CLEAN-UP in Review

Spring 2005

Sincere thanks also go out to all the

Fountainwood neighbors who participated

in the Clean-Up in other ways – by making

good use of the four dumpsters generously

provided by the City of Thousand Oaks

and by giving our volunteers some worthy

projects to tackle.

Your ideas can make 2006 even better!

We’ve already received some positive

feedback and ideas to consider for next

year’s Clean-Up, and we’d like to hear

from you, too. One suggestion is to hold a

neighborhood garage sale the week prior to

the Clean-Up. Another is to make the

barbeque a BYOC (Bring Your Own

Chair) affair in one of the cul-de-sacs.

Regardless, we’d like to get a head start at

planning for next year’s event, so if you

think you might like to be on our planning

committee, we’d love to hear from you.

We look forward to making this a valuable

and fun annual event. If you’re interested

in participating on the 2006

Clean-Up Planning Committee, please

email or call any Board

Member or County Property

Management. ◆

TM

"...Neither rain,

nor snow, nor

sleet..."

Okay, so maybe

it was just rain and drizzle, but on March

19 th , the show went on anyway.

Many thanks to our merry band

of volunteers: all of you who got

an early morning start tackling

gutter and mailbox repairs,

planting flowers and pruning

shrubs; those of you who

prudently waited for clearer

weather to paint and plant; those

who assisted with trash disposal

and bin monitoring; those who

made reminder

phone calls, and

each of you who

contributed

to the barbeque

that afternoon.

Volunteers: (Top) Frances

Fujii, Manny Cordeiro,

Chuck Regan, Mark

Thomson, Bob Higbee, Tina

Thomson; (Right) Gene

Satin; (Below) Sue Martin

and Loretta Cole

(Above Center) Earlybirds put

the dumpsters to good use

(Right) Bill Martin takes a

break from pruning

(Above) Tom Voccola

finally calls it a day

May 14 th

Watch your mailbox

for more info.

Fountainwood A Special Thanks

Orchids to Frances Fujii and Tom Voccola

for the professional manner in which they

handled our Fountainwood Spring Clean-up

2005. The homeowners were indeed

fortunate to have the resources of the right

persons for such a huge undertaking. These

members, volunteering their time and energy,

spearheaded this Spring Clean-up and

Neighborhood Barbeque with deftness and

aplomb.

We, as a community, want to acknowledge

their wonderful efforts on behalf of all of us,

offer a special thanks and applaud their

innovative efforts to make this endeavor so

successful.

And yes, Fran, the coffee, bagels and muffins

certainly "hit the spot."

Gene M. Satin

Member of the Fountainwood Community

Appreciation Expressed to Volunteers

Dear Editor,

On behalf of our entire family, I wish to

thank those volunteers who made such an

effort to assist neighbors like us during the

recent Spring Clean-Up.

I especially want to thank Chuck Regan and

his crew, Bob Higbee and Cliff Thomson, for

all the repairs you did for us as well as the

thoughtful suggestion you made regarding

the crumbling decorative wall.

In addition, I would like to take this

opportunity to express our appreciation to

Frances Fujii and our other neighbors who

have been so supportive throughout our

challenges with Steve’s illness. Your help

and prayers have meant a lot to us.

Sincerely,

Debbie Sanquist

Letters to the Editor

We, as Fountainwood homeowners, are all members of the Association. As an Association,

our mission is to preserve and protect the community in which we live. Historically, our two

major areas of focus include slope maintenance and architectural direction. The Association’s

Board of Directors are volunteers elected by the membership (Board members meet monthly

and serve two year terms with elections occurring every year.) Our Board advisor, who takes

our decisions and makes it happen, is Richard Miller, Property Manager. We encourage all

homeowners to get involved and volunteer for positions on the Board, the Architectural

Committee or the Landscape Committee. ◆

About Fountainwood Homeowners’ Association…

Neighbor-to-Neighbor

TM

, the

official newsletter of the

Fountainwood Homeowners’

Association of Thousand

Oaks, is published quarterly.

Articles and suggested topics

are welcomed and may be

provided, attention to editors

Mark Butzko and Frances

Fujii, at the following

numbers. (Email is

preferable, with articles

composed either in the body

of the email or attached as a

Microsoft Word document.)

