This stud of a reindeer with a blue glow nose can be found at the far end of Lippizaner Lane. Maybe he'll take Rudolph's place leading the sleigh this year.

The happy gingerbread kids are hanging out in their lawn on Hackney Lane next door to two grazing deer with no plans to fly.

And at the end of Hackney, another regal reindeer, with curled antlers and a white glow, (above right) seems to be posing for the role of Santa's lead reindeer as well. And in the middle of it all, on Hambletonian Lane, you'll find a golden creche and Pilgrim Santa's carriage pulled by horse skeletons on Trail's End. Take a walk and enjoy the lights!

The Board needs a ninth director

Some of you may have noticed that the list of 2025 board directors is missing a member. (There should be nine.) The Association still needs another volunteer to join the board, replacing last year’s board president, who resigned prior to the November annual meeting.

Incoming board member Vicki Nuetzel, who at this point has served on at least seven boards, has agreed to be the board president. However, as it stands, she will also be the treasurer in everything but title, as she will be the only board member serving on the Finance Committee. 

The Finance Committee's current membership consists of Vicki Nuetzel, Ann Charkviani, Susan Shapiro, and Judith Rothman. Although that sounds like a good size, when it comes to reviewing bills, budgets and financing projects, analyzing assessments, projecting reserve items, and assisting with reserve estimates, that’s not enough. And placing all the financial communications responsibilities on only one board member is used as a classic example in HOA seminars as a questionable board practice, particularly when it is the president.

The Board plans to fill the remaining director vacancy at the January 9th board meeting. All homeowners should have received the Northgate Homeowners Association of Walnut Creek Board of Directors Nomination Application & Candidate Statement Form for the January vacancy by mail or email.

Please bear in mind that a successful HOA is only as good as its active members. Our Association needs its residents to be involved, particularly when it comes to finances and financial oversight, management, and maintenance. It’s a responsibility we all share.

There’s still time for you to put your name in to join the board. It's a great learning experience and you'd be adding value, even if you're not someone with financial background

Candidate statements can be printed and mailed or emailed to Christine@collins-mgmt.com. They must be received by January 1, 2025.

Report on the 2024 annual meeting and election results

The NHOA annual meeting was held on November 14th at the clubhouse. Three candidate statements were received by Collins Management for the three board of director positions that were vacant when candidate statements were solicited in the fall. 

This meant that no ballot election was necessary, and the three volunteers were elected by acclamation. This was a great result, not only because they are so appreciated, but also because it saves the Association the cost of an actual election. And it made for a shorter meeting as well.

The three new members by acclamation are Peter Beernink, Susan Hollingshead, and Vicki Nuetzel. It also was announced that the assessment increase, consistent with the 4-year 2021 financial plan, is $25 (4%) to $630 per month.

As is the usual process at the annual meeting, the 2024 board president talked about the board’s accomplishments in 2024, and then the committee chairs talked about what their committees did during the year and what they plan to do next year.

President Ann Charkviani identified the search for and hiring of Collins Management as the major accomplishment. She and Matt Rubenstein, Sarah Mott and Vicki Nuetzel were on the search committee. She also noted that the pool deck replacement was not done and there was no schedule for it being done.

In terms of completed projects, the stable committee reported that the rotted posts on the covered arena were replaced, but the lighting for that arena, funded in 2022, has still not been done. The recreation committee acknowledge that the fully funded pool deck replacement was not started this year, although a bid for a sealed surface replacement was provided and members of the committee toured an example. The committee said it wants to complete a master plan for the pool and clubhouse prior to scheduling any projects. No funds have yet been allocated for structural repairs to the clubhouse, which include repairing the collapsing interior door and wall. Funding was approved for acoustic work

In an interview, in-coming president Vicki Nuetzel told us her first priorities will be to identify what projects need to be undertaken in 2025, in what order, whether they are operational or reserve items, and whether they are included in the budget or reserve estimates. She anticipates starting work on updating reserve item estimates early in the year and to work closely with Collins Management to continue to build a close working relationship.

2025 board announces new officers and committee chairs

Vicki Nuetzel, who lives on Hackney Lane, was elected president at the new board's November meeting. Vicki moved to Northgate in 1994 and has served on at least six different boards, most of them full terms, since 2000. She returns to the board after volunteering on the Finance Committee last year. In addition to being president, Vicki will chair the finance committee.

Matt Rubenstein, who lives on Shire Lane, will serve as vice president. He is co-chair of the recreation committee, which is responsible for the care and maintenance of the clubhouse, pool, and tennis courts. He has served on the board since 2017, when he moved to Northgate. 

Isabella Oliveri, another Hackney Lane resident, will act as the board's secretary. She joined the board last year, shortly after moving to Northgate in late 2022. She will be co-liaison for the equestrian center with Vicki.

Jedd de Lucia, who lives on Hambletonian Lane, was named treasurer. He co-chairs the recreation committee with Matt. Jedd has served on the board several times and volunteered on the architecture and rules committees while on and off the board.

Claudia Lisbona, who lives on Hackney Lane, will continue to chair the landscape committee. Claudia is in her first term serving as a board member and her third year as the landscape committee chair. 

Lippizaner Lane resident Peter Beernink will chair the architecture committee. He has served on previous boards as an officer and committee chair and volunteered to work on the rules committees while not on the board.

Susan Hollingshead, who lives on Hambletonian Lane, moved to Northgate last year. She volunteered to work with the 2024 board on a project that aligned with her skills.

Steven Ravlin, who lives on Shire Lane, joined the board in 2024 after moving to Northgate in 2022. He will be the Vehicle Lot committee.

