progression of his disease and its Jerry Banks lost 41 pounds in six consequences. He learned that a person months and saw his health markers drop can have diabetes for years before the to healthy levels. Now he looks for ways to work extra workouts into his week and damage reveals itself in symptoms. He learned about complications like failing revels in healthy, low-carb meals. kidneys, impaired eyesight, and even Jerry works the third shift at a D.C. limb amputation. “It’s a silent killer,” he water treatment plant, but heads to the said. Fauquier Health Wellness Center after He added that in the class, diabetes his shift to get a workout in. He says, “I’m tired after working all night, but I can feel educators Dottie Williams, RN, and Beth Potter, RD, also shared stories of others myself perking up on my drive home, who had overcome diabetes. and by the time I get here, I’m ready to “That was the motivation I needed,” go. I’ve been doing this for a while; now I’m making time to come on my days off, Jerry said. “Because I had been ignoring my diabetes for seven years, I was scared too.” about how much damage I may have Jerry, 58 years old, was diagnosed with already done, but I’ve been lucky.” With diabetes in 2008, but it was 2015 before the help of the information gathered at he decided to address it. “Because I

YOUR JOURNEY TO GOOD HEALTH

DIABETES SUPPORT

Learn how to keep your New Year’s resolutions with the Fauquier Health Wellness Center’s Passport to Weight Loss program. It’s a ten-week, aroundthe-world challenge with exercises from different parts of the globe and a passport to keep track of your journey. Call 540-316-2640 for details.

{ JANUARY 2017 |

Diabetes Self Management Training consists of ten hours of education. This includes one hour with a registered nurse/certified diabetes educator, six hours of group training, and three hours with a dietitian. Insurance usually will pay for this benefit.

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the education classes, Jerry went on a low-carb diet and lost another 20 pounds. I keep my carbs under 35 grams a day and I’m not hungry. It hasn’t been difficult, once I understood what I needed to do. Once I learned how toxic belly fat is, I was determined to take it off.” Jerry also developed a real appetite for exercise. He does a mile on the elliptical to warm up, completes some strength training and finishes up on the treadmill most days. Often, he’ll finish off with three miles on Warrenton’s Greenway. His friends and family have noticed. “My wife is happy, my daughter is happy. My big belly used to be a joke in our family. Now it’s gone.” Dietitian Beth Potter said, “As a registered dietitian, it’s fabulous to have a patient make significant dietary and lifestyle changes; you get to see them reap the benefits of feeling better, looking better, and being healthier.” Jerry is no longer taking insulin injections and has reduced his diabetes medication. He has also stopped taking his cholesterol medication. The last time he had his A1C checked, it was down to 5.7. He is eagerly looking forward to his next doctor’s appointment to see how much further it may have dropped. “I feel excellent,” he enthused. “There’s no going back now.” ❖

In addition, the patient is eligible for yearly reviews with the RN and RD. If there are changes in medications (i.e. going from oral meds to injectable), usually insurance companies will allow an additional visit. The Wellness Center also provides quarterly diabetes

support group meetings, often with guest speakers. Questions? Call or email Beth Potter, RD (540-316-2640; beth.potter@fauquierhealth. org) or Dottie Williams, RN/ certified diabetes educator (540-316-2656; williamsd@ fauquierhealth.org).

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