October Santa and Rudolph will be at the castle area in Lowe s Farm on Sunday, December 9 from 2:00 4:00 P.M.

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1 October 2012 A PUBLICATION OF THE LOWE S FARM HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. DIVE-IN MOVIES The HOA hopes everyone enjoyed the Dive-In Movies provided during this pool season. Thanks to Dan Sides for initiating this project. We received lots of positive comments regarding the movies and refreshments. We would like to include the Dive-In Movies during next year s pool season. Please contact social@lowesfarmhoa.com to volunteer in helping with this project. MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Before we know it 2012 will be coming to an end and we will be ushering in the New Year! I know it sounds cliché, but I find as I get older the years seem to go by faster. Most of my favorite holidays are at the end of the year. I enjoy greeting the trick-or-treaters at Halloween, visiting my family at Thanksgiving, and watching the grandchildren opening their Christmas presents. It is a time filled with family traditions and a time spent in reflection of the things that have occurred throughout the year. Fall is the time everyone gears up for the winter. It is the ideal time to plant new shrubs or trees and to replace the ones that have not made it through the hot Texas summer. As an amateur gardener, I appreciate the cooler weather in which to do this outside work at my home. As a HOA Board member, I take a special interest in how our common areas look since it is a reflection of our entire neighborhood. The flower beds are being maintained and improved upon under the guidance of Dan Peters and Site Landscaping. The flower beds are colorful with the various perennials and the spider zinnas are in full bloom. Soon it will be time to do the color change for the colder months. As you tidy up your own yard, take the time to look at and appreciate the different landscaping designs on your street. We truly have some beautifully designed landscapes in Lowe s Farm. I wish everyone a wonderful ending for the year. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at ginnie.bucek@lowesfarmhoa.com. Ginnie Bucek, Lowe s Farm HOA Santa and Rudolph will be at the castle area in Lowe s Farm on Sunday, December 9 from 2:00 4:00 P.M. Please sign up to receive the blast to receive Santa s special instructions.

2 2012 POOL SEASON The pool season opened on Saturday, May 5th. It was marked by several different events. The first noticeable one was the lack of a pool party. I for one missed it. I know we have a lot of fun party planners in the neighborhood. Maybe next year, you all might want to join forces and plan a fun event to kick off the 2013 pool season. For the first time we had Dive-In Movies. This project was spearheaded by Dan Sides. The featured movies for the summer were: Dolphin s Tale and Finding Nemo. We received a lot of positive feedback regarding the movies, and will continue having the Dive-In Movies next year. Once again we were fortunate to have an efficient pool monitor, Scott Christenson, from the Pool Ambassador program. Homeowners provided many positive comments regarding their experiences at the pool since we initiated this program in The pool officially closed for the winter on Sunday, September 30. The pool has been winterized and repair work has been completed on the decking mastic. Repair work has also been completed on the amenity center s sidewalk and parking lot. You may have noticed the installation of a new bike rack. If your child rides his/her bike to the amenity center, you may want to invest in a bike lock. Please send your suggestions and concerns regarding the pool and amenity center to the HOA Board at pool@lowesfarmhoa.com. The pool committee is in need of a chairman and committee members. The 2012 National Night Out was originally scheduled for Saturday, September 29 but was rescheduled to Sunday, September 30 due to the predicted weather forecast. This time the meteorologists predictions were correct and we received a nice steady rain throughout Saturday. We needed the rain, but it was an inconvenience for planning an outside event. I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to David Littlefield and Robert Wilcox. Without them, there would not have been a NNO this year due to the lack of members on the Safety Committee. When you see them next time, please thank them both for their dedication and hard work on this project. Also, I want to thank the volunteers from Rush Creek Church. There wouldn t have been snow cones without their presence. Thank you: Cindy, John, Cathy, Brittney and Miranda. The NNO registration indicated 250 parents and children were in attendance this year. Dickey s Barbecue Pit catered the meal and the drinks were provided by Target. The children enjoyed bounce house slides, cotton candy and snow cones. Through the generosity of our local businesses, 22 lucky homeowners were winners of terrific door prizes. Based upon our RSVP registration, we were able to provide coupons to several restaurants in Mansfield. Fred Meyer Jewelers provided gift bags for each family, and Avante Salon & Day Spa provide free massages. David, Robert and I hope everyone enjoyed the BBQ and had a great time. All the businesses that provided door prizes and contributions for the NNO event have their business logos printed within this newsletter. Next time you are in their place of business, please take the time to acknowledge your appreciation of their support for our Lowe s Farm neighborhood. As a member of the HOA Board, I would like to see the Neighborhood Watch Program re-instated. This safety program is beneficial for every household in Lowe s Farm. The program needs 1-3 volunteers per block (depending upon the number of houses on the block) and most of the communication can be through . This is an easy way to become active in our community and become acquainted with all your neighbors. If interested, please send a message to safety@lowesfarmhoa.com. Ginnie Bucek The Lowe s Farm HOA would like to express their appreciation of the following Mansfield businesses (placed all throughout the newsletter) that provided donations, discounts, and support for our 2012 NATIONAL NIGHT OUT. THANK YOU

3 SAFETY COMMITTEE The Hide Lock Take brochure was provided by the Mansfield Police Department. It includes great tips for keeping you and your car safe. This is especially important during the approaching holiday shopping season. See next page for more tips...

