Jester - July 2022

Jester Estates

Official Publication of Jester Homeowners Association, Inc. July 2022

Volume 17, Issue 7

Jester Teen Accomplising Big Things

Green Tips Dale Bulla • dale-bulla@pobox.com As drought conditions continue to cause lake levels to drop, City Manager Spencer Cronk has ordered implementation of Stage 1 water restrictions, effective as of June 6, 2022.

Stage 1 Watering Restrictions reduce the number of hours that automatic irrigation systems can be operated. Watering only in the early morning or late evening, when temperatures are coolest, reduces unnecessary water loss through evaporation.

For more information, please read the Austin Water press release here: https://www.austintexas.gov/news/austin-enters-stage-1-droughtcontingency-plan-0

Congratulations, Tina!

Jester teen, Tina Carter, reached the impressive rank of Eagle Scout, and was honored Saturday, April 30 at the Texas State Capitol in a Court of Honor as part of local BSA (Boy Scouts of America) Troop 454.

Tina has enjoyed scouting since kindergarten, starting as a Girl Scout where she earned the Gold Award (Girl Scouts’ highest award), before joining BSA Troop 4540 in 2019. Tina was attracted to the BSA due in large part to its emphasis on outdoor adventures, and recently earned the Grand Slam of High Adventure after camping on the ice at 40-below-zero at Okpik (Northern Tier), backpacking through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at Philmont Scout Ranch,

Facebook Group Reminder Hello Neighbors, Just a friendly reminder to join our Jester HOA Facebook group if you haven’t already! The page is still growing, with over 300 members now. It is a great platform to help quickly spread time sensitive information in our community, to ask for or offer neighborly help and an overall resource intended for facilitating quick and easy communication.

Just do a quick search for “Jester HOA” on Facebook, and please answer the questions in order for approval into the group.

Continued on Page 5 Copyright © 2022 Peel, Inc.

The Jester Warbler - July 2022

1

Jester Estates

2

The Jester Warbler - July 2022

Copyright © 2022 Peel, Inc.

Board of Directors www.JesterHOA.com

President Eric Cochan...............................................................eric@jesterhoa.com Treasurer Phil Ponebshek.......................................................... phil@jesterhoa.com Landscape Committee Chair Margaret Hutchinson.........................................margaret@jesterhoa.com Social Committee Chair Teresa Gouldie........................................................teresa@jesterhoa.com Safety Officers Carol Philipson........................................................carol@jesterhoa.com Phil Ponebshek.......................................................... phil@jesterhoa.com Architectural Control Committee Chair Candace Wong.................................................... candace@jesterhoa.com Firewise Officer Carol Philipson....................................................... carol@jesterhoa.com Board of Directors Charles Wolchansky............................................. charles@jesterhoa.com Restrictions Violations Committee Chair Cyndi Means ........................................... cyndi.means@goodwintx.com Jester Club....................................................................... 512-794-8867 ................................ jesterclubmanager@yahoo.com, www.jesterclub.org Homeowner's Association Mgmt - Goodwin Mgmt Cyndi Means............................................. cyndi.means@goodwintx.com Office: 11149 Research Blvd, Suite 100 Austin, TX 78759

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 203310 Austin, TX 78720-3310

Newsletter Information

Editor Hope Teel........................................................... hopeteel@gmail.com Publisher Peel, Inc.......................................www.PEELinc.com, 512-263-9181 Advertising........................advertising@PEELinc.com, 512-263-9181

