Weekend retreat: Skylodge's infinity pool. Photo: John Downs

A hotelier has opened his mountain lodge to a lucky few guests, writes Erin O'Dwyer.

I arrive for a night at the new six-star Skylodge, on Mt Tamborine in the Gold Coast hinterland, after a two-week beach holiday that ended too soon. It is a post-holiday holiday designed to beat the back-to-work blues. And it does.

Within the hour, I have demolished the cheese platter, refilled my champagne glass twice, and I am lazing back in the infinity pool, looking out from the lush escarpment to the glittering line of Gold Coast towers beyond.

A four-poster bed. Photo: John Downs

It is exactly what owner Robert Maas had in mind when he launched the lodge late last year.

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Skylodge was designed as a family home. When Maas bought the property a decade ago, the 80-year-old farm house was in need of care. He moved it from the southern end of the property to the escarpment edge, in order to make best use of the views. Then he renovated it, wrapping it in exquisite modern Queensland-inspired architecture.

The result is a long bunker-type lodge that melts into the landscape. The original cottage sits at the southern end, linked to the rest of the house by wide timber verandahs, silver-painted weatherboards and a corrugated-iron roof.

The dining table. Photo: John Downs

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Splendour on the hill

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA (PRWEB) April 29, 2014

On July 19, James Spratt White, V (also known as Jay), will take off on a journey to recreate his great-grandfathers historic bike ride 75 years ago from Rock Hill, SC to the 1939 Worlds Fair in New York. Historic Rock Hill will kick-off the 75th Year, Still One Gear Tour on July 18, with a send off party inviting the public to cheer White on as he begins his 800 mile bike journey. Local cyclists are also invited to begin this ride with White to commemorate this historic event.

In 1939, 64 year old businessman James Spratt White, II made the journey from Rock Hill, SC to Flushing, NY as Rock Hills goodwill ambassador to spread the message that Rock Hill is a Good Town. He traveled through ten states and over 800 miles during his historic trek on his trusty bike, Old Betsy.

Now 75 years later, his great-grandson James Spratt White, V (Jay), will make the same journey on a replica of Old Betsy named Old Betsy II, honoring the historic bike ride with the same mission as his grandfather. The ride will conclude at the 75th anniversary of the 1939 Worlds Fair where White will be spreading the word of how Rock Hill, SC is a good biking town.

At the time of my great-grandfathers historic bike ride, Rock Hill was a big bike community, known for racing and the city won several regional championships, says White. Rock Hill has recently had a huge resurgence in cycling with its newest amenities such as the Giordana Velodrome and its other biking amenities. Rock Hill has become the Epicenter of cycling in the Southeast, and theres a difference between biking activities in a town and a good biking town.

The journey, which begins on July 19, will take two weeks to complete and will be documented through Facebook and a video blog. I want to do the same exact thing that he did as much as possible including taking the train back, states White. If still in existence, White plans to even stop at certain shops and restaurants that his great-grandfather visited. White and his team are working on a finish line celebration and hope to shake the hands of the officials of the Worlds Fair same as James Spratt White, II did in 1939.

In conjunction with the tour, Historic Rock Hill will present a public exhibit, Riding Through Rock Hill: A Retrospective on Cycling, that takes a look at the rich cycling history of Rock Hill and the White Familys love for cycling. The exhibit will feature the original Old Betsy along with other vintage and modern bicycles.

The focus of the exhibit will be the history of biking in Rock Hill and will also feature the current cycling landscape of Rock Hill including the Giordana Velodrome and mountain biking trails.

About Historic Rock Hill Historic Rock Hill, a 501c3 non-profit organization, was formed as a Mid-Town Preservation Association in 1986. Our mission is to preserve and protect the historic resources of Rock Hill, South Carolina, and to enhance the livability of its historic areas. Membership is open to anyone interested in historic preservation and stewardship of Rock Hills historic resources. Historic Rock Hills administrative offices are located in The White Home, located in the heart of the East Town Neighborhood District in Rock Hill. Historic Rock Hill is governed by a thirteen-member Board of Directors, which meets monthly in the upstairs conference room at The White Home. For more information please visit our website at http://historicrockhill.com/.