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8 AUTUMN IS UPON US! Recharge and reconnect with nature. You ve made it through another Texas Summer. Pat yourself on the back! Then, throw open the windows and get a breath of cool air! Autumn is upon us a glorious season in Texas. Head outside and enjoy your garden during this most pleasant of seasons. Color your world. Have fun experimenting with colorful annual flowers and foliage in your beds and containers. Get creative with crotons, mums, ornamental peppers and other bold, festive selections. Feed the grass. A Fall lawn feeding is just what the plant doc ordered. Be sure to fertilize with a high-quality product. The grass deserves the best after the stresses of Summer. To help you out, Calloway s Premium Lawn Food is available in or formulations. Both contain 70% slow-release nitrogen to fortify lawns with much-needed nutrients. Splurge on seasonal décor. As the holidays draw closer, dress up your home with pumpkins, corn stalks and cute outdoor décor. Plant a tree. A few weeks ago you were likely wishing for a shady spot. Get a head start on Summer 2013 by planting trees and large shrubs now. They ll have time to establish before freezing weather comes our way. Attend a clinic! Fall means more free garden clinics. Something is going on each weekend throughout September and October. Visit our website, for details! Image courtesy of Calloway's Nursery Inc. POINSETTIAS WITH PURPOSE SPREAD GOODWILL WITH EACH POINSETTIA PURCHASE Nothing says Happy Holidays quite like Poinsettias! These Christmas favorites add color and cheer at home, at the office and at your place of worship. As the season approaches you ll find a wide selection of Poinsettias at all Calloway s and Cornelius Nursery locations. A vast array of colors, shapes and sizes will be available. You ll be spreading goodwill with each Poinsettia purchase made at our stores. A portion of proceeds from sales will go to Lena Pope Home. Since its founding in 1930, the programs offered by Lena Pope Home have evolved to meet the changing needs of the community. Today, the organization helps create hope, happiness, and success for children and families through two focused areas: counseling and education. You can learn more at We look forward to helping you with your holiday décor while we assist others in the process! Visit for store hours, locations and timely gardening advice. NEIGHBORHOOD PHONE DIRECTORY Has your neighbor ever left their door open and you wanted to tell them but didn t know their phone number? Did you know that there is a phone directory on the PremierConnect website ( lowesfarm). If you have not been on the website before, you will need a registration code which you can get from your Association Manager, Michele McConnelee with Premier Communities at mmcconnlee@premiercommunities.net. After getting logged in, go to my account and then resident directory. If you would like to be in the directory, please enter your information and check the box for inclusion.

9 YARD OF THE MONTH WINNERS July YOTM Winner Mr. and Mrs. Brian and Debbie Lemke 4211 Woodcrest AUGUST YOTM Winner Mr. and Mrs. Robert and Heidi Allen 4215 Woodcrest August Backyard of the Month Winner Ms. Kim Cannady 4200 Lone Oak Drive LANDSCAPING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER YOTM Winner Mr. and Mrs. Godwin and Sheila Shaw 1301 Grayhawk Drive This article is about winter gardening. The fall is the best time to replace trees or shrubs. In our area we are lucky this includes the month of November. This past summer, if you planted zinnias, marigolds or other flowers that go to seed; now is the time to clip the flower heads and store them in your garage. I actually pull up the entire plant and store them in plastic tubs in my garage. In the spring, the woody part of the flowers can be crushed and turned into mulch and their seeds planted. I like to see which flowers actually grow from this reseeding process. This past year all my zinnias came up in my gardens. Walking the neighborhood, I ve seen so many great looking gardens. I appreciate the hard work that goes into maintaining a flower garden and enjoy seeing yards with manicured shrubs. This past summer we had an incredible amount of weeds; probably from the previous mild winter. In the fall, I usually plant winter rye grass after scalping back the Bermuda grass. Investing in winter rye pays off in two ways; choking out weeds and providing a dark green lawn all winter long. A light covering of winter mulch will make your garden beds look neat and clean, prevent weeds, and provide a warm blanket for any annual flowers and bulbs that you may have planted. This fall, I asked the landscaper to plant daffodil bulbs in the tree wells along Lowe s Farm Parkway. I m hopeful for a great display next spring. If you would like to plant daffodil bulbs, be sure to do so before we get a hard freeze. Add a little mulch on top and you should have a nice bulb display in the springtime. Tulips can be nice as well; mix them with the daffodil bulbs because the tulips will come up after the daffodils, and you will get a double shot of color before the perennials bloom. I hope you enjoyed the community gardens this year. I m very pleased with the Fox Lane flower garden and I have enjoyed watching it grow. It s been my observation that many other neighborhoods have started planting perennial gardens too; Lowes Farm is ahead of this trend. I hope you ll agree that a great looking neighborhood adds to all of our property values. Happy gardening, Dan Peters, Landscape Committee Chairman

10 LOWE S FARM HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. C/O PREMIER COMMUNITIES MANAGEMENT COMPANY 3102 OAK LAWN AVE, STE 202 DALLAS, TX WWW. PREMIERCOMMUNITIES. NET TELEPHONE: (214) FAX: (214) Association Manager- Michele McConnelee (877) mmcconnelee@premiercommunities.net Accounting / Billing questions- (877) accountservices@premiercommunities.net Resale & Refinance Certificates- (888) After hours Property Emergency number- (214) ext. 350 HASH BROWN POTATO CASSEROLE Serves 8-10 The annual Fall Lowe s Farm Garage Sale was held on Saturday, October 20th. It was a great success and we would like to thank everyone who participated in our community event! 20 oz. frozen hash browns, thawed ½ c. butter, melted ¼ - ½ c. onions, finely chopped 10 ½ oz. cream of chicken soup 1 ½ c. cheddar cheese, grated 1 pt. sour cream Combine hash browns and butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Place mixture in an ungreased shallow baking pan. Sprinkle the following mixture on top of the casserole. 2 c. cornflakes, crushed ¼ c. butter, melted Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.