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2020 Annual Membership Meeting

Please plan on attending our annual membership meeting on Thursday, Jan. 30th starting at 6PM at the Lakeway Activity Center. The meeting is open to the public. We will have a meal at 6:30PM for the membership, a short business meeting at 7PM and then a presentation titled "Natural Areas Management and Urban Forestry in Downtown Austin, Tx" from our guest speaker, Leslie Lilly, from The Trail Foundation (TTF) of Austin at 7:30PM. She is the Conservation Director for TTF which works to protect, enhance, and connect the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake.

Reservations for the BBQ meal are closed but all are welcome to attend the business meeting at 7PM and/or hear the Guest Speaker at 7:30PM.

Bio: With more than 10 years of academic and professional experience, Leslie Lilly has extensive knowledge of native Texas plants, Texas ecosystems and sustainable landscape design. Her past work and research have focused on everything from fire ecology and invasive species GIS (Geographic Information Systems) modeling to wetland plant communities and symbiotic relationships. Leslie formerly worked for US Fish and Wildlife as a GIS analyst and wildland firefighter, working on the restoration and management of endangered bird habitats. As the Conservation Director for The Trail Foundation, Leslie oversees and implements all of the ecological restoration programs and projects for the over 200 acres of Town Lake Metro Park and wetland restoration projects on Lady Bird Lake. She is also a proud Texas Master Naturalist.

The meal will once again be from It's All Good BBQ to be served at 6:30PM. The meal is free to all current 2020 FOP family members or $15 per person if you are not a member of FOP. You can pay your 2020 FOP dues at the registration desk starting at 6PM. You can print out a form and fill it out before the meeting by clicking here.

In order to use the meeting room in the Lakeway Activity Center, we have been requested to have our FOP members join the Lakeway Activity Center as members. Residents of Lakeway are asked to pay $30 per household to join. Please consider joining the LAC for beneficial access to the Center and the activities that go on all year long that are not FOP related. Visit www.lakeway-tx.gov for more information or call 512-261-1010 for more information. You are also welcome to drop by their front desk anytime they are open.

Leslie Lilly, guest speaker (click to enlarge)

Leslie Lilly from The Trail Foundation will be our guest speaker at our Thu. 1/30 annual business meeting.

Leslie Lilly addressing volunteers (click to enlarge)

Leslie Lilly addressing volunteers planting trees beside Town Lake 2019.

January 2019

Upcoming Events

~~January Board meeting will be Mon. 1/6 6:30PM at the LAC.~~
~~January workday will be Sat. 1/11 starting at 8AM at the Pavilion in City Park.~~
~~The Wild Bird Center of Lakeway will be hosting a program about the Purple Martin colony on Sat. Jan 18 at 2PM. It will be presented by Carl Christensen and Gary Cobb.~~
Save the DATE : Thursday Jan. 30th, General Membership Meeting
February Board meeting will be Mon. 2/3 6:30PM at the LAC.
February workday will be Sat. 2/8 starting at 8AM at the Pavilion in City Park.
Save the DATE : Sat. Apr. 18th, Wilderness Run
We have a Facebook page being administered by Dan Moyer
Lakeway Friends of the Parks
For those who shop on Amazon, FOP is now a listed charitable organization and can receive 0.5% of your Amazon purchase.
Navigate to smile.amazon.com, login, select "Change Your Charity" and search for "Friends of the Park" located in Lakeway, TX
and click on the Select button.
Family membership dues for 2020, pay by mail, click here or pay in person at our workday, contact our Treasurer Bernie.
FOP encourages you to purchase an annual family membership for the Lakeway Activity Center, it helps FOP retain access to the meeting rooms at LAC plus providing you with discounts at LAC events.
See all the workday photos here.

Andy Balinsky takes questions (click to enlarge)

Andy Balinsky takes questions at the 2019 Annual Membership Meeting. Photo by Jim Dunn

Workday Projects
All volunteers on Sat. 1/11, starting at 8AM, meet at upper parking lot (Pavilion) of City Park for volunteer opportunties. Bring gloves and drinking water.

City Park

o Mowing, weeding, trimming
o Trail improvement from Pavilion to asphalt trail
o Debris removal on upper Challenge Trail.

Canyonlands

o Complete repair of the Exxon-Mobil bridge on Serene Loop trail - bring battery powered drills to install decking screws.

Lunch @ 11:45

o Chili, cornbread, veggies and dessert

Workday Report

It was a cold and windy start with temperatures in the mid-40s but we had twenty volunteers at 8AM. We worked on the following projects. We had twenty-three volunteers by the end of the workday. See all the workday photos here.

