Features

A giraffe next to an engagement ring? No, this is not a clue from a truly strange scavenger hunt, or two items from a strange shopping list. They are, however, two interesting star formations in the evening sky and are relatively easy to see.

The giraffe is not a well-known group of stars; you may recall the group from the Latin name, Camelopardalis. The second grouping, the engagement ring, includes a famous star, Polaris. These two star arrangements have an interesting past.

The Master Gardener info line is receiving calls concerning lawn fertilization and weed and feed.

March is not the time to fertilize turfgrass varieties grown here. March is usually the time your local garden centers begin major advertising campaigns to sell lawn fertilizers. For the types of grasses grown in this area, make sure it’s the right time to feed your lawn. In general, the best time to fertilize a lawn here is when it is actively growing. That is usually May at the earliest.

Fescue should be fed in the fall

Mr. and Mrs. Edwin P. Hahn of Sunset Beach will celebrate their 66th wedding anniversary March 4. The couple was married at Maxwell Field in Montgomery, Ala., in 1944. They now have four children, nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Etta M. Little, wife of the late James (Jim) Little, celebrates her 90th birthday on Feb. 13 at New Life Baptist Church Fellowship

Hall. She has three children: James Maurice Little (deceased), Christine L. Vereen and Thelma Faye Little; three grandchildren: Cheryl V. Luke, James Brian Little and Whitney Maurice Little; and three great-grandchildren: Alexander V. Luke, Jenna Madison Little and James Brian Little II.

BY LAURA LEWIS

STAFF WRITER

SUPPLY—As James Bell ascended winding wooden steps with a boxful of food for a family in need, his wife, the Rev. Patricia Ann Bell, urged everyone to go ahead of her.

Health problems have slowed her gait, and it takes her a while to climb stairs, she said.

But when it comes to community outreach, the shepherdess of Lamb of God Ministries still gets around just fine.

The newly ordained minister’s church doesn’t yet have a building of its own.

Gardeners from cooler climates often wax nostalgic for that hedge of sweet-smelling lilacs or the stately rhododendron that anchored Grandma’s garden.

Attempts to re-create these memories in the hot and humid climate of southeastern North Carolina are generally met with frustration and failure.

Rather than lamenting over that which cannot be, let’s look at some of the wonderful things about gardening here.

Winter blooms

I am not an electrical engineer nor do I understand what electricity is all about. My knowledge is limited to the ability to “plug it in” and believe all will work well. But, I do know everything stops moving, all appliances immediately arrest activity, fans and lights go off, when a transformer is struck by lightning.

The nationally renowned Wilmington Celebration Choir will perform at 4:30 p.m. this coming Sunday, Feb. 28, at Ocean Drive Presbyterian Church in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Admission is free, with a love offering received.

The Christian-based choir consists of more than 70 voices from 19 different churches in southeastern North Carolina.

Led by Pillar recording artist and soloist Joey Gore, the choir also features soloists Willing Heart, Paula Greene, Sherry Watkins, Angie Payne, Laurie and Mike Kelley, Marsha King and Kevin and Julie Foss.

Here is a riddle of astronomical proportions to solve. What is larger than the moon by many times, is found in the northern sky, never sets, the light emitted by this object is of the brightest type, it is the youngest of its kind and looking up you will not even see it?

I will give you the answer later after we covered some other great heavenly features in this month’s sky. First, let us review the planets in the sky; we lose some, we gain some.