Dear Strawberry Cove residents,
Another month has come and gone, bringing with it good weather and bad, happy times and sad. We are enjoying warmer and longer days, brighter skies, and fresh flowers and trees. We continue to see the grounds here at Strawberry Cove improve; they look better every day! The grass is mowed, the flowers are watered, and the trees are trimmed! Weeds are gone, and grass has been re-seeded! But we have seen misfortune as well. Mrs. Lizama, through a turn of unfortunate and unhappy events has been required, on very short notice, to move her family to another country. We will miss her and her family and wish them luck on their journey!
Along with our April showers this year, we have had a few nasty wind storms. These storms have caused some trouble with some of our trees, fences, and power lines. I am pleased to announce that these matters have been resolved and are all but complete! We have had power lines, phone lines and cable lines repaired and re-routed, fences repaired and trees trimmed. Within the next week, trimming of the trees overhanging our property from our friends behind us at Shadywood Apartments will be complete and we will no longer have to worry about or deal with problems caused by storms in the area.
This time of year, the weather is starting to warm up and our homes are starting to become uncomfortably warm. As you start turning on your Air Conditioners / Swamp coolers, here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind:
- 1. Open Windows a Little (swamp coolers only)
- Unlike refrigerated A/C coolers — which operate by recycling already-cooled air — swamp coolers operate by turning dry, hot air into moist, cool air (this is why they’re used only in desert climates). This means they work much better when the moist air has some way to escape again after it enters your home. By keeping your windows slightly open, your swamp cooler will work more efficiently and keep your home cooler than when the windows are closed tight.
- 2. Replace Your Filter
- Swamp coolers operate more efficiently when they have a fresh filter. If your filter hasn’t been replaced in a couple years, chances are it’s become crusted (we have particularly hard water here) and is evaporating much less efficiently than when it was new. I went to Lowe’s today to buy fresh filters for our swamp cooler, and discovered a new brand of filter called “Dura-Cool” which can cool air up to 10% more than traditional (paper or aspen) filters. They’re easy to spot in the store because they’re bright blue.
- 3. Other Stuff
- Finally, if nothing else is working, remember that taking a cool shower in the afternoon, or just before bed, can be not only refreshing, but also make the heat much easier to tolerate. And keeping lots of ice on hand for ice-water or iced tea is useful as well, keeping you cool on the inside even when it’s hot outside.
And, as always, remember to turn the water supply to the swamp cooler back on. Running the swamp cooler with the water supply off could damage your pump!
Lastly, I want to address a couple issues we’ve been having lately. First I want to give everyone an assignment for the month. Don’t worry, it won’t be bad! As you probably know, our parking stalls, although technically considered “common area” are each of our own responsibilities to maintain and keep clean. I would like to ask each of you to take the time this month to clean out your parking stall. Pull the weeds, and sweep out the leaves, rocks, and broken glass and toss it in the dumpster. This will make our properties just that much more attractive and clean!
Second, a few of us have pets living in our homes with us. Recently there have been some complaints about animal droppings in the common areas (flower beds, and front yards), while this is ok in your own back yards, this is not acceptable in the areas that we share with each other. The Pleasant Grove Public Works website states, “…it does not matter how small or large the animal is …in the City of Pleasant Grove, there is an ordinance against animals running loose (leash law).” Please keep your animals on leashes when you walk them or take them outside to relieve themselves, and be prepared (with a plastic baggy or other appropriate item) to clean up after your pet.
As always, thank you to all that have provided input to the HOA and shown an interest in the betterment of our property! We love to hear from you and appreciate your input! Thank you to all who have paid their HOA dues on time! Please remember that starting this month (June 1st, 2008) HOA dues are now $75.00. If paid before the 10th of each month, there is a $10.00 discount. In other words, if you pay on time, it’s only $65.00!
Until next month,
Bob Jackman
President, Strawberry Cove HOA
