Legend Oaks - May 2021 by Peel, Inc.

LEGEND OAKS

MAY 2021 Volume 14, Issue 05 A Newsletter for the Residents of Legend Oaks II

Give Turtles a Brake! By Cheryl Conley

I brake for turtles. Do you? With the warmer weather, turtles are going to be on the move soon. They are most likely looking for a mate or the females are looking for a nesting site. It could be that they’re just looking for a good meal. Whatever the reason, cars and turtles don’t mix. If you’re like me and want to help turtles crossing roads, here are a few helpful hints: • Safety first. Always be aware of other vehicles. Pull off the road and turn on your hazard flashers. • If there’s no traffic, it’s best to let the turtle cross on its own. • Don’t put the turtle in your car and relocate it. Eastern box turtles, for example, only travel within about a 2-mile radius throughout their lives. They have a homing instinct and move about within their home territory. Removing them from their home will cause undo stress and shorten their lives. • Always move the turtle in the same direction it was going, as far off the road as you can place it. • Be gentle. Grasp the turtle’s shell edge at about the mid-point of the body. If it’s a snapping turtle, grasp the shell at the back of the body to protect yourself from a bite. In either case, you can then lift the turtle and place it on the side of the road. You can also place the turtle on a floor mat or piece of clothing and slide it. • Once the turtle is safely placed on the side of the road out of danger, sanitize your hands. We’ve all gotten pretty good at that! What should you do if you find an injured turtle? Believe it or not, turtles with damaged shells can recover but it’s important to get help as quickly as Copyright © 2021 Peel, Inc.

possible. Call a local wildlife center first to make sure they will accept the animal and follow their instructions. Don’t try to feed the turtle or give it water. Place it in a box and put it in a quiet area until you can get help. Houston area wildlife centers: Friends of Texas Wildlife TWRC Wildlife Center Wildlife Center of Texas You can also check the Texas Parks & Wildlife website for individual rehabilitators. https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/rehab/list/

Legend Oaks II - May 2021

LEGEND OAKS

Legend Oaks II - May 2021

NEWSLETTER INFO LEGEND OAKS

Connection I remember way back when I was in college and I called my mom, excited to share with her that I decided to change my major. It went a bit like this….. Me: “Mom, I decided to change my major. I’m going into entomology!” Mom: “What?” Me: “Entomology. It’s the study of insects.” Mom: “What are you going to do with that? Do you plan on spending your life spraying bugs?” Me: “I have no idea, but it will be fantastic!” While at the time, my mom could not see exactly what I was going to do with a career in entomology, fortunately, for me I found an amazing job with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension where I have the opportunity to educate people on insects. Fortunately for my parents, they now have someone to identify all their insects. So why the story? Well, you all have the same opportunity as my parents to become educated on various insects. There are a variety of ways to do this, and all are resources that I directly post or am involved with in some way. If you want to learn more about insects, you can connect with me (or my colleagues in some cases) through: Instagram: urbanipm Facebook: www.facebook.com/UrbanIPM YouTube channel: Wizzie Brown Podcasts: I am involved in two different podcasts. • Bugs by the Yard- this one covers insects in the landscape • Unwanted Guests- this one covers structural pests Insect ID requests• Email me at ebrown@ag.tamu.edu • Submit images to http://texashighplainsinsects.net/ Educational webinars on various insect topics- email me to get onto the list for sign up links 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 This work is supported by Crops Protection and Pest Management Competitive Grants Program [grant no. 2017-70006-27188 /project accession no. 1013905] from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. 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. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service provides equal access in its programs, activities, education and employment, without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender Copyright © 2021 Peel, Inc.

NEWSLETTER

Articles...........................................legendoaks@peelinc.com PUBLISHER

Peel, Inc..........................www.PEELinc.com, 512-263-9181 Advertising..........advertising@PEELinc.com, 512-263-9181 ADVERTISING INFORMATION Please support the businesses that advertise in the Legend Oaks newsletter. Their advertising dollars make it possible for all Legend Oaks II residents to receive the monthly newsletter at no charge. No homeowners association funds are used to produce or mail the newsletters. If you would like to support the newsletter by advertising, please contact our sales office at 512-263-9181 or advertising@PEELinc.com. The advertising deadline is the 8th of each month for the following month's newsletter.