One of the many joys of living in our development is listening to the sound of Great Horned Owls hooting to one another from the tall trees scattered throughout our property and up into the hills. During most of the year, with a little bit of effort, one can be lulled to sleep and then coaxed to waking by the combination of their deep, soft hoots and calls. But because of their stealth and camouflage, it’s often difficult to determine where they are as they talk.

I was lucky enough to be shown the silhouette of a huge (likely female) Great Horned Owl at the top of a large sequoia on Lippizaner Lane by a friend a few days ago. Several minutes later I saw two more at the tops of two equally large trees at the far end of Hambletonian Lane. They looked like they were neighbores over a fence having a twilight conversation in the backyard. Awesome.

Owls are fascinating birds. First, they don't have eyeballs - their eye “tubes” are held in place by a bony structure in the skull. Because of this, owls can't move or roll their eyes within their sockets. Instead, their necks – with 14 vertebrae - can twist 135 degrees in either direction when facing forward. That’s 270 total degrees of movement.

Owls have binocular vision like we do, which means they can see an object with both eyes at the same time. They have extraordinary distance vision, and their night vision is four times better than ours. Great Horned Owls have large yellow eyes. Another cool fact: they have three eyelids. One is for blinking, one is for sleeping, and one is for keeping their eye tubes clean while flying.

Despite this vision, however, experts who study Great Horned Owls say they basically see through their ears. Like many species of owl, those ears are placed asymmetrically on their heads. This literally means that one ear can be above the eye, while the second ear on the other side is located below the eye. This allows the owls to receive sounds at slightly different times, providing them with an exceptional ability to pinpoint the location of that sound. Their flattened facial discs also help their hearing, funneling the sound to the ears, and magnifying it so that they can detect even the slightest sound.

Owls are known as silent fliers and predators. They have broad wings - with almost a four foot wing span - that allow them to glide. This minimizes the flapping that creates most of the noise from a flying bird. They are covered in extremely soft feathers that insulate them. Their fringed wing feathers cut any waffling. The multi-colored and layered feathers also serve as camouflage when they are in trees. When they raise the tufts (their horns) on the top of their heads, they look like twigs or branches and help it blend into the tree. The usual way to spot them is in silhouette.

Owls also can swivel their toes. They are zygodactyl, which refers to the structure of their feet. They have four toes (talons). When they grip branches or prey, their middle toes face forward and the first and fourth face backward. 

Unlike other zygodactyl birds, owls also can rotate their fourth toe back and forth. When owls are flying, they have three toes in front and one in back. They then can lock their toes around an object. They get maximum grip with minimal effort. Other birds don’t have that trick.

But the singularly distinctive characteristic of a Great Horned Owl, experts are learning, is the level of their vocalization. Each one has a signature set of calls, described by one expert as an “assemblage of hoots, chitters, squawks, shrieks, hisses and clacks.” Both males and females have territorial calls of their own, sometimes singing simultaneously with a mate (perhaps what I saw), or even a stranger. 

Why so varied? These birds essentially don’t migrate en masse with other birds. They pick territories and stay there, often for their and their mate’s lifetime. Over time they aresurrounded with neighboring families that remain pretty stable. A Great Horned Owl can live between 20 and 30 years.

They interact mainly through vocal communication over different seasons and years. Knowing neighbors’ calls and interacting with strangers keeps the peace. This isn’t just a human neighborhood.

If this makes you wonder whether you’re hearing the Great Horned Owls that live here, listen to the video below.

Resources: https://www.treehugger.com/owl-facts-that-will-amaze-you-4863920; Wikipedia; “What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds,” by Jennifer Ackerman (Penguin Press 2023); https://www.allaboutbirds.org

The photo of the owl by Ingrid Tan can be found here:

https://ca.pinterest.com/pin/453596993721728913/

The time has come to say farewell

As those who attended the annual meeting already know, this is the last issue of the Northgate News. One of us is tired (and it's not Brenda!).

We've really enjoyed creating this little publication for the community, but we've decided four full years is a good run. Surprisingly, more than 95 of you open the newsletter every month, out of a mailing list of 120. We feel good about that and hope you've found the issues entertaining and informative. And we're sorry if some of you never discovered what "and now for something completely different" is.

Thanks to all who contributed occasional stories & photos, with special kudos to Margareta Andersson for her wandering camera, great eye, and generosity with photos.

May your holidays be merry and bright! Sarah Mott & Brenda de la Ossa

The magic of a frozen soap bubble

THE SHORTCUT COOK'S CORNER

OH MY,

NO BAKE PIE

from Lisa Assoni

I've loved sharing recipes with you. 

As you all know, for four years, Sarah and Brenda put together this newsletter. They are two smart ladies. Monthly, they wrote about current news as well as information about our HOA. We appreciate their talent!

I thought I'd end my column with a sweet and delicious dessert:

8 oz. package of cream cheese 

12 oz. whipped topping

2 tbs. sugar or use sugar substitute

1 ready-made graham cracker crust

14 oz. can mandarin oranges 

8 oz. fresh strawberries

3 medium kiwis, peeled

14 oz can pears, or peaches -drained

1/4 cup red seedless grapes 

1/4 cup almonds, crushed

Remove cream cheese wrapper. Place on microwave plate and heat for 20 seconds. In medium bowl, mix cream cheese, whipped topping, and sugar. Mix well. Cover crust, spread mixture evenly.

Meanwhile, wash and remove stems from strawberries, and slice all fruit in half. 

Layer strawberry, kiwi slices, oranges, pears and grapes on top of filling. Sprinkle almonds on the outside edges and top of the pie.

Cover with wrap and place in refrigerator. Let pie sit for 30 minutes to set.

Happy holidays and wishes for a great new year! Thanks for reading!