Dar Moneyhon	Jim Dunn	David Conner
Mike Light	Elmer Tyler	Dave Cross
Larry Yancey	John Caporal	Debbie Caporal
Bill Freas	Allison Winchester	Carol Linn
Bernie Reding	Ginger Abbott	Brooke Abbott
Terry Sears	Elaine Riggs	Mike Riggs
Linda Mackie	Dennis Gans	Emily Haeussler
Carol Ferree	Judy Hazen

City Park

o Mowing, weeding, trimming
This City Park crew had a very successful workday trimming around trees and rocks in the south end of City Park. After completing the trimming task, the remainder of the time was spent picking up loose rocks, dead wood on the ground and trash which was hauled to the dumpster. Thanks go to City for mowing the large open areas prior to trimming. The crew was Dennis Gan, new members Elaine and Mike Riggs, John Caporal, David Conner and Bernie Reding.
submitted by Bernie Reding

o Trail improvement from Pavilion to asphalt trail
Bill Freas, Terry Sears, Jim Dunn, Ginger Abbott and Brooke Abbott repaired the two sections of native cedar fence on the trail from the Pavilion down to the asphalt trail. In addition we installed cedar rail steps. Since we forgot to ask for fill material, we raked up some old mulch from an old pile north of Ranger Field and put the mulch in the repaired section of the trail. We can replace the mulch with fill material (road base or decomposed granite) at our next workday.
submitted by Jim Dunn

o Debris removal on upper Challenge Trail.
Elmer Tyler, Allison Winchester, Carol Linn, Linda Mackie and Carol Ferree filled up the dumpster by the FOP shed with debris collected all around the park such as road side trash, construction material, fallen branches and deadfall.
submitted by Jim Dunn

Canyonlands

o Complete repair of the Exxon-Mobil bridge on Serene Loop trail
Emily Haeussler, Larry Yancey, Dave Cross, Mike Light and Dar Moneyhon completed the repair of the Exxon-Mobil Serene Hills Loop Bridge that began with disassembly on the Dec 2019 workday. New supporting cross members were installed, reinforcing spacers were secured and decking removed in Dec was reinstalled. Mike cleaned, refinished and reattached the original Exxon Mobil plaque. Cost for materials to repair came in just under $200. Bernie Reding and Dar Moneyhon procurred the new lumber and supplies earlier in the week, cut the four new joists and installed at the bridge site prior to the workday.
submitted by Dar Moneyhon

Lunch @ 11:45

o Chili, cornbread, veggies and dessert
Judy Hazen provided hot chili for us, she was bundled up in a parka and she had to wrap the cooker up in a towel! We had jalapeno and regular cornbread from Doris McDermott and Ximena Sauerman plus veggies from Clare Freas, fruits from Carol Ferree and cookies from Debbie Caporal. Fred Hazen help Judy setup and Carol helped with serving and clean-up.
submitted by Judy Hazen

John, David, Elaine and Mike (click to enlarge)

John Caporal, David Conner, Elaine Riggs and Mike Riggs. Photo by Bernie Reding

Terry and Bill replacing rail in native cedar fence (click to enlarge)

Terry Sears and Bill Freas replacing rail in native cedar fence. Photo by Jim Dunn

Mike Light, Dave Cross and Emily Haeussler rebuilding the Exxon-Mobil bridge on the Serene Loop trail in the Canyonlands. Photo by Dar Moneyhon

Judy Hazen attending the electric food warmer, it was hard to keep the chili warm. Photo by Jim Dunn.

See all the workday photos here.

December 2019

Upcoming Events

December workday will be Sat. 12/14 starting at 8AM at the Pavilion in City Park.
January Board meeting will be Mon. 1/6 6:30PM at the LAC.
January workday will be Sat. 1/11 starting at 8AM at the Pavilion in City Park.
Save the DATE : Thursday Jan. 30th, General Membership Meeting
We have a Facebook page being administered by Dan Moyer
Lakeway Friends of the Parks
For those who shop on Amazon, FOP is now a listed charitable organization and can receive 0.5% of your Amazon purchase.
Navigate to smile.amazon.com, login, select "Change Your Charity" and search for "Friends of the Park" located in Lakeway, TX
and click on the Select button.
Family membership dues for 2020, pay by mail, click here or pay in person at our workday, contact our Treasurer Bernie.
FOP encourages you to purchase an annual family membership for the Lakeway Activity Center, it helps FOP retain access to the meeting rooms at LAC plus providing you with discounts at LAC events.

View the Dec. workday Photos.

HGB entrance pond. Photo by Jim Dunn

All volunteers on Sat. 12/14, starting at 8AM, meet at upper parking lot (Pavilion) of City Park for volunteer opportunties. Bring gloves and drinking water.