About the Rock Hill/York County CVB The Rock Hill/York County CVB is the destination marketing organization (DMO) responsible for developing an authentic, unified identity for York County, SC. As a DMO, the CVBs goals are to promote the long-term development and marketing of their destination, focusing on convention, sports and leisure sales, tourism marketing and services. The organization works in collaboration with the CVB Board as well as the York County Council and appropriate funding sources. In 2008, the Rock Hill/York County CVB became the first accredited destination marketing organization in South Carolina.

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Historic Rock Hill Kicks Off 75th Year, Still One Gear Tour Celebrating the Past and Future of Cycling on July 18 ...

The Electric Eel at How Hill

Monday, April 28, 2014 5:19 PM

The How Hill reserve, with the River Ant running through it, is a microcosm of the Broads with something of everything that makes the Broads landscape so special.

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Its river, reed beds, grazing marshes, woodlands, maze of dykes and broad teem with rare wildlife including the Norfolk hawker dragonfly and the bittern.

On top of that there is a tiny riverside eelcatchers cottage to explore, laid out as it would have been in Victorian times. Toad Hole Cottage doubles as a Broads information centre and a wildlife touchscreen lets you find out more about Broads wildlife.

You can use virtual reality technology to guide you round How Hill and tell you about its history and special qualities. You will need to download the free Layar app from your phones app store. Theres a free ebook about How Hill too - available from http://www.how-hill.info

How Hill can be explored on foot or by boat. You can take a relaxing trip aboard the Electric Eel which will transport you silently on a wildlife water trail through secret, reed-fringed dykes, bursting with wildlife, behind the River Ant, with a stop off at a bird hide on the way.

There are also plenty of walks. A waymarked nature trail takes you through marshes and woodland where in June and August you may see the very rare and spectacular Swallowtail butterfly.

You can also walk along the river with a free circular walk around How Hill to see Buttle Marsh, part of the reserve which has been adapted to encourage the bittern which have begun to use Buttle Marsh for feeding. The footpath continues to Ludham Bridge. Theres also a 300 metre easy access path along the river to Boardmans Mill and Clayrack Mill.

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How Hill is a microcosm of the Broads

CHERRY HILL An unsuspecting visitor to the Crowne Plaza Hotel did not have to spend much time looking around before realizing that these friendly, if oddly dressed, people were not the ordinary Cherry Hill crowd.

The place was abuzz Saturday with Trekkies, more than 1,200, who gathered for Creation Entertainment's Official Star Trek Convention, a three-day event that ends Sunday.

They weren't just playing the part of the Starship U.S.S. Enterprise enthusiasts. They were wearing it, reveling in it, encouraging it to course through their veins as though the sci-fi series were a life force all its own.

For these fans, it is.

The first clue was a man wearing a T-shirt with the message "U looking for Tribble?" That's a reference to Tribbles, the soft, furry, creatures that starred in one of the most beloved Star Trek episodes, "The Trouble With Tribbles."

The next clue was nearby in the hotel lobby, where there was a gathering, in full regalia, of members of the Imperial Klingon Forces, an international nonprofit that has, according to its business card, "proudly served the Empire and local Communities with honor and glory since 1994."

Sitting with them was Jim Macintyre, 64, of Butler, N.J. At least, that's what the muffled voice said from within the full-body costume, which included a rocky, silicone face and a large, silver interstellar weapon.

Macintyre said he was "a member of a species with the misfortune of evolving on the Klingon-Gorn border. We're the people who talked the Klingons and Gorns into a nonaggression pact so they could cross borders" to visit their loved ones.

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Trekkies boldly go . . . to Cherry Hill for 'Star Trek' gathering

Horses will have some four-legged friends this summer at Pilot Knob Hill, a historic site in Mendota Heights that eight years ago was threatened by development but instead has been restored to its natural landscape.

Great River Greening plans to bring in grazing goats as part of its multiyear management plan for the 24-acre public, city-owned site at the east end of the Mendota Bridge, south of Minnesota 55.

