January is going by fast! The weather out here in NEVERWHERE has been alternately cold (20's overnight, 30's and 40's during the day) and decently warm (50's and 60's).
I finished working with a local young man who needed community service hours last week--50 hours over three months time. He was eager and willing to work, collecting recycling materials, picking up trash along roadways, helped with Fresh Paint Days project, working on a firebreak by clearing and moving dead wood and burning it. He worked in Phoenix Circle Foundation's new "teaching garden", and helped with the Roadside Beautification project the foundation did last year. He was a pleasure to work with and I was really happy to see him reach his goal.
We attended a Friends of Roman Nose State Park Assoc. meeting to help plan the annual Trout Derby at Roman Nose State Park. The lake at the park is spring feed and the water stays cold enough to sustain Trout all year around. Then, at the end of February, the Fish and Wildlife stocks the lake with tagged fish. When caught during the Derby, the fish qualify for prizes given by the FORN and the Chamber of Commerce, collected by local merchants. See the Watonga Trout Derby facebook page for more information. It is one of the major events held in our area and brings lots of visitors, so if you want to stay at the Chaparral Retreat during that time, call for your reservation soon 'cause we fill up quickly (www.chaparralbb.com) Phone: 580-623-4269. Fisherman can register through the Watonga Chamber of Commerce, 580-623-5352 or online.
We're still partnering with Whirlwind Winery for a Package Experience -- would be perfect for a Valentine's gift. Purchase by phone to get a confirmation number and a reservation.
Singer/songwriter Marcedes Carroll from Bozeman Montana put on a show on Saturday night at the Whirlwind
Winery worthy of a Ryman Auditorium audience. Sadly, only a
dozen people showed up to see her. There's not much to do for entertainment in
our little corner of rural Oklahoma, so having a touring musician stop in and perform
is a real treat. This is why we are constantly doing "Fundraising" -- to be able to pay the musicians a little bit. We are developing a nationwide network of musicians who want to come here to play but the locals that support the live music program is a small group. Half of the people that came on Saturday night were not from Watonga. that's great because the concerts series brings in "tourists", but one of the Foundation's goals is to have something in our town for locals to do. So, we are looking for corporate sponsors to fund some advertising in Weatherford, Hinton, Canton, and other communities close by. These musicians play for tips and CD and Tshirt sales, so the size of the audience is important (we'd like to get 20-25 people -- right now we average 10 to 15 attendees).
Marcedes was awesome - strong vocals, expressive guitar work,
sweet, tender storytelling. This young lady has a special talen - we're going
to have her back here for sure. She played original songs that will be on her
first EP and has a Kickstarter campaign launching on Jan 21. 📸:
@chloenostrant
I'll look for some pics from last night to post.
The next Oklahoma House Concert will be at the Chaparral
Retreat on Sat., Jan 26. , featuring DELIBERATE KIN, a bluegrass/ alternative folk duo from Kansas. MARK YOUR CALENDARS and join our BLAINE COUNTY CALENDAR or OKLAHOMA HOUSE CONCERT group pages to receive notices of this and upcoming shows. OR, we'll send out email notices if you'll send us a message at phoenixcir@yahoo.com that you want to get notices. We currently have musicians scheduled through August!!
We'll be looking skyward on January 19-21 for the rare astrological alignment of planets that's supposed to be visible those evenings, and on January 20 for the "Super wolf blood moon eclipse." We have the perfect location out
in the country, away from urban artificial light pollution. We have two rooms currently available at
the Chaparral Retreat for rent for an overnight stay (chaparralbb.com). call
580-623-4269 for a reservation! The nearby Roman Nose State Park is also a good place to view dark skies full of stars.
I'm all set for the day .... did my morning stretching, had
a cup of coffee, checked the calendar, wrote in my journal, paid bills. Checked
my facebook and email. It' is sunny but cold today so I may end up staying indoors and catching up on paperwork. Martha and Sadie wear themselves running around outdoors and then come in for a rest.
HAVE A GREAT DAY!! /Linda Barrett
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