[piano music] - Next on North Carolina Weekend, join us from Summerfield Farms as we take you on Autumn Adventures.

We'll wind down the Charles Kuralt Trail, dip our toes in Lake Chatuge, and fly high at Sylvan Heights Bird Park, coming up next.

- [Announcer] Funding for North Carolina Weekend is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains, across the piedmont to 300 miles of Barrier Island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[upbeat banjo music] ♪ - Welcome to North Carolina Weekend, everyone.

I'm Deborah Holt Noel, and this week we are going on Autumn Adventures.

Today I'm exploring Summerfield Farms, just outside of Greensboro.

Spanning close to a thousand acres, this working farm and event venue features a market, a barn wedding venue, luxury cabins, plus more.

We'll explore it more throughout the show, but first let's head to the coast, and explore the hidden treasures of the Charles Kuralt Trail.

[guitar music] - [Derek] The Charles Kuralt Trail guides travelers across eastern North Carolina's many wildlife refuges.

Visitors can enjoy the sights and sounds of the vast reserves in the spirit of North Carolina's pioneering journalistic native son.

- Of course, if you travel in a country as rich and varied as this one, there is no end to the road.

- [Derek] The Kuralt Driving Trail has no specific route, it simply encourages visitors to explore the natural beauty and open spaces of coastal North Carolina's wildlife refuges.

[trumpet music] - Good morning.

Here begins something new.

- Charles Kuralt knew how to let everyone know they mattered.

He did not talk down to people, yet he was not intimidated by Presidents and royalty.

He was just who he was.

- This is a long road.

It took nine children out of the cotton fields.

- [David] He was from an era without social media, without cable TV.

- They all returned.

- And so we were all focused on this little box, and here comes this guy with a voice that you never forgot.

- Shows of Nebraska.

- Creating stories that we had never seen before, that made us think, that made us laugh, that made us cry.

I can remember my parents would say when Charles Kuralt would come on, "Sh, be quiet, hold on, hold on," to quiet the children in the house.

"We want to watch this."

You saw this van come by on the screen on the road.

What is this?

You could see him driving it sometimes, this motor home, or with his arm out the window, and it was something so different than we had ever seen.

It captured our imagination.

[guitar music] - Well, what I love about the refuges is they, people had the foresight and wisdom, along with a biological understanding that wildlife needs habitat, and they saw habitat being degraded in places starting back in the thirties.

So places like Pea Island, and Mattamuskeet, and Swan Quarter, and Cedar Island came online in a response to impacts to those resources.

[guitar music] I've heard visitors say, you know, "I'm from another state, and I come here, and then I hear that the red wolf is out there at Alligator River along coastal lakes, and just the knowledge that it's there, and I'm present in that habitat where they exist, just gives me this wild wilderness feeling about the place."

The notion that people can go refuge to refuge with just a little bit of information from a map, or now I guess, you know, pull it up online, and get to a spot and go, "Okay, this refuge," you know, get a thumbnail about what it is, and why it was established, and its purpose, and then what they might see, and then they can go explore if they choose, because they're literally on the road going between them, but many of them have roads that you can go on them as well, to find out what you might discover.

These wild places are also open spaces where people can go and feel, and you're not seeing crowds generally, so you feel like it's, "I don't have to interact with anything but what I'm seeing, and hearing, and enjoying," so it's a great experience for people to just go refresh if nothing else, but then they come away and go, "I saw a bear."

[guitar music] - The Charles Kuralt Trail connects 12 wildlife refuges from Mackay Island to Cedar Island.

For a map of the trail, go to fws.gov/northcarolina.

A really fun farm experience is not too far from here in Stokes County at Armstrong Artisan Farm.

Pumpkins, hayrides, and corn mazes are just the start of the fun.

♪ They's all dressed up with somewhere to go ♪ - [Derek] It's a typical Friday in the fall on the farm, music, animals.

- [Austin] Hey, little Starlight.

