Homeowners in one Raleigh neighborhood will wake up to free groceries on Saturday, June 16.

Food Lion employees with be unloading 15 heaping shopping carts, rolling them up to peoples front porches and ringing doorbells.

Unsuspecting residents will be asked to help themselves to five items each out of the carts.

The name of the neighborhood is being kept under wraps, said Food Lion spokeswoman Christy Phillips-Brown. But doorbells will start ringing at 10 a.m.

The Saturday morning stunt dubbed Operation Grocery Drop is the latest of several marketing campaigns launched to create buzz about the Food Lion chain, which has struggled in recent years.

In January, Food Lions parent company, the Belgian conglomerate Delhaize Group, announced it would close 126 underperforming stores across its three brands 113 of them Food Lion stores, including one in Cary.

In March, Food Lion offered a double coupon promotion for two weeks in its Triangle stores. It was the first time Food Lion had offered double coupons in the highly competitive Triangle grocery market, where competitors routinely double the face value of coupons.

Last year, the grocer cut prices on 6,000 items, reorganized shelves, added shopping carts, increased staffing and made efforts to improve customer service.

Raleigh will be the first city to host the grocery giveaway, but the retailer will do it again in other locations, Phillips-Brown said.

In addition to the free groceries, residents will be given coupons for Food Lions My Essentials brand of products.

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Food Lion to give away groceries in one Raleigh neighborhood

NEWFANE The Reach Workcamps are coming back to Niagara County.

Next summer, possibly in July 2013, high school kids from all over the country will come to Newfane to work onporches, steps, wheelchair ramps, outhouses, painting and all kinds of assorted assignments.Its expected the teens will work on 60 to 100 homes in the county, providing $300,000 to $400,000 in improvements, but all for free.

This is the second time the Reach camps have stayed in Newfane. Board of Education Vice President Kelly Artieri said she spent an evening back in 2010 with a Reach group. Artieri was touched by the organization aenthusiasmof the of the teens.

I was brought to tears, it was the most amazing thing I have seen, Artieri said. Im so glad youre coming back.

Reach Workcamps spent the summer of 2010 in Newfane, a move that was nessecary because of the c

onstruction being done at Lockport High School, the camps former Niagara County home. Reach did not return to the Western New York area in 2011 and will not return this summer.

The workcamps will stay in Newfane district buildings, at no cost to the district, for a pair of one-week sessions next year. Usually one-week programs, each Reach camp draws 400 to 500 teens from all over the United States.

Michael Boron, the director of St. Johns Outreach, said the agency receives requests from clients in need of house repairs, but are unable to afford them. Some are even called to housing court in the city of Lockport after being cited.

Theres not a lot we can do for them, given our limited resources, Boron said. This, on the other hand, provides us an excellent opportunity to service those low-income, home owning, taxpaying citizens of our communities and give them a better place.

Based in Colorado, Reach holds about eight to 10 workcamps across the country each year. St. Johns Outreach is the local Reach workcamp coordinator, which means it will locate homeowners in need of Reach help.

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Reach workcamps returning to area

This tiny world is in the garden of Andi Peterson of Lincoln. Fairy gardens have taken off with a certain age group but maybe not the age you might think. Below is a creation by Deb Kistler and granddaughter Sasha to give as a Mother's Day gift.

Courtesy of Andi Peterson

MULHALL'S CLASSES

11 a.m. July 21, for adults: Materials include a 12-inch pot and accessories. Cost: $45.

Some of us never outgrow playing with dolls.

Andi Peterson of Lincoln makes no apologies for the fairy gardens that populate her yard, front and back.

She doesn't have children or grandchildren, but she does have a childlike sense of wonder about the tiny world she created, sometimes on her own, sometimes with help from a friend.

Peterson isn't alone. Tiny gardens are cropping up in backyards and on front porches across the Midlands.

Children and adults are planting greenery no bigger than a pencil eraser in a landscape no bigger than a flower pot. Some of these gardens hold dollhouse-size benches and Adirondack chairs. Often they feature miniature birdhouses, thimble-size pots and stepping stones for imaginary visitors.

It's all part of a trend that's been bubbling for a while with kids who love Tinker Bell in Peter Pan and early-reader fairy books. But kids aren't the only ones besotted with fairy gardens.

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How does your garden grow? Very, very small

The battle lines of suburbia are demarcated by white picket fences, the battleground itself littered with landmines of leaves, grass, porches, and other ticking bombs set to square off neighbor against neighbor. Hey, asshole, why don't you try painting your shutters so our property values don't go down? And really, a bonfire on a Monday night? Some of us have to work, dickweed. And I like sleeping with the windows open, but all I smell now is your dumb fire pit.

This is how wars start, brimming with passive aggressive taunts and muffled vulgarities. All it takes is one spark to set off the fuse, and in suburbia, early-morning mowing is perfect tinder.