Last summer, the St. Paul-based environmental nonprofit introduced horses to Pilot Knob to chow down on smooth brome, wild rye and other grasses. The plan is to bring them back this summer and the next.

Goats will help control an overabundance of Canada goldenrod, as well as buckthorn and other broadleaved plants, said Wiley Buck, a restoration ecologist for Great River Greening, which started its 10-year restoration plan for Pilot Knob in 2007.

"Canada goldenrod is very invasive at the site," Buck said. "Without (goats), we'd need to control it with mowing, and we'd much prefer goats. Mowing is clear-cut, where the goats actually prefer goldenrod and will munch that down once there."

Prescribed grazing has been shown to be an effective management tool for prairies -- a way to increase the biodiversity of the landscape and allow native species to thrive and non-native species to be kept in check. Although still rare in the metro area, the practice is gaining in popularity in other parts of Minnesota, including at some state wildlife-management areas, Buck said.

The Mendota Heights City Council this month approved Great River Greening's 2014 management contract, which besides grazing goats includes controlled burning, oak tree planting, bird monitoring, trail and overlook maintenance, and expanding work to a state Department of Transportation hillside between the north boundary of the Pilot Knob site and Minnesota 55.

Pilot Knob Hill, considered a sacred American Indian burial ground, is the place where Dakota Indians ceded 35 million acres to European-American settlers in the 1851 Treaty of Mendota. It's referred to as "Oheyawahi," or "the hill much visited."

In 2005, the city bought an 8.5-acre portion of the hill for $2 million from the owners of Acacia Park Cemetery and dashed the hopes of developers who wanted to build 157 upscale townhomes there. Two years later, the last 15 adjacent acres were secured with help from preservationists and state and local funds.

"I went to the site the other day, and it looks wonderful," Mendota Heights City Council member Liz Petschel said to Buck at this month's council meeting. "I think the grazing has been an enormous success in terms of your attempts to restore the oak savanna. Compared to where we were and where we're getting to ... I think it looks wonderful."

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First horses, now goats for Pilot Knob Hill in Mendota Heights

LONG HILL TWP. The Thursday, May 8, meeting of the Long Hill Historical Society will feature Professor Hsu, a Chinese-American artist who, as a resident of Long Hill, has been inspired by the natural beauty of the area.

The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m.

A long time friend of the Hsu family, Jane Hecht will share her perspective on Professor Hsus local landscape paintings.

Included in the paintings to be discussed will be those on permanent display in the Long Hill Municipal Building and the library.

Ming Hsu will talk of her fathers devotion to art and his popularity in China as a world class artist. Professor Hsu will join the group if health permits.

For more information call (908) 647-2111.

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Landscape artist will be focus of Historical Society meeting May 8

Down by the sally garden: the willow in spring. Illustration: Michael Viney

A blaze of golden yellow halfway down the garden proclaims an invader to our small estate, where a self-sown goat willow, Salix caprea , offers glorious catkins to the spring.

Others of its kind light up my morning march, leaning from the banks of streams beyond the snowy sparkle of whitethorn. These are all male willow catkins, despite the feminine flourish of the pollen: a twig or two, bracing narcissi in a vase, spread the table with gold dust.

The new trespasser more than earns its niche. But the acre we came to had a willow of its own, couched in the hollow where the hill stream cuts through beside the house.

The tree is now quite huge, leaning big, mossy elbows on the opposite bank of the stream. In summer its canopy blots out the mountain from our windows; in winter it cradles the summit and the rise of the moon.

Being so big, it is probably some class of white willow, Salix alba . I am allowed to be that vague, as the hybridisation of willows in Ireland is botanically remarkable. The old Webbs Irish Flora , everyday bible of Irish botanists, detailed 15 species, most of them native to the island but some half-dozen introduced.

Triple hybrids The new edition, updated in 2012, adds no more species but has plenty to say about how difficult it has become to tell one willow from another. John Parnell and Tom Curtis write that 18 hybrids have now been recorded in Ireland, with probably more to come. Even triple hybrids are known, but it is even more difficult to determine their parentage.

