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COMMITTEE NEWS 10 | THE COLONY NEWS | NOVEMBER 2021 | By Jane Payne, 909-455-2253 Fall season and cooler temperatures are finally here. It's time to enjoy being outside in our Mediterranean-type climate, unique for its mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers. Did you know there are only five regions of the world that have these climate characteristics? They are California, Central Chile, the Mediterranean Basin, the Cape Region of South Africa and Southwestern/South Australia. Fall is a good time for planting, especially for native and drought tolerant plants. If you want to learn more, you can visit the California Native Plant Society at https://calscape. org/ or the UC Plant Database at https://ucanr.edu/sites/ WUCOLS/, where you can create a list of plants by city, water usage and type of plant. DROUGHT: The drought continues, and during June, July and August, California, together with four other western states, experienced their warmest summer on record according to https://www.drought.gov/. They continue to report that both Lake Mead and Lake Powell fell to record low-water levels this summer, forcing the first-ever federal water shortage declaration on the Colorado River. Lake Oroville also hit a record low level that forced a shutdown of the hydroelectric power plant for the first time since it was completed in 1967. The Colony is doing our part on conserving water through the efforts discussed in last month's article. This year, our water costs were five percent under budget from May to August, and our usage was 19 percent below our 2012-2021 average usage. FIRE SEASON: Cooler weather doesn't mean that the fire season is over. Unfortunately, California's fire season has been starting earlier and ending later each year. According to Cal Fire, "Climate change is considered a key driver of this trend. Warmer spring and summer temperatures, reduced snow pack and earlier spring snow melt create longer and more intense dry seasons." Of the Top 20 Most Destructive California Wildfires, three were started in November or December, per their database which dates back to 1932. You may want to check out www.readyforwildfire.org to learn about the things you can do to "harden" or prepare your home and make it more fire resistant. The Colony has been working on removing the big large- leaf Acacia (Acacia longifolia) bushes on some of the slopes because, according to the Murrieta Fire Marshal, they were a possible fire hazard and required they be removed. This project started last February, and we have been working clockwise around The Colony and hope to complete this in the fall. GOOD NEWS: We are very happy that Stephen Koch, stephen.koch@associa.us (677-4341, ext. 216) has joined the Landscape Department as our Assistant Landscape Superintendent. Stephen has spent his career in the landscape industry. Please join us in welcoming him to The Colony. REMINDER: As published in the March 2021 issue, I would like to remind you of the most effective communication process for Landscape questions or problems. WHERE TO START? Your first contact should always be to our Landscape Department. Specifically, questions or problems should be directed to Anthony Reynoso, Landscape Superintendent at Anthony.reynoso@associa.us or (677-4341, ext. 211). He can answer your questions and give you advice on what to do. Anthony is the person to give you a quote on a change request or timing of a service request. He is the only person who directs the work of our Landscape Contractor, Environmental Concepts. If you skip this step, it could cost you more time in the long run. WHO IS THE NEXT CONTACT? Should you have an unresolved problem, you can take it to the Landscape Advisory Committee (LAC). Suggestions or issues should be addressed to me as Chair at janepayne3@verizon.net or by phone. The LAC meets monthly, and among other topics, we address homeowner concerns. We don't make snap decisions; we work hard to understand your situation, go to see the area and prepare before we vote on a topic. If you don't agree with the LAC decision, you can appeal it to our HOA Board of Directors, the final authority. There are a large number of landscape requests, and fortunately, very few issues actually escalate to the Board. LANDSCAPE ADVISORY Fall colors in The Colony. Photo by Val Ching

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