Let's go out to Ashtabula County via the Star Beacon and check in on two neighbors whose disagreement over some A.M. grass trimming might end up in court.

Deputies spoke to the alleged assailant, who gave a different story. The man said his neighbor began cutting grass around 6 a.m., and ignored his request to delay mowing until 7 a.m. The man admitted shutting off the neighbors mower and making remarks, but denied issuing any threats, he told deputies.

We're no history buffs, but we're pretty sure this is what started the Hatfield and McCoy feud.

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Early Morning Mowing Can Be Serious Business in the Suburbs

COVINGTON, Ind. Flags flutter from porches and line the yards at homes in this close-knit community. Businesses are flying their flags at half-staff in honor of a young man who gave his life while serving overseas.

People who knew Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Witsman describe him as humble and proud to serve his country, as well as friendly and caring.

He had the most contagious smile youve ever seen and gave the best hugs ever, said Hannah Whittington, whos known Witsman for years. He was such a sweet guy.

The 23-year-old Marine was killed in military action in Afghanistan last week. A candlelight vigil will be at 9 EDT tonight on the lawn of the Fountain County Courthouse in Covington. People are asked to bring their own candles.

On Wednesday, friends will place 2,000 flags along the route from Covington to the Vermilion Regional Airport. Witsmans body is expected to arrive at the airport Thursday night, and services are tentatively set for later in the week, said Whittington, who is the girlfriend of Witsmans brother.

Whittington said she expects a large turnout tonight for the candlelight ceremony.

It will be great to see everyones support, she said. The community support has been amazing.

Suzy Strawser of Covington recalled a welcome-home held for the young man last May between his deployments.

He was really proud that people supported him so much. He was such a very humble person, she said Saturday. Now, our small community is making plans to line the streets and place flags out for himwhen he is brought back to Covington. My heart goes out to his family.

Larry Weatherford, owner of WKZS and WSKL radio stations based in Covington, said there was a pall over the town on Thursday and Friday. The parents, Tom and Kayla Witsman, learned of his death on Wednesday.

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City remembers Marine

Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) seem attracted to human dwellings. Your yard and porches provide wren edibles, including spiders, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, ants, small bees, wasps, millipedes, sowbugs, moths and snails.

One quirky habit that amuses and surprises is Carolina Wrens pick some unlikely places to build their nests: an old bucket turned on its side, a hanging planter or a bicycle helmet left out on a porch, an old shoe forgotten in a shed, a mailbox. One season, my resident pair announced they were ready to settle down and begin their first nest of the spring.

Research has shown that Carolina wrens often pair for life. This male announced the nesting cycle by singing his wichity-wichity-wichity song to let the female know he had nest sites to show. I watched as he began exploring a corner of my porch. First, he brought three leaves and placed them on a shelf, then called until the female appeared from neighboring shrubs.

After hopping about and trying out the nest site, the female declared her rejection by simply leaving. The patient male showed his mate two more offerings. She rejected both. Suddenly, the male perched on a loosely woven grapevine basket I had hung high on the porch wall. The female again appeared and explored the basket inside and out. Then they both disappeared and returned several minutes later to began tucking materials into the basket. For three years I cleaned out the old nest and each year they returned to the same basket, rebuilt the nest and raised their young where I could pull up a chair and watch.

Dont panic if you find a wren nest with one or two eggs in it and no wrens tending the nest. The female comes to the nest once a day to lay one egg and wont begin incubating until shes laid four to five eggs. When she begins incubating, expect eggs to hatch in 12 to 14 days. Once chicks hatch, both parents collect insects for the developing chicks until they fledge, usually in 10 to 14 days. The parents then call from nearby shrubs and undergrowth to encourage the chicks to flutter-fly and begin their initiation into wren adulthood. The whole family stays in touch with soft contact calls, so even when you cant see them, you know where they are. Carolina Wrens prefer to hunt insects in leaf litter and low in thickets or your garden.

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Gail Compton: Carolina wrens quirky nesters

For two years, the class of 2012 at Richland High School has wondered: Who is the Ding Dong Ditcher?

A few came close to discovering the identity of the prankster who left boxes of Hostess Ding Dongs on their doorsteps.

One student said she was tipped off by some handwriting on a box. Another student went through his entire list of friends and gradually eliminated possible suspects.

In all, about 100 students, along with some parents and others, including Principal Tim Praino, received boxes of the cream-filled chocolate cakes.

Thursday, though, all was revealed, when Praino handed boxes of Ding Dongs to seniors Jessica Danoff, Bridgette Nickeson and Heather Eadie during graduation rehearsal at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.

The three friends said they don't remember what initially got them started playing the joke on friends, but they worked long and hard to cover their tracks.

"We knew no one would suspect us," said Nickeson, 18. "We wanted it to be as perfect as possible."

