Recently, I noticed my little patch of St. Augustine lawn was looking a bit crispy. We’ve been fortunate enough since sometime last year to not have to water it. I dug around for the sprinkler and got it all set to go. Uh oh, are we still on watering restrictions? Sure enough folks, we are.

I went to the City of Austin website and found out that, despite the wonderful rainfall over the last few months, we are still in pretty dire straits. Last September, the City was placed on ‘Stage 2′ watering restrictions which means private houses can only water once a week, with the day depending on your address.

Full details, including other restrictions (car washes, ornamental fountains, etc) can be found here.

It’s also worth noting that the City is currently considering changing its code on water usage. There have been several public meetings held already. The next one is not yet scheduled, but you can find out more information here.

Some of our Angus Valley neighbors who live near 3M have received a letter from the City of Austin informing them of an application for a site plan to build additional parking in the Riata complex that will border some of the houses in the neighborhood (on Cactus Bend).  Here is a PDF of the letter from the city, as well as information about becoming an “interested party” by April 26.  The AVANA board has requested to become an interested party and has passed along the concerns compiled by our Cactus Bend neighbors.  We are closely monitoring this, gathering information, and will keep you informed.

Additionally, a new page has been created on this site to gather all the information in one place. On the top menu bar, there is a link for “Riata Development”. New information will be posted here on the main page as well as on that page.

A message from the City of Austin:

The fawning season has begun, although the newborns may not be visible to the casual observer for several weeks.

The newborns are not visible because of excellent camouflage of their coats and their mother’s care in hiding them from predators. Because deer are frequently seen in and around some Austin neighborhoods, the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department wants to remind residents to be aware of the best ways to protect themselves and respect wildlife. Now is the time to remind your children and neighbors to be deer-smart for the deer’s safety and your own.

If you find a fawn, leave it alone. For the first three to four weeks of their lives, the fawns are too small to follow their mothers, and it is normal for a doe to leave a fawn alone for several hours at a time. If you find a fawn, do not move it or try to rescue it. Most fawns are not orphaned or abandoned. Unless the fawn is obviously sick, injured or in an unsafe area, it should be left alone. If you think the fawn is in danger, call Austin Wildlife Rescue at 472-9453 (472-WILD).*

 Remind your children to stay away from the deer. Baby animals naturally draw the attention of curious children. Fawning season in central Texas provides a unique opportunity to teach your children about cycles of life and kindness to animals. Educate your children about the fawning season. Explain to them that the fawns are not abandoned. Teach them that they should stay away from the fawns because the mother is nearby, she will take care of the baby, and the fawn’s best chance of survival depends on its being left alone.

Restrain your dogs. Fawns also draw the attention of curious dogs. Walk your dogs on leash. Standard leashes are better than retractable leashes at this time of year in deer country. Off-leash and unrestrained dogs are a primary cause of conflicts with deer.

Use deer deterrents. If you do not want fawns around your property, now is the time to refresh or activate your deer repellents. Does will not leave fawns in an obviously hostile environment. Mend your fences if you do not like deer.

Don’t feed or make food available to deer. Supplemental feeding does more harm than good and is illegal inside the city limits. Additional information can be found on the City of Austin website: www.austintexas.gov/department/deer-feeding-ordinance .

*Austin Wildlife Rescue, Inc. (www.austinwildliferescue.org) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that rehabilitates and releases orphaned, sick or injured animals, and educates the public on how to co-exist with wildlife.

Here is an email from the chairman from the Off Leash Area Advisory Committee (OLAAC):

Last night, the Austin Parks Board voted 6-1 in favor of Yett Creek (trail) and Mabel Davis (fenced) becoming the city’s newest dog parks.   This vote clears the way for the design phase to begin.

Now the real work to bring these OLAs to life begins.

First, these two OLAs need to be adopted through the Parks Dept Adoption Program – http://www.austintexas.gov/department/partnerships-0.   By quickly establishing community advocacy groups around each of these parks the sooner the design phase can begin.  Please share with your peers the need to have these two parks adopted.

An adopter in place for each of these parks will accelerate the design phase.   Once stakeholders have a design and pricing plan in hand, the community can move forward with funding options; and with these two new parks, one option for funding is private dollars.

Thank you everyone who supported this effort to bring two new off-leash areas to Austin.  This vote and this process represents the first time in PARD history that new OLAs have gone through the community vetting process and this affirmative vote represents the community who spoke in favor for more off-leash areas.

Bill Fraser

And here is the presentation given to the Board during the meeting.

Last week the streets were crawling with mummies, vampires, ghosts, goblins and quite a few fairies and princesses!  It looked to me to be a banner year for trick-or-treaters with more than I had seen in the past few years.  A large group of kids got together early in the night to mob the neighborhood as a unit.  It was great fun for everyone and the costumes were superb!  My daughter is still too young to have learned the joys of pillaging candy from the neighbors, but she still had a blast showing off her muscles to the bigger kids!

After sharing punch and getting everyone ready for the assault on Angus Valley, the kids were all smiles as we set out on a grand adventure.

Toward the end of the evening, just when it looked like things were winding down with dusk setting in, the group made a stop not usually on the route.  And boy was it worth it!  Unofficially voted the best Halloween decorations of the year, Joanie Watson’s house on Timber Wolf Circle was a sight to behold!

My husband, the Halloween fanatic, is already planning extravagant decorations at our house next year after seeing Joanie’s!  Decoration competition anyone? 

Thanks to the whole neighborhood for making a wonderful night for old and young alike!

The potential  off leash dog park designation for Yett Creek got a lot of neighbors talking.  At several board meetings, many people expressed their concerns that additional traffic to the park could increase the fire risk because of people smoking.  However, this was found to be contrary to what the fire department has experienced.  They say that the more well-traveled an area is, the better the chance is of spotting small fire before it gets out of hand.  Still, it remained a concern in people’s minds.

And then the unthinkable happened and the park DID catch fire.  Currently, it’s being investigated as arson and not an accidental-cigarette-induced blazed.  Still, all our minds are churning with possibilities.

It may relieve some neighbors to hear that the City of Austin has made the first steps towards an ordinance that would ban smoking in all City parks, including Yett Creek.  You can read more of the details on the Community Impact website here.

There is currently a temporary Burn Ban in all City parks which includes smoking (along with grilling) that was passed in April due to severe drought conditions.  Violations are considered a Class C Misdemeanor and a fine between $300 and $500.

I grew up just across 183 off Oak Knoll.  My family shopped at Gallery of Pets practically since the day it opened (1977).  We fell in love with ferrets in the store and we owned several while I was growing up (the first were purchased there and the rest were ‘rescues’).  I even bought a baby ball python when I was a teenager!  The knowledgeable staff helped when I inherited my aunt’s aging cockatiels, who weren’t adjusting well to their new life.  Simply put, it was the model neighborhood pet store.

I moved away from Northwest Austin when I was 14 and didn’t return until 2006 when I purchased my first home in Angus Valley.  I quickly rediscovered Gallery of Pets and made it my exclusive pet store, feeling no remorse for dropping the big box places I had grown used to going to.  There is just nothing like a friendly family-owned neighborhood business.

Haven’t been yet?  They have a wide selection of birds and everything your bird could want.  They also have small mammals (bunnies, guinea pigs, etc), reptiles, and fresh and salt water fish.  They carry the best dog and cat foods your money can buy.  Stop in to play with birds or even to shop!  Support our local businesses!

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Last night, the neighborhood association held it’s annual meeting.  During the meeting, Stacey Peterson gave a “year in review” poem that was a big hit with the audience.  She touched on many of the important issues we dealt with over the last 12 months including the possible changes to Yett Creek Park as well as the fire.  Elections were then held, conducted my Gaye Thompson, and 4 new board members joined the team:  Craig Daugherty, Tania Rayborn, Jeri Baker and Edward Wells (to see all the board members, click here).  We heard the minutes from the last meeting from Deliese Kennedy and the financial report of the organization from Marcia Kirkland.  Then Chuck Pace spoke about crime (or really, the lack thereof) in our neighborhood.  He reiterated that anyone who witnesses suspicious behavior should report it to 911 immediately.

A more thorough review of the meeting will be available when the secretary publishes the draft minutes of the meeting.

See everyone again next year!

On Saturday the City brought out some equipment to help clear brush piles that had accumulated along the back fence lines of houses adjacent to Yett Creek Park.  This effort was a instigated in a response to keep our neighborhood safer from possible fires in the park by reducing the fuel load in the area.

There were about 8 neighbors who came to help the City.  With all the hands on task, many of the brush piles were cleared and the park made a better place!  Thank you to everyone who came, and thanks to Ward Boyce for pushing this issue with the City and getting the crew out!