February 2021 Homestead Headlines

Volume 66, Issue 2 | February 2021

Download the Headlines here

February 2021 Community Center Calendar

Public meetings and gatherings are cancelled until further notice due to the shelter-at-home order.

2 | Firewise Committee |

9 | HVLT Board |

16 | HVCA Board |

23 | Sanitary District Board |

1st/3rd Wed. | Tam Design Review Board |

Community Awards

Community Award Winners

Homestead Valley's Annual Meeting was held virtually on Zoom Saturday, January 21^st. A highlight of every Annual Meeting is the presentation of our recognition awards. Honors for Volunteer of the Year went to long-time community members Patricia and David Melchert (above). They were recognized for their incredible vision, expertise, creativity and execution of our new demonstration garden and plant ID signage. Patricia and David worked with our other garden volunteers in helping make a meaningful and lasting impact on our community center property.

The Community Distinguished Service Award was given to Scott Greenstone (right). Scott was recognized for his many years of service to the community, from early efforts supporting the Music Festival to his 10 years of service on the HVCA Board (as well as the CSA-14 Advisory board). Scott served as HVCA Treasurer and provided guidance in maintaining the organization's financial health over the years, allowing HVCA to operate with financial peace of mind even during difficult times, and for his diligent effort to find a way to get our future pool remodel financed.

Thank you, Patricia, David and Scott, for your passion and service to the Homestead Valley community!

Land Trust Notes

Something Was There!

Early one twilight I was walking through the bay forest part of Homestead Trail. Suddenly I was aware of leaves thrashing to my right, as though a tree had been bent over and allowed to spring back.

A quick glance showed a bay tree still quivering. A few feet up the tree grew parallel to the ground about ten feet before turning to the sky. I saw no other movement. There was no wind. A shiver ran up my spine.

For some years I've heard of cougars living in Frank Valley, a couple of ridges over from Muir Woods. A friend saw one on the ridge south of Green Gulch. I wondered, would a cougar cross Panoramic Highway? Why not, they cross other roads, and there certainly is good cover, lots of deer, and a scarce amount of human interruption on the slopes and gullies of Homestead Hill. For an animal that can cover 30 miles a day, a foray into the upper valley would be very easy.

There is at least one wildcat in the upper valley. I have seen it cross this same trail farther up. But a small cat could not make a tree that size shake so profoundly. Something much larger had jumped off or somehow caused it to spring.

Cougars are seldom seen; they are masters at being unnoticed. And they are silent on the ground. If a large deer had somehow knocked the tree, his bounding through the underbrush would have been heard. Also, there was scant brush there. I was amazed something could disappear so fast.

Perhaps the wild part of Homestead is more wild than we think.

March 1987

These timeless articles are reprinted from "On Foot in Homestead A Hiker's Journal of a Coastal Valley," by Matthew Davis, 1988. Matthew Davis (1935-2015), a former HVLT Board member, wrote articles which appeared in the Homestead Headlines beginning in 1984. In 1988 Matthew compiled his columns into a book "On Foot in Homestead - A Hiker's Journal of a Coastal Valley," published by the HVLT.

Homestead Valley Vignettes by Chuck Oldenburg

Buttercup

The death of an old horse named Buttercup (aka Kayla) marked the end of an era in which horses grazed in the Pixie Trail area of Homestead Valley. She succumbed during a 36-hour storm that blew in Sunday night, December 10, 1995. It produced 14 inches of rain with winds up to 90 miles per hour. Her body was about 30 ft. down the hill below Pixie Trail, her legs pointing up the hill. She had likely been blown down and unable to get up. In the 1950's there was a horse ring at the west end of Pixie Trail and a stable for rental horses at the east end on Edgewood Ave. run by Peggy Adams. Her students would ride on Pixie Trail to the horse ring for instructions and competitions. The trails and horse ring were on Eric Krag's Rancho del Topé. He granted public access and allowed horses to graze there. The number of horses in Peggy's stable declined in the 1970s.In 1975, the Homestead Valley Land Trust purchased Rancho del Topé for open space. The purchase agreement specified that remaining horses could continue to graze on the land until they died. Buttercup lived for 20 more years.

MHS Update

MHS-Homestead Valley Joint Committee

Meeting Notes from Dec 2020 (via Zoom)

Present:

Bill Perrine, co-chair, Joint Committee, Chair of meeting

Christina Oldenburg, co-chair, Joint Committee

Jim Derich, HVCA representative

Leslie Dixon, HVCA representative

David Ross, Director, Homestead Valley Community Center

Kurt Chun

Sarah Slaymaker, MHS parent

Alan Saltzman

Susan Saltzman

Warren Leiden, MHS representative and board member

Bill Perrine, Head of School, Marin Horizon, reported on the impact of COVID-19 to

the functioning of in-person classes at the school during the fall semester 2020.

Enrollment, is somewhat lower than last year. There are about 200 to 230 students on the Montford campus on a daily basis. There are approximately 30 to 40 staff members on campus each day, about 1/3 fewer than last year.

There are four tents on the grounds providing increased classroom space and distancing between students in classes. MHS rents (currently on a month to month basis) space at the Homestead Valley Community center for one class. HVCA reports favorably on this rental.

David Ross announced that a session of Funderblast camp will be held at the community center during the winter holiday.

There have been 5 or 6 exposures of COVID-19 reported during the current semester. There has been no transmission through the school.

Testing for COVID-19 has been available for the MHS community. There might be space for one or two Homestead community members to get tested during the next testing cycle which will be late December and early January. If interested contact Bill Perrine at the school.

Currently there is no public access to the playground because Marin County is in the restrictive level of Tier 1, due to the current high rate of COVID-19 infection.

When Marin returns to Tier 2 it is hoped that the playground can be reopened.

The new building is finished. Some repair work will be done during the winter holiday on a floor where new flooring failed.

The building is not yet being used as was intended due to the need for increased classroom space for required distancing. For instance, the library is being used as a classroom.

Questions were asked about the brighter exterior lighting of the new building.

The issue of delivery trucks making illegal u-turns on Melrose was brought up. Bill

Perrine said he would try to see that delivery people are informed that they should not make u-turns.

Jim Derich spoke about the fire danger of pampas grass which grows at the

Melrose/Montford corner of the School. Bill indicated that it would be removed.

Other discussion followed about the issues of extreme emergencies such as wild fire with need for evacuation, communication and emergency services. MHS may be a site which would be used as an emergency center, as might be Homestead Valley Community Center.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 pm.

Christina Oldenburg

Joint Committee co-chair

Homestead Valley & COVID-19

We hope this finds all our friends and neighbors healthy, happy and safe at home in these continuing turbulent times. As of this writing, the shelter-at-home order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues. All public meetings and gatherings are cancelled indefinitely.

"The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it."

- National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman

Useful links:

HVCA contact information:

info@homesteadvalley.org

Marin County Coronavirus website:

coronavirus.marinhhs.org/

Marin Recovers

marinrecovers.com

Individuals may contact Marin Health and Human Services with non-medical questions about the coronavirus by calling (415) 473-7191 (Monday - Friday, 9:30 AM to 12 Noon and 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM) or emailing COVID-19@marincounty.org.