APD REPRESENTATIVES OFFICER JEFFREY BINDER

(covers north of Convict Hill toward William Cannon) Desk 512.974.4415 / email: Jeffrey.Binder@austintexas.gov OFFICER JOSH VISI

(covers south of Convict Hill toward Slaughter) Desk 512.974.4260 / email: Joshua.visi@ci.austin.tx.us

ASSOCIATION CONTACTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

President - Duane Pietsch ...............................512-431-7467 ..........................................legendoaks2hoa.duane@gmail.com Secretary - Maria Bergen.......................................919-230-3248 ..........................................mariablegendoakshoa2@gmail.com Director -Nikki Tate....................................512-700-1795 .........................................Legendoaks2.nikkiatate@gmail.com POOL COMMITTEE:

..................................poolcommittee.legendoaks2@gmail.com RECREATION COMMITTEE:

Suzanne Johnson......................................stoprope@gmail.com FINANCE COMMITTEE:

Jeffrey Stukuls Cameron Von Noy LANDSCAPING COMMITTEE:

Craig Powell........................craig@powelllandscapedesign.com If anyone would like to join a committee, they can contact Legendoaks2.nikkiatate@gmail.com Legend Oaks II - May 2021

LEGEND OAKS

Lettuce Recycle! by Dena Houston

SMALLER GARBAGE CART DILEMMA!!! With curbside compost collection now available to all City of Austin residential customers, it’s a good time to think about getting a smaller garbage cart. To help you decide, here are the monthly fees for each size cart (not including tax): • 24-gallon – $21.15 • 32-gallon – $22.40 • 64-gallon – $27.55 • 96-gallon – $48.00 Going from a 96-gallon cart to a 24-gallon cart would save you more than $322 a year! The City of Austin will downsize your cart for free. Just call 311 to make that happen. The great thing about getting a new garbage cart is IT’S THE CLEANEST YOUR CART WILL EVER BE!

WHAT’S IN YOUR TRASH CART??? Look in your trash cart on pick-up day to help with your decision. Is it just half full? Are there things in there that could go into the curbside compost bin or recycling bin? If there are certain seasons when more trash is generated (at Christmas time), extra bags of trash can be tagged with an Extra Trash Sticker. Stickers can be purchased at most local grocery stores for $4.00 + tax each. Even if that is done several times a year, it is still a significant savings over the cost of a larger cart.

WHY SHOULD WE CARE??? It’s easy not to think about landfills since they seem so far away. Austin and Travis County use two landfills that are an important part of our waste management system. As much as 50% of landfill space is taken up by paper, much of which could have been recycled. If all that paper had been recycled, more energy and resources (like trees and water) could have been saved. Also, as the material in landfills decomposes, it creates methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions in the U.S. 4

Legend Oaks II - May 2021

QUESTIONS FROM OUR READERS: IS GLOSSY PAPER RECYCLABLE? Yes, it is. The exception is old photos. Old photos are not recyclable because of the chemicals used in the photographic process. Newer digital photos are recyclable, much like magazines. To tell the difference, tear the photo. If it tears in layers, rather than cleanly ripping apart, you have an “old school” photo and need to put it into your trash can.

ARE ZIPLOC® BAGS AND PLASTIC WRAP RECYCLABLE IN THE PLASTIC BAG COLLECTION BINS AT GROCERY STORES? Yes, if they are clean and dry and have not been in contact with meat or dairy products. Do not put them in the blue recycling cart. Here is a very informative City of Austin recycling website: http://www.austintexas.gov/what-do-i-do. Stay tuned for future tips that will include creative ways to recycle or reuse. If you have any questions, please send them to recycling@hpwbana.org.

