Saturday's Workday a Wonderful Aching-Back Success!!!

Tired workers take a break on Patti Amador's deck. Little Caesar's yummy pizza, bread sticks, cookies and flavored water hit the spot after a morning of diligent pruning and mulching activities.

Denny, Caroline and Joe Walsh worked hard with John Derby to shape and clean up the cul de sac on Glendurgan. Spirea and juniper bushes were pruned, a wild tree that was growing through the arbor was removed, and weeds were removed from the rock garden. Round up was sprayed on the weeds in the street. Denny said he and Joe would donate some mulch and put it around the bases of the bushes later this week.

Meanwhile, Diego and Patti Amador, Joan Narodowiec, Leann and Mason Winkel made progress as they laid down newspapers under the spruce trees on McCue and then spread cypress mulch over the papers.

When the "cul de sac wizards" finished their project, they also came and helped the motley crew with cypress-smelling hands and spruce-scratched faces.


Of all the workers, it is rumored that the "main man" who did most of the real work was four year old Mason! :-))) Mike Winkel headed up the child care division so that wife Leann could spread her expertise around.

Some workers on the mulch crew were somewhat distracted by a well built, tanned runner who complimented the crew on their good work.
Other workers’ major concern was the "smiling face" they turned toward passing motorists on McCue as they bent over to distribute the mulch.

Seeing that the condo association owners lacked their President's leadership, Cheryl Spicer made her way to where the group was laboring. She was happy to "cuss" and "discuss" strategies for future cooperation between the condos and the rest of EMPOA.

Workers munched on energizing snacks of cheese sticks, granola bars with welcome swigs of water along the way. The smell of spruce reminded the crews of Christmas memories and cold weather, although the day was sunny, breezy and balmy.

The originally scheduled workday ambitiously pretended we could last until 4:00 p.m. The true "weight" of aching backs was demonstrated when Diego Amador made the proclamation that he was finished after lunch. A loud chorus of voices rose in agreement. There were no protests.

All of the participants agreed they were proud of their accomplishments. Later, several couldn't resist the urge to "return to the scene of the crimes" to lovingly admire their hard work. Many projects are still on the "to do" list. Two more workdays are on the schedule for September 11 and October 2. Come join us next time. We really did have a lot of fun! Our motto: Take Pride in our Neighborhood!

Another HOT Landscape Committee Meeting

Members of the Landscape Committee welcomed our newest member, Leann Winkel, at its August 17 meeting. She lives on the cul de sac on Glendurgan and brings that area's perspective to our activities. Patti Amador gave an update on the items which have already been accomplished in such a short time by the committee.

The committee agreed to try combined meetings with the Garden Committee, since many of the members are the same. The meetings will be on the third Tuesday of each month. September 21 is the next meeting that will be held at Patti's house at 7:00 p.m.

The committee discussed the list of projects that need to be done and scheduled "Landscape Workdays" on Saturdays, from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on August 28 and September 11. An additional tentative workday was scheduled later for October 2. A list was provided to the committee of useful equipment for the workday. An e-mail will be sent to other EMPOA residents who have also expressed interest in lending some "elbow grease" to our projects.

Patti reported on the cost of the mulch needed to apply on the spruce trees on McCue Rd. Menard's had a sale, which ended on August 8. Patti said she would ask the Manager of Contracting Sales if he would extend that sale date for our purchase. If not, it was decided to wait until it went on sale again.

Tom Arthur told the committee that MSU and LCC both were interested in working on our project. MSU has already contacted a professor who would like to participate with us as a class project. LCC's representative is enthusiastic also and Tom will see if she is available for our September 21 meeting. Even if both colleges want to work with us, the activities could be divided up by common areas and, if they agree, both could be involved. Paul Pirrotta mentioned that MSU's program focus is for management's involvement. LCC's has more of a "community" approach and staff and students are not afraid to "get down and dirty" with their direct methods.

Paul said that the geese population has temporarily increased because of the upcoming migration. In the spring, we can contact the DNR (Dept. of Natural Resources) to see if they will help us do a "goose roundup" to remove geese before they reproduce. When babies are born in a certain area, they always return to that area.

Patti reviewed the expenditures that have been made so far. She estimated the cost of the mulch for the trees should be within the budget. Patti encouraged committee members to view the photos of English Meadows online. Tom Arthur set up a link on the blog that will go to the pictures.

Resources for pruning trees and bushes were shared with the committee, including an on-line demonstration (which Tom Arthur demonstrated) to show how pruning trees affects their growth. Committee members were encouraged to participate in the online demonstration to supplement their pruning skills.

Denny and Caroline Walsh expressed concern for how the yard waste is disposed of on workdays. They buy the large paper bags and save the waste to take to Valhalla Park when the township allows people to bring their brush and yard waste there. They said if things are thrown in the ditch, it could later cause a blockage when it floods. Patti said she would investigate waste disposal options. Caroline also felt it would be beneficial to contact Capital Area Management and Cheryl Spicer, President of the EMPOA condos association to clarify what trees belong to the condos and which belong to the rest of EMPOA.

There were no assignments made other than the workdays. Patti will e-mail everyone with an update of the specifics on the projects. It was agreed to meet behind Paul Pirrotta's house at 9:00 a.m. on the 28th.

Patti showed pictures of a "creeping crud" that is growing on spruce trees. She said she would try to contact the MSU Extension to find out what it is and if it is a disease that will kill the trees. The next meeting date was set for September 21 at 7:00 p.m. at Patti's house.

August Harvest

Tonight we harvested our first August harvest: Onions, zucchini, basil, chard, tomatoes, and a couple of carrots. We also planted four different kinds of lettuce for the fall: green leaf, mesclun, bibb, and romaine.

Several kids joined us tonight:


Harvesting the onions.


Tomatoes:


Tilling the ground for the lettuce:


Planting Lettuce:


Our vegi draft:


A serious handful!