Tarrytown - February 2022

TARRYTOWN

FEBRUARY 2022

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VOLUME 10 ISSUE 2

Tarrytown - January 2022

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TARRYTOWN

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IMPORTANT NUMBERS EMERGENCY NUMBERS EMERGENCY.................................................................... 911 Fire....................................................................................... 911 Ambulance........................................................................... 911 Police Department...............................................512-975-5000 Sheriff – Non-Emergency.....................................512-974-0845 Animal Services Office......................................................... 311 SCHOOLS Austin ISD...........................................................512-533-6000 Casis Elementary School......................................512-414-2062 O. Henry Middle School......................................512-414-3229 Austin High School..............................................512-414-2505 UTILITIES City of Austin......................................................512-494-9400 Texas Gas Service Custom Service..............................................1-800-700-2443 Emergencies......................................................512-370-8609 Call Before You Dig..........................................512-472-2822 Grande Communications.....................................512-220-4600 AT&T New Service...................................................1-800-464-7928 Repair............................................................1-800-246-8464 Billing............................................................1-800-858-7928 Time Warner Cable Customer Service..............................................512-485-5555 Repairs.............................................................512-485-5080 Austin/Travis County Hazardous Waste...............512-974-4343

TARRYTOWN The Tarrytown Newsletter 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 Tarrytown Newsletter's 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.

OTHER NUMBERS Ausitn City Hall...................................................512-974-7849 Ausitn City Manager............................................512-974-2200 Austin Police Dept (Non Emergency)...................512-974-5000 Austin Fire Dept (Non Emergency)......................512-974-0130 Austin Parks and Recreation Dept........................512-974-6700 Austin Resources Recoovery.................................512-494-9400 Austin Transportation Dept..................................512-974-1150 Municipal Court..................................................512-974-4800 Post Office..........................................................512-2478-7043 City of Austin...........................................www.AustinTexas.gov NEWSLETTER PUBLISHER Peel, Inc...............................................................512-263-9181 Editor.................................................... tarrytown@peelinc.com Advertising...........................................advertising@peelinc.com

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Tarrytown - January 2022

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TARRYTOWN 20 22

TARRYTOWN REAL ESTATE

F ebrua ry M a r k et r eport

by Trey McWhorter

Happy February! Hopefully we don’t have another winter storm like last year! At the time this article was due, there had not been much activity yet. Only 2 new active listings (to add to 6 that came to market in 2021) and two had gone under contract.

So I’ve refreshed my analysis of how pricing continues to shift in Tarrytown and what activity is like in various price ranges. A few takeaways: • In 2019, 70% of transactions were for homes priced under $1.5M, in 2021 that dropped to 35%; •

Homes priced above $1.5M represented 30% of the market in 2019, increasing to 35% in 2020, and rising to 65% in 2021;

•

Homes priced over $2M are now the largest share of sales in Tarrytown (29%). In 2020 it was $1.25M-1.49M (25%) and in 2019 it was $750K-999K (22%);

•

The median days on market for homes everywhere from $750K to $2M spent less than 2 weeks on the market. There were only 2 sales under $750K so the data there is skewed by the limited number of sales.

As you think about your plans for 2022, keep in mind the continued inflow of luxury buyers into the Austin market and the limited inventory available. These factors are likely to continue and be favorable for sellers. I can help you navigate the process of selling your home for the highest price with the least amount of stress in the shortest amount of time.

You can also find additional analysis and updates to this article on treymcwhorter.com.

Note: All data comes from the Austin Board of Realtors’ MLS report, reflecting activity through January 15, 2022.

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Return of the Hummingbirds

TARRYTOWN

Submitted by Jeremy Hull and Johanna Arendt, Travis County Balcones Canyonlands Preserve The distinctive hum of wings and a small dark green flash zipping by is often the first thing you notice when a hummingbird is around.

The tiniest of all birds, hummingbirds are super fast, energetic, and great fun to watch in your backyard or while on the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve.

The two most common hummingbird species you will see in Steiner Ranch are the blackchinned and the ruby-throated hummingbirds.