The premise was simple put a box of Ding Dongs on someone's front step, ring the doorbell and run away before anyone sees you.

The Hostess website says such games have different names in various countries and have been played since the 19th century.

Danoff, 18, said the joke started with her and her mother, Shelley Damrell Horton, and was based on a similar prank that an aunt and uncle played on their friends.

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Sweet ending to saga of Ding Dong Ditchers

Photo by Contributed photo

Contributed photo Steep Canyon Rangers does bluegrass right on its latest CD, "Nobody Knows You."

It's summer now, and that means green trees, shady country lanes, long afternoons of fishing and the smell of freshly mowed grass from shady front porches.

Oh, and bluegrass music.

Speaking of bluegrass music, the BrownChicken BrownCow Stringband made a strong impression on acoustic music fans when the talented young West Virginia pickers brought their hot and innovative "new traditional" bluegrass to the Iron Horse Pub in March. They promised to return, and they will when they settle in Saturday night for a second go-round at the Iron Horse Pub.

If you can't make it to the BrownChicken BrownCow show, the group's three albums are available at its website, and they're all good reasons to become BrownChicken fans.

And any of these other new releases will help set a bluegrass mood.

"Nobody Knows You" by Steep Canyon Rangers

Banjo-picking comedic legend Steve Martin could have gotten any top bluegrass outfit to be his backup band in the studio and on the road, but he chose the Steep Canyon Rangers. The Rangers' new album, "Nobody Knows But You," again showcases the distinctive spark that drew Martin to the group.

While the Rangers work within the traditional bluegrass mold as invented by Bill Monroe, they don't let strict traditionalism confine them, often breaking out on songs like "Between Midnight and the Dawn" before returning to the rollicking banjo-driven fun on tunes such as "As I Go" and "Ungrateful One."

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Rangers bring banjo smiles

It's yellow snow. No, it's a dust cloud.

Actually, it's a whole lot of tree and grass pollen that has been covering automobiles, porches, windowsills you name it.

This is the time of year for pollen, but recently there have been higher levels than usual.

Websites http://www.pollen.com and http://www.weather.com are predicting pollen counts for today and tomorrow to be high for tree pollen and very high for grass pollen.

The weather is clearly a factor when it comes to how much pollen we see, said Dr. N. Alan Harris, an allergist with Central Massachusetts Allergy & Asthma Care in Worcester and Auburn.

Sometimes we have a severe winter and everything bunches up and comes in one huge burst. Sometimes we have a mild winter and it gets spread out. This year it seems like we're getting huge amounts of pollen, said Dr. Harris. My best pollen count is looking at my car, the kitchen counter or on the back porch.

Dr. Harris said most people do not have allergies to pollen. But many people do, which means their body has an allergic immune response to a part of the pollen.

That immune response sets off a cascade of events when the pollen comes in contact with a mucus membrane or the lining of the lungs if you have asthma. The cascade of events leads to the symptoms: congestion, runny nose, sneezing, shortness of breath, coughing and itchy eyelids.

Ronnie Beauregard of Holland, grounds foreman at Worcester State University, got hit hard Tuesday after spending the morning and afternoon mowing the campus. Most of the thick lime green pollen was from the grass and pine trees, which produces large waxy particles.

When I got off the mower at the end of the day, I was covered in yellow dust my arms, my legs, everything. My mower was also covered, Mr. Beauregard said yesterday. Lake Ellie, where all the drain water runs off into, now that's all yellow, too.

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Pollen piles up

Thousands banged pots and pans as they marched in more than 70 cities all across Canada Wednesday night. The spreading "casserole" protests have erupted in Quebec as thousands of non-students have joined with the students to demand an end to austerity measures and Bill 78, which bans unauthorized public assemblies and curtails the right to protest.

Casserole Night in Halifax, Nova Scotia -- 150 enthusiastic people from all walks of life took to the streets last night in a show of solidarity with the ongoing protests in Quebec. (Photo/Miles Howe) People cheer from their porches as processions of marchers pass through the streets.

Casserole rallies or cacerolazos originated in Latin American countries as a form of popular protest where people bang pots and pans.

Meanwhile, Quebec's emergency anti-protest legislation - Bill 78 - has now drawn the attention of the United Nations.

Two UN experts on freedom of expression have raised concerns about Quebec demonstrations which took place on May 24 that involved serious acts of violence and the detention of up to 700 protesters.

They urged the provincial government to respect the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, expression and association of students.

The recently adopted legislation unduly restricts students rights to freedom of association and of peaceful assembly in Quebec, warned Maina Kiai, the UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

Kiai said fines ranging up to $125,000 that are included in the law are disproportionate and warned that a municipal regulation requiring protesters to provide their itinerary in advance should not be misused to restrict the legitimate right to freedom of peaceful assembly.

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Thousands March in Canada's Casseroles Night