Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

EL CERRITO -- A community meeting held Nov. 21 by BART about its plans to spray herbicide to control weeds along the Ohlone Greenway appeared to raise more concerns among residents than it resolved.

The transit agency is planting grass along some portions of the Greenway between the El Cerrito Del Norte BART station on the north to Cerrito Creek below the El Cerrito Plaza shopping center on the south.

The lawn areas are being installed following a seismic retrofit to the overhead BART tracks that concluded in December.

BART plans to seed about 50 percent of the area that was disrupted by the retrofit and install native plants and shrubbery before turning the property back to the city in April.

A bicyclist rides on the Ohlone Greenway between Potrero Avenue and the Del Norte BART Station in El Cerrito on Jan. 8, 2010. (Giovanna Borgna/Staff archives)

BART retrofit project director Tom Horton told about the 25 to 30 residents who turned out for the meeting that the agency chose seeding as the method to install the grass rather than laying down sod as a money-saving measure.

However, the seeding requires at least one and perhaps two applications of the iron-based herbicide Fiesta to suppress weeds and insure that the roots become firmly established.

BART's spraying contractor will steer clear of buffer zones around locations where creeks run beneath the tracks and around the community garden and frog habitat in Fairmont Park, Horton said.

Horton and city Environmental Programs Manager Stephen Pree told residents that Fiesta is the most benign weed control product on the market and that any weeds that crop up after the spraying will be pulled by hand.

However, assurances by Horton and Pree didn't please some residents, who requested that BART post better warning signs in multiple languages before the spraying is done and mark the boundaries of the spray area clearly to make sure the contractor honors the buffer zones.

Originally posted here:
El Cerrito residents still skeptical of herbicide plans

The Joy of Gazebos
Description.

By: Dick Sizemore

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The Joy of Gazebos - Video

Over a decade or so beginning in the mid-1980s, I traveled a lot to see famous gardens, most of them in England. The touring was designed to acquaint myself with gardens regarded as important and necessary for a garden writer to know.

The only tangible reminder of those days is a box full of slides, which I dont look at much because I know that when I do, gardens I once found genuinely thrilling now seem dated or pedestrian. There is magic, still, in some of the images: not so much in plant combinations, alas, but with garden elements clean, broad stone steps of just the right proportion, or the filigreed silhouette of an iron gate.

The late Washington landscape designer Michael Bartlett was keenly aware of the elevating qualities of fine elements; he liked to create garden rooms that were distinct but flowed from one to the next. In a way, his gardens belonged to an earlier age, developed with and for patrons rather than clients. He crafted spaces that were ambitiously architectural but still restrained and elegant. I doubt he would have been a big fan of todays hairy, ecologically driven horticulture. He hated ornamental grasses, said his wife, Rose Bartlett.

Gardens come and go, along with our perceptions of them, but Michael Bartlett has left one useful legacy. Twice a year, he and Rose would go on garden sojourns, and over a span of 30 years they visited perhaps a thousand gardens in 21 countries. They were always taking pictures of the garden bling they noticed, whether benches or dovecotes, and in time amassed approximately 10,000 slides.

He was still pondering them as he grew ill with a brain tumor. He died in 2008 at the age of 55. Six years later, the fruits of all that work have ripened with the publication of the Bartlett Book of Garden Elements, co-authored by Rose Bartlett.

The reader will find about a thousand photos of such elements as paving, bridges, fences, benches, fountains and gazebos, demonstrating that design comes in many forms.

Many of the elements are not to my taste, to be sure; I find iron benches as tough on the eye as on the lower back, and if I never see another turquoise Japanese bridge framed by weeping willows over a pond with water lilies, I will somehow cope with the loss. But there are things to covet in these pages: a sturdy but elegant wooden gate between brick piers, with open trellis work; square red bricks in a running bond pattern; the lovely clipped Linden Allee at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Herding these elements into likes and dislikes is fun, but the greater value is in understanding the breadth of design options when we put gardens together.

The Bartletts began their garden odyssey together in the 1970s. Michael would design and attend to the construction of his clients gardens. Rose would devise planting schemes for herb gardens and the like.

The images were used for slide talks and to show clients, but more important, the photo library became the vehicle for the couple to visit as many gardens as they could, rain or shine.

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A new compendium of garden elements

WOODSTOCK-

A lot of residents are searching for their recycling boxes after high winds blasted the region Monday.

Residents across the county are also busy picking up shingles and downed branches in their yards after winds reaching up to 100 km per hour caused chaos across the county.

Mature trees were toppled by the high winds and trampolines and gazebos blown away, while fences were crumpled by the storm that left a big mess across the county.

Hydro One is reporting numerous power outages across the county, around the Woodstock area, and south of Norwich in the Otterville region, part of 750 outages across the province

Hydro One communications officer Nancy Shaddick said crews are hoping to restore power to the county by tonight, but some locations may be without power until tomorrow.

The power outages forced the closure of Hickson Public School and East Oxford Public School.

Melissa Abercrombie, the countys manager of roads and facilities, said three stop signs were blown down by high winds, which were quickly replaced by temporary signs, with permanent ones installed as soon as possible.

County Road 37 also had to be closed due to hydro lines collapsing onto the road.

Hydro One was unable to attend, she said.