LEGEND OAKS Quercus with a Purpose by Jim and Lynne Weber

Ilia Underwing Texas is home to dozens of native species of oaks, all of which are in the genus Quercus. These trees provide humans with ample shade in the summer and beautiful color in the fall, and they sustain many mammals and birds with their acorn fruit, did you know that they are native host plants for dozens of butterfly and moth species? In turn, the caterpillars of these species are also a critical food source for almost all of the songbirds raising broods in the spring. Three of the most productive native oak species in central Texas are the Texas Live Oak (Quercus fusiformis), Post Oak (Quercus stellata), and Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa). The Texas Live Oak is also known as Escarpment Live Oak, Hill Country, and Plateau Live Oak. Considered a semi-evergreen tree, the previous year’s leaves fall from the tree only when pushed out by newly emerging ones in early spring. It has a stately mature form and unparalleled longevity, reaching to 40 feet in height with large limbs that over time spread a great distance from the main trunk. Firm textured leaves are oval to elliptical, 1 to 3 inches long, with young leaves having pointed lobes. Its acorns are spindle-shaped or fusiform, narrowed at the base and ¾ to 1 inch long. The Texas Live Oak is a host plant for Oak Hairstreak (Northern form), Juvenal’s Duskywing, and Meridian Duskywing butterflies, as well as Grote’s Buckmoth, Eastern Buckmoth, and Delilah Underwing moths. Also known Iron Oak and Cross Oak, Post Oak is a deciduous oak to 50 feet, coarsely-branched with a dense, oval crown. Its leaves are typically 3 to 5 inches long, with 4 pairs of lobes on each side, and the upper pair are often larger than the others, resembling a cross. Acorns are ¾ to 1.25 inches long. Post Oak is the most common oak throughout Texas, and its hard or iron wood is used for railroad ties, and construction posts and timbers. It is a host plant for the Oak Hairstreak (Northern form) and White M Hairstreak butterflies, and the Polyphemus, Eastern Buckmoth, Scarlet Underwing, and Little Nymph Underwing moths. Bur Oak is one of our largest oaks, also known as Savanna Oak, Overcup Copyright © 2021 Peel, Inc.

Oak, Prairie Oak, and Mossy-cup Oak. A deciduous tree that can exceed 100 feet in height, its massive trunk supports heavy, horizontal limbs and lobed leaves up to 9 inches long. Its acorns are the largest of all native oaks, up to 1.5 inches wide, with one-quarter to one-half of the acorn enclosed in a coarsely scaled cup with a heavily fringed margin. Somestimes spelled Burr Oak, it is the northern most oak in the New World, extending farther north than any other oak species. Bur Oak is the host plant for the Banded Hairstreak and Juvenal’s Duskywing butterflies, in addition to the Ilia Underwing, Imperial, and Greater Oak Dagger moths. While Texas is known for its oaks, care must be taken in identifying and maintaining oak trees. Most all of the species can hybridize, and several of them are susceptible to oak wilt disease. However, they are worth the effort form a human and wildlife standpoint, as they are Quercus with a purpose! Send your nature-related questions to naturewatch@austin.rr.com and we’ll do our best to answer them. If you enjoy reading these articles, check out our books, Nature Watch Austin, Nature Watch Big Bend, and Native Host Plants for Texas Butterflies (published by Texas A&M University Press), and our blog at naturewatchaustin.blogspot.com.

'Norther n' Oak Hairstreak

Polyphemus Moth Legend Oaks II - May 2021

LEGEND OAKS The Legend Oaks newlsetter is a private publication published by Peel, Inc. It is not sanctioned by any homeowners association or organization, nor is it subject to the approval of any homeowners association or organization, nor is it intended, nor implied to replace any publication that may be published by or on behalf of any homeowners association or organization. At no time will any source be allowed to use The Legend Oaks newlsetter 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 Peel, Inc. The information in the newsletter is exclusively for the private use of Peel, Inc.

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.

Legend Oaks II - May 2021

LEGEND OAKS

Legend Oaks II - May 2021

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Legend Oaks II - May 2021