Jester Estates

Teenage Job Seekers

Baby Pet House Yard Name Sit Sit Sit Work Phone Anderson, Layla*+..............•........... •.....................................................512-496-6536 Anderson, River.............................. •.................................... • ..............512-502-2073 Beach, Annika.....................•........... •.......... •.........................................512-839-0387 Ferrens, Ashley ...................•........... •.....................................................512-767-3003 Fricke, Samantha+ .............•........... •.......... •.........................................512-948-2717 Gerrie, Jack.........................•........... •.......... •.........................................210-290-3842 Gerwels, Emily............................... •.....................................................512-795-9270 Gilliam, Ava*+....................•........... •.......... •.........................................512-633-3664 Hayes, Alice.................................... •.......... •.........................................512-952-0512 Hull, Carter*+.....................•........... •.......... •.........................................512-963-3254 Kellar, Allison.....................•........... •.....................................................512-902-1009 Moore, Kaitlin....................•....................... •.........................................512-739-7652 Orton, Claire......................•........... •.....................................................512-346-0434 O'Toole, Emily...................•........... •.....................................................512-917-9397 Pantaleoni, Nicholas...........•........... •.......... •.........................................310-200-6006 Parouty, Ava........................•........... •.......... •.........................................512-298-9160 Popps, Adrian................................. •.......... •......................... • .............512-960-7305 Reed, Emery.......................•..................................................................512-592-2141 Shafer, Owen.................................. •.......... •.........................................512-786-2378 Schoffler, Isabella* .............•........... •.....................................................512-804-8047 Thibodeaux, Medeline........•........... •.....................................................512-619-0291 Trautman, Colin.................•........... •.......... •.........................................512-342-2422 Tuttle, Morgan................................ •.......... •.........................................737-247-8558 Ware, Sonoma....................•..................................................................512-796-4013 Werth, Amanda* +.............•........... •.......... •.........................................217-398-2833 Wright, Brooklyn +............•........... •.......... •.........................................737-465-9459

NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE

*-CPR Training +-First Aid Training

If you would like to add your name, send email to hopeteel@gmail.com with the jobs that interest you,your age and phone number (MUST be a teenager).

BUSINESS CLASSIFIEDS Classified Ads

Business classifieds (offering a service or product line for profit) are $65, limit 40 words, please contact Peel, Inc. Sales Office @ 512-263-9181 or advertising@PEELinc.com.

ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS Interested in submitting an article? You can do so by emailing hopeteel@gmail.com or by going to: www.peelinc.com/articleSubmit.php.

All news must be received by the 12th of the month prior to the issue.

JESTERHOA.COM Visit www.jesterhoa.com for HOA documents and info on the neighborhood!

Copyright © 2022 Peel, Inc.

The Jester Warbler - July 2022

3

Jester Estates TWO Home Fires in Jester This Year Already:

It CAN happen here— Be Smart & Be Prepared Carol Philipson

A fire started when lightning struck the home next door to Terry & John on Image Cove. Many Jester residents think fire will not happen here. Well, this is the second home fire this year, so never say never. Just be prepared, like Terry & John were by having their second Firewise Evaluation completed.

Four years ago, Terry & John had the Firewise committee give them suggestions to mitigate the risk of fire around their home, which they took seriously. They made many changes to reduce the risk of fire—replacing ground cover with rock, rebuilding their deck, and adding a piece of metal (see photo) at the bottom of the garage door to prevent embers from entering among other improvements.

Terry & John wanted to learn about any new and up-to-date information to keep their home safe. You can too, just private message me or register on www.jesterhoa.com. It’s free, and it only takes about an hour of your time.

4

The Jester Warbler - July 2022

Copyright © 2022 Peel, Inc.

Jester Estates Continued from Cover Page

paddling 50 miles down the New River at Summit, and sailing 120 miles through the Florida Keys at Sea Base. Her community projects for each the Gold and the Eagle involved helping local communities improve their physical environment – in one case making a horsetrail street crossing safer, and in another case leading a neighborhood tree-planting effort.

As of February 2019, a rule change made it possible for girls to join the BSA organization, and earn the highest honor, and Tina Carter is among the first in the country to complete that rare feat of earning both the highest award in Girl Scouting, and the highest rank in BSA. Congratulations Tina! Your neighbors are proud of you.

Neighborhood Youth Initiative Hello neighbors! We would love to relaunch the neighborhood youth initiative to encourage participation of our community’s youth in the Jester Warbler. We welcome submissions of all ages, and are happy to share different types of content. If your child has an interest in photography, send us a photo or two! If they want to submit a story, poem or writing of any other sort, send that on too! We are excited to see the creativity of the young minds of Jester! Likewise, please remember that anyone is welcome to submit ideas and content to the Warbler at any time. Please reach out and send any submissions to hopeteel@gmail.com.

