When you look at your calendar you may find the months already overloaded with seasonal obligations — shopping, entertaining, children’s pageants, charity work, decorating the house, and so much more. If you are also trying to sell your home, you are under extra pressure to keep your home in perfect condition

It is understandable why you would be tempted to take your home off the market during the holidays.  Besides, you can give your house a rest, and it will have better momentum after the holidays. Better to enjoy the holidays and start fresh in January.

But wait! Most top Realtors agree that taking your home off the market during the Christmas season is a mistake. The house surely isn’t going to sell off the market! What is the advantage of that?  

The holidays are a wonderful selling period. Why? Because most people take off work sometime during the season. The husband and wife are both have time off and want to see houses.  

Before you take your home off the market, consider the following points:

• Although buyer activity may appear to slow down, the buyers who are actively looking during the holidays are that much more serious.  
• Many buyers deliberately choose to shop for a home after the busy spring and summer rush. They know that it will be easier to look, and that negotiations will be less stressful.  
• Relocating families often don’t have a choice when they can leave for their new destination. Although 68% of transferring families have children, many families have to transfer during the middle of the school year.  .
• At Christmas time, our culture focuses on family and the home. Preparing for the indoor activities of winter is one of the most enjoyable periods of family life. Allowing buyers to view your home during this most hospitable of seasons lets them better picture their own family life in the attractive environment you have created.
• When is your home ever more beautiful and inviting? You have cleaned and decorated, and your home looks like a picture postcard. If the results are good enough for family and friends, they will surely be good enough to impress your buyers.  
• With many motivated buyers in the marketplace, you may find you have more showings than you would if you sold your home during a busier time of the year.
• If you do get a contract, you can arrange the terms and timing to suit your needs.
• Keeping your home on the market during the Christmas season just might result in a successful sale!

Sterling and some of our surrounding towns are very blessed to have municipal light companies to take care of our downed power lines, and they came through again for us.  Power across most of the town was up very quickly, and some of us never lost any services.  Go Sterling Municipal Light Company!  Many people in other areas are ready to lynch National Gird!!

What to Do About Falling Trees

If a neighbor’s tree damages your property, your insurance company should pay to repair the damage, then decide whether to seek reimbursement from your neighbor.

When a neighbor’s tree falls over your property line, yell TIMBER, then call your insurance company. Home owners policies cover tree damage caused by perils like wind and winter storms. Most policies cover hauling away tree debris if the mess is associated with house damage; some will cover cleanup even if no structures were harmed.

When a tree falls Your neighbor is responsible when a tree falls over your shared property line only if you can prove he was aware that his tree was a hazard and refused to remedy the problem. Regardless, your insurance company restores your property first, and later decides whether or not to pursue reimbursement from the neighbor or his insurer if the neighbor was negligent in maintaining the tree.

Before a Tree Falls

Write a letter to your neighbor before his dead, diseased or listing tree falls through your roof or over your property line. The letter should include:

• Description of the problem

• Photographs

• Request for action

• Attorney letterhead—not necessary but indicates you mean business.

Trim Their Trees

If the limbs of a tree hang over your property line, you may trim the branches  up to the property line, but not cut down the entire tree. If a tree dies after your little pruning, the neighbor can pursue a claim against you in civil or small claims court. Depending on the laws of your state, your neighbor may have to prove the damage was deliberate or caused by negligence, but may also be able to recover up to three times the value of the tree.

Before you cut, tell your neighbors what you intend to do to protect your property. They may offer to trim the whole tree instead of risking your potentially poor job, which would be very good for you.

Your Tree Falls

It’s always a good idea to take care of your big and beautiful trees, and keep receipts for trimmings and other care. But if your tree falls over a neighbor’s property line, do nothing until their insurance company contacts you. You may not be liable unless you knew or should have known the tree was in a dangerous condition. If you pruned a tree or shored up trunks to prevent problems, gather your receipts to prove your diligence.

Trees provide our homes great value and it is very important to take good care of them.  The visual value as well as the financial value is well worth the investment of time and money.

The Sterling Women’s Club is working hard at the Power’s Auction on Tuesday nights at the First Church in Sterling.  The women are making delicious hot suppers, sandwiches, salads, hot dogs, fresh-baked desserts, hot fudge sundaes, water, and soft drinks.

The people who come to bid at the auction will want to have a hot meal and something sweet and special before they start their bidding, and they enjoy the variety of meals the Women’s Club offers.  Club members donate all the food, the preparations, the drinks and paper goods in an effort to raise the most money possible for our cause. 

