We had a good turnout of loyal and undaunted-by-the-heat volunteers at our Homedale Trail work day. We had twenty volunteers, logging in 70 plus hours of productive work for the good of the greenbelt. Our spirits were boosted and our bodies were refreshed with homemade cookies provided by Rosalie Russell and ice cold popsicles hand delivered along the trail by Robbin Trusty. We had our partner Community Service volunteers from Travis County Juvenile Probation working alongside us.

We upped our efforts to drastically reduce the Ligustrum population by orange-tagging the large trees throughout the hillside to the creek bed. We are beginning a collaborative effort with Rene Barrera of the City of Austin Parks Preserve Department. They plan to follow-up by girdling or cutting down these large seed-suppliers. The walk down the trail is now punctuated by bright orange flashes of color ? a sobering assessment of the high volume of Ligustrum that are competing with our native vegetation. Our weed wrenches were also put to good use pulling out the smaller ones.

There was some major collecting of hitchhiker weed stickers, ragweed, and Johnson grass - resulting in a satisfying mound of trash bags hauled off in John Cook?s city truck. And dead and encroaching branches were cut back from the trail, plus a treatment to eradicate the poison oak growing along the trailside. We downloaded and stockpiled some large cedar logs for a future cooler work day task working on trail edging. The footbridge retaining wall got some expert attention and repair, readying the steep slopes for future high water protection.

The trash collection finds were extensive and voluminous. There has been considerably more disrespectful use of the Greenbelt ?rock flats? area this year. Large volumes of glass and metal beer cans have been left strewn along side the creek, behind boulders, at the base of the canyon cave, and in the woods. Countless sacks were hauled out, along with personal possessions of people who had set up house and were building fires on the rocks beneath the cedar trees. We are requesting that anyone who witnesses evidence of this illegal camping to please report it to 911 ? this dry summer weather produces ready fire tinder, and these camping fires could easily set the canyon ablaze.

When I went walking on the rock flats this afternoon, I found a recycle bin in the midst of more than 50 beer bottles and cans strewn along the creek bed. I hauled out the full bin, and had to leave many bottles behind for another trip. For those who walk the area regularly, you might take in a couple of plastic sacks and check behind and beneath boulders and all along the rock flats to Campbell?s Hole ? we could start a contest for who can find and haul up the most in a walk! Not exactly an Easter Egg hunt, but it?s for a good cause.

I again tip my hat in deep appreciation for the dedicated work of our neighbors, partners, and allies who give so generously of their time and energy to take care of this natural space that gives so generously to us.

Our next work day is scheduled for Saturday, October 29, Halloween season. Maybe we should costume ourselves for this one .

Glee Ingram

Sunny skies blessed our neighborhood again this year for our annual July 4th Parade, and Barton Hills Drive was alive with red, white, and blue patriotic spirit. Check out 48 pictures taken by neighbor Bill Newcomb during the parade and afterwards at the gathering at Barton Hills Elementary.

Special thanks to Cindy Bogard for heading up the Parade Committee of awesome volunteers!

PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING
July 21, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road

BARTON SPRINGS ROAD BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES

The City of Austin, with matching grant funding from the Texas Department of Transportation, is planning to add bike lanes to Barton Springs Road from Rollingwood Dr. to Robert E. Lee Rd. and pedestrian walkways in Zilker Park.

[Note: view this notice in PDF format to see a map detailing the proposed location]

The 5' bike lanes will be added by widening the existing shoulders of Barton Springs Road where necessary. The 5' pedestrian walkway will generally parallel Barton Springs Road and meander through the park, providing connections to the McBeth Recreation Center bus stop, several parking lots, and the new pedestrian walkway under the Barton Springs Road Bridge at Barton Creek. This new walkway will be compliant with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation accessibility requirements.

All interested neighborhoods, bicyclists, and park users are invited to attend this informational meeting to learn more about the project.

A second meeting will be held on August 16, 2005 at the same time and location. For more information, contact: Mark Schruben, City of Austin Project Manager, 512-974-7048.

To the hardy, foolhardy, and committed fans of the Greenbelt:

This will be the last appeal for volunteers for our Saturday, July 9 work day at Homedale Trail, from 8:00 a.m. until noon.

John Cook and Stan Ostrum and I walked the trail this Friday and made a list of ?non-extreme? maintenance tasks, in deference to the heat. We will be stockpiling rock and log supplies for a future work day. We need lots of ?ligustrum scouts? to wander into the woodlands beyond the trails to tag large ligustrums that will be cut down or girdled, to reduce the enormous seed bank. The partying has been heavy along the stream and at the base of the cave by the rock flats, so there is lots of trash to haul out. And there are banks of sticker stalks seeds that we need to bag up to prevent future infestations. We will also be doing some stabilizing of the cedar edging along the woodlands trail.

For those who come, BE SURE to bring: your own water bottle, a sun hat, and work gloves. Wear long sleeves & pants and close-toed shoes if you plan to work off trail. WE WILL PROVIDE trash sacks, plastic gloves, all wheelbarrows and tools needed. We will also provide water and energy drinks and some energy bars, and sun screen and poison ivy protectant lotion.

Thanks so much to those who plan to work ? this is an act of real dedication! Please RSVP so we can plan appropriately,

Glee Ingram
Greenbelt Guardian Coordinator
gleeful@earthlink.net