June 2002
Just a reminder...the maintenance of your garage door is your responsibility. Our garage doors are beginning to show their age. Part of the problem is a buildup of dirt and dust from street traffic. Please take time to clean your garage door. Washing it off with a hose is a start. Thank you for doing your part to promote curb appeal and to keep maintenance costs down.
Tennis players, note that the COA has resurfaced their courts. Those who have seen them are impressed. Remember we have cross-rights where they are concerned.
This time of year some of our residents have the urge to get out and plant shrubs and flowers of their choice about their units. When these plantings occur in what your Rules Manual calls "common area," the amateur gardener needs to know that nothing may be planted or removed without the express approval of your Board's Landscape Committee. Incidentally, the appropriate form for such a venture is found in the Rules Manual. Pleading ignorance is not a valid excuse for what has long been spelled out in print.
Your Board has been informed that children obviously under age 14 are in the pool area without adult supervision as called for in our RULES MANUAL. Parents please note.
Pool users have broken keys off in the gate lock in the past month, and each time we've had to get a technician to clear the lock. Those with broken keys may be asked to assume the cost of repair when they come for replacement keys.
A homeowner on Oakleaf reports that he was walking his three small dogs near the canyon one evening when a coyote attacked and injured one of his pets. We urge you, especially in the evening, not to walk a small dog anywhere in the vicinity of the canyon.
Residents on one of our streets have called attention to a neighbor's car being parked repeatedly on a garage apron. That's a safety hazard and prohibited by our RULES AND REGULATIONS. Our security folks ticketed the vehicle, which caused the driver to move it in the night to guest parking. That's against our "regs," as well. When last seen, it had been moved to the COA's guest parking. They'll ticket and then perhaps tow the vehicle in question. Remember please that we live in a community where rules apply to all.
Use decorative wood chips and mulch sparingly, especially if you have other conditions conducive to termite problems. Any cellulose-containing materials--including mulch--can attract termites. Whether the risk of using mulch is greater than the benefits (e.g., esthetics, moisture retention, weed suppression), is difficult to say. If mulch is used, it should never be allowed to contact wood siding or framing of doors or windows. Crushed stone or pea gravel are less attractive to termites, and also will reduce problems with other pests such as millipedes, pillbugs, earwigs, and crickets.
Rattlesnakes, North America's most common and widespread venomous snake, are becoming more active with warmer weather. San Diego County is home to four kinds: the Southern Pacific rattlesnake, a subspecies of the Western rattlesnake; the Southwestern speckled rattlesnake, the red diamond rattlesnake and the Colorado Desert sidewinder.
Rattlesnakes are found at elevations from sea level to about 11,000 ft. The Southern Pacific, red diamond and speckled are found from the coast into the mountains of San Diego County. The sidewinder lives in the desert.
Rattlesnakes become active when warmer temperatures permit, usually beginning in April. The Southern Pacific, red diamond and speckled rattlesnakes are diurnal but can become active at twilight and at night when temperatures are higher. Sidewinders are usually nocturnal. Rattlers can swim well and can even strike in the water.
Western rattlesnakes are active in most of their range from March to October. Mating occurs in spring and live young are born in the fall. Large numbers will frequently hibernate together in dens at higher elevations and/or in their northern range.
Rattlesnakes are named for their rattle, a series of dry, interlocking horny segments. Rattlers will vibrate their tails as a warning when threatened, producing a buzzing sound. Rattlers do not necessarily sound a warning before striking, especially when they're surprised. Rattlers do not rattle when hunting for food. Age cannot be accurately determined by the number of segments on the rattle, as a new segment is added every time the snake sheds its skin, which could be up to four times a year. Further, rattles can break off since they are brittle.
The rattlesnake's hollow fangs remain folded in its mouth until a strike, when they're swung outward. Venom is injected through the fangs by the contraction of the muscles over the snake's venom glands. Sometimes, the fangs may break off in the victim, but rattlers have a reserve set of fangs that can replace older ones in a matter of hours.
The next monthly Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 12, 2002 at 6:00 p.m. at 5275 Rimpark Lane. Please note: Homeowner Forum has changed to 6:30 p.m. during regular general session monthly meetings.
© Copyright 2002 Villa Monterey HOA
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