Scofield Farms

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Spring is just around the corner! No better time to get a jump on those homeowner maintenance items!!

Now is the time we remind each owner to take a step back and look at their yards and homes to see what might need to be addressed. This could include:

• Landscape items: Apply Pre-emergent in Feb-March for weed control & Fertilizing in March – August to promote a healthy green lawn, simple weeding of yards and flower beds, edging sidewalks and driveways, rake up fallen leaves from driveways & sidewalks, adding mulch to beds, replacing those shrubs and flowers that did not survive the winter, pruning any trees and/or shrubs that are hanging too low or blocking sidewalks and signage, replacing sod in bare areas of front yards

• General Home Maintenance Items: Power washing and/or painting siding, garage doors and trim that is showing its age with chips and mildew. Don’t forget to power wash the flatwork for a clean fresh look for the Spring!

• Fences: check for missing or loose pickets, secure leaning sections; and, if needed, a fresh coat of stain or paint to make them look bright and new.

Please reference the CCRs posted on the Scofield website to ensure your property is in full compliance. Violation notices always increase in the spring for these items mentioned above and by taking care of them quickly, it will help reduce those notices and the cost to the Association and keep fines from being assessed to your property.

With each of you doing your part Scofield Farms will continue to be a community you are proud to call “home.”

Scofield Farms ROA – Official Facebook Page
Public page with event announcements and reminders.

Scofield Farms Residents – Unofficial Closed (Private) Facebook Group
Managed by neighbors, come here to connect!

Scofield Farms Yahoo Group – Unofficial Closed (Private) Yahoo Group
Managed by neighbors, email scofield-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to subscribe.

Let’s stay safe this holiday season! Here are some tips and reminders for keeping our homes and vehicles safe from the Travis County Sheriff’s office.

https://www.tcsheriff.org/images/community/docs/Safe_Neighborhoods.pdf

 

Do you smell that?

Scofield has skunks!  Many neighbors and their four-legged family members have unfortunately had a run in (or two!) with skunks over the past few years.  While skunks are beneficial to our environment (they eat grubs and poisonous snakes), they can also hold us hostage in our own homes.  How can we deter these stinkers?  To prevent them from digging into your back yard, you may consider closing the gap between your perimeter fence and the ground with rocks, chicken wire, or a commercial “no dig” product.  Below are additional methods we can all use to send our smelly friends on their way.    https://getridofpest.org/remove-skunks/

But I have to go outside at night…

Sometimes we just have to be outside at dusk or during the night – when skunks are most active, as they are nocturnal animals.  It can be risky business walking to your car, especially when the night air is filled with skunk odor.  These are some avoidance tactics:

• Turn on your exterior lights before you exit your home.
• Make a little noise to send them on their way, but not so much as to startle them if right in front of your doorway.
• If you see a skunk, move slowly and calmly back away – despite your instinct to get the heck out of there as fast as possible!
• This is simple, but avoid walking your dog at night.

We’ve been hit! 

Has your dog (or you!) been sprayed?  Skip the tomato juice and try this mixture instead.  (If you are the victim of the skunk’s spray, you may also consider working from home the next day!)

Skunk Facts:

And just for fun, here are some interesting details about Pepe LePew and his cousins:

• A skunk’s sulfuric spray has a range of up to 10 feet, and its odor can be detected up to 1.5 miles.
• Skunks eat wasps and honeybees, and will often attack beehives.
• Immune to snake venom, skunks are known to eat poisonous snakes like rattlesnakes.
• Although skunks have very poor eyesight, they have excellent senses of smell and hearing – so keep your garbage covered!
• A group of skunks is called a surfeit.
• Skunks generally breed in late winter or early spring, with the litter arriving 60-75 days later, usually in May or June.
• Litters range from three to ten youngsters.
• Skunks have easy-going temperaments and try to avoid trouble at all costs.

http://www.havahart.com/skunk-facts
http://www.roundupweb.com/story/2012/02/29/ag-roundup/skunks-friends-or-foes/022820121333773908674.html

 

In closing, did you hear the joke about the skunk?  You don’t want to – it really stinks!   Good luck, neighbors!