City Park

o Mowing, weeding, trimming
o Move small rocks near Wildflower Meadow
o Retrieve decorative pavers/rocks from Butterfly Garden
o Purple Martin houses maintenance
o Cedar sapling removal

Hamilton Greenbelt

o Entrance garden maintenance
o Plant flame acanthuses

Canyonlands

o Repair of the Exxon-Mobil bridge on Serene Loop trail - bring battery powered drills to remove decking screws.

Lunch @ 11:45

o Sloppy Joes, veggies, chips and dessert

We had 27 volunteers working on the various projects at City Park, Hamilton Greenbelt and Canyonlands. They were

Dar Moneyhon	Rick Morrison	Luke Morrison
Carl Christensen	Elmer Tyler	Shirley Tyler
Mireille Kirmse	Bob Kirmse	Dave Cross
Jay Beard	Lorraine Tallent	Larry Yancey
Bernie Reding	Gary Cobb	Mandy Vogt
Olivia St. Peter	McKenna Vogt	Kathleen Christensen
Shirley Tyler	Ardelle Bahl	Bob Schooler
Sondra Morton	Pat McDermott	Doris McDermott
Mike Light	Kathie King	Tony Mataya

Workday report

Bernie Reding, Kathy King, Shirley Tyler, Luke Morrison, Rick Morrison, Mirelle Kirmse, Lorraine Tallent and Jay Beard spent the workday picking up large and small rocks from the south end of the City Park and relocating them to a deep ravine near the lower parking lot. Mowing and trimming will now be much easier with with the rocks relocated. A walk-behind Bob Cat and a Kubota on loan from the City made the task much easier.
submitted by Bernie Reding

City Park Purple Martin houses clean out crew was Carl Christensen, Gary Cobb and Bob Kirmse. We then joined Bernie's crew for rock cleanup. It was a beautiful day
submitted by Carl Christensen

Pat McDermott and four volunteers removed cedar saplings in the north end of City Park near the George Blume plaque. They also worked on a cedar fence repair project near the Pavilion.

Bob Schooler and two volunteers planted four Flame Acanthuses along the main HGB I trail near the Blue Hole.

Four volunteers continued the cleaned-up of old or dying plants at the HGB entrance at Lohmann Crossing. They also "deadhead"ed vigorous plants and trimmed ivy off landscaping rocks.

Mike Light, Dave Cross, Elmer Tyler, Larry Yancy and Dar Moneyhon removed all the slats from the Exxon Mobil Serene Loop bridge and stored them in the FOP Public Works shed. Dismantled the rotten wooden support structure and dumped at Public Works.
submitted by Dar Moneyhon

View the workday Photos.

Purple Martin house maintenance being done by Carl and Gary at City Park. Photo by Carl Christensen

City Park rock movers (click to enlarge)

City Park rock movers Bernie, Kathy, Shirley, Luke, Rick, Mirelle, Lorraine and Jay. Photo by Carl Christensen

Canyonlands bridge deconstruction (click to enlarge)

Canyonlands Serene Loop (Exxon-Mobil) bridge deconstruction featuring Larry, Elmer, Dave and Mike. Photo by Dar Moneyhon

Bob Sauerman

FOP 4th of July volunteers with Bob and Ximena on the right. (click to enlarge)

Our dear friend and fellow volunteer Bob passed away early Friday morning November 29 in New York while visiting family for Thanksgiving. He enjoyed the Thanksgiving meal and had a wonderful day with his grandchildren. There was no indications of any problems when he went to bed.

His wife Ximena is back in Lakeway but will return to New Jersey for the first service on Sat. Dec. 14. A second service will be held at Emmaus Catholic Church December 21 at 2:30.

A New Jersey service is scheduled for 12:30 PM ET Saturday, Dec. 14th at St Luke's Parish, 265 West Mill Road, Long Valley, NJ 07853 with a reception to follow at the Fellowship Hall of First Presbyterian Church of Mendham aka Hilltop House, 14 Hilltop Rd, Mendham, NJ 07945.

A Texas service is scheduled for 2:30 PM CT Saturday, Dec. 21st at Emmaus Catholic Parish, 1718 Lohmans Crossing Rd, Lakeway, TX 78734 with a reception to follow in the Emmaus Parish Life Center. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Lakeway Friends of the Parks or the American Heart Association.

Read Bob's obituary (click here) for more details.

November 16, 2019

Volksmarch

The 2nd annual Volksmarch was held Sat. 11/16 starting at Noon.
Registration at the table/tent at the parking lot of the Lakeway Swim Center.
Three mile self-guided hike in the Canyonland proper, will take at least one hour.
Six mile guided hike up to Mt. Lakeway and back, will take at least three hours.
See the fall foliage on a sunny mild day.
Live music was be provided by the "Just for Fun Bunch" from 2PM to 3:30PM at the registration area.
Pretzels, beer or sparkling water were available upon completion of the hikes.
Click on the announcement to the right for more details!