[ducks quacking] [kitten mewing] - [Visitor] That is a baby.

[sheep braying] - [Derek] Lots of animals, pumpkin picking.

- It's a big one.

Carry it.

- [Derek] And corn maze meandering.

It's all happening on this night in the countryside near Walnut Cove.

- Each year we try to have two corn mazes, two pumpkin patches, then some fields of sunflowers.

Everybody loves to take pictures in the sunflowers, and you know, for people that come out, we even give them a sunflower.

- [Derek] One of the two corn mazes could be the largest in North Carolina.

It's nearly 30 acres.

The other maze isn't as big, but it's a big favorite among the many interactions here.

- Around Halloween, we're gonna have a spooky maze, so people can come out at night from 7 to 11, and they can go through the maze in the dark, and they might be chased by a clown, or see a scary prop, or something like that.

And we really just wanted to have something that was good, clean, fun.

- [Austin] Good boy, what a good boy.

- [Derek] The Armstrongs allow a good amount of hands-on learning experiences with their pets, and their livestock.

- Occasionally we'll actually have sheep dog trials out here, so people wanting to qualify and get points for a national competition, they'll come out, they'll bring their Border Collie out here, since we have sheep and lambs, but on other weekends, we'll just have some local handlers come out, and do demonstrations for people.

They'll take the dog, and they may work the big mob of sheep, and work it up to the barn, and try to get it in the panels just like we would, if we need to get them in to do some hoof trimming or sheep shearing.

Just for a little bit of fun, one of the ladies, she brings out some ducks when she does it, so they'll herd the ducks around just like the sheep, and people get a kick out of that.

[bluegrass music] - [Derek] There are endless ways to get your kicks on this farm, but just so you know before you go, here are some of the favorites to look for.

- Always the favorite for young kids is the corn pit, for whatever reason, you know, and we always have that open for our nighttime activities, and the daytime, but little kids, and grownups alike, they like to get in there and play in the corn.

And a lot of people, they enjoy going and picking their own pumpkins in the pumpkin patch.

You know, they're just buying them straight out of the field, and we plant different varieties.

We plant some eating varieties, some decorative varieties, some jack-o-lantern type varieties.

It's like going and cutting a Christmas tree at Christmas time, you know?

You go get to go pick out your pumpkins.

Some people will come out with a few.

Some will come out with a big wagon load.

- [Derek] You could spend a half day at Armstrong Artisan Farm without running low on fun, but be sure to plan for at least a two hour visit, so you can take in all that's available to interact with.

And if you have the time, since you're already off the main road, you might as well enjoy the surrounding area.

- Stokes County is a fairly rural county, but we've got a lot to offer.

Hanging Rock is probably the most known, and people love Hanging Rock.

So Hanging Rock is just a few miles from us.

Pilot Mountain and Mount Airy isn't so far away, so if you want to make a weekend trip, and come up to our corn maze and the fall festival, maybe you'll catch a weekend where we've got some music, and we may be doing some sheep herding out here.

Some of those other activities are very close by.

[people cheering and geese honking] - Armstrong Artisan Farm is at 1499 Brook Cove Road in Walnut Cove.

That's in Stokes County.

To find out about upcoming events, including their corn maze and pumpkin patch, give them a call at [336] 529-4084, or visit them online at armstrongartisanfarm.com.

Summerfield Farms is an idyllic getaway this fall.

Co-owner Stephanie Quayle and David Couch told me more about their love of the land, local food, and community.

Stephanie, David, this is just a gorgeous place.

Tell me a little bit about the events that you host.

- Today we do weddings.

We do birthday parties.

We do retirement parties.

We do corporate events.

We do celebrations of life.

We do so many things that bring the public together.

We call ourselves the farmily.

We have a well truck that's open from Wednesdays until Sundays.

We have our market.

The world is your oyster here, because here you can walk your dog.

You can go have a drink out back.

