This wonderful event will be hosted in the lovely gardens of Truckee this year from 10 am to 4 pm.
I try to make this event every year. Last year’s garden tour was along Lake Tahoe’s Magical West Shore. This was a self guided tour, with viewing of creative landscaping all along Highway 89 south – from expansive lakeshore estates all the way to modest backyard secret gardens…and everything in between!
The gardens always feature creative landscaping, often incorporating decks and patios, meandering streams or lily ponds. At the larger estates, you’ll stumble upon unexpected, quiet little outdoor nooks just perfect for reading a book or wander long pathways of flower beds full of riotous blooms. I guarantee, you’ll go home inspired with a bounty of new ideas for your own yard.
2014 Lake of the Sky Garden Tour. West Shore lakefront garden and patio
This year’s event features 8 gardens as well as landscaping at the Truckee Donner Community Recreation Center, where light refreshments will be served.
Get a group of friends together and make a day of it. It’s best to carpool from house to house. Parking can be limited, and you’ll have much more fun driving together. Plan your route so you aren’t driving back and forth, and DO plan a lunch or snack break in between the gardens at one of Truckee’s many fine restaurants along the way.
As I went for a walk along Donner Lake’s east shore through the Donner Memorial Park recently, I heard a strange bird call. Soaring overhead was a majestic Bald Eagle. It wasn’t the screeching yell a la the opening of The Colbert Report, but more of a sing song cooing, which is why the bird’s unusual sound caught my attention.
I’ve seen these beautiful birds fairly frequently along Donner Lake’s shores, either soaring over the lake looking for food – or once, just sitting in a pine tree in my yard.
As it turns out, Bald Eagles are making a slow but steady comeback on our Sierra Shores and every year volunteers gather in the area to try and get a head count of the local population. In addition, organizations like Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care rehabs injured animals and returns them to the wild.
As we here in snow country anticipate our winter recreation opportunities, it often surprises us when we discover that critters apparently just wanna have fun too!
Last year, I was one of the lucky folks to have seen a red fox just outside my back door. I had never spotted one in the area previously (although I had seen their tracks) and the sighting was a real treat. So when this photo showed up via Outside Magazine, it made my day.
Wheeeeeeeeee! A young fox rides a quarry conveyor belt
Apparently the fox took a couple runs down the chutes. You can read more about the story behind this photo here: The Animal Zone
This recent video of a crow having a fine old time using a plastic lid to sled down someone’s roof went viral last week. I have to admit, it gave me quite a chuckle. (turn the sound off, the background noise is distracting)
While having so much wildlife around us can be compelling, there is a downside too. Anyone who has ever had a bear break in can attest to that. In addition, being distracted while driving can have some tragic consequences as well. Coming home from Reno the other day on I-80, a whole pack of coyotes decided to try to make a mad dash across the freeway right in front of me. Mercifully everyone on the road could stop in time, and the animals soon discovered the folly of their choice of road crossing, but it could have been an ugly scene. Most of us are often witness to the aftermath of what happens when an animal has a close encounter with a vehicle. The car no doubt had plenty of damage as well, but it had already been towed away.
Local organizations like The Bear League take in injured animals, and as I write this, they are currently trying to save a bear cub that got hit by a car. Sadly, the car just kept on truckin’, leaving the poor creature still alive but severely injured and suffering. If you run across such an incident, contact The Bear League at 530-525- paws (7297). They’ll make every effort to retrieve the injured animal and get them to medical care and appropriate rehab centers.
With California’s drought still in evidence, wildlife is drawn closer to the lake and the Truckee River looking for food and water. In addition, with the days getting shorter, it’s important to slow it down on the roads at night and to be especially alert. It will be better for the health and well being of both humans and animals alike.
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
The Excellence in Education Foundation in Truckee has announced the 2015 Skiing For Schools program. Throughout the winter various ski resorts provide hefty discounts with the money going to support the programs of Excellence in Ed. Ski areas participating include Homewood, Tahoe Donner, Sugar Bowl, Tahoe Cross Country, Northstar, Royal Gorge, Tahoe Donner Cross Country, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. Most of the resorts are providing downhill ski tickets for just $40, and cross-country tickets for only $15. For more information on which dates each ski area is participating, and where you can purchase the tickets, go to exined.org
Like Dining for Schools and Golfing for Schools, Skiing for Schools comes about because of the generosity of the local business community who give away discounted tickets, and the public who buys those tickets. It provides skiers with the opportunity to have some fun while doing something good.
Over the past 25 years the Excellence in Education Foundation has provided over $2.7 million in grants to classes and programs at our local schools. Just last year, they provided over $300,000 in grants. Teachers and schools compete for grants based on merit, with awards going to those classrooms and programs where they can provide the most hands on assistance to kids.
Executive Director Laura Brown says that “most grants are for classroom enhancements.” Items like books, science equipment, and musical instruments. Funding the stuff that is needed in the classroom, but just not available in the ordinary school budget. The foundation also partnered with the school district to get Chrome books into the hands of every student between 8-12th grade.
Brown says that the grant process is competitive. All grants, are reviewed by a site administrator and a site council of local citizens, who rank the grants. Then they go to the EIE’s grant committee, where Brown says, “we try very hard to award as many as we can.”
So enjoy a day of skiing and feel doubly good about it.
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
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