View event Photos.

We had about 170 people participate in the Volksmarch into the Canyonlands or up Mt. Lakeway. The weather was perfect. We had a great mix of young people, parents and mature walkers along with a multitude of dogs. All of the liquid refreshments and the pretzels were consumed after people returned from their hike. They were then able to relax to the tunes played by the "Just for Fun Bunch" band. We would like to thank Josh Horowitz of Infamous Brewing for the beer, Lisa Clover for the Fat Belly Pretzels, Sheila Mangan for the Hippeas and Eric Mangan for Spindrift Sparkling Water. Thanks to the City of Lakeway for co-sponsoring the event, LAME for mountain bike riders and to numerous FOP volunteers for doing the many tasks associated with setup, registration and guiding hikers on the trails.

See the Photos here.

Volksmarch announcement (click to enlarge)

Volksmarch announcement, view the flyer (PDF).
View the media release (DOCX).

November 2019

Upcoming Events

~~November Board meeting will be Mon. 11/4 6:30PM at the LAC.~~
~~November workday will be Sat. 11/9 starting at 8AM at the Pavilion in City Park.~~
The 2nd annual Volksmarch will be Sat. 11/16
December Board meeting will be Mon. 12/2 6:30PM at the LAC.
December workday will be Sat. 12/14 starting at 8AM at the Pavilion in City Park.
Save the DATE : Thursday Jan. 30th, General Membership Meeting
We have a Facebook page being administered by Dan Moyer
Lakeway Friends of the Parks
For those who shop on Amazon, FOP is now a listed charitable organization and can receive 0.5% of your Amazon purchase.
Navigate to smile.amazon.com, login, select "Change Your Charity" and search for "Friends of the Park" located in Lakeway, TX
and click on the Select button.
Family membership dues for 2020, pay by mail, click here or pay in person at our workday, contact our Treasurer Bernie.

View the workday Photos.

2018 Volksmarch banner

Workday Projects

Meet at the upper parking lot near the Pavilion of City Park at 8AM on Sat. Nov. 9. The weather forecast looks good!. Bring work gloves and drinking water.

Our volunteer opportunities are
o City Park - Mowing and weeding - Bernie
o Canyonlands - Trail outlining, some weed trimming - Dan
       - trail guide training - Dar
o HGB - wildflower sowing - Bob
       - trail repair/erosion control - Bill
       - entrance garden upkeep - Sondra
       - photo rock trails, trail erosion repair - Jim
o Pavilion - Lunch at 11:30 - Brats, sauerkraut, baked beans, desserts - Food committee

One of the monarch butterflies that visited Lakeway in October. Photo by Jim Dunn

We had 23 volunteers working on the various projects at City Park, Hamilton Greenbelt and Canyonlands. They were

Bernie Reding	Lynne LeMon	Bob Schooler
Jim Dunn	Mary Ann Kendall	Sondra Morton
John Wilkins	Dar Moneyhon	Ardelle Bahl
Judy Hazen	Carlisle Pearson	Bill Freas
Clare Freas	Pat Wisnoski	Mike Light
Taylor White	Samuel White	Bob Sauerman
Linda Mackie	Lorraine Tallent	Archie Ruatto
Donna Ferrie	Fred Hazen

Workday report

It was a foggy start in the morning as the volunteers were assembling, however; the temperature in 40s quickly warmed up to 60s by noon with plenty of sunshine.

Bernie Reding and John Wilkins worked in City Park, leveling soil where big rocks were removed by fence plus minor mowing/trimming by wildflower meadow. They then spread some leftover blue bonnet seeds at HGB entrance.

Dar Moneyhon trained NCL mother/daughters and Boy Scouts to be guides on the trails of Canyonlands for the upcoming volksmarch event.

Bob Schooler, Pat Wisnoski and Mary Ann Kendall mixed up 4.5 pounds of wildflower seeds in a wheelbarrow of sand and sowed the seeds along the HGB I trail from the entrance to the RainbowBridge. Pat and Mary Ann then assisted in transplanting yuccas to a revegetation zone.

Bill Freas, Mike Light, Samuel and Taylor White did repairs on the HGB trail. They cleaned out culverts, enlarged channels for run-off rain water and repaired straw waddle regions. Thanks to the City of Lakeway for the Kubota and a load of decomposed granite.

Sondra Morton, Ardelle Bahl, Bob Sauerman, Linda Mackie and Lorraine Tallent cleaned-up old or dying plants at the HGB entrance at Lohmann Crossing. They also "deadhead" vigorous plants. The entrance is looking good.