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High winds downs trees, hydro lines; power outages close schools

Note: David Sim is the dad and blogger behind the parenting blog, Lifes Tiny Miracles. LEGO Singapore provided the toys he discusses in this story.

Like most six year-olds, mine is becoming increasingly independent. She is able to follow instructions (and often gives them, too!) and do most general tasks on her own, with minimal adult supervision. Recently, I noticed that my conversations with her have been more of the pragmatic sort, which can be categorized primarily into two categories: 1. Instructional i.e. those Go take your shower. Go to bed. Practise your piano Do this, dont do that talk. And 2. Inquiry i.e. How was your day? What happened in school today? How are you feeling?

Gradually missing and less frequently used, sadly, is a third category: Imaginative talk. This category of conversations is the type that builds relationships, stirs imagination and gives us a glimpse of the creativity each child has. These are the conversations that begin with What do you think if or How about if

That is where storytelling comes in.

1. Imbues values: Create scenarios for children to explore and develop their sense of compassion, integrity, responsibility and empathy.

2. Develops resilience: Imagine challenging circumstances and explore ways to overcome them.

3. Develops cultural awareness: With stories, the world is literally their oyster. Bring children to settings (countries) far away; introduce characters from different cultures and customs. Imagine them being part of their local celebrations and festivities.

4. Develops competent communication skills: Make children tell the stories. String those sentences together. Use the right verbs, adjectives and adverbs etc. When the children are more adept at weaving their own stories, you can even challenge them to do it in their mother tongue, too!

5. Develops confidence: If your kids cant speak confidently to you, Im not sure if they can talk confidently to others when their turn comes to do Show & Tells in school. So start spontaneous storytelling a part of your family routine.

6. Builds relationships: Stories have been known to bond generations and pass on traditions. Inject some humor, mystery and adventure into the stories to make your parent-child bonding time truly fun, unique and yours to remember.

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Tell tale times with LEGO toys

Elisabeth on Zee Over Fences 4th UWRF

By: SCSU Equestrian Team

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Elisabeth on Zee Over Fences 4th UWRF - Video

Ruby Walsh is more worried about Djakadam having had only three runs over fences rather than the fact that he is only a five-year-old going into Saturdays Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury.

No horse so young has ever won the prestigious race, but Walsh rewrote the history books on the Paul Nicholls-trained Master Minded who won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2008 when just five.

Trained by Willie Mullins, Djakadam was last seen falling in the JLT Novices Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, on just his third outing over fences, and he runs off a mark of 142, having won his first two starts last season.

It is that, rather than his age, that Walsh feels the red-hot favourite needs to overcome.

Speaking in his blog for Paddy Power, Walsh said: The pundits are saying that Djakadam cant win the Hennessy Gold Cup on Saturday because hes only a five-year-old.

A bigger worry for me is that he has just three runs over fences and is inexperienced for a race like this.

David Pipe expects Ballynagour to run with honour, as long as his stamina holds out.

The eight-year-old claimed the Byrne Group Plate at the Cheltenham Festival in March and was second to Sizing Europe at Punchestown a month later.

Ballynagour has, however, never been campaigned over the Hennessys extended three-and-a-quarter-mile trip, so will be taking a shot into the unknown.

The Nicholashayne handler told http://www.davidpipe.com: He seems very well at home and Tom Scudamore was in schooling him the other day.

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Djaks inexperience worries Walsh

Updated: Tuesday, 25 Nov 2014 16:57 | Comments Djakadam will bid to become the first Irish-trained winner of the Hennessy Gold Cup since Bright Highway in 1980 when he lines up at Newbury on Saturday

Ruby Walsh is more worried about Djakadam having had only three runs over fences rather than the fact that he is only a five-year-old ahead of Saturday's Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury.

No horse that young has ever won the prestigious race, but Walsh rewrote the history books on the Paul Nicholls-trained Master Minded, who won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2008 when just five.

Trained by Willie Mullins, Djakadam was last seen falling in the JLT Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, on just his third outing over fences, and he runs off a mark of 142 having won his first two starts last season.

Speaking in his blog for Paddy Power, Walsh said: "The pundits are saying that Djakadam can't win the Hennessy Gold Cup on Saturday because he's only a five-year-old.

"They said Master Minded couldn't win a Champion Chase when he was that age. He did - so the stats are there to be broken.

"A bigger worry for me is that he has just three runs over fences and is inexperienced for a race like this."

David Pipe expects Ballynagour to run with honour, as long as his stamina holds out.

The eight-year-old claimed the Byrne Group Plate at the Cheltenham Festival in March and was second to Sizing Europe at Punchestown a month later.

Ballynagour has, however, never been campaigned over the Hennessy's extended three-and-a-quarter-mile trip, so will be taking a shot into the unknown.

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Djakadam's inexperience a worry for Walsh

LA MATZE SION 2014 - DEMOLITION 05 - Time-Lapse
La Matze, Sion, Valais / Switzerland. Music from the YouTube Library.

By: Mad9977

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LA MATZE SION 2014 - DEMOLITION 05 - Time-Lapse - Video

Demolition gone wrong at Carrer de Llull.
Some demolition work outside of my office...

By: Andres Bucci

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Demolition gone wrong at Carrer de Llull. - Video