They are easy to attract to your home garden, and since they typically show up in very early spring, now is a great time to put your nectar feeders out. They will be hungry after their long migration north, and will appreciate the extra food. See the inset below for some feeder tips.

Feeders can provide great entertainment, especially when they are put near a window or on a porch where they are easy to see. But the best source of nectar for hummingbirds is actually native flowering plants, which also benefit from the hummingbirds’ pollination

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services. Hummingbirds prefer flowers that are tubular in shape, have a lot of nectar, and are brightly colored – especially red or orange.

The Wildflower Center has a list of 30 native hummingbird plants for Central Texas, which can be found on their Collections page: https:// www.wildflower.org/collections/ A few of our favorites are red yucca, tropical sage, Texas lantana, Turk’s cap, lemon beebalm, and rose pavonia (pictured below).

Besides nectar, hummingbirds also eat insects including mosquitoes, gnats, fruit flies, and aphids, so they’re a very charismatic form of pest control. Join us for our next Wild Neighbors webinar on February 18th to learn more about these fascinating birds with Dr. Tania Homayoun from Texas Parks & Wildlife. Check out our Facebook page for the link to sign up (https://www.facebook. com/traviscountybcp) or email Johanna. arendt@traviscountytx.gov. You can also get lots of hummingbird information from

the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (https:// www.allaboutbirds.org/) and the National Audubon Society (https://www.audubon. org/news/hummingbird-feeding-faqs).

For more information about the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, please visit https://www. traviscountytx.gov/tnr/nr/bcp.

Black-chinned hummingbird on Turk’s cap.

Photo by Heather Valey.

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TARRYTOWN

LETTUCE RECYCLE

by Dena Houston

To Composting And Beyond!

Part 2 Part 2 of “To Composting and Beyond” continues with the composting questions I have received from the wonderful readers of Lettuce Recycle.

• CAN I PUT WAX, PARCHMENT, AND BUTCHER PAPER IN MY GREEN BIN? Yes. You can put all of them (plus non-foil cupcake liners) in your green bin.

• CAN I PUT THE PAPER AROUND STICKS OF

MARGARINE AND BUTTER INTO MY GREEN BIN? Yes, as long as it is not foil.

• CAN CASH REGISTER RECEIPTS AND CARBONLESS

PAPER RECEIPTS GO INTO THE GREEN OR BLUE BIN?

materials and elastic, neither of which will compost. These must go into the trash cart.

• CAN SMALL PIECES OF PLYWOOD GO INTO THE

GREEN BIN?

No. The glue that holds the layers of plywood together is not compostable. Plywood needs to go into the trash cart.

• CAN PAPER TOWELS USED WITH CLEANING

PRODUCT GO INTO THE GREEN BIN?

No. Paper towels used with any kind of cleaning product must go into the trash cart.

The chemical interferes with the composting process.

No. Most of today’s cash register receipts are printed on thermal paper. This paper is treated with BPA, making the paper neither recyclable nor compostable. Place these receipts in the trash cart.

• CAN SHREDDED PAPER GO INTO THE GREEN BIN? Yes, it is better to put shredded paper into the green bin rather than the blue recycling bin.

Make sure the paper is contained in either a paper or compostable bag.

• CAN I COMPOST OR RECYCLE DISPOSABLE

• CAN DRYER LINT GO INTO THE COMPOST BIN?

No. They are made with non-woven

No. This needs to go into your trash cart.

Dryer lint often contains non-cotton fibers.

MASKS?

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Only cotton fiber is compostable.

• CAN PET WASTE GO INTO THE GREEN BIN? No. Pet waste contaminates the compost and is a health hazard to the workers who physically sort through the compost.

FLUFF – DON’T STUFF Recently, I noticed that a compost collection truck’s automatic arm kept shaking a green can. Finally, the driver set the can down, got out of the truck, reached into the can, and pulled out pizza boxes that had been stuffed into it. He then was able to re-engage the auto arm and empty the can. This is potentially dangerous. Please don’t stuff anything into any of your cans.

Here is a very informative City of Austin recycling website: www.austintexas.gov/what-do-i-do

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TARRYTOWN

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Tarrytown - January 2022

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