Davenport Ranch - April 2015

Copyright © 2015 Peel, Inc. Davenport Ranch Neighborhood Association - April 2015 1

Davenport Ranch

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWSLETTER

Volume 11, Number 4 April 2015Davenport Ranch Neighborhood Association www.DavenportRanch.org

Thanks to Davenport resident and local realtor, Freda Voelker of Engel and Volkers (formerly Turnquist Partners), the ladies of Davenport Ranch have had numerous opportunities to socialize with one another this past year. Sometimes the get-together are dinners at local restaurants and other times they are holiday parties at a resident’s home. The frequency is based on the availability of a host, but Freda has been working hard to see that the events are scheduled somewhat regularly, usually every two to three months. If you are interested in hearing more about these events and meeting your fellow neighbors, please email Freda at [email protected] and also check our social media sites regularly for news of these events. You can find Davenport on Facebook by ‘liking’ the Davenport Ranch Neighborhood Association page and we are also on Twitter at @AustinDRNA. We look forward to seeing you at the next event!

It’s too bad that the typical coyote is not the hapless cartoon character who is always being bested by the roadrunner. Coyotes are smart, adaptable and capable of learning.

After receiving some reports from owners about incidents with coyotes in Davenport Ranch, Travis County has recommended that homeowners call 311 and report the date, time and location of the incident or sighting. This is the system the country and state use to track coyote activity. Using this information they can spot trouble areas or particularly aggressive behavior.

If the reporting reaches a certain frequency, the Wildlife Service will initiate a trapping effort to relocate the animals. Trapping is only temporarily successful because new coyotes will move into a vacated territory. The Wildlife Service always posts signs when traps are in the area, and they never leave traps over the week end.

Even if you have not seen coyotes, you can be sure they are living in the ravines. Protect small pets by not leaving them unsupervised; coyotes can jump fences. They are

also attracted by food and water. The coyotes trapped years ago had been eating dog food.

Exercise the common sense required to live among the wild things. Just please report to 311 when you do observe coyotes.

Thank You,Goodwin Management

WILEY COYOTEAttention

Davenport Ladies!

2 Davenport Ranch Neighborhood Association Newsletter - April 2015 Copyright © 2015 Peel, Inc.

Davenport RanchIMPORTANT NUMBERS

DAVENPORT - CENTRAL WEST DISTRICT OF POLICE DEPTNEW BAKER 4 DR SENIOR PATROL OFFICER Darrell Grayson ......................................... 512-947-5242 .........................................Darrell.Grayson@ci.austin.tx.usEMERGENGYPolice and Fire Emergencies ......................................... 9-1-1Reports/Non-Emergencies ...............................................311HOSPITALSSouth Austin Hospital (10 miles) ................... 512-447-2211 901 W. Ben White BlvdBrackenridge Hospital .................................... 512-324-7000 601 15th StreetSeton Hospital (10.5 miles) ............................ 512-324-1000 corner of 35th and Medical Pkwy - best choice for serious problemsChildren's Hospital of Austin (13 miles) ........ 512-324-8000 I-35 and 15thSeton Northwest (10 miles) ............................ 512-324-6000 11113 Research (183 N just past Braker)North Austin Hospital (8.5 miles) .................. 512-901-1000 Mopac and ParmerHeart Hospital .............................................. 512-407-7000 3801 N. LamarUrgent Care day and after hours:Austin Regional Clinic – FarWest ................... 512-346-6611 6835 Austin Center BlvdPoison Control ............................................1-800-222-1222ANIMAL CONTROLEnvirocare Pest Control .................................. 512-416-9191 Animal Pick up (dead animals) ..............................494-9400Animal Control (pick up stray or injured) ..............972-6060Barking Dog ...................................................................311UTILITIESAustin Energy Customer Service .................... 512-494-9400Austin Water Utility ....................................... 512-494-9400Texas Gas Service Customer Service ............... 800-700-2443Time Warner Cable Customer Service ............ 512-485-5555 Phone Payments.......................................... 512-485-6500SBC 24-hr Info Line: ..................................1-888-294-8433 Residential Phone Ordering: ....................1-800-464-7928 Residential Phone Repair: ........................1-800-246-8464MISCELLANEOUSGoodwin Management, Inc........................... 512- 502-7517Abandoned Cars .....................................................280-0075Airport- A.B.I.A. Flight Info. ................................530-2242Garbage Collection ................................................494-9400Lost mailbox key, Jim Howe; [email protected] .....844-4222Streetlight Problem ................................................505-7617Street Signs: Bridge & Street, Sam West .................974-8775Street Sign Replacement .........................................457-4885Hazardous Waste ...................................................974-4343NEWSLETTER PUBLISHERPeel, Inc...........................................................512-263-9181