Jim Dunn, Archie Ruatto and Lynne LeMon spread City supplied decomposed granite at eight photo rock locations on HGB I trail.

Judy Hazen, Ximena Sauerman, Sondra Morton, Donna Ferrie, Carlisle Pearson and Debbie Caporal provided hot brats on buns with sauerkraut, baked beans, veggie trays and yummy desserts.

View the workday Photos.

Sondra, Linda and Lorraine at the HGB Entrance garden. Photo by Jim Dunn

Lynne, Archie, Bob, Mary Ann and Pat (click to enlarge)

Lynne, Archie, Bob, Mary Ann and Pat worked along the trails of HGB. Photo by Jim Dunn

Taylor, Samuel, Mike and Bill (click to enlarge)

Taylor, Samuel, Mike and Bill repaired erosion on the main trail of HGB. Photo by Mary Ann Kendall

Delicious desserts provided by our food committee. Photo by Jim Dunn

George Blume Plaque Dedication

City Park 12:15PM October 12, 2019

Friends of the Parks of Lakeway is pleased to announce the dedication of a plaque at Lakeway's City Park honoring George Blume. George was a long time resident of Lakeway and was responsible for many of the outdoor green spaces in the City of Lakeway. The ceremony will start at 12:15PM on Saturday October 12 at the plaque location in the northeast corner of City Park. The plaque location is about a quarter mile walk from the lower level parking lot. Peg Hein will be the featured speaker. Light refreshments will be served after the ceremony. For more details and a map of City Park visit the Friends of the Parks website at www.lakewayfop.org.

George Blume plaque ceremony page 1 (click to enlarge)

George Blume plaque ceremony page 2 (click to enlarge)

George Blume plaque ceremony page 3 (click to enlarge)

George Blume dedication ceremony at City Park. Photos by Fred Hazen.

For a collage of photos above taken by Fred Hazen click here (PDF).

Program

Jim Dunn FOP Chair opening remarks
Mayor Sandy Cox welcoming remarks
Featured speaker Peg Hein, a FOP founder and alumni
Former Mayor Dave DeOme remarks
Mickey Wright remembers George and the island.
Fred Hazen comments on the Master Builder.
John Brodnax spoke about his friend.
George Blume III spoke for Faye. Ribbon cutting ceremony was done by granddaughter Marion and grandson Elliott.
Sheryl Kelly presented a scrapbook to Faye Blume and family
Adjourn to Pavilion for light refreshments provided by the NCL.
Golf cart provided by a local church transported people from the lower level parking lot to the the site of the plaque at the northeast corner of City Park.
Lakeway City Park Map to George Blume's Plaque which is located at the red dot.

More photos at here.

George Blume plaque at City Park (click to enlarge)

George Blume plaque at City Park. Photo by Bill Freas.

For photos of the ceremony taken by Fred Hazen visit our Facebook page.
More photos at here.

October 2019

Upcoming Events

October workday will be Sat. 10/12 starting at 8AM at the Pavilion in City Park.
The dedication of the George Blume plaque at City Park is scheduled for Sat. 10/12 at 12:15PM.
November Board meeting will be Mon. 11/4 6:30PM at the LAC.
November workday will be Sat. 11/9 starting at 8AM at the Pavilion in City Park.
The 2nd Volksmarch will be Sat. 11/16, details to be announced.
We have a Facebook page being administered by Dan Moyer
Lakeway Friends of the Parks
For those who shop on Amazon, FOP is now a listed charitable organization and can receive 0.5% of your Amazon purchase.
Navigate to smile.amazon.com, login, select "Change Your Charity" and search for "Friends of the Park" located in Lakeway, TX
and click on the Select button.
Family membership dues for 2019, pay by mail, click here or pay in person at our workday, contact our Treasurer Bernie.

Visit the FOP website at www.lakewayfop.org for more information.

City Park Founding fathers and ladies (click to enlarge)

City Park founding fathers and ladies. George Blume, Donna Schmidt, Carolyn Huser, Peg Hein and Alan Williams.

Forecast is for a very cool start for our Sat. workday Oct. 12th. Please bring gloves, rakes and drinking water. Meet at the upper parking lot of City Park near the Pavilion at 8AM to sign up for one of the following projects. Reminder that our volunteer lunch will start at 11AM instead of 11:30 due to the Blume Plaque dedication ceremony at 12:15PM.

Planned Workday Projects

City Park :
    o Mow areas of City Park as needed.
    o Spread decomposed granite at the Wildflower Meadow.
    o Rock wall repair above lower parking lot.
    o Clean up and prepare Blume Plaque site for ceremony.

HGB :
    o Plant fall flowers and shrubs at HGB I entrance.
    o Mow/trim dead grass/flowers at wildflower seeding sites.

