Archive for Around the District
Pine Cove Water District would like to wish everyone a very happy new year!
The office will be closed Friday December 31st in observance of New Years. If you would like to make a payment while we are closed you can do so online or drop it though the office door slot. If you have a water emergency like a burst pipe or leak please call the On Call Emergency Line (951) 294-8282.
Wishing everyone a very happy and safe New Year!
Pine Cove Property Owners Association with cooperation from Pine Cove Water District is hosting a trash clean up day.
On Saturday, September 25th from 9am – 4pm, you can bring your trash to the large bin located at the PCWD Dutch Flat Facility on 25384 Franklin Dr. (follow the signs off Highway 243).
FOR PINE COVE RESIDENTS ONLY. Proof of Residency required (example: a water bill).
*NO CONTRACTORS PLEASE*
This bin will take household trash, yard trash and a small amount of construction debris.
NO chemicals, tires, or large appliances.
There will be a tractor available on site to help with heavy items.
Free curbside pickup will be available that day BY APPOINTMENT – Call Andy at 505-603-3672 on a first come first serve basis.
Just a quick update that I received from Jon King and his San Jacinto Trail Report. Want to see the full report? Click here and give him a follow.
Full fire restrictions are in place on Forest Service lands, as described here. All campfires anywhere in the San Jacinto mountains, including at all USFS campgrounds and yellow post sites, are now prohibited. The total fire ban has finally been extended to Riverside County lands starting 23rd August, including for example the Hurkey Creek campground (thanks to Dan Roberts for updates on the county situation).
The U.S. Forest Service ranger station in Idyllwild remains closed due to USFS coronavirus protocols. Apparently it is unlikely to reopen before October, but possibly much later. Hiking and camping permits are nevertheless required for USFS lands, and should be available at the kiosk outside the ranger station. The State Park ranger station reopened about six months ago.
WEATHER A few days of temperatures around (or even below!) seasonal for the first time in two months came to an end early this week. Daytime high temperatures will again be above average for August starting Wednesday 25th, with overnight low temperatures in particular being well above seasonal, before cooling again to about average in the first couple of days of September. As mentioned above, monsoonal rains are a possibility from 29th August to at least 2nd September. Fire risk remains severe.
Taken from the National Weather Service https://www.weather.gov/sgx/
We are so excited to see the Monarch Butterflies coming back to enjoy our butterfly garden. Board member Rose was gracious enough to bring some caterpillars from her garden to ours since we weren’t seeing any and she had an abundance. They almost immediately went into a chrysalis stage and we are awaiting the release.
This year, we have a gate around the garden that they are forming on and we have decided to let nature take it’s course rather than bringing them inside. They look like they’re doing a pretty good job of camouflaging themselves. We’ll keep you updated on their progress.
Over the winter I watched squirrels burry peanuts in our butterfly garden, never thinking they would sprout. Surprisingly enough, as I was pulling weeds, I pulled one that had PEANUTS as it’s roots! I was so excited to see so many more still planted. I looked it up and can’t wait to see the final results. Thanks squirrels!
If you’re interested in the video I watched, click here.
Has Mother Nature gifted you with any unexpected foliage? We’d love to see it.
Welcome to Summer!!
The sun is shining, the plants are blooming, and we are looking forward to seeing happy faces outside.
While the mask requirements have eased across the state, we are still staying extra diligent with asking people to mask up before coming into the office and limit amount of people that are in at a time.
Have you lost a pair of reader glasses? We have a pair here in the office that were left.
Bills are due July 1st. There is a $15.00 late fee that will be applied to all accounts that are not paid by the due date.
At this point, I’m not sure I would rely on the postal service to get your check to us in time but you can always drop off your payment night or day by coming in and saying hi or thru the slot on the front door.
You can log onto your account online and pay with a Visa/Mastercard/Discover, or E-check. There is a merchant fee of $3.00 per hundred spent for this option. To register your account online, you will need your account number and the Municipality Code of PineCoveWDCA. Go to our website at www.pcwd.org and click the “Billing” tab. Follow the links from there.
If you are signed up for the ACH Auto Draft payment option, your bill will be automatically paid on the 1st.
The sun is shining and things are starting to bloom!
It’s not too late to start your own Monarch Butterfly garden. Come by the office for FREE milkweed seeds.
We’ll keep you updated here on the status of our garden(s).
Thinking gardening time is just around the corner? Just in time for spring cleaning, the PCWD offers free mulch and wood chips to its customers. If you are interested in either wood chips or mulch just come on by the Dutch Flats location anytime. Both are great for gardening, holding in moisture of soil and they make a nice added touch to spruce up your yard or potted plants.
You must bring your own materials to gather or shovel and haul the mulch or wood chips away. If you are planning on gathering a large amount on your own, please let us know in the office as we want to be sure there is enough for everyone.
If you need a larger load of either call the office and we can deliver a dump truck load for $125 delivery charge.
APRIL SPECIAL
Get a dump truck load of WOOD CHIPS for ONLY $75.00
Our deliveries are around 9 cubic yards and you just need to indicate where to leave the pile.
I recently came across this term and wanted to learn more about it. Xeriscaping is a way to landscape with using minimal water.
When searching xeriscaping, I found that there are 7 basic principles:
* Sound landscape planning and design.
* Limitation of turf (commonly referred to as lawn) to appropriate, functional areas.
* Use of water efficient plants.
* Efficient irrigation.
* Soil amendments.
* Use of mulches.
* Appropriate landscape maintenance.
There are many plants that can survive with little to no irrigation. I recommend either having a local expert help with finding the right plants or doing an online search.
The main thing to look for is “drought-resistant plants”.
The ones I found listed on TheSpruce.com are Hens and chicks, Aloe Vera, and Autumn Joy sedum, or “stonecrop”. If you are looking for a little more color, I found that Verbena, Marigold, Lavender, Daffodils, and Iris are low maintenance plants as well.
The LA Times did an article in February 2020 about xeriscaping and why you should try it. They mention that even when plants are labeled as a “California native plant”, there are many different climates in California. In Southern California, we should be look for plants around our Mediterranean climate, similar to central Chile, the Western Cape province of South Africa, and southern and western Australia.
They recommend some of the same principles as I found above such as taking stock of your lawn but also add things like visiting a Southern California botanic garden, nurseries devoted to Caliornia native plants, and The California Native Plant Society’s Calscape database.
I have no doubt that the experts at Idyllwild Community Garden are a great resource to learn more and advise on what plants grow well on our little mountain. Just looking at their website I came across this page that has multiple resources – choosing-what-to-plant.
However you start your spring, we hope it brings you joy!