Landscape Surprise

Today, without any advance notice to the homeowners on either side of this bed, Brickman cut down a large flowering tree. The tree has been sick for years, so the issue here is not that the landscape company dealt with this tree. The point is that the homeowners received no prior warning and there's no word either on replacement.

Emailing, phoning, ringing the doorbell—these are all courteous possible options in the real world, but not in Princeton Landing. We do get lots of emails, however. We get emails about things much less important than how your home—your investment—might look after an unannounced visit by the landscape crew.

FPNL Annual Meeting and Program

On Wednesday, May 29, 2013, at 7:30 pm, Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands will hold its annual meeting at the Education Building at the Mapleton Preserve/D&R Canal State Park Headquarters. Following the meeting, Michael Catania, the new Executive Director of the Duke Farms Foundation in Hillsborough, NJ, will speak. The program will be about the evolution of Duke Farms from a 2,750-acre private estate to a public learning center and model of sustainable agriculture, ecological restoration and stewardship.

Refreshments will be served, and all are welcome. The Education Building at the D&R Canal State Park State Headquarters is located at 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston.

Photo: Duke Farms

Memorial Day 2013

Chipping Sparrow — 4:27 pm

Question of the Week

 

While in spring other communities in the area enjoy beautiful plants in freshly mulched beds, we in Princeton Landing are not so fortunate. In addition to not being mulched this year, many of our beds are a jumble of dead plants and weeds.

For example, this bed is located on the median in the Parcel 6 roadway. Brickman planted these laurels about a year ago. Most of them are dying. The grasses and some liriope are also dead. The rock hard, unmulched bed is filled with dried-up leaves, assorted weeds and broken branches. In short, it's a mess.

Why isn't the bed being maintained? Why is the Board continuing to approve money for new plants throughout the community when the plants we have are not being cared for? And why do residents, some of whom pay over $400 in maintenance fees every month, have to look at planting beds like this in spring?

Kingston Greenways Annual Meeting and Movie

On Wednesday, May 22, 2013, at 7:30 pm, Kingston Greenways Association will host its annual meeting at the Kingston Firehouse. Following the meeting, Maria Grace, Education and Outreach Manager of Conserve Wildlife, will introduce  the PBS documentary, "Crash: A Tale of Two Species" and then take questions. The film, which runs about 55 minutes, explores the fascinating relationship between the Red Knot, a rare American shorebird, and the ancient horseshoe crab.

Each spring thousands of Red Knots fly from South America to their nesting grounds in the Canadian Arctic. Along the way they pause at the Delaware Bay, where they feed on the eggs of the horseshoe crab—a meal crucial to completing their journey. But humans now harvest large numbers of horseshoe crabs to use as fishing bait, and there is mounting pressure to lift the state's limits on that harvest. In addition, Hurricane Sandy altered or destroyed nearly half of the Red Knots' Delaware Bay feeding grounds, increasing the threat to the Red Knots and other shorebirds.

Refreshments will be served, and all are welcome. The Kingston Firehouse is located at 6 Heathcote Road in Kingston. Ample parking is available behind the firehouse.

Photo: Conserve Wildlife

Question of the Week

Do Princeton Landing homeowners know that at they can contract (at their own expense) through the office to have Brickman perform special landscape work, including mulching?

So, mulching is good for the plants after all?

Stump Hill

A once lovely area of the Loop Road—a berm in front of the tennis and basketball courts—is now so unsightly it should be called Stump Hill.

Many residents will remember this location was once one of the most beautiful stretches on the Loop Road. Well, it's not beautiful anymore. It is crowded with stumps left behind after the cleanup from Superstorm Sandy. They are a real blight on the Princeton Landing landscape.

Even before Sandy, homeowners who live adjacent to berms where trees had been removed had to endure stumps that were left behind for years. Now everyone is forced to look at unsightly stumps.

Neuropathy Awareness Week

May 13–17, 2013, is Neuropathy Awareness Week.

Peripheral neuropathy is one of the most common chronic diseases in the US—over 20 million Americans suffer from it.

Peripheral neuropathy or "nerve damage" disrupts the body's ability to communicate with its muscles, skin, joints or internal organs. Peripheral neuropathy can be compared to the body's electrical wiring system breaking down, causing numbness, pain, weakness and poor coordination. For those who struggle with it, neuropathy is a 24/7/365 battle. Increasing awareness and understanding of neuropathy—and its impact—will drive the allocation of more funding for neuropathy research and, ultimately, the discovery of more therapies and cures.

You can learn more about neuropathy and helpful resources by visiting The Neuropathy Association at www.neuropathy.org.

Sky Over Princeton Landing — 8:01 pm

Yellow Warbler's Nest — 2:46 pm

Barn Swallow — 3:25 pm

May Recycling Dates

The recycling dates in Princeton Landing for May are the 6th and the 20th. There is also a link to these dates in the right-hand column under Popular Posts.

Note: The recycling dates stated in the FVCSA May maintenance bills are incorrect.