Mirrormont Country Club
Summer Swim Lessons

All sessions are a total of eight, 30 minute lessons. Preschool classes are limited to 3 students. Youth Level 3 & 4 may have 4 students. Youth Level 5 & 6 may have up to 6 students. See schedule.

To sign up call Ruby Cacchione at: 425-255-3876 or email: rubycacchione@hotmail.com

Some sessions are full or close to being filled... sign up fast!

Tennis, anyone?

The sun is shining and the courts have been cleaned! Come get your game on in the beautiful setting of Mirrormont!

Are you interested in learning how to play? Find out more!

Please call Paige and/or Alison at 425-391-1878 for details regarding the clinic date and fee, lesson prices and times, etc..

Mirrormont Pea Patch Progress
by Linda Shepherd

As the days get longer and warmer, I’m looking at seed catalogs full of gorgeous vegetables with intriguing names: Cosmic Purple Carrots, Devils Tongue Lettuce, Bull’s Blood Beets . . . and what do Komatsuna Chinese Greens taste like? There’s a whole world of flavors I’m eager to explore that don’t make it to Safeway, or even PCC.

Over the past two months, fourteen families have been involved in planning a community garden proposed to be on Mirrormont Country Club (MCC) land behind the tennis courts. In February, the Mirrormont Community Association (MCA) Board voted to stand behind the Mirrormont Pea Patch and made it a program of the MCA eligible for funding as a 501(c)4 nonprofit.

We are applying for funding through Community Partnerships and Grants, and had our first two work parties on April 11th & 19th to start to remove invasive Himalayan blackberries. We hope to level the site and install deer fencing in time for planting this spring. Then we look forward to growing food for our families, neighbors, and the Issaquah Food Bank. We welcome more PeaPatchers!

It will be a big job to salvage native plants, clear the land of blackberries, cut and chip the young alders, and cover paths with wood chips.

We gratefully accept donations of:

• garden tools
• picnic tables
• wheelbarrows
• outdoor chairs
• hoses
• stakes
• watering wands
• compost bins 
• hose nozzles
• $$$

Want more information? Please see our MIRRORMONT PEA PATCH FAQs.

If you are interested in Pea Patch gardening, volunteering or donating, please contact Linda Shepherd at 425-391-8790 or Ljsheprd1@comcast.net.

Bear Sightings and What to do...

The WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife has a number that can be called; Mill Creek Regional Office is: 425-775-1211 to report nuisance wildlife.

They cannot do much, unless the animal is causing harm to people or property, but they will give pointers and send out info if requested. They also have a good website, this particular web page you may find helpful: (Living with Wildlife) Black Bears.

Here are tips should you come in close contact with a bear:

• Stop, remain calm, and assess the situation. If the bear seems unaware of you, move away quietly when it’s not looking in your direction. Continue to observe the animal as you retreat, watching for changes in its behavior.
• If a bear walks toward you, identify yourself as a human by standing up, waving your hands above your head, and talking to the bear in a low voice. (Don't use the word bear because a human-food-conditioned bear might associate "bear" with food . . . people feeding bears often say "here bear."
• Don't throw anything at the bear and avoid direct eye contact, which the bear could interpret as a threat or a challenge.
• If you cannot safely move away from the bear or the bear continues toward you, scare it away by clapping your hands, stomping your feet, yelling, and staring the animal in the eyes. If you are in a group, stand shoulder-to-shoulder and raise and wave your arms to appear intimidating. The more it persists the more aggressive your response should be. If you have pepper spray, use it.
• Don't run from the bear unless safety is very near and you are absolutely certain you can reach it (knowing that bears can run 35 mph). Climbing a tree is generally not recommended as an escape from an aggressive black bear, as black bears are adept climbers and may follow you up a tree
  

If you live in areas where black bears are seen, use the following management strategies around your property to prevent conflicts:

means possible traffic delays for Mirrormont commuters. The Bandaret Bridge is located a half mile west of Issaquah-Hobart road, on May Valley road. King County will be drawing on past experience while routing traffic in both directions through a single lane during the Bandaret Bridge replacement project. Because the amount of traffic is relatively low, and because sight lines on the approaches to the bridge from both directions are sufficient, the county can allow motorists to navigate a single lane over the bridge with the assistance of signals or signs at each end.

The new Bandaret Bridge will be built to current safety standards, and will be have shoulders wide enough to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists, thereby increasing safety. King County has conducted traffic-speed studies indicating that the modest improvements in the roads approaching the bridge will not result in motorists driving through at higher speeds; Road Services, however, will continue monitoring traffic after the new bridge is open.

The project is expected to start March 2009, and completion is targeted for Nov. 2009.