Canyonlands :
    o Trail survey for upcoming Volksmarch event.

Pavilion @ 11AM :
    o Sandwiches, veggie trays and desserts.

FOP City Park rock workers Hamil and Archie (click to enlarge)

FOP rock workers Hamil and Archie near the lower level parking lot at City Park. Photo by Pat McDermott

We had 29 volunteers working on the various projects at City Park, Hamilton Greenbelt and Mt. Lakeway trail. They were

Dennis Gan	Tyler Van Roemer	Pat McDermott
Doris McDermott	Mike Taylor	Lynne LeMon
Bernie Reding	Bob Schooler	Dave Cross
Jim Dunn	Emily Haeussler	Mary Ann Moore
Sondra Morton	Terry Sears	Cari Reagan
John Wilkins	Carl Christensen	Kathleen Christensen
Carol Ferree	Ardelle Bahl	Mike Light
Dar Moneyhon	Kathie King	Judy Hazen
Lynn Moore	Ron Moore	Carlisle Pearson
Bill Freas	Clare Freas

Workday Reports

City Park :
    o Carl Christensen and Dennis Gan mowed various areas of City Park.
    o Bernie and crew spread decomposed granite at the Wildflower Meadow.
    o Pat worked on the rock wall repair above lower parking lot.
    o Mike, Carl, Bill and Jim cleaned up and prepared the Blume Plaque site for dedication ceremony.

HGB :
    o Kathleen and helpers planted fall flowers and shrubs at HGB I entrance.
    o Bob and his group mowed and trimmed dead grass/flowers at wildflower seeding sites.

Canyonlands :
    o Dar did a Mt. Lakeway trail survey for upcoming Volksmarch event.

Pavilion @ 11AM :
    o Sandwiches, veggie trays and desserts served by Judy and the food committee.

FOP City Park volunteers prepare the Wildflower Meadow (click to enlarge)

FOP City Park volunteers prepare the Wildflower Meadow. Photo by Jim Dunn

FOP volunteers at the HGB Entrance garden (click to enlarge)

FOP volunteers Kathleen, Allison, Carol, Ardelle and Kathy at the HGB Entrance garden. Photo by Kathleen Christensen

FOP volunteers enjoying lunch (click to enlarge)

FOP volunteers enjoying lunch. Photo by Jim Dunn

Workday photos at here.