You can get some food, you can shop for really healthy food.

- It's been so wonderful to bring musicians to the farm, and have these different music events from songwriting events, to full concerts.

We have a concert actually coming up on October 17th, our a little fall festival.

You know, I get to play at the Tanger Center, and all over, but to get to be here on the farm and share the music, and watch all the families, it's incredible.

- We're delighted with the smiles and the joy that this place and all of its participants bring, you know, to the farm.

I think it's great for the land, and it's great for the community.

So that's what we're trying to do.

- Music brings us together, food brings us together, and that's one of our favorite things is just being able to share all these awesome experiences.

[bluegrass music] - Summerfield Farms is at 3203 Pleasant Ridge Road in Summerfield, and they're open every day.

For more information, give them a call at [336] 643-2006, or check them out online at summerfieldfarms.com Another great autumn tradition can be found in Bear Creek, over in Martin County, where the locals there had been throwing a down-home festival featuring chicken mull.

What's chicken mull?

We thought you'd never ask.

[guitar music] - [Derek] I had never been to Bear Grass before.

- It's a rural farming community, and if you blink, you'll miss us when you drive through.

- [Derek] And I'd never heard of chicken mull either, but here I was in Bear Grass for the Chicken Mull Festival.

- Old folks call it muddle, and it's chicken muddle, and it is, even in our county, not well-known except in Bear Grass and over in the farm life community, and it's known in the farm life community, because people from Bear Grass migrated and married over there, and we took it, but it was something we knew was unique to us.

- [Resident] Outside of Morton County, there's not many people that they really know what chicken mull is.

- I would describe it as a big, thick soup.

- Some people call it chicken stew, or porridge, or oatmeal with chicken in it.

- Chicken mull is a combination of chicken and crackers.

- The basics is chicken, crackers, salt, pepper, broth, and then everybody adds their own touches.

- Everybody in this whole community knows what chicken mull is, and it's just been handed down over the years.

- In the older days when they were firing tobacco barns with wood, the people that sat up at the barns at night would have a little cooking pot, and they would throw a chicken in the pot, and start cooking so that during the night, everybody would have something to eat, and so that's kind of really how it really got going here.

- I said, when you start running out of chicken mull, and you got more folks, you just brought out more water, and more crackers.

You can kind of stretch it if you need to.

I always believed Jesus fed the 5,000 with chicken mull.

- [Derek] The festival has over 60 vendors selling food and crafts, while the local fire department sells chicken mull.

There's great musical entertainment, amusements for the kids, a corn hole tournament, and much more.

- All proceeds from the Chicken Mull Festival go back to the Bear Grass Charter School.

We are the home of the Bear Grass Bears.

Our school has about 300 kids, and that's grades 6 through 12.

- [Derek] Then of course, there's the chicken mull cooking contest.

- 12 different cooks, cooking down chicken mull in a cook-off to see who has the best chicken mull around.

- [Derek] Each with their own special something.

- Boiled eggs, some people like boiled eggs, some don't.

- I have seen people put celery, but to me, I just like chicken, and crackers, and the seasoning.

- Some people put sausage, some people put onions, potatoes.

It's whatever you can find in the cabinet to throw in there, that suits your taste.

- Some folks have put canned corn in there, and carrots and stuff.

I don't particularly care for that, but you know, everybody's got their own recipe.

- People that look at it the first time, that's never seen it before, they think that might not be good, but when they taste it they're sold.

I mean, you can't compare it to anything, because you've not tasted anything that tasted just like it.

- [Derek] Well, with a recommendation like that, good, chickeny, crackery, it's flavorful.

Last year's winners, the local American Veterans Association returned to take first place for the second year running.

I asked them what was their secret ingredient.

- What makes it so special?

Tender love and care.

- Well, it had the right texture, it had the right seasoning, it had plenty of chicken, and it just had the right flavor, and it just stood out.

- If you like chicken and pastry, you'll love chicken muddle.