Phone: 482-9800

Fax: 399-2543

E-Mail: cpm@c-p-m.com

Reminder to Get Paint Colors and

Architectural Changes Approved

We have noticed that a few homeowners have

embarked on paint and structural changes

without going through the approval process

required by our CC&R’s. When this happens,

those homeowners are notified and all work

must stop until the appropriate plans have been

reviewed and approved or modifications made

to comply with the CC&R’s.

It is far more efficient to submit your change

requests up front, and we strongly urge you to

do so.

Forms and procedures are available in a

downloadable format from the CPM website:

www.c-p-m.com Or contact Richard Miller,

Property Manager at (805) 482-9800 with

questions. Thank you.

Your Board of Directors and

The Architectural Review Committee

City of Thousand Oaks offers

Free Street Trees to

Fountainwood Homeowners

The City of Thousand Oaks, through their

Municipal Services Unit, is offering free street

trees to homeowners in the Fountainwood

Community where a front yard tree is missing.

The tree will be of a suitable variety and size for

the area (sorry, no selection), and includes

planting by city workers or contractors.

Names and addresses of homeowners who are

interested will be collected by County Property

Management at (805) 482-9800 until May 15th

when the list will go to the city. The schedule

for installation and information on how to

identify the location for tree will follow.

Neighbor-to-Neighbor

TM

DID YOU KNOW?

It’s best to prune wisteria,

camellias, flowering

cherries and other spring

flowering trees and shrubs

after they bloom.

Wisteria photo courtesy of

Manny and Mary Cordeiro.

Thank you once again to everyone who

responded promptly to correct a CC&R-related

issue!

This issue, our focus is on overcoming

Challenges of various kinds.

The first has to do with a frequent complaint

that we’ve been asked to publish and ask all

dog owners for assistance with.

Doggie Doo Challenges

When walking your dog, please keep them

on a leash and off your neighbors’ lawns.

Several homeowners have reported unwanted

brown "packages" or yellow spots left on

their lawns. Most Fountainwood dog owners

are courteous and use proper pick-up

protocol — if everyone would do the same,

it would be greatly appreciated.

Trash Container Challenges

It has been brought to our attention that some

homeowners are still unaware that the Trash

Collectors have requested all City containers

be placed on the street for pick-up, not on the

sidewalk. Please help spread the word!

In addition, according the CC&R’s, all trash

containers must be put away (behind gates,

not visible from the street) after trash pick-up.

If you will be going away for the

weekend, we encourage you to ask a friend

or neighbor to put them away for you.

Rainy Day Challenges

Whew! As we all know, it’s been a wet, wet

season which has been great for greening up

our lawns and plants, but carries its

challenges as well. Here are a few tips that

Fountainwood gardeners may find useful this

spring:

Fertilize Sooner Than Later

Heavy rains leach out nitrogen and other

valuable nutrients from your soil, so even if

you fertilized just a month ago, assume that

many of these nutrients have leached out of

the root zone. Now is the ideal time to go

through your entire yard and feed all your

plants. Remember, even if plants look

Walking the Walk with the Architectural Committee

dormant, their roots will absorb nutrients

and a good time to fertilize is before the

plants leaf out.

Catch Those Weeds Early

Weeds love rain, and we’ve noticed a rapid

growth spurt in weeds this year. Many

weed varieties mature very quickly and

have already developed seed heads – best

to remove them now, before they develop

an even stronger hold in your flowerbeds.

If hand weeding isn’t for you, ask your

local nursery about the different types of

products to use: Pre-emergent, Post-emergent,

Systemic, and Broadleaf weed

killers. Plus you can use landscape fabrics

and mulches to keep the weed population

down.

Take Care of Snails and Slugs Before

They Devour Your New Spring

Plantings!

Before you know it, your beautifully leafy

plants could become bare stalks. Don’t

leave new transplants – or even your

existing plants – unprotected! Ask your

local nursery about Snail & Slug bait, or

even non-toxic solutions like the use of

copper ribbon.

…and How ‘bout Those Rabbits?

Who would believe those cute little

bunnies could do such damage? One local

gardener recommends spreading

bloodmeal around the perimeter of your

garden. Keeps them away and the brown

color blends well with the earth. ◆

These rainy-day garden tips are provided

courtesy of Baron Brothers Nursery in

Camarillo. (805) 484-0085.