September 2019
Upcoming Events September workday was Sat. Sept. 16th 8AM. October Board meeting will be Mon. 10/7 6:30PM at the LAC. October workday will be Sat. 10/12 starting at 8AM at the Pavilion in City Park. Wildflower seeding! The dedication of the George Blume plaque at City Park is tentatively scheduled for Sat. 10/12 at Noon. The 2nd Volksmarch will be Sat. 11/16, details to be announced. We have a Facebook page being administered by Dan Moyer Lakeway Friends of the Parks For those who shop on Amazon, FOP is now a listed charitable organization and can receive 0.5% of your Amazon purchase. Navigate to smile.amazon.com, login, select "Change Your Charity" and search for "Friends of the Park" located in Lakeway, TX and click on the Select button. Family membership dues for 2019, pay by mail, click here or pay in person at our workday, contact our Treasurer Bernie. Visit the FOP website at www.lakewayfop.org for more information.	Blue ribbon award for the FOP rocketship float and parade walkers. Photo by Dar Moneyhan. Video of the FOP entry
Forecast is looking hot for our Sat. workday Sept. 14th. Please bring gloves, rakes and plenty of drinking water, maybe even some sun-screen. Meet at the upper parking lot of City Park near the Pavilion at 8AM to sign up for one of the following projects. Workday Projects City Park : o Mow areas of City Park as needed. Done o Prep surface of the Wildflower Meadow for October seeding. Done o Rock wall repair above lower parking lot. Done o Erosion control on primitive trail behind the basketball court. Done Lakeway Park #1 : o Plant flowers and shrubs as part of the renovation. Done HGB : o Remove several trees that are safety hazard on mountain bike trails. City to remove. o Remove stump from Palo Verde trailhead bridge. Done Pavilion : o Pizza, salads and desserts. Eaten!	Kids enjoying bird blind in the Hamilton Greenbelt. Photo by Carl Christensen
Workday Reports We had 23 people at the beginning of the workday. Dar Moneyhon explained to everyone about the current cutting and brush removal restrictions. With the limited work and the heat we moved lunch to 11:00. Dave Cross, John Caporal and Dar Moneyhon removed the stump from Palos Verdes which took about an hour. Carl Christensen mowed in City Park, Bernie Reding took a crew to prep the bluebonnet area, Pat McDermott had some folks moving rocks in City Park and Janet Wright took some people to plant in Lakeway Park 1. Dan Moyer, Tony Mataya and Johnny, a HS student, worked to repair the erosion behind the basketball court, Dar Moneyhon helped them briefly and left at 10:30. Dan Moyer did the wrap up. We had an initial head count of 20 for lunch. After we removed the stump, we checked out the tree that Carl Christensen had identified off Palos Verdes. It is overhanging the edge, but not blocking, so we left it. Dar Moneyhon walked both sides of the trail in that area prior to workday and that was the only questionable tree he found. submitted by Dar Moneyhon	View workday photos by clicking here.
Linda Mackie, Lorraine Tallent, Janet Wright, Sondra Morton and Kathleen Christensen planted flowers around and beside the new sculpture on Lakeway Drive at the minature Lakeway Park #1. The colorful Butterfly sculpture was done by Jim La Paso and the garden was planted with butterfly attracting plants and shrubs. Thank you to all who helped to coordinate, install and enhance our Lakeway Parkland. Afterwards the group also weeded and watered at the Hamilton Greenbelt I Entrance Garden. submitted by Janet Wright, FOP Volunteer and Arts Committee Chair and Kathleen Christensen	Lorraine, Sondra, Janet and Linda planting shrubs at Lakeway Park #1. Photo by Kathleen Christensen.
Thanks to the City of Lakeway for the use of the Kubota and the stand-on mower. Bernie Reding's team added weights to the metal drag rake that was pulled by the Kubota and loosened up the soil in the Wildflower Meadow in preparation for planting wildflower seeds in October. submitted by Bernie Reding Tony Mataya, Johnny(HS volunteer), Dar Moneyhon and Dan Moyer did some work on that fire trail that goes up towards the neighborhood behind the basketball courts. We took loose dirt at the bottom of the trail and moved it up to fill in rutted areas up hill. We installed several large cedar logs from the work shed area as water diversion devices in the trail. submitted by Dan Moyer	Challenge Trail repair being done by Tony and Dar. Photo by Dan Moyer.
Archie Ruatto, John Caporal, Pat McDermott, Jerry and Hamil Cooper continued rebuilding the rock wall near the picnic area near the lower level parking lot at City Park. submitted by Pat McDermott	Archie, Jerry, Hamil and John renovated the rock wall. Photo by Pat Mcdermott.
Pizza, salads and desserts were provided by and served by Sondra Morton, Sheryl Kelly, Carlisle Pearson, Lynn Moore and Donna Ferrie. Thank you to all of you for helping with FOP lunch today. Everything was delicious!!!! submitted by Doris McDermott	View workday photos by clicking here.

The FOP 4th of July Parade Entry won 1st place in the volunteer organization category! 4th of July Parade Participants Are Welcome FOP 2-D Moon or Bust! We can accommodate more people for the ground crew/mission support! The final decorations will be installed on Wed. July 3rd at Dave and Rita Cross's home at 116 Schooner Dr., late afternoon/evening. Then early Thu. morning the float will be moved to the staging area at about 7AM. Our ground crew, mission support specialists and astronauts need to arrive at the staging area a little after 8AM. The parade starts at 8:30 but our staging number is 130 so it will take some time before our float enters the parade from the staging area. FOP will be having a entry in the 4th of July Parade in Lakeway. We still need some parade participants! We will be having a space rocket float and a few "astronauts" will be there but we need more people for the ground crew/mission support. If you are available to walk or ride on the float, please contact Hamil or Jerry Cooper, or Dar Moneyhon or Jim Dunn. Contact information can be found here. Thanks!	Hamil Cooper next to the FOP rocket ship for the 4th of July 2019 parade. This is a special three stage rocket ship coming in at about ten feet. It was constructed with loving care by Bob Sauerman, Jerry and Hamil Cooper	FOP Float entry in the 4th of July 2018 parade.
FOP has submitted an entry to be in the 4th of July Parade. We will have a decorated trailer, a tow vehicle and parade walkers. We plan on constructing a small rocket space ship to be mounted in the trailer and have the parade walkers hold up signs and hand out candy. Rumor has it that several people have volunteered to walk behind our trailer in "space suits". We have a number of other interesting suggestions to consider. Wed. Jun 26 7:30PM at the Pavilion in City Park, all interested people are to meet to discuss construction plans, location of the rocket build, obtaining supplies and work times. We have a limited budget (about $60). ~~Mon Jul 1, time 7PM, location : the Cooper resident - get together to finalize sign topics, costumes and parade activities.~~ Wed Jul 3 time TBD, location : the Cross resident - decorate tow vehicle and trailer with patriotic bunting, crepe paper and flags		FOP Rake Brigade 4th of July 2018.
The FOP Board has approved our group's participation in the Lakeway 4th of July Parade. The parade theme is "Fly Me to the Moon". We STILL need volunteers to participate in the parade on Thursday 7/4/2019. We have enough volunteers to decorate the pickup and trailer. Please contact Dar Moneyhon (dmoneyhon@gmail.com) or Jim Dunn(nnuddj@yahoo.com) if you wish to be part of the group on the 4th!. Our entry in last year's parade was awarded an Honorable Mention and featured the "Rake Brigade". We also need a theme for our parade walkers that ties into the parade's theme of "Fly Me to the Moon" Visit the FOP website at www.lakewayfop.org for more information.	An adult painted bunting at bird blind in Hamilton Greenbelt. Photo by Charles Bennett.
Wildflowers As you know, the wildflowers were incredible this year. Not just Lakeway, but all over. We were fortunate to spread so many seeds right before it started to rain, and rain, in early October. I think we're set in Hamilton Greenbelt long term. Some years will be okay if there's not much rainfall, some years will be good if there's average rainfall and some years will be spectacular if there's above average rainfall. Over time, the perennials, like Mexican Hats, will start to predominate over the annuals, like Bluebonnets. We can compensate for this natural process by spreading annual seeds every few years, particularly when there's an El Nino weather pattern, which leads to above average rainfall in Texas. We are going to have several sections of Wild Petunias that will be very, very nice. They are growing in shady, low areas along the first .7 miles of Hamilton Greenbelt from the Lohmans Crossing entrance. They will start blooming shortly and will provide color (purple) all the way into September. We are fortunate that the Wild Petunias are doing so well in these areas. Here's a link to Wild Petunias from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center NPIN data base: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ruhu And here's a photo I took recently of the Wild Petunias about halfway from the big waterfall to the rainbow bridge along the split rail fence that are about to bloom: submitted by Bob Schooler	Wild Petunias along the HGB trail. Photo by Bob Schooler.
Summer Break 2019 No workdays are scheduled for June, July or August.