Our big white willow should have leaves made silvery green by a coating of silky white hairs. I remember a breathtaking tree of such pure heritage beside a river in Leitrim, a county made especially beautiful by its riparian willows in spring. Our trees leaves are bald and dull, but, hybrid or no, it has every ambition to spread its genes. Its winged seeds will float in a feathery blizzard for days and then spring up from every outdoor flower pot or root stubbornly into crevices in paths or walls.

The Salicaceae evolved for the cool moist soils of the northern hemisphere, into the High Arctic, where I walked on its catkins in a long-past July.

In Ireland it was one of the first plants to colonise the postglacial tundra; it survives in prostrate form now on coastal mountainsides and in the hollows of dunes.

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Its a willow, but what kind is hard to say

by LAUREN ZAKALIK

WFAA

Posted on April 24, 2014 at 8:26 PM

Updated yesterday at 10:16 PM

COCKRELL HILL -- Hovering high above the tiny town of Cockrell Hill, a tree - or something like it - has a lot of people talking.

"I said, 'Honey, they're putting branches on that huge pipe up there!'" said Leo Landin of Cockrell Hill.

What appears to be an incredibly tall, skinny evergreen is actually a 140-foot cell phone tower.

"It's much more aesthetically pleasing than just a pole in the sky," said assistant city administrator Bret Haney.

Haney told News 8 that a few years ago, cell phone service in the small city near Dallas was dismal. So when a company offered to build a tower and blend it into the landscape as best they could, council signed on.

"We havent had any complaints," he said.

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Cell phone towers disguised as trees grow in North Texas

The College of Agricultures search for a new dean to replace the retiring Lester Young continues. The four candidates will participate in an open forum discussion to present his or her qualifications to faculty, staff and students.

Rodney Hill was the first of the four candidates to participate in the open forum on Tuesday.

Hill is currently the strategic adviser to the vice president for research and economic development at the University of Idaho.

He is now interested in a role in which he is able to work closely with students and faculty so that he can use his career experience to facilitate disciplinary excellence in [Cal Poly Pomona] programs, as stated in his letter of interest.

Hill feels that he is fit for the position of dean of the College of Agriculture because he can relate to students.

I know and understand Cal Poly Pomona students because I share many of their experiences, said Hill, who is a first generation college graduate.

Hill also said that he is interested in the position because he shares a lot of the same values that are evident in the College of Agricultures methods.

Some of Hills values include leading and embracing change, empowering and inspiring others, and working across boundaries.

His presentation was focused on his vision for the College of Agriculture: its strengths, the tools and resources it has that contribute to agriculture on a global landscape and faculty, staff and student success.

Hill considers the learn by doing method at CPP one of its greatest strengths because he comes from a research and policy development background.

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Rodney Hill presents case for deanship

Diarist Francis Kilverts vivid image of a Victorian Easter

11:00am Sunday 20th April 2014 in News

IT was said that Victorian clergyman Francis Kilverts diaries reflected his strong love of life and landscape. Here, Nigel relates how he presented for posterity the celebration of an Easter long ago.

THE entries in his journal in early April suggested the diarist lived in an area that was close to being a hell-hole.

We were told that a thug was sentenced to six weeks hard labour for assaulting a licensee by kicking him violently and viciously in his bad place.

And on April 12, 1870, the writer expresses relief at how the Swan public house was marvellously quiet and peaceful no noise, rowing or fighting whatever and no men, as there sometimes are, lying by the roadside all night drunk, cursing, muttering, maundering and vomiting.

But within a few days a completely different picture is painted by clergyman Francis Kilvert of the Herefordshire/Wales border that he served. With his description of the goings on at Easter he demonstrated that, at times, the area could be serene and joyous.

Kilverts Diary has become established as a minor classic. As the editor of the work, William Plomer, wrote: Kilvert has the uncommon gift of making one see vividly what he describes. His detailed picture of life in the English countryside in mid-Victorian times is unmatched.

As a faithful country clergyman he moved with equal ease among people of all classes, and by all was welcomed.

Life there could be brutal and tough with the prevalence of premature death, poverty, squalor and the harshest of weather.

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Diarist's vivid image of a Victorian Easter