Social Events – Past and Future
July 7th started out a little gray and drizzly, but as you can see (I hope!) from the slide show above, the day cleared up nicely and everyone had a great time at our annual Independence Day BBQ! If you’d like to examine the photos a little more closely, select Gallery from the menu at the top of the page and you can view the album under “2018 Social Events at The Capes.” (Thanks to Marsh S. for taking the photos!)
Next up on the event schedule will be our annual Wine and Cheese party at the Bridge House on Saturday, September 1, 2018 from 4-6 pm. All Capes owners and their guests are welcome to attend. Bring a bottle of your favorite wine to share (or some other beverage if wine isn’t your thing) and we’ll provide the rest (including water and soda for those who prefer not to imbibe). If you’re interested volunteering to help with the party planning and/or execution, contact Jenny in the office!
Quarter of Giving – Oregon Food Bank
We are still collecting donations for this quarter’s Quarter of Giving campaign. So far we’ve collected a small quantity of non-perishable food items and just over $800 in monetary donations for the Oregon Food Bank – Tillamook County Services. We will continue collecting for this organization through the end of September, so it’s not too late to donate! They are especially in need of non-perishable protein food items like canned meat and fish or peanut butter. Donations can be dropped off or mailed to the office, and checks should be made out to OFB-TCS.
Road and Driveway Seal Coating – An Update
We’re in a bit of a holding pattern with the road and driveway seal coating at the moment. Northwest Asphalt was scheduled to be here August 2 and 3 to resume work on the roads, but the current Hades-like temperatures in Portland have created less-than-favorable weather conditions here at the coast (specifically, cloudy with a chance of clouds), and there’s rain in the forecast now for Friday morning. We will be keeping an eye on the weather over the upcoming weeks and will hopefully have more information for you soon!
The silver lining is, if you would like to have your driveway seal-coated, it’s not too late to sign up!
Let’s Try Not to Burn the Place Down, Shall We?
Contrary to the statement above that we’ve got a little rain in the forecast, this *is* a very dry time of year here at The Coast. Anytime we can do something to limit the possibility of fire, that’s a good thing, right? So, with that in mind, please – for now and all time – refrain from any of the following while here at The Capes:
- Barbecuing with charcoal on a wood deck right up against your cedar-shingled (also wood and thus, flammable!) home
- Disposing of the aforementioned used charcoal by throwing it over the side of the dune behind your home and into the brush (also flammable!)
- Cutting down trees (or parts of trees, a.k.a. “limbs”) and throwing them over the side of the canyon or the beach-facing west dune – they dry out, turn brown and add to the fire hazard…plus, they just don’t look nice
- Setting off fireworks
- Anything else that you can think of that could result in setting the entire neighborhood aflame…just don’t do it!
Please make sure that any guests using your home without your presence are also aware of these no-no’s!
Which Leads Us To….Smoke Detectors!
Did you know that most smoke detectors have a useful life of about 10 years and then should be replaced? When is the last time you replaced yours here at The Capes? Are they original to your home? If you don’t know, then it’s probably time to check them! Your smoke detector should have a manufacture date listed on it somewhere – if it does not, then it is definitely more than 10 years old, and should be replaced. If you need assistance replacing them, the Netarts-Oceanside Fire District can help. Give them a call on their non-emergency number: 503-842-5900.
A quick tip: This past weekend one of our town home owners had her smoke detector go off unexpectedly (there was no fire) and wasn’t able to get it to stop right away. Another owner offered this tip in the event that this happens to you – find the breaker that supplies the power to your hard-wired smoke detectors and turn it off and back on. This should reset the system and stop the alarm. (Unless there’s actually a fire. Then, maybe think about leaving the building.) This will only work, of course, if you have hard-wired smoke detectors…if they are battery-operated only, you will need to take out/change the batteries.
Bees and Bears and….Porcupines???
Here are just a few fauna-related precautions to keep in mind when you’re at The Capes:
- There seems to be an abundance of bees and wasps here this summer and just in the last week or two we’ve heard of at least 2 people who have been stung – one of whom while just walking down Capes Drive. If you have any type of an allergy to bees, take care out there!
- The bear poo sightings are up to 3 now…one at the office and two at the meadow. Chances are good that it’s being left behind by an actual bear. Pay attention to your surroundings, especially if you’re out walking early in the morning or late in the evening.
- About a week ago, a deceased porcupine was spotted on the beach below The Capes. If you have a dog that likes to roll in dead things on the beach, this is *not* the dead thing you’d like Spot to spot. (haha…see what I did there? On a side note, am I the only one who didn’t know we had porcupines here???!!!???)
Pickleball is Here!
If you’ve walked down Fall Creek Drive recently, you might have noticed our freshly-surfaced tennis court is sporting some strange red lines. Those lines make it possible for our court to be used for pickleball as well as tennis! Pickleball is a paddle sport that has become quite popular over the last couple of years. It combines elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis and uses a ball similar to a wiffle ball. We are working to set up a pickleball clinic for those who are interested in learning how to play. Contact the office if you would like to participate.