- [Derek] This is Derek Long for North Carolina Weekend.

[guitar music] - The Chicken Mull Festival is October 23rd in downtown Bear Grass.

That's in Martin county.

Be sure to check out their website at chickenmolefestival.com.

Did you know, we share a lake with Georgia?

Nestled in the western North Carolina mountains is beautiful Lake Chatuge.

With over 130 miles of shoreline, there are tons of fantastic places for recreation.

Let's check it out.

[guitar music] - I think a lot of people think that the state ends in Asheville, but we're a hundred miles west of Asheville, and it has always been like the best kept secret.

There's a little bit of everything in Clay County if you wanna be outdoors.

- Population of Clay County is around 12,000.

I think it's really known for its outdoor opportunities and scenic beauty.

The county seat is Hayesville.

- [Derek] A town of about 400 people with a historic courthouse, shops, restaurants, and more, in close proximity to the outdoor attractions that make Clay County stand out.

- Lake Chatuge is a lake that sits in Clay County, North Carolina, and in Townes County, Georgia, and it's got about 132 miles of shoreline.

It's about 13 miles long.

Lake Chatuge stands out, for one thing, because of the mountain backdrops we have.

- [Joanna] Lake Chatuge is known as an awesome recreation lake, boating, fishing.

- [Derek] Or a relaxing swim close to shore.

If exploration is on your agenda, there are several places around the lake to rent jet skis and different kinds of boats.

- There's a lot of fingertip peninsulas.

There's a lot of coves that people love to go and fish in.

You can get on your kayak or you boat, and go out to an island, and just explore.

- [Derek] You can also get close to the lake on foot or bike thanks to a path across the Lake Chatuge Dam.

Built by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the early 1940s, Lake Chatuge and and its dam generated power for World War II preparations.

- It later became more of a recreational lake, but it's always been a flood control basin.

The lake is relatively spread out.

It has easy access points, good launch areas.

There's good camping on the lake.

- [Derek] Lake Chatuge doesn't only offer on the water recreation opportunities.

There's plenty to do around the lake also.

- People can ride the trails in the morning, and be out on their boat in the afternoon.

There's something for everybody on the Jackrabbit Trails.

There's a lot of hiking that takes place on these trails, and you'll see everybody walking their dogs on it.

- [Derek] Or maybe even an adventurous cat.

Jackrabbit Mountain also has bike tune-up and repair stations, something that could come in handy on the newest section of trails.

- We just completed a 4.9 mile Rabbit Ridge Trail, a more challenging trail that is geared toward the more advanced rider.

It has a lot more climbing, rock gardens, banked berm turns, and a lot of jumps.

Clay County not only has Lake Chatuge, we have streams, and rivers, and waterfalls, a wealth of resources for people who like being outdoors.

- We've got some great streams like Fires Creek.

Some of the best things to do at Fires Creek are fishing, swimming, and hiking.

The waterfall here is called Leatherwood Falls.

This particular spot is just a very popular spot to come and swim, and tube, and picnic.

- [Derek] And a part of North Carolina that may be new territory to many visitors.

People of Clay County are happy to share the community they love.

- We're pretty proud of our trails, and our community, and our lake, and our streams, and our mountains, so we invite everybody else to come out and enjoy it as much as we do.

- For more information about Lake Chatuge, Clay County, and Hayesville, and all the things you can do there, go to claychambernc.com Autumn is a great time of year for birdwatching when our avian friends begin their migrations to warmer climates, and if you want to get up close and personal with these beautiful creatures, head to Sylvan Heights Bird Park, where they're celebrating their 15th anniversary.

- Welcome to Sylvan Heights Bird Park.

We're one of the largest bird parks in the country, and the largest waterfowl facility in the world, which has ducks, geese, and swans.

And you're also gonna see flamingos, owls, parrots, cranes, and all types of birds from all around the world.

- So from 160 species of waterfowl, we've gone up to 260 species of birds.

