Jester Estates
Official Publication of Jester Homeowners Association, Inc. January 2022
President's Corner Season Greetings Jester Neighbors, Many thanks to our neighbors who decorated their houses for the holidays. The bright lights and colorful decorations were enjoyed by all and provided a cheery contrast to the dark days of winter. There was a constant stream of deliveries to the neighborhood during December. Please be on the alert for "porch pirates". Also besure not to leave valuables in cars parked outside your homes, as there has been an influx of vehicle burglaries in the neighborhood. Neighbors posting of thefts on Nextdoor provide reminders to everyoneto be ever vigilant. The recent emergence and concerns about the new covid variant caused the Santa and Fire Truck December event to not be held this year. The Board regrets that our social activities have been severely curtailed during the pandemic, and we hope that things will return to normal in the near future. An urgent reminder that our speeds are being monitored by the City of Austin. We must keep our speeds at 30mph or below to keep from having those awful, ugly and inconvenient speed bumps reinstalled. One issue is that we have workman and delivery vehicles routinely speeding on Jester Blvd, and thus residents need to be extra careful to drive at or below the speed limit to prevent our average from being too high. The JHOB continues to meet online through Google Meet. Notice of dates and times are posted on the Jester Facebook page. The next meeting is tentatively set for January 19, 2022 at 7 pm. Eric Cohan at ericcohan@gmail.com can provide a link to anyone interested in attending. Early next year every household in Jester Estates will receive Jester Homeowner Association notice of the Annual Meeting and election of Board members, plus a dues statement. Included in the mailout will be a letter from JHOB to mandatory and nonmandatory residents asking nonmandatory residents to please join the JHOA. Annual dues are a very modest $85 annually. Barely, more than half of the 911 Jester homes are mandatory members, this means the Homeowners Association has limited means to improve and beautify Jester Estates. If you are a nonmandatory member please seriously consider joining the HOA and contributing to keeping Jester Estates a wonderful and secure neighborhood.
Volume 17, Issue 1
A Water Dance of Grebes by Jim and Lynne Weber Winter is one of the best times to observe waterfowl in central Texas. Several species spend the colder months on our quiet lakes, reservoirs, and ponds, searching for food in the open, unfrozen waters. One interesting family that can be seen this time of year are the grebes, aquatic diving birds known for their strong swimming, but not often seen on land or in flight. Grebes are not ducks, although both are considered to be waterfowl. They lack webbed feet like ducks, and instead have lobed toes. Their legs attach further back on their bodies than ducks, making it supremely awkward for them to walk on land. Combined with their lobed toes, however, these attributes make them powerful swimmers and divers for their size. In our area, there are three species of grebe that can be observed, the Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps), the Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus), and the Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis). The Pied-billed Grebe is a small but chunky waterbird 13.5 inches long that is brownish overall with a blocky head, short thick bill, and almost no tail. During breeding season, its pale bill has a vertical black stripe, which gives it its name as ‘pied’ means having two or more different colors. These grebes can trap water in their feathers, giving them control over their buoyancy, sinking deeply or exposing as much or as little of their body as they wish. The Piedbilled Grebe is present year-round, but are more abundant from mid-September to mid-May. They are not gregarious, so they are often solitary or found in very small groups. Continued on Page 4
Welcome to Jester Estates!
Everyone stay safe and well. Eva Wisser Copyright © 2022 Peel, Inc.
Continued on Page 3 The Jester Warbler - January 2022
1