Tony and Donna Natsoulas will selling artwork at the Davis Art Center Holiday Sale this weekend

Please join Donna and Tony Natsoulas at the
Davis Art Center Holiday Sale. The Natsoulas' will have ceramic
sculptures of fish, dogs and cats.
There will be over 70 artists there selling
everything from ceramics to jewelery.
This is the Natsoulas' 10th year doing this
sale and it is the best and most fun show they do.
Please see this link for a preview... http://www.davisartcenter.org
Friday Dec. 1st, 12- 8pm
Saturday Dec. 2nd, 10-6pm
Sunday Dec. 3rd, 10-5pm
The Davis Art Center is on the conner of F and Covell in Davis.
Take the Mace exit and follow it until you get to F.
(530) 756-4100

Lois and Dick Parker celberate their 50th wedding anniversary!

Dick and Lois Parker met in Taft, California in 1948, and were married November 10th 1956. In 1957 their son Craig was born, and then their daughter Nancy was born in 1960. Dick and Lois moved to a new subdivision here in Sacramento, October 10th, 1962 and put down roots on Meckel Way right here in the Overbrook #1 area being built by the Streng brothers. Dick and Lois moved into their new home where neighbors were scarce since houses were still being built. They were one of the of the only 2 households living in the area at that time. Dick taught school and was a couselor at American River College. Dick retired from American River College in 1987. Lois a Registered Nurse at American River Hospital, retired in 1997. Now after being married for 50 years, this couple spends their time on the go! Gardening, (pruning and sculpting that beautiful tree next to their drive way) golfing, doing the cross word puzzles together, reading, and knitting. I haven't actually seen Dick knit, so I believe this is Lois's hobby only! The two love packing up with their adorable dog Skippy and taking to the road in their RV trailer. They have been on some fabulous get aways, from the ocean, to the desert and every stop in between! We love Dick and Lois, and are so thankful to have them as friends and neighbors! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!

Fall Tree Walk this Sunday!

We will be having a Fall Tree Walk through our neighborhood with Fran Clarke our local resident Master Gardener this coming Sunday November 5th at 2pm.

We will meet in front of 5243 Damon Avenue (corner of Damon and Hemlock).

Fran can assist with identification and helpful advice for all your trees and plants. Please join us!

Here is some good pruning advice from Fran:


DON’T TOP TREES!

People provide many reasons for topping trees, including: my tree is getting too tall so I need to make my tree safe, I want to force my young tree to spread, everybody is doing it so it must be the correct thing to do or they might admit they don’t want to rake leaves. The situation is different for fruit trees, but this must be done with knowledge.

HERE ARE THE FACTS:

Removing more than ¼ to 1/3 of a tree’s crown destroys the ability of the tree to manufacture food necessary to be stored in the roots. The tree may appear to be more vigorous when it produces many sprouts, but it is frantically using its reserves to replace that food making ability.



The dense upright brushy growth produced is not firmly attached and is prone to breakage in windy weather.
THE TREE IS NOW UNSAFE AND MORE DIFFICULT AND EXPENSIVE TO BE PRUNED CORRECTLY.

Large stubs (more than 3-4 inches in diameter) seldom close, creating a tree vulnerable to decay, borers (insects) and disease. Removing large amounts of the foliage and destroying the tree’s ability to produce foliage eventually, increasing its susceptibility to sunscald, inviting decay and insect invasion.

THE RESULT:

The tree has lost the beauty of its natural form. It is disfigured by unsightly stubs and decayed and broken branches. The tree’s life may be drastically shortened. IT NO LONGER PROVIDES AS MUCH ENERGY SAVINGS OR ENHANCES THE PROPERTY OR NEIGHBORHOOD.



YOUNG TREES:

It is important to keep a SINGLE DOMINANT leader on a potentially medium or large tree for the first 20-30 feet. If the tree is topped it will produce two or more competing leaders, which will be a source of future breakage if not corrected. This is why trees such as mature ornamental pears and Liquidambars are known for breaking branches. Inspect even newly planted trees this winter for competing leaders, which should be cut back (but not off!). If you need help, I will be glad to give free advice. Remember: young trees need to grow in height before they spread.



REMEMBER:

Most pruning should be done when the trees has lost its leaves. Dead branches, broken branches and suckers can be removed anytime. If pruning cannot be done from a low ladder, leave it to an ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) Certified Arborist.

Fran Clarke, fclarke@surewest.net
UC Master Gardener, ISA Certified Arborist #1319

Meet Our Neighborhood's First Homeowner

I had the pleasure to sit and talk with Antoinette Sanburg and her daughter Elise a few weeks ago and ask some questions about what our neighborhood was like in the 60's and how she came to live here.

Antoinette was born Christmas Day 1919 in the very small town of Helper, Utah. (The town got its name in 1881 because of the “helper” locomotives that were standing by at the train depot to help the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railway travel up the nearby steep grade of Soldier Summit.)

Antoinette met her husband Harold in German class at college in Grand Junction, Colorado. The couple fell in love and married in 1942. Six weeks after the wedding, Harold was sent to England serving in the Air Force. During the war while waiting for Harold to return, Antoinette lived at the Travelers Hotel in downtown Sacramento and worked full time as a clerk-typist at McClellan. She used to take the bus back and forth.

After WWII the couple lived in various places including their small cattle ranch in Colorado. As the couple began having children, Harold’s job as a sales manager took him to various places throughout the west, and then
they moved to the Sacramento area.

In 1961, this area was all pastures and orchards. The new development “Overbrook 1” was nothing but bare streets and foundations, ready for construction. The couple was already familiar with Streng homes from seeing other local neighborhoods that were built in the late 50’s. The modern style of the homes reminded them of the Eichler homes they admired from living earlier in Palo Alto. So the Sanburgs were the first family to purchase a home here, followed by Dick and Lois Parker soon after.

Antoinette and Harold settled in and raised their five children here. When I asked Antoinette how the neighborhood has changed since the 60’s, she said, “It was quiet. It was surrounded by farms and there were many fig trees. The neighborhood dogs bothered the farmers, they would bark at their animals. The kids used to play in the fields and orchards. They rode horses and went to Hemlock Grammar School.”

I asked Antoinette if there was anything she missed. She said, “There was a nice K-Mart on Auburn, and also a market called Giant Foods at Auburn and Hemlock we all used to shop at.”

Daughter Elise remembers the neighborhood as very quiet and rural, with lots of kids. “We all played in the street, there was no traffic around. We were always making tree houses in the orchards and playing along the creek. We had big block parties then too.”

Elise ended up marrying the boy next door, the son of neighbors Bob and Louise Towers. They have been married now for 24 years.

One of Antoinette’s other daughters Alix, liked the neighborhood so much that she eventually bought the original old farm house that had remained in this neighborhood from before the Strengs built the development.

Antoinette has always liked the modern style of her house. She commented on the aggregate entry floors typical to many of the homes here, “Elise learned to walk at 8 months old because she was tired of trying to crawl across that floor!”

Antoinette says, “Back then this neighborhood was… well, I wouldn’t call it exactly Bohemian, but it was an upscale neighborhood, full of artists and teachers, lawyers and professional people. Very creative types.”

I think it still is! Thanks to Antoinette and Elise for sharing their story.