2015 DAVENPORTBOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: Mercedes Frost .............................. [email protected] Presidents: Joe Thrash, Architectural Review [email protected] Marc Alcedo [email protected] Larry Eisenberg ...................................... [email protected] Scott Boyd [email protected] John Biegel ....................................... [email protected]: Don Neville ............................... [email protected] Manager Jim Smitherman ................. [email protected]

MANAGEMENT INFORMATIONGoodwin Management, Inc

11149 Research, Suite 100 • Austin,Texas 78759-5227Off: 512 502-7526 • Cell: 512 470-5104 • Fax: 512 346-4873

PRESIDENT DAVENPORT RANCH NEIGHBORHOOD MASTER BOARD

Meredith Landry [email protected]

Colleen LockwoodREALTOR®, Broker Assoc.

512.825.6503 [email protected]

Let me plant something green in your yard this spring.

thinking about SELLING?

Call me to find out what your property may be worth in Austin’s real estate market.


Davenport Ranch

NATUREWATCHby Jim and Lynne WeberLOVELY LUPINESBluebonnets are often thought of as the ‘floral trademark of Texas’,

akin to the shamrocks of Ireland, the cherry blossoms of Japan, the roses of England, and the tulips of Holland. Loved for centuries, bluebonnets were described by early explorers as they roamed the vast prairies of Texas, planting them around the Spanish missions by early-day priests, and making them the subject of several Native American folk tales. Technically known as ‘lupines’ or ‘lupins’, bluebonnets received their present-day common name due to the shape of the flower petals, which resembled the bonnets worn by pioneer women to shield their faces from the sun.

Bluebonnets are part of the legume or bean family, and like other members of this family they offer nitrogen-fixation through their root system’s symbiotic relationship with Rhizobia bacteria. This gives them the useful ability to grow in poor, disturbed soils, and bring much-needed nitrogen back to these soils as they decompose. Ironically, bluebonnets are all in the genus Lupinus, which is Latin for ‘wolf-like’, from the original but erroneous belief that these plants ravenously exhausted the soil.

In our area, bluebonnets normally bloom between March and April, but the timing and extent of the blooms depends on the amount of rain received the previous fall and winter. The flower is purple to blue in color, about half an inch long, with a white spot on the upper petal or banner. This banner spot acts as a target to attract the bumblebees and honeybees that pollinate the flower. When the pollen is fresh and sticky, the banner spot is white, and is seen by the bees as reflected ultraviolet light and appears to them as a good landing spot. But as the flower and its pollen age, the banner spot turns yellow and then reddish-magenta, and is ignored by the bees, whose vision cannot see red. The decline in bee populations has a direct effect on how many seeds a bluebonnet can produce, because bluebonnets cannot self-fertilize. Each plant has the potential to produce hundreds of seeds, but often only a small number result, due to the recent decline in the number of bee pollinators.

Infrequently, both white, and more rarely, pink bluebonnets can occur naturally. In fact, there is a legend associated with how the pink bluebonnet came to be. Many years ago, in a spring wildflower field near San Antonio, children came across a pink bluebonnet on their way to Lenten devotion at the mission church. Their grandmother told them the story of Texas, when it was a remote province of

Mexico. After their Constitution was overthrown by a terrible Mexican dictator, a war broke out between the brave new Texans and the Mexican troops. The troops eventually overwhelmed the Texans, and much blood was shed and lives lost. Several years later, the grandmother saw her mother place a pink bluebonnet in a vase by the statue of the Virgin Mary. She said she found it by the river, where “it had once been white, but so much blood had been shed, it had taken a tint of it.” Interestingly, the only place in the state where the original native pink bluebonnets were found was along the side of a San Antonio road not far from the original mission.

