The Colony
Neighborhood
Fall News 2016
Annual Picnic
Good weather, excellent grilled chicken and pork, plentiful and varied side dishes, including an abundance of desserts! Yes, it can only be the Annual Colony Picnic. This year Ellen Tunnell hosted the picnic and Mike and Tracy Hart grilled and donated the cost of the chicken and pork. Attendance was close to 50 residents, with many newer residents attending for the first time. Thanks go to Ellen Tunnell for hosting (always a big job), Jennifer Rice chair of the hospitality committee for coordinating the event and her husband Scott for helping deliver chairs and tables, Rekha Palli and her husband Reddy for storing tables and chairs throughout the year and to Jerry Morse for supplying the additional chairs needed this year. Yard games were also supplied Amanda and Jason Sherman.
Saw Tooth Oak
Jane Madden suggested that we get an evaluation done by a certified arborist to determine if any of the trees on the islands need care. Eric Sutherland of Town Branch Tree Experts came out and did the inspection. While here, he mentioned how impressed he was that we had two saw-toothed oak trees (Quercus acutissima) on the split islands at Standish Way and Mayflower. I later asked him why they were special, and Eric said that he rarely sees them in residential settings. So, it turns out we do have some special trees in the hood.
The board applied for a Neighborhood Action Matching Grant from the city to help with the pruning. We were awarded $500 that we will match with the same amount from our maintenance fund to have the trees on all four islands pruned. Work should be done in late Fall or Winter.
Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA)
From May through September of 2016 residents in the Colony took advantage of The Triple J Farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program thanks to Lori Whitlatch at 1241 Colonial Drive. If you aren’t familiar with a CSA, the program provides fresh, locally grown produce, eggs, and meats once a week delivered to a central location and picked up by residents who have signed up. Bags contain an
assortment of produce such as lettuce, peppers,
and eggplants. As the season progresses you
might also receive squash, potatoes and onions
as well as a variety of other vegetables.
The Triple J Farm publishes a newsletter listing
all the food included each week along with
recipes and tips for using the produce delivered
that week. The cost this past summer for a half
share of produce was $315, and it lasted for
18 weeks.
Lori says the Colony participation has grown each year, with ten residents participating this year. The Triple J farm is located in Georgetown and Lori discovered them at the local Georgetown farmers market. She has been instrumental in helping the Colony participate in the program. We owe a big thank-you for her coordination and diligence in making sure residents don’t forget to pick up their supply.
If you are interested for next year, watch for further information on the Colony web site early next year. A meat share can be purchased in addition to a full share, or half share of produce and a dozen or a half dozen eggs each week. The meat share needs to be in place by February or March 2017. Lori says you can contact her for further information regarding the meat share.
Additional information can be found at the Triple J Farm website.
Island Improvements
We’re nearly finished with extensive updates to the four islands for this season. I’m sure you’ve noticed that many of the older plants have been removed because they were either obscuring visibility for motorists or were in poor health. Jane Madden and Jerry Weisenfluh have replaced them with lower-growing evergreens and perennials that should require less maintenance once they are established. The city also helped us out by trimming the diseased oak tree on the big island and installing a drain system to reduce problems with soil and mulch erosion during storms. The new river gravel drains have provided a nice surround for the new plantings. Jane is also going to be planting bulbs in two of the islands, so look out for those next spring. We applied for a Neighborhood Action Matching grant from LFUCG and received the requested $500 match to help us get all the trees on the four islands pruned by professional arborists. That work should be done in late fall or during the winter.
Letter from the President
Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons of the year and it’s certainly true in the Colony. The leaves have started turning and yes, unfortunately also falling. The bright colors and good weather have invited many of you to take walks around the neighborhood. It’s a good time to get to know new neighbors, spot Halloween decorations and fall flowers.
It’s been a busy fall for the Board. The islands have gotten a great deal of attention. Jane Madden’s physical work has saved the Colony a great deal of money and her expertise will pay off in the spring. The Board was also able to secure funds from a Neighborhood Action Matching Grant to offset half of the cost of pruning and checking the health on all of the trees on the islands.
The archiving is now complete and maps, minutes and other important historical documents related to the Colony Neighborhood Association have been reviewed, scanned and saved for future reference.
The Annual picnic was a success and we are grateful to Ellen Tunnell for hosting and to Mike and Tracy Hart for grilling.
We also had lighting problems when the city paved Versailles Road. Our entrance lights were affected and it took a while to determine the location of the problem. Several residents emailed or phoned board members to express concern and to comment on how difficult it was to see the entrance. The Board also has received a number of positive comments regarding the new website and how professional the site looks. A big thank you to Kim Bragg for her efforts.
Even though it is fall we have set a date for the Christmas Tree Lighting Event. Please join us on December 4, 2016. I look forward to seeing you there.
-Sherri Weisenfluh, President Colony Neighborhood Association
Wildcat Chase as
Monarch Waystation
We recently saw a government vehicle parked at Wildcat Chase and stopped to talk with two Kentucky Fish and Wildlife (F&W) officials, Michaela Rogers and Jim Barnard, who were surveying the site. It turns out that F&W have just begun a program to document Monarch waystations in the region. They learned about Wildcat Chase through the Monarch Waystation program, and ours was one of the first sites they had surveyed. The officials were recording the varieties of plants we have installed, and also measuring the dimensions of the waystation. Michaela reported that The Colony has have one of the largest Monarch Waystation sites they have surveyed so far.