New Trail Maps for the Parks of Lakeway

Friends of the Parks is a group of citizens who enjoy the rewards of volunteer service in the parks and greenbelts areas of Lakeway. Monthly Saturday morning work sessions provide opportunities for all levels of service, whether it is tree maintenance, general cleanup or tending memorial gardens at City Park. A few of the hardier members help build and maintain hiking/biking trails in the Hamilton Greenbelts and the Canyonlands Natural Area. Still others provide food for our workday picnics. For information contact Bernie Reding 512-261-5633 or email Bernie

Friends of the Parks sponsors one annual community event which is the annual Wilderness Run/Walk event on the Hamilton Greenbelt trails on the third Saturday of April. The goal of this event is to encourage citizens to get out and enjoy the beauty of the greenbelts and parks of the City of Lakeway.

Friends of the Parks of Lakeway is a 501 (c) 3, Federal Tax Exempt Organization. Donations made to this organization may be tax deductible; check with your tax advisor.

Lakeway, Texas

2020 Annual Membership Meeting

January 2019

City Park

Canyonlands

Lunch @ 11:45

City Park

Canyonlands

Lunch @ 11:45

December 2019

City Park

Hamilton Greenbelt

Canyonlands

Lunch @ 11:45

Workday report

Bob Sauerman

November 16, 2019

November 2019

Workday report

George Blume Plaque Dedication

October 2019

Planned Workday Projects

Workday Reports

September 2019

Workday Projects

The FOP 4th of July Parade Entry won 1st place in the volunteer organization category!

4th of July Parade Participants Are Welcome

FOP 2-D Moon or Bust!

Summer Break 2019

New Trail Maps for the Parks of Lakeway

News This Thu. Jan. 30th 6PM Annual Business Meeting. Board meeting on Mon. Feb. 3rd 6:30PM at the LAC Jan. workday was Sat. Jan. 11th 8AM Details here. Dec. workday was Sat. Dec. 14th 8AM Details here. Volksmarch was held Sat. Nov. 16th Noon Details here. Nov. workday was Sat. Nov. 9th 8AM Details here. George Blume dedication was Sat. Oct. 12, 12:15 at City Park Details here. Wilderness Run 2020 Sat. Apr. 18th. Renew your membership for 2020, click here !!! Contact FOP Treasurer Bernie Reding 512-261-5633 or email countyboy@aol.com Submit your photos and volunteer stories ! ! !

Lakeway Area Parks Map Lakeway City Park Map Lakeway City Park Map (older version) Lakeway City Park Map Interactive Version Hamilton Greenbelt Trails Map Updated 12/30/2010 Canyonland Trails Map (pdf) Updated 2016 Canyonlands Interactive Map Link. Mt Lakeway Trails Map Sep 2012 Rough Hollow Trails Map Apr 2018 (pdf). Lakeway Weather Forecast