Homedale Trail Entry, 8:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Greenbelt Lovers,

Here’s our chance to learn of the dynamic relationships between water, steep grades, and the human hand. As John Cook and I walked the Homedale trail this week, between deluges, the mark of strong weather was everywhere on the trail: newly carved water ruts in the granite entry path, massively vigorous resprouting of the Chinaberry and Ligustrum trees that we removed six months ago (we’re not giving up!), numerous fallen trees blocking the woodland trail (enterprising humans have of course forged new temporary alternatives), signs of silt erosion onto the trails and down into the creek, collapsed stone retaining walls under our new footbridge, submerged boulder steps from the trail onto the rock flats, and massive amounts of human trash taking a free ride on the swollen creek waters, headed presumably for Town Lake and our not so fortunate neighbors downstream.

We’ve got quite a work day planned! We will be repairing the front entry path with new granite, assuring that it has a proper crown to avoid future erosion, hacking at the Chinaberry and Ligustrum root systems and re-drilling them to apply a root-weakening substance, yanking out johnson grass, ragweed and other prolific weeds by the roots, hacking back the bermudagrass intrusion onto the trail, adding a second tier of cedar log retainers along the woodland trail to reduce silt erosion, repairing the stone retaining walls, removing the fallen trees, and continuing the installation of boulder steps onto the stone creek ledge. We’ll also issue plenty of trash bags, because when the creek flow subsides, it will deposit a generous amount of human-generated trash.

I hope we will have many avid volunteers to enjoy the camaraderie of tending to our adopted trails. There is much to enjoy, learn, and repair. Both this work day and the next one in September will focus on the Homedale Trail in preparation for its being “featured” at the National Trails Conference being held in Austin this fall.

Please RSVP to this email address so we can properly plan for supplies and materials for the work day. Also, pass the information on to others who might we interested in participating. Thanks so much for the enthusiastic support for this wonderful resource in our midst. If you have any questions, please feel free to call.

Glee Ingram

Greenbelt Guardian Coordinator

443-7522

gleeful@earthlink.net

 

Yes, this year the annual Barton Hills Neighborhood Association July 4th Parade will go forward, rain or shine, with the exception of lightning (well, maybe hail, too)! Please join in this wonderful tribute to our country and our community by parading on foot, bicycle, trike, scooter, buggy, or other vehicle of your choice, along with your dog, goat, or other legal and tame animal.

Many thanks go to Wells Fargo on South Lamar, who has generously offered to sponsor our parade this year. We look forward to a long relationship with this community institution that has a great record of civic leadership and service.

We are also honored this year to have two co-Grand Marshals who have graciously agreed to lead the parade: the Honorable Elliott Naishtat, District 49 State Representative, and the Honorable Darryl Slusher, City Councilperson. Kay Wallingford, Barton Hills Teacher of the Year, is also an invited guest.

The parade will assemble as usual at another one of our community partners, Barton Hills Market, at 8:30 am on Sunday, July 4th. At 9:00 am the procession will begin to Barton Hills Elementary School, where the Grand Marshalls will deliver keynote addresses worthy of Lincoln. Pulitzer-prize winning historian, Bill Brands, will again inspire the day with a historical perspective on the Declaration of Independence.

Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts will lead the Pledge of Allegiance, and our own nationally known singer/songwriter Sara Hickman will sing the National Anthem.

Festivities will follow and include such time-honored favorites as a watermelon seed spitting contest, sack races, egg toss, face painting, pinatas, and the judges’ awards to the best parade entries in various categories. In fact, three people with an eye for patriotic style and flair are needed to judge the parade participants. So don?t forget to decorate your stroller, wagon, scooter, bike, skates, dog, hat, humvee, airplane?

Refreshments will be served at the playground as well, and volunteers are needed to donate cookies, watermelon, and water. Lisa Farenkamp, 444-3211, has graciously agreed to be the cookie coordinator again, and Art Stone, 444-5757, will ice down 8-10 watermelons if you will deliver them to him the night of July 3. Other volunteers are needed to help set up at 7:30 at the Barton Hills Elementary Playground, and to help clean up afterwards. Please contact parade co-chairs Shannon Noble at 916-9513 or Valinda Bolton at 383-8909 to volunteer in any capacity. All patriots who volunteer for this star spangled celebration will be gratefully acknowledged by the emcee at the ceremony!

 

The 2004 results of our annual neighborhood association survey are now available on our web site. Issues considered most important to our neighborhood as reported by our respondents are included, as well as comments provided on the survey forms.

For information about how BHNA is addressing the concerns expressed by our members be sure to read the story in the June 2004 edition of our BHNA newsletter.

 
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