Texas has 6 state flowers, more or less, and they are all bluebonnets. In the spring of 1901, the Texas Legislature selected a state floral

emblem after much debate and consternation. Both the cotton boll and prickly pear cactus were hardy contenders, but the National Society of Colonial Dames of America won the day, and the Sandyland Bluebonnet (Lupinus subcarnosus) was selected and passed into law on March 7th. And that’s when the bluebonnet war started. The Sandyland Bluebonnet is a dainty little plant growing in the sandy hills of coastal and southern Texas, and many thought it was the least attractive of all the bluebonnets. They wanted the

Texas Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis), which was a showier, bolder bloomer. For the next 70 years, the Legislature was encouraged to correct its oversight, not wanting to get caught in another botanical trap or offend any supporters. As politicians often do, they solved the problem with clever maneuvering by creating an umbrella clause, and in 1971 added the two species together, plus “any other variety of bluebonnet not heretofore recorded” (including potential species not yet discovered), and lumped them all into one state flower.

Long before the bluebonnet became the Texas state flower, many stories existed about its origins. Some believed it was a gift from the Great Spirit, and that it arrived with rain after a young, orphaned girl sacrificed her precious doll in the hopes of bringing a terrible drought to an end. Whatever you believe, look for these lovely lupines during our central Texas spring!

Send your nature-related questions to [email protected] and we’ll do our best to answer them. Check out our blog at naturewatchaustin.blogspot.com if you enjoy reading these articles!


Davenport Ranch

WWW.COLINSHOPE.ORG

JOIN US FOR GOLF AND A GREAT CAUSE!

*Includes lunch, dinner, hat & swag.

DATE:TIME:

Wednesday, April 29th11:00 am Registration, 1:00 pm Start

LOCATION: Flintrock Falls Golf CourseFORMAT: 4-person scramble

COST: $165 per golfer*

REGISTER: WWW.TINYCH.ORG/GOLF

Questions? Contact:Kim Flasch: kim.�[email protected]

Sue Hart: [email protected]

Join us for the 7th annual Colin’s Hope Classic charity golf tournament. Enjoy a beautiful course, lunch, dinner, a chance to win a Lexus or

RV, and great prizes.

Gather your friends, grab your clubs, and help us reach our pledge raising goals and spread

awareness about drowning prevention.

WeenvisionaWORLDCHILDREN

DO NOT DROWNwhere

Parents this is your chance to brag on your kiddos. We want pictures of your kids doing everyday

things, school events, plays, sports, etc. Send in your pictures to be featured in the Davenport

Ranch Newsletter. E-mail your pictures to [email protected] by the 8th of the month.

SHOW OFFYOUR SUPERHERO

NOT AVAILABLEONLINE


Davenport Ranch

Are your weeds

blooming?

What is a weed? A weed is any plant or flower in your yard or garden that you didn’t intentionally plant. Early spring is the time of year that weeds begin to pop-up in your yard. Here are a few tips to help combat these pesky weeds.

Mowing your yard on a regular schedule will help keep the weeds from growing to a stage that they can germinate. Adjust your lawn mower height to the second highest setting. The taller grass will block sunlight from any seeds the weeds spread.

A weed and feed product will help control the weeds and encourage your grass to grow. However, most weed killer products only are effective when the weed is just beginning to grow. The advantage to using these products is to create a healthier lawn that is capable of keeping weeds away. Be sure to follow the directions for application.

One of the best solutions for attacking the weeds is to pull them by hand. Be sure to pull the root of the weed out of the ground. Throw away the weeds in your trash can. Do not use them as compost or allow them to blow-away, doing so will allow any seeds to re-populate your yard or your neighbors!


Davenport Ranch

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At no time will any source be allowed to use the Davenport Ranch Newsletter contents, or loan said contents, to others in anyway, shape or form, nor in any media, website, print, film, e-mail, electrostatic copy, fax, or etc. for the purpose of solicitation, commercial use, or any use for profit, political campaigns, or other self amplification, under penalty of law without written or expressed permission from the Davenport Ranch Homeowners Association and Peel Inc. The information in the Davenport Ranch Newsletter is exclusively for the private use of Davenport Ranch residents only.

