The Gull's Call - Jan/Feb/Mar 2026

AssociationNews

Our Annual Harbor Pointe Homeowners Meeting and election of board members will be on the evening of March 26th. Your board encourages you to run for office. We could also use volunteers to help Beth Sibley, our one-woman Landscape Committee, as well as volunteers to form a maintenance committee to assist Samantha and the Board regarding maintenance issues. We have quite a few new homeowners who are encouraged to come to our meeting and meet your neighbors who volunteer their time on all our behalf. Hope to see you on March 26th. There are rumors there may be delicious refresh ments. Headlands by Marla Lee LOOKING FOR GLIMMERS AMIDST THE TRIGGERS S PRING ARRIVES with its usual to-do list, long, nagging,

• a lone Monarch…fueling up on nectar before winter stillness • Pistache and maple trees…flashing into brilliant red after just a few cold nights • the Bay…glassy as a lake, catching beams of light from San Francisco to our rocky shore • feathery poppy leaves…pushing up after the first good rain • palm trees…strung with holiday lights against an orange sunset (through the end of January) • swelling buds…along bare stems of dwarf Magnolia, Michelia, Cercis/Redbud, Cherry — awaiting their spring flush • the Oakland Zoo truck…gathering Elm trimmings for giraffes (yes, really – check their website for other trees they accept) • Salvia Marine Blue (photo)…suddenly electric blue after the first storm • yellow seed clusters…of the Davis Gold Toyon — a terrific CA native tree for Alameda • pink-washed boards…on a freshly installed redwood fence • weeds…that easily release from wet, sandy soil • how simply scattering compost…and letting the rains take it from there gives struggling plants in our infertile sand the spring they deserve The neighborhood may never run out of things to test our patience, but it also never seems to run out of small wonders. And most days, that’s enough. SPARE THE AIR From November through February, the Air District issues Spare the Air Alerts when fine particle pollution is expected to spike — usually on cold, still days when wood smoke hangs low and lingers. During an alert, it’s illegal to burn wood, pellets, fire logs, or any solid fuel in fireplaces, stoves, or outdoor pits. Propane and natural gas devices are exempt; they burn cleaner and don’t add to the haze. You can sign up for Spare the Air Alerts and Advisories on their website.

a little dramatic, and some days it feels like everything is conspiring to set us off. Not just the chores waiting in our own yards, but the irritants around the neighborhood that no one seems in a hurry to fix:

• lawns…left to fend for themselves • weeds…throwing seed like confetti • irrigation…running full tilt on a rainy day

• porta potties…plunked onto curb-strip plantings • rust…blooming on gutters, railings, downspouts • surveillance cameras…peering a little too curiously past property lines • fading paint…especially painful when it’s on my expensive mailbox post • wood smoke…drifting through the neighborhood on a Spare the Air day*

It’s enough to make anyone grumble. So I’m learning, slowly, deliberately, to look for the glimmers instead. Those tiny, perfect moments that pull you out of the spiral and back to the present to find joy:

32 January | February | March 2026

The Gull’s Call