So I wanted to have lots of birds of different colors and varieties for people to see all the time.

The idea was to educate people.

That was one of our main things, and by having a park in which you can get near to the birds, almost touch the birds as you're walking in them, they get a different feel for it.

Our mission is obviously with education.

The conservation really rests in the hands of the young people we teach, but also protecting endangered species.

- The park actually has about 18 endangered species.

Those are very important to us, and we hope that people, when they come here to Sylvan Heights, they'll get to see them, learn more about them, and understand the importance of trying to save those species.

- Our programs are really involved for the kids to learn about the environment in a fun, interactive way, but they get to do things more hands-on here when they come to the bird park.

- We have some very exciting things like the landing zone, where people go in and get feed sticks, and the children feed budgies.

I say children, children from seven to 80 feed the budgies.

They really enjoy it, you know, have a good time.

- It's interesting to be around nature, and around the birds, love them.

Just gotta learn to, how they react, and how to play with them.

- You actually see children going in that are actually scared of birds.

After they go in there, and the birds settle very gentle on them, they changed the whole format.

- It's really awesome to see kids excited when they're able to get up close to the birds.

I mean, that's one of the things we we really try to focus on is to let people get as close as possible in the safest way, so that they can really experience how amazing these birds are.

- It's helping people to understand why the conservation of these habitats are so important globally, but there's even North Carolina species that need our help for one reason or another, and they're just as important.

- And I've been very fortunate in my life.

I've been on 17 major expeditions, bringing back eggs to hatch, and we even managed to breed all these species with our avaries.

- [Kat] The ultimate goal with these breeding programs is to keep the species alive so that they're no longer on the endangered species list, so they can go back to the wild where, of course, they belong.

- The park is open year round, and it's set up into continentally themed aviaries.

You'll go through Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Eurasia.

Right now we're in South America, and behind me, you'll see ibis, and spoonbills, and a lot of other exotic species found throughout South America.

And that's the experience you'll have as you're going through the park, as each of these continental aviaries represent the birds, and sometimes the plants found in those areas.

So it's a really interactive experience, and what we hope is you'll gain a real appreciation and knowledge of all these exotic and rare species, and maybe pay attention to some of your birds in your own backyard.

Sylvan Heights has actually existed for over 30 years, but the park itself didn't come to actually opening until October of 2006.

So we're celebrating 15 years of being open, and if you were here 15 years ago, you'd pleasantly be surprised how much has grown since then.

- Birds of Paradise is our newest exhibit.

It's kind of really different than a lot of the other exhibits here at Sylvan Heights, and so you can tell when you're walking around, it's made with different materials than the other exhibits, and the main benefit of that is we're able to encompass a large space for a smaller bird.

They're able to stay in here, and people are able to walk through the exhibit, and see a really unique selection of birds.

- If you're looking for something a little bit more special, we do offer tours.

We offer those tours Tuesday through Friday, but we ask you to go our website and book it ahead of time, and that way you'll get to meet one of our keepers, and get to go around the park, and learn a little bit more about the history of why we're here, and what we're doing with these wonderful birds.

- It's just so much fun to teach people about these birds, and teach conservations of their importance, and so we can help protect these animals in the best way we know how, and hopefully spread love and awareness of these animals to the next generation.

[ducks quacking] - Sylvan Heights Bird Park is at 500 Silvan Heights Park Way in Scotland Neck, and they're open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

The best way to plan your visit is to go to their website at shwpark.com.

Well, that's it for tonight's show.

We'd like to thank the folks at Summerfield Farms for hosting us.

It's a great place to visit for an autumn adventure, and if you've missed anything in tonight's show, just remember, you can always watch it again online at pbsnc.org.

Have a great North Carolina weekend, everyone.

Good night.

[upbeat music] ♪ - [Announcer] Funding for North Carolina Weekend is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the piedmont to 300 miles of Barrier Island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[piano music]