DISCLAIMER: Articles and ads in this newsletter express the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Peel, Inc. or its employees. Peel, Inc. is not responsible for the accuracy of any facts stated in articles submitted by others. The publisher also assumes no responsibility for the advertising content with this publication. All warranties and representations made in the advertising content are solely that of the advertiser and any such claims regarding its content should be taken up with the advertiser.* The publisher assumes no liability with regard to its advertisers for misprints or failure to place advertising in this publication except for the actual cost of such advertising.* Although every effort is taken to avoid mistakes and/or misprints, the publisher assumes no responsibility for any errors of information or typographical mistakes, except as limited to the cost of advertising as stated above or in the case of misinformation, a printed retraction/correction.* Under no circumstances shall the publisher be held liable for incidental or consequential damages, inconvenience, loss of business or services, or any other liabilities from failure to publish, or from failure to publish in a timely manner, except as limited to liabilities stated above.

The information given herein is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no

endorsement by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service or the Texas A&M AgriLife Research is implied. Extension programs serve people of all ages regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age,

disability, genetic information or veteran status.

FORMOSAN TERMITES

There are three main types of termites that can cause problems for homeowners in Central Texas- native subterranean termites, formosan subterranean termites and drywood termites. This article will focus of formosan termites.

Formosan termites are a more voracious type of subterranean termite. These termites have been spread throughout Texas through transport of infested material or soil. Formosan termites build carton nests that allow them to survive above ground without contact with the soil. Nests are often located in hollow spaces, such as wall voids.

Formosan subterranean termite workers and soldiers.Formosan termites feed on a wider variety of cellulose than other

subterranean termites, including live plants, consuming both spring and summer growth wood whereas native subterranean termites feed only on spring growth. Formosan termites have also been known to chew through non-cellulose materials such as soft metals, plaster or plastic.

The type of termite is determined by using soldiers (the group that defends the colony) or alates (winged reproductives) for identification. Formosan termite soldiers have a hardened head capsule that is tear-drop shaped. The alates have two heavy veins on the leading edge of the front wing along with hairs on the wings. If you suspect termites, you can submit sample insects to me for identification. Treatment would need to be carried out by a profession pest management company.

For more information or help with identification, contact Wizzie Brown, Texas AgriLife Extension Service Program Specialist at 512.854.9600. Check out my blog at www.urban-ipm.blogspot.com


Davenport Ranch

14 years and counting!Same Great Location in the

Davenport Village Shopping Center

Serving the Courtyard Neighborhood

for almost 13 years!

Same Great location!Davenport Village Shopping Center

3801 N. Capital of Texas Hwy.(360 and Westlake Dr.)

Suite J-240Austin 78746

At the bottom of the hillacross from Maudie’s

(512) 347-8299

Coupon has no cash value

$99 Special (Valued at $415)Includes Cleaning*, Exam,

& 3-D X-Rays

www.BridgeViewDental.com

* Routine Dental Cleaning Only

Lance Loveless, DDSGeneral Dentist

3801 N. Capital of Texas Hwy.(360 and Westlake Dr.)

Suite J-240 Austin 78746At the bottom of the hill

across from Maudie’s

Lance Loveless, DDSGeneral Dentist

FAGD (Fellow Academy of General Dentistry)LVIF (Las Vegas Institute Fellow)

(512) 347-8299www.BridgeViewDental.com

“As a child, our home had well water; as a result, my teeth were flouride-stained. In 1999, I had some veneers done at another dentist. I ended up with a ‘patchwork quilt’ of veneers because they would often chip and break due to me grinding my teeth.

Finally, I went to see Dr. Loveless. His philosophy was to cor-rect the root problem and not just to treat the symptoms. I had never experienced that before. Not only did Dr. Loveless ap-ply the veneers, he stopped the grinding by fixing my bite. I can’t imagine anyone being more technology-savvy to get this done. I was so impressed by his staff and their hands-on ap-proach to dentistry.

I deal with people day-in and day-out. It’s nice not having to worry about the appearance of my smile.”

– Bryan, Attorney, Austin, Texas

Before

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Call to sChedule your Complimentary Consultation!


Davenport Ranch

DR

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

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Davenport Ranch - April 2015