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26 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MAY 2025 Landscape Committee Successes, Failures, and Everything in Between I've written before about how fortunate we are to live in such a beautiful, healthful, green environment. To keep it that way, the Landscape Committee's Charter mandates that we monitor all Association-maintained areas and provide recommendations to the Board. That includes all 512 acres of common area and the 566 homes where we maintain front yards. Just one other statistic — did you know we have about 4,000 trees on our property (excluding the conservancy)? They're all numbered and in a database with a schedule as to how often they get trimmed, all according to what's proper for that species. In addition to the above, we have to adhere to city and state requirements, work with a variety of soil from poor to very poor, deal with plantings that were done to look good and grow fast, fix beds that have water-loving plants next to drought-tolerant ones, and adapt to the changing maintenance required as plants overgrow their inappropriate locations while replacing many that have reached the end of their life-span. Our difficult but rewarding task begins with making accommodations based on what we were given to work with. Then we must also consider our budget and the personal preferences of our residents that may or may not be able to be applied to their situation. While we all find great joy in our successes, it can be incredibly frustrating when something doesn't work out, even after putting in a lot of effort. Things don't always go as we expect no matter how thorough the planning. There could be many reasons for this— unforeseen circumstances, external factors, or even things out of our control. How do you usually cope with situations like this? We take a step back, reassess the situation, and identify what can be learned to turn the experience into a stepping-stone for future success. Seeing that pea gravel did not hold up to the slope of the dog park area showed us that rebuilding Trail C had to be done differently. Although the material chosen was not as attractive and a little coarse for paws, it is holding up to some heavy rains and as the trail ages it is becoming smoother. One of the things that makes our community such a wonderful place to live is the number of individuals who choose to be of service to their neighborhood, not only to think about it, but be prepared to act on it. I am taking this opportunity to remind us all to appreciate our volunteers and recognize the economic and social value their efforts bring. Without our volunteers, we could not afford to operate this property at our current dues level, or have the many clubs and entertaining events we enjoy. If you have suggestions or concerns about the community landscape, use the contacts available on our website or the Daily Report. Come to our meetings to share your ideas and suggestions or join us on our walks. If, like me, you're passionate about preserving our way of life here, committees and clubs are eager to welcome new members! ~ Cathy Goldmith We made inspection walks in March and April. Our walk in March was on Trail B with return to The Lodge via Trail A. The trails and buffer zones were overall well maintained. We did notice a large pine tree trunk laying on the ground close to the Green Creek slope in the picnic table area. Our walk in April was on Trail B towards White Sands and along the perimeter of the Potrero Parcel on Potrero Boulevard. At the start of this walk we noticed that tree limbs from the Conservancy area were leaning over the sidewalk along Potrero Bridge onto HOA trees. We suggest these overhanging limbs be trimmed. Again, the areas along this section of Trail B were well maintained. We were very happy to have residents accompany us on both walks. Our next inspection walk will be on the east Edison Easement on May 7 at 8 am starting from the northeast end of Green Creek Trail at the Trail B entrance. We welcome all residents to our inspection walks. ~ Howard Ochi, hmochi47@hotmail.com Conservancy

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