The Architectural Committee is responsible for

bringing CC&R violations to the attention of the

Fountainwood Homeowners’ Association Board of

Directors and County Property Management, and

also for providing the Board with review and

recommendations related to Architectural Requests.

For a copy of the "Reasonable Rules and Guidelines

for Homeowners and Committees," or to learn how

the Architectural Request process works, contact

Richard Miler at County Property Management,

482-9800.

Please note that all products

and services named, and any

opinions expressed within

this article are offered as

information only and do not

constitute recommendations

nor endorsement by the

Fountainwood Association,

its Board or its management.

Neighbor-to-Neighbor

TM

And, speaking of pruning,

according to the HGTV

website, "The primary

purpose of pruning is not

size control. It is to

improve the appearance

and health of your

shrubbery. …Pruning

does not stop plants from

growing. It merely directs

the growth. Before you

make a cut, ponder where

you want growth to occur.

If you shorten a limb or

branch, growth will occur

at the first bud below the

cut. The orientation of the

bud will tell you the

direction of the new

growth."

Paul McKenzie

Horticulture agent

Feng Shui, pronounced "fung schway,"

means "wind" (feng), "water" (shui.) This

ancient Chinese art of placement revolves

around Chi, pronounced "chee", the invisible

life force that flows everywhere. Its goal is

to put you in harmony with nature and your

surroundings, thereby increasing your well-being,

happiness, wealth and success.

Feng Shui has been growing as an interior

decorating trend in the U.S. for many years

and is frequently recommended by real estate

agents for clients wishing to make subtle

changes that create a positive impression

when selling or upgrading their home.

When most people think of Feng Shui, they

think about interior design and the placement

of furniture inside the home. However, Feng

Shui principles are just as applicable outside

the home. Here are a few tips for promoting

good Chi outdoors:

Eliminate Clutter

This may seem like common sense, and it is.

Clearing out clutter is the easiest and most

basic step you can take toward generating

positive energy in and around your home —

and making a good impression.

1. Start by cleaning debris and dead

plants from your lot. Prune

overgrown bushes, shrubs and trees.

2. Repair peeling paint and remove

clutter by the front door, then work

your way all around the house,

including side yards. Piles of clutter

anywhere, even if "hidden," create

stagnant, negative energy.

3. Fix broken items, rain gutters, roofs,

gates or anything else in disrepair. A

poorly maintained exterior gives the

impression that the owners are

neglectful inside as well.

Attend to the entry and front door area

1. After repairing peeling paint and

removing clutter by the front door,

replace hardware, if needed. Place a

charcoal color or black doormat

there to underscore the water aspect.

Consider planting red flowers near

Using Feng Shui to Enhance Your Home’s Value

the door (red communicates vibrant

energy.)

2. If bigger improvements are within

your budget, a meandering path to the

front door is better than a straight

sidewalk. Otherwise, you can break

up a straight path by planting flowers

or bushes in curved or graceful

patterns (not in a straight row.) The

middle part of your front yard is

considered to be your Career sector.

Placement and Accents for Positive Chi

Other tips for positive outdoor Chi:

1. Plant an orange tree (the tree of luck)

or put a water feature (flowing water

signifies prosperity) in the farthest

left corner of your lot (usually far left

back yard) as viewed from the curb.

This is your Wealth corner.

2. Create a tranquil space, possibly with

rocks and a few flowers (less is more)

in the front left of your lot. This is

your Spirituality sector.

3. A profusion of colorful flowers on the

right side of your front yard will

enhance your Relationship sector.

4. Plant something green in the Health

sector, the middle part of the left side

of your yard.

5. Bright accents and lighting work well

in the middle of your back yard,

which is your Fame sector.

6. A Zen space (requiring little

vegetation) in the middle of the right

side of your yard will encourage the

flow of your Creativity.

7. A pair of white or pink flowering

plants will enhance the right side of

your back yard, the Partnership

sector.

Applying Feng Shui principles to your home

can be fun and rewarding. This article is

intended only as a simple introduction to the

concept. For a better and more accurate

understanding, you will want to contact a

professional or refer to any of the numerous

books and articles available today. ◆

Please note that all products

and services named, and any

opinions expressed within

this article are offered as

information only and do not

constitute recommendations

nor endorsement by the

Fountainwood Association,

its Board or its management.