December Issue

Winter is coming!
Remember those hot and humid days of Summer when we kept saying, “I can’t wait for the cooler weather?” Well, guess what. The days of cooler weather are here and Winter will officially arrive on December 22.

The green grass has turned to a toasty colored thatch and  it bears a light coating of  frost on some mornings. On the mornings it doesn’t, it’s still crunchy underfoot. Many times on cold mornings, a mist rises off the ponds, creating eerie scenes. Some evenings, you can smell the smoke from wood burning fireplace fires as it wafts out of chimneys.

Hearty stews and soups and cold weather treats like hot chocolate with marshmallows or whipped cream (or both!) have returned to our tables. We have cookie exchanges and enjoy special feasts and celebrations for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

The snowbirds have begun to flock south in search of warmer weather. And some of the birds who visit our feeders have made like the snowbirds and headed still further south for warmer climes.

Days are shorter. Well, not really…they’re still 24 hours long. But with the combined effect of the time change in the fall and the position of Earth in its orbit around the Sun, darkness falls earlier each day.

And in about six to eight weeks, we’ll all be pining for a bit of warmer weather and praying for a cloudy Groundhog Day. If the Groundhog doesn’t see his shadow, he’ll leave the burrow signalling that the winter-like weather will soon end. And if he does see he shadow, Spring will still arrive on March 20, 2012.

So spend time with friends and family. Enjoy the treats of the holidays and the winter season! ♦

Alert – Public Safety Announcement
If you leave your car unattended and unlocked, you take a risk. A number of residents have recently been the victims of thieves who roam neighborhoods trying car door handles as they go. When they find one that isn’t locked, they enter the vehicle and remove whatever valuables they find. Cell phones, cash, hand-held electronic games, GPS units, etc.

Please remember to lock your vehicles, day or night. And either remove your valuables, or at least store them out of sight if you must leave them in your vehicle.

Crime prevention tips are available through the Crime Prevention page of the website of The City of Charleston. Just use the links under the heading “Crime Prevention” in the menu on the left-hand side of their page.

Report any suspicious activity to the local police by dialing (843) 577.7434. ♦

It’s Annual Meeting Time!
The annual meeting of the Village Green Homeowners Association (VGHOA/HOA) is scheduled for Monday, January 23 at 7PM at the St. Andrews United Methodist Church on Ashley River Road…just south of the entrance to Village Green. VGHOA business will be discussed and the homeowners will elect representatives to fill vacancies on the HOA board caused by term expirations of the existing board members.

The terms of four HOA board members are expiring: Dave Malara, Mark Mandel, Ed Delaney and Donna Quinn. There are a number of candidates for these three year terms. Letters with information about the candidates and proxy forms have been mailed to each home in Village Green. It is very important that homeowners review the candidate information in preparation for the elections.

Homeowners are encouraged to complete the proxy by writing in the name of the person (trusted neighbor, candidate, or current board member) they would choose to vote on their behalf should they not be able to attend the annual meeting and either give the form to that person or mail it in. It would then be key for the named person to whom the homeowner has granted their proxy to actually attend and vote at the meeting.

Homeowners are also encouraged to attend the annual meeting of the Village Green Recreation Association (VGRA) on Wednesday, January 25 at 6:30PM at the St. Andrews United Methodist Church on Ashley River Road. Business of the VGRA will be discussed and elections held to fill the seats of Mark Mandel and Carol Davis whose terms are expiring. There multiple candidates for election for these two year terms.

To view the bios of the candidates for both the VGHOA board and the VGRA board, please visit the Elections article. And remember: Please complete and return your proxy.

Please note that both boards meet monthly. All homeowners are welcome and encouraged to attend these meetings as it is their opportunity to hear about what is happening in Village Green and to voice comments, concerns and questions to the boards. ♦

Holiday Safety
The holidays are a wonderful time of year when many of us decorate our homes with lights and other decorations. However, some of these items present potential dangers. Below are listed various organizations that provide lists of safety tips. Each name is a live link to their website list:

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

The International Association of Certified Home Inspectors

Underwriter’s Laboratories

Additionally, your neighbors aren’t the only ones checking out the boxes at your curb on trash collection day. Thieves may be out looking to see what your boxes say on them – Sony, HP, computer, HDTV, stereo, etc. can be very appealing.

A wise choice may be to break down the boxes for electronics and other items and bag them before putting them out at the curb. Or take them to a recycling station yourself so they don’t have to sit out at the curb at all. Locally, there’s one on Bee’s Ferry just before the Fire Station on the right-hand side heading toward Savannah Highway. A few minutes of your time could save you hours of hassle filing police reports and calling your insurance company. ♦

Meet the Locals
My backyard is very lonely these days. I filled the birdfeeders quite a while ago and haven’t had to fill them since. Persistent as they were in the spring, the raccoons gave up visting my feeders after I started taking them in at night, and I haven’t seen one in quite a while. And our backyard is fully fenced, so it’s unlikely that deer will visit.

The birds who stay through the cooler months are evidently getting their meals elsewhere. The seed in the lantern feeder will probably just solidify into a mass that I’ll have to dig out in chunks later. And if we get rain, the seed in the hanging platform feeder might sprout and then the feeder will begin to resemble a mini hanging putting green.

Squirrels hurry around all over the neighborhood. They’re scurrying from place to place probably toting acorns, other nuts, or seeds. I’m not sure if they’re stockpiling them or moving them to keep their stash from being found by other opportunistic squirrels who might not have cached a large enough supply for themselves.

The only things still making appearances are the three frogs that live in the garden right behind my sunroom. They like the little pond I put in there. But we have entered the time of year when the northern hemisphere is further from the sun and the mercury rises less each day, so I see them less frequently now. I suspect they will burrow in soon and not be seen until the sun warms that section of the yard again.

But I’m reminded by the bright red image of cardinals on one of the first Christmas cards to arrive this year that cardinals and other birds are often around during the winter months. So maybe I’ll just go chunk the seed out of that lantern feeder and check on that mini hanging putting green-to-be. Perhaps a fresh supply of seeds and suet will beckon some winged friends back to the yard. ♦

Social VG Oyster Roast
One of the members of Social VG organized an oyster roast in mid-November.  The oysters came from a local supplier at a good price per bushel. The various attendees each made a small contribution to cover the cost of the oysters and brought a dish to share. There were two pots of chili, corn muffins, a wonderful apple/pastry dish and cookies. It was such a nice way to spend an afternoon that the group is looking forward to another oyster roast, possibly in January.

Social VG was started by a few neighbors who wanted to get together socially and meet and get to know more of their neighbors. It has grown to include some 130+ members and sponsored a number of events including a couple of neighborly gatherings at the pool, a potluck dinner, the National Nite Out 2011 event (in conjunction with the Charleston Police Department) and a back to school party at the pool.

Social VG has a page on facebook where information about various events, news, and other items of interest can be found. All homeowners and residents of Village Green are welcome to join this friendly, family- and community-oriented group. ♦

Trivia Time!
It’s the holiday season, so we have a collection of trivia questions this time:

• Christmas ends what season of the Christian liturgical calendar?
• How many cities/towns in the US are named “Santa Claus”?
• What does Hannukah commemmorate?
• How many branches does a menorah have?

Click for the answer. ♦

Upcoming Events

January 1: Happy New Year! (Federal holiday)

January 16: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Federal holiday)