La Quinta Cove

Here’s a sampling of some new events at our own Library.  Call 564-4767 for more information:

• Children’s Book Club for 7-9 years on Wednesdays at three
• Wellness Series in Spanish, Wednesdays at 5:30
• Family movie time: Sunday March 11 at one: Hugo (yes, that award winner!)
• Pre-beginning computer class on Thursdays
• An Afternoon of Civic Reflection for teens, Wednesday march 14 at 3:30
• English as a Second Language: Registration begins March 1.  TELL A FRIEND  Call 771-0395 to register.

Here’s John Nelson, giving us a lesson on the dreaded Sahara Mustard.  When you see it, PULL it.!

http://youtu.be/sHNa6BoP0N4

Beautiful weather,  good friends, great BBQ, music, and square dancing. 

Here are a few scenes: http://youtu.be/CHbrwo4jAqY

FROM DR: No bad dogs only bad owners! 

FROM BOB R: And it’s not just dogs, my friends: feral cats and pets alike rule the night here; most people aren’t aware of that because they don’t go out much after darkfall. So it’s a pet problem we have, not just a dog problem. I know many families are responsible and keep their pet cats inside, but many do not and let them roam. They mark other people’s patios/plants with urine, dig and do-do in their yards, and even catch wild birds at crepuscular hours, sometimes ambushing them at seed feeders (I’ve seen it). Residents are hamstrung to do much about it. At such high living densities here, families should limit themselves to a single pet, not 2, 3, 4…More than one pet leads to disrespect for neighbors at best, abuse at worst. (NOTE FROM MODERATOR: For you linguistically-challenged readers, like me, Wikipedia says Crepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight, that is during dawn and dusk.^[1] The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning “twilight.”)

FROM DINO ON ANOTHER TOPIC, RESPONDING TO “What’s wrong with this picture (of an illegal garage sale sign)?: Last I checked we live in America, and if we want to sell something out of our homes we should be able to do so with out government interference, I do agree, after the ending day of the garage sale, the signs should be removed! However we should have the freedom to sale our belonging, your concern is overboard, we’re in a really bad economy and 10 dollars goes a long way. I do agree we do not need the litter, hense the police job to notice the sign look at the date of the sale, if the sign has not been removed they get a littering ticket. Simple and effective, complaining never gets anyone anywhere. (NOTE: Since permits are issued by City Code Enforcement, it’s their job to monitor the signage removal, etc. not the police)

There have been sightings of the Sahara Mustard menace at the lower part of the Cove.  The seem to be mostly in people’s yards, where there is ample water. 

So please, check your yards.  Check your neighbor’s yards!  Talk to your neighbors to have them (or their gardeners) on the lookout.  Some of these are already over a foot tall, have the seed pods getting fat, and almost ready to burst.  Remember, each plant can produce up to 10,000 seeds! 

Alert, ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Friends of the LQ Library sponsored a great evening of jazz, featuring Joe Baldino on the guitar.   Joe pre-records his accompaniment and cues it with his feet.  Quite a one-man band.  You can see Joe on Sundays at the Farmers Market in front of the fountain.

 http://youtu.be/ryDGd4k2wUM

Katie Barrows led a hardy group of flower-seekers on a great walk on a beautiful morning.  Lack of rain has meant few wildflower sightings, but there were plenty of interesting birds, trees, plants to keep the group interested.  Next month (March 17) wildflowers will be included in the topic, so stay with it, naturalists.  Sponsored by the City of La Quinta and the Stewards of the Fred Wolff Nature Preserve.

 FROM JANE: The house next door to us here in LQ is now in foreclosure, which has us concerned for the usual reasons. But the upside of the foreclosure is that the 3 small yappy dogs are now gone with the deadbeat owners who abandoned their property. It has been a great relief to us, because often we heard the dogs barking at midnight and later. We only rarely see dogs running lose in town–in fact, the problem seems to be that the dogs are cooped up behind fences and walls with little opportunity for exercise, which is undoubtedly the major cause of the barking. I have never lived in a town that has as many barking dogs as LQ does–and as many dog owners who are irresponsible in ignoring their pets’ needs for attention and care.

FROM KKL: I currently live in the cove and have had no problems with the loose dogs. While I understand and respect the views of others it frustrates me that people have such negative responses to the dog issue I have dogs of my own and the only issue that I see is the feces that people leave ON THE SIDEWALK while their dogs are on leashes! At least if someone has there dog off the leash it’s normally off the actual trail where you can’t see,smell, or step in it! My point is that maybe we should focus on cleaning up our issues with the leashed dogs before the off leashed dogs.

FROM DIANE: And even more (on unleashed dogs)…..The people who used to live behind me had 2 big labs. The dogs were trained to poop in the section of their backyard furthest from THEIR house…and no one ever cleaned it up. Meaning…it was next to my fence and the odor in MY back yard was very offensive. I contacted code enforcement and they tried…but finally the people moved.
And a couple down the street found a dog loose. Knocked on my door and asked me to keep it since they already had 3 and they had noticed I had none. (used to…nothing against them, but LOTS against their owners who do indeed, need training.) Isn’t something wrong with having 3 dogs in one of our small lots….? 3 dogs who are left out all day to bark while the owners are at work? Not to mention bark all night.
And then there are the trails. I hike a lot and don’t appreciate a strange dog running up to me with no owner in sight. When I mention the leash laws, and the fact that dogs are ‘dogs’, and the some signs say NO DOGS due to big horned sheep protected area, owners are rude. No rules are meant for their dogs.
The rest of us have no rights, I guess. Nor do the sheep or wildlife.

FROM JOHANNA: Just wanted you to know that stunguns are legal in California.

The LQ Historical Society presented the second in the series of “LQ History Series” last Friday at the Museum.  A LARGE crowd enjoyed the stories and yarns told by Judy Vossler, long-time general manager of the LQ Hotel (before it was the “resort”), Barbara Irwin, local historian, and Tom Kennedy, of the Kennedy agricultlural dynasty that owned most of what is now PGA West.

Here, Linda Williams, President of the Historical Society, introduces the panel and tells about future events at the Museum:   http://youtu.be/C2v94EUTjDA

THIS FROM KATHY:  Who enforces the no dog policy at the Farmer’s Market?  If no one is going to enforce it then maybe that rule should be dropped.  (Moderator #2 comment:  Good point, Kathy.  Is it Old Town’s responsibility or the City?  Or both?)

THIS FROM JOAN:   I was relieved to see that other residents are frustrated by the dog issues in our community. We recently purchased a home here because we love The Cove’s location, natural beauty, and eclectic nature, but the constant assault of barking dogs may result in our moving elsewhere. We are dog owners, but would never consider leaving our dog outside to disturb the neighbors. And when we go walking, we always pick up an extra bag or two of dog feces. It is sad that so many dog owners are not responsible, and even more sad that so many dogs in our community are poorly cared for.

THIS FROM BILL:Suggestion: Let’s take pictures of offenders and dogs off leash and post on this website. Maybe some public exposure would help a little? Worth a shot? (Moderator comment: No pun intended?)

FROM NEIGHBOR:  Can these animal control officers patrol the cove? Their presence would probably deter many of the human culprits. I have never seen them and I walk everyday.  The owners feel it’s beneath them to clean up after their dogs. I know you feel the same way. Also, if the owners let their dogs run free, they probably are not cleaning up after them, not to mention the owners that won’t clean up even though their dogs are leashed. I have people swear at me for suggesting that they comply to the code as well. I think that patrols would deter the bad behavior by dog owners.