Profits made from this fund-raising will provide scholarship money to give to Sterling seniors who will be attending college the following year.  Sterling students who apply for the scholarship are extraordinarily talented young people with outstanding academic accomplishments, well-rounded interests, and clear goals for their future.    The Women’s Club is proud to be of service to our community and Sterling students. 

A number of years ago my daughter won one of the Women’s Club scholarships, and she considered this opportunity such an honor for all her hard work through high school.  She is a member of the Sterling Women’s Club now, and she enjoys the fund-raising, because she knows how meaningful the award is for hard-working Sterling students.

If you have never experienced the auctions on Tuesday nights, come support the fund-raising efforts of the Sterling Women’s Club during the months of November and March.  If you have Sterling seniors needing funding for college, watch for news about applications in the early spring.  We would love to honor your children too.

The recreation department offers both youth and men’s basketball, volleyball, instrumental music lessons, kids Zumba-Yoga, gentle Yoga, a great American Red Cross babysitting course, kick boxing and Tai Chi.  There are classes for skiing and snowboarding at Mt. Wachusett.  Senior citizens trips to Foxwoods and New York City Holiday shopping trips.  Something for everyone.

Judy Janda and her committee should be highly commended for the great opportunities they provide the families of Sterling.  Brochures are available at the Conant Public Library, Appletown Market, Sterling Deli and the Butterick Municipal building.

Fall landscaping chores are your last chance to prepare your property for winter, and to protect that curb appeal you’ve worked so hard to create. So pull on some gloves, grab your tools, and get ready to mulch, prune, and plant before the next snow and frozen ground
turn the lights out on your landscaping.

Spread mulch

“Fall mulching is better for the plants than spring mulching,” says Dan Taft, owner
of The Cutting Edge in Chantilly,  Va. “It helps protect roots from frost and helps retain moisture during a cold and dry winter.”

Spread 2 to 3 inches of fresh mulch around shrubs and trees. Taft warns home
owners to avoid using free mulch from municipal piles, which often contain
disease spores; instead, buy hardwood shredded mulch from home and garden
centers, he says.

“Cheap, dump mulch mainly is made from trees that have died from disease,” Taft
says. “Many diseases will linger in the mulch, like leaf spot and pine bark
borers. You don’t want ground-up diseased plants around your landscaping.”

Remove the dead and dying

Fall isn’t the time to prune, because that encourages growth when healthy plants
should remain dormant. But don’t shelve your shears and loppers yet. Fall is
the time to neaten your landscaping before putting it to bed for the winter.

“If you remove dead landscaping in fall, you don’t have to look at it all
winter,” Taft says.

• Remove dead annuals.

• Deadhead spent blooms, and cut back dead and desiccated ornamental grasses and perennials.

•      Lightly prune dead and dying branches from shrubs and trees. Carefully
  remove dried blossoms from hydrangea, but don’t remove dead-looking
  stalks, where new buds will form in spring.

• After the first frost, cut back tea roses to about a third of their height.

Wrap delicate shrubs

Heavy snow, ice, and high winds can dry and split your delicate and pricey shrubs. To
protect your landscaping from the winter elements:

• Hide small plants under overturned plastic pots or buckets.

• Wrap shrubs, such as boxwoods, in burlap.

• Surround vulnerable trees with shredded leaves.

Take advantage of fall sales

Early fall until the ground freezes is a good time to plant trees and
shrubs. Not only do cooler weather and autumn rain put less stress on young
landscaping plants, nurseries often have sales to empty their shelves before
winter

“They need to sell every plant by Dec. 1,” Taft says. “Nurseries generally pay
a third of the price that you’re paying. So don’t be afraid to offer less than
the asking price. If you’re buying several things, the manager may give you a
break.”

Let’s hope Mother Nature gives us another few weeks of Indian Summer weather, so we can do the final clean up in our yards and be ready for Spring.

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon

A few years ago Judith Murphy was president of the Sterling Women’s Club and she wanted the club to help the children of Sterling celebrate Halloween in a safe and special way.  With the help of a number of members of the Women’s Club, the first Spooky Walk took place with great “treats” for the kids and supported by many local businesses.

This year the event will be hosted by the Village Green Preschool on October 24 from 5 to 7:30 pm.  Children from neighboring towns are invited to dress in their costumes and bring a trick or treat bag.

The parade will start at 5 at the gazebo behind the Fire Station, proceed up Main Street to the First Church, where the party will be held.  The $5 tickets are available at Sterling Academy of Gymnastics and Dance, Conant Public Library, Appletown Market,, Village Green Preschool, and the