VOL. 22 NO. 1
Community web site: http://hggcc.com
Community Channels: 901 and 902 on TV
JANUARY 2024
No Rain On Our Cart Parade By Linda Lynch, Herons Glen Photos by Michael Fell, Joyce Lipkin, Herons Glen It was a beautiful evening, not too warm, not too humid. No rain or threats of rain. Just about perfect. And spirits were running high. The annual Herons Glen Cart Parade was assembled and ready to begin. First came the Island Coast High School Marching Band, led by their drum major and complete with majorettes. All were festively bedecked in holiday accessories and playing with great enthusiasm as they marched along the parade route. Next came the decorated cart carrying Santa and Mrs. Claus (Rick and Peggy Lindquist), who greeted parade watchers with candy, jovial wishes of “Merry Christmas” and plenty of “Ho, ho, hos.” Following the Claus couple were 23 resident carts, First place each carefully crafted to display an aspect of holiday joy. As the late afternoon faded and evening came upon the Glen, the numerous colored lights that draped many of the carts shone even brighter. Some carts were completely transformed from carts to something else – a sleigh, a gingerbread house, a heavenly paradise. Each cart beamed cheer and good spirits and delight, just what the beginning of the holiday season required. As the parade made its way through the route within the historic district of Herons Glen, residents from all neighborhoods had lined the streets and filled the driveways to Island Coast High School Marching Band cheer on the parade participants and partake No Rain On Our Cart Parade on page 3 of the merriment.
Second place
Butterfly Garden Visitors By Duane Parkinson, Herons Glen Herons Glen’s Butterfly Garden has many visitors every day. The Butterfly Society is overjoyed that so many different people are using the garden for a variety of reasons – many people like an early morning peaceful visit to just pray or meditate. Or just to enjoy a restful, relaxing minute from our hectic, retirement lifestyles. Our community is blessed with so many different opportunities for sports and clubs. Sometimes we just need a minute to relax and regroup, apart from watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy in the evenings. There are quite a few benches to sit on or bring your own soft chair. So, what visitors do the garden have besides the human variety? The obvious visitors to the garden are butterflies and moths. The hardworking members of the Butterfly Society have diligently planted many different varieties of plants that butterflies and moths love to feed upon to attract these kinds of insects. What are the differences between butterflies and moths? Basically, butterflies feed during the day and moths at night. Butterflies have long, slender antennae; moths have “feathery” antennae. Butterflies are typically brightly colored; moths are darker for better camouflage from predators during their nighttime search for food. Some butterflies are very brightly colored – probably to protect them from predators since these kinds of butterflies typically taste nasty to predators. But they both feed on the sweet liquid nectar inside of flowers. Only plants that require pollinators make nectar. Some plants are pollinated by wind, and they don’t make nectar in their flowers. Plants that require pollinators make nectar to
attract insect pollinators. Flowers have both male and female parts of the flowers, and pollen needs to be carried from the male part (stamen) down to the female part (pistil) so that germination can occur, and new plants are formed from seeds. Like honeybees, butterflies and moths provide pollination services to plants that require pollination. What do butterflies eat? They have a very varied kind of diet, but their most favorite food is the very sweet, liquid nectar from plant flowers. They love nectar. But most nectar is at the bottom of the flower, and butterflies have a specialized adaptation to get down in the flower to obtain that nectar. They don’t have mouthparts like we do. Instead, they have evolved a straw-like mouthpart called a proboscis that they use to suck up the nectar from the bottom of the flower. Interestingly, when they aren’t using this proboscis, it coils up under their head like you would coil up a garden hose in your yard. It quickly and easily straightens out when in use. Butterflies have a varied kind of diet; however, they eat more than just flower nectar. They also suck up the sugary juices from ripe fruit such as grapefruit, oranges, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, apples, or bananas. They also suck up tree sap. They obtain amino acids from sucking up the liquid from animal dung or carrion (dead animals). They obtain minerals from sucking up water from mud puddles. We’ve Butterfly Garden Visitors on page 4
Third place
Activities Fair By Donna Piascik, Herons Glen Want to get to know your community better? Mark your calendars for Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024 and attend the Activities Fair being held in the ballroom between 12 and 3 p.m. This is sponsored by the HOA Activities Committee. Come learn about the wonderful array of organizations, sports, clubs, and other opportunities in Herons Glen awaiting your participation. These groups provide a great way to have fun, to make new friends and to become more involved in our community. For information on how to host a booth for your group, please contact either Donna Piascik (dfpiascik@ gmail.com) or Shirley Hrabar (sjnagy2001@yahoo.com).
HOA Election Results The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes Chris Kozak and Richard Romine are elected to serve a three-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2024 through Dec. 31, 2026. The Herons Glen HOA Board of Directors wishes to thank all the candidates for their time and interest in the community. If you would like to watch the meeting it is posted on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HeronsGlen/ videos/3604317039887139/ and will be on Channel 902.
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