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8 | Four Seasons Hemet Herald | FEBRUARY 2024 | Ch-ch-ch-changes! As the weather slowly changes to warmer temperatures, you may notice a few changes in Four Seasons. e Big Trim: This spring, Artistic Landscape will be pruning many of the overgrown shrubs in our community. While we all like the lush look of the landscaping along our streets and common areas, sometimes a major haircut is necessary to keep our plants vigorous and healthy. Many shrubs have been sheared over the years to maintain a geometric shape. While this may be pleasing to the eye, it isn't always good for the plant. One of the species suffering from years of over- shearing is the compact myrtle. A pruning like the one currently planned is going to be noticeable and may not be very nice to look at initially. Once the warmth of the growing season starts, the shrubs will be stimulated to put out new growth. Fresh foliage not only looks better, it also improves the health of the plant. We may even see some blooms on the re-invigorated shrubs. Large-scale pruning is one of the steps the Landscape Committee is taking to ensure the health of our mature plants. Sadly, some shrubs may not recover. Generally, those are the ones that weren't healthy and would have needed replacing anyway. So, please be patient. Much of Four Seasons Boulevard is lined with over-grown shrubs and it will be easy to spot which ones have been pruned. East Legends Paseo Project: The Landscape committee continues to focus on this project. The committee is in the process of vetting new varieties of water- wise plants to introduce to this area. Special focus is on introducing plants with colorful blooms and filling in bare areas. Questions or concerns about public landscaping? Residents are welcome to attend the Landscape Committee meetings. Please contact Maria Donti for more information. Landscape Committee Myrtles bloom on fresh growth Library Committee Roses are red, violets are blue. The library has romance novels waiting for you… to enjoy on Valentine's Day and throughout the year. Since this is a leap year, the library even has an extra day this month to check out everything available! Library Committee members enjoy helping you to find something new to read and puzzles to assemble. Our inventory has grown, thanks to the generosity of residents who regularly donate materials. We've phasing out 2014 nonfiction and duplicate books, as well as 2020 paperbacks, to make room for the most recent publications. Older puzzles are donated to the public library and other locations to showcase all the new puzzles received. We continue to brainstorm ways to increase shelf and storage spaces. The library suggestion box has been busy recently with requests for specific books. Please remember that ALL the materials in the library are donated by residents. Sometimes requests are received to stock children's and young adult books; the reality is that there isn't enough space for all donations of adult books with no room for children's books. Please utilize the Hemet Public Library for those publications. As for stocking more puzzles, especially 350-piece ones, we might explore adding another shelving unit or two if they don't constrict the space to walk or maneuver a wheelchair or walker around the library shelves. Lots to think about… Committee members currently are dedicated to making residents aware of nonfiction and specialty books in the labeled cabinets on the right side of the room beneath the paperbacks. You may notice that the doors of a cabinet are open these days to draw attention to these wonderful books. For example, are you having trouble reading the small type found in many books? There happens to be a Large Print section in a cabinet with fiction and nonfiction books included! Also, check out the larger size trade edition paperbacks; some of these have bigger print. Your library aims to please! Any committee member there likely will suggest that you open those cabinet doors to see what's available inside. If you can't find anything to read on a particular day on the regular shelves, you will very likely find something to read behind those doors on the right side! Finally, planning is ongoing for resident Authors' Talks in 2024. Keep watching for announcements of events coming up. ~ Betty Crase