Please Watch Your Speed Be Sure to Drive 30mph or Less

Several years ago, an agreement was made between Jester Residents and the Austin Department of Transportation that six “monitored” speed signs would be installed "in lieu of the speed humps."

These “monitored” speed signs record speeds 24/7 and report these speeds continually to the ATD literally 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If we don't honor our agreement by exceeding speeds over 30mph, speed humps WILL BE REINSTALLED. Please relay this information to your friends, relatives, repairmen, landscapers, and anyone you know who may drive along Jester Blvd. Many thanks!

At no time will any source be allowed to use The Jester Warbler Newsletter 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 Jester Warbler 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.

Copyright © 2022 Peel, Inc.

The Jester Warbler - July 2022

5

Jester Estates

NatureWatch

by Jim and Lynne Weber

A Killer of a Wasp What are those large, solitary wasps we see flying around our yards from late June to September? Often referred to as the Cicada Killer or Cicada Wasp (Sphecius speciosus), this native species occurs in the eastern and midwestern U.S. regions, southwards through Texas into Mexico and Central America. Cicada killers are so named since they prey on cicadas and provision their nests with them. While large and intimidating, they offer a measure of natural control on cicada populations. They benefit our native plants by pollinating flowers and protecting trees from the numerous cicadas that feed on their roots and foliage.

Cicada killers are robust wasps up to 2 inches long, with amber wings and black to reddish-brown abdomens with yellow stripes. The females are somewhat larger than the males, and both are among the largest wasps in the U.S. These solitary wasps have a very unusual and interesting lifecycle. Females are commonly seen skimming around areas with sparse vegetation for nesting sites, burrowing a tunnel, 10 to 20 inches deep, in dry or bare soil. In digging a burrow, she will dislodge the soil with her jaws, and using her hind legs that are equipped with special spines, push the loose soil behind her as she backs out of the burrow.

The female cicada killer proceeds to capture cicadas, sometimes even in flight, paralyzing them with her venomous sting. She places the cicadas beneath her, grasping them with her legs, and either flies or drags her prey, which is twice her weight, into her burrow. After placing a few cicadas in her nest, she begins to lay her eggs. Females can predetermine the sex of the egg, and she lays multiple male eggs on a single cicada. But each female egg is given 2 or 3 cicadas, as 6

The Jester Warbler - July 2022

females are larger, require more food, and more females are needed to create new generations. Eggs are always laid under the left or right second leg of the cicada. The female then closes the burrow with dirt, as the eggs hatch in a few days, but the larvae take some time to mature, feeding on cicadas as they overwinter in their burrow, not emerging as adults until the following spring.

Adult male cicada killers emerge in spring before the females, defending the territory around their emergence hole and searching for females. They typically perch on the ground, flying up to attack any rival males. Once females emerge, mating occurs, and the males die shortly after. Females live long enough to dig and provision their nests, and die after laying all of their eggs.

Cicada killer wasps are not aggressive toward humans and rarely sting unless provoked by grasping them roughly, accidentally stepping on them, or if caught in clothing. Only the females have stingers, and while males will actively defend their perching areas against other males near nesting sites, they have no stingers. Both males and females have large jaws, but they are not known to grasp human skin and bite. If swatted at, they will just fly away rather than attack. They are simply focused on cicadas or other cicada killers!

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, Native Host Plants for Texas Butterflies, and Native Host Plants for Texas Moths (all published by Texas A&M University Press), and our blog at naturewatchaustin.blogspot.com.

Copyright © 2022 Peel, Inc.

Jester Estates

Continued on Page 4 Copyright © 2022 Peel, Inc.

The Jester Warbler - July 2022

7

Jester Estates PO Box 1148 Round Rock, Texas 78680

JE

8

The Jester Warbler - July 2022

Copyright © 2022 Peel, Inc.