New developments coming to Fish Springs

Some new development is about to happen here in Fish Springs and it looks like we need to have some citizen participation regarding the very important issues involved. The property in question is the 60-acre old Fingar Ranch along Windmill Road and the 80-acre parcel that's north of it and is owned by Palmatiers Properties.

The problem is lack of adequate drainage. Remember the Blue Sky Development and all its problems last year? After all the residents' complaints, it was still developed with an inadequate drainage plan. When the rains came, so did uncontrolled storm water runoff from the development and that caused damage to downstream properties. Douglas County needs to protect its citizens from this ongoing property damage. If you drove down Windmill Road during a flood event, you probably had to turn around and go back home as Windmill is the only route out for many residents to the north. Any new development here in Fish Springs needs to be "designed with the topography" of the land.

For more information, contact Mr. Mitchell Dion, community development manager at 782-6201.

Hailstorm: On Friday afternoon, May 19, there was a heavy hailstorm in Fish Springs. We first heard the loud, growling thunder, and then we saw lightning flash across the sky. It seemed to be right over our heads. That was followed by five minutes of torrential rain. I ran outside to retrieve some pretty container flowers from the deck and I got pelted hard with the pouring down rain. Before I made it back inside the house the liquid rain turned into hail stones. Now I know why they're called "stones." Hard as a rock.

I was worried that the hail would dent my car but my husband's first concern was his tomatoes. He started them all from seeds in our greenhouse and transplanted them to a raised bed when they were one to two feet tall. The "walls of water" kept them warm at night, but the sudden wind and pounding hail had the potential to ruin all the crops.

It reminded me of a motorcycle trip that we took to Maine one summer vacation. That's where we visited "Johnny's Selected Seeds." Norbert buys lots of his garden seeds there. To help "Johnny's" seeds grow fast, they covered all the rows with thick black plastic which warmed the soil and prevented weeds. But it didn't protect the new seedlings from a ferocious attack of Maine hailstones. Acres of commercial land were pelted with the hard lumps of ice and there were thousands of holes in the black plastic.

Luckily, our vegetable garden here in Fish Springs survived the fierce hailstorm so Norbert won't have to start all over again with tomato seeds. He wouldn't like that. He's expecting a bumper crop of luscious organic tomatoes this summer. We had a small garden last year, but we're sure hoping to make up for that this year.

n Linda Monohan can be reached at 782-5802.