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Save this Date!
I know it seems like a long time from now, but the 8th Annual Cup O’Cheer will be Sunday, December 9th at the home of Allan and Winnie Kortz. It is a fun, festive Holiday party and we hope to see all of our neighbors there. More details later.
In Memoriam:
Ralph L. Hanna, beloved husband of Janet, died July 7, 2007. He was 73 years old. In addition to Janet, children Thomas R. Hanna, Grant O. Hanna, and Jayme Mansfield survive him. He will be sadly missed in our neighborhood.
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Useful Information
Sanctuary Board & Committee Members 2007
President – Malcolm Jones 303-766-5191
Vice President – Harvey Starr 720-514-9383
Secretary/Treasurer – Norm Klein 303-771-9429
Design Review Committee – Anne Nelson 303-690-6177
Grounds Committee – Carol Race 303-400-3451
Water & Park Districts Committee – Joe Dirks 303-699-9439
Social Committee – Joan Liebchen 303-400-3389
Fence Committee – Steve Jeffries 303-699-0159
Newsletter Editor – Joan Searcy 303-617-6272
Caron Realty, Community Mgmt. - Ron 720-283-3300
** To report any additions, email addresses or changes to Directory information, please call Diane at Caron Realty.
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Position Open:
After more than five years of serving as Editor of the Sanctuary Sentinel, I am looking to retire from this position. Is there anyone in our neighborhood who would like to take over? I have enjoyed the honor and responsibility of “getting the word out” and soliciting fun and informative articles to share. If you are interested and would like more information, please call me at 303-617-6272 or email me – jsearcy@ix.netcom.com.
The Fall Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Oct 11 at the home of Malcolm and Marilyn Jones, 6272 S. Blackhawk Ct.
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If Only Trees Could Talk
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
-- Joyce Kilmer
Okay, Kilmer, good buddy, I got one here for you: our ash tree seems to be dying, which isn’t poetic to watch. Ashes to ashes, our ash doth perish.
The shame of the neighborhood, this ash is dropping its leaves, and poor Ms. Robin is sitting in its upper naked branches brooding her family’s future.
If only trees could talk. Our mute tree is sending out all kinds of mixed messages. And the tree doctors are perplexed. One after another, our experts have labored to explain this tree’s terminal throes.
Back when this started in June, I took a bunch of pictures and e-mailed them with an appeal to our once-favored tree company. Quick to demonstrate their expertise, the folks shot back a diagnosis: Anthracnose, which is kind of like jock itch of the leaf. Or, better yet, ash borers that leave telltale holes and scales. Nope. None of that.
Next up at the plate was a respected member of the agriculture community. After his review, I got the answer. It’s the wire-mesh basket which the American Design and Landscaping subcontractor for Harvard Communities, our developer, somehow overlooked removing before dumping our ash into its hole. The poor roots have pushed through the mesh, swollen proudly with age and now are being garroted by the wire. Slow death by asphyxiation. Nice try. Yes, the wire basket is there as I painfully found while digging holes for 35 daffodil bulbs around the tree base.
Drought also was pronounced as the cause. What? This yard which December 22 through February resembled Glacier Bay? And which often stands in puddles after rains? Hey, why not. So I plunged the root feeder into the drip line. No change.
We trudge onward. The last diagnosis was the oddest. This new tree-company expert proudly harrumphed that the daffodils were sapping all the energy from the tree and causing it to pant for water. Profound. Something like Shaquille O'Neal whining that a mouse is standing on his foot and he can’t dunk the ball. Not one to quibble, I promptly removed the offending daffodils. There. You happy now?
The prognosis varies with whom you ask. Don’t worry, the last guy said. We’ll be out to fertilize and aerate for $70 and even if all the leaves drop it’ll recover, and next spring all will be well. Another person is ready to saw down the bugger. This expert says ash trees simply have short life spans – oh, maybe 9 to 15 years –and ours is doomed.
Tree parents, watch your trees carefully. Keep a keen eye and an open mind to their every whim. Their hungry mouths are pressed to the earth, the robins mingle in their hair and snow upon their bosoms lay. But I think that I shall never see our ash as lovely as a tree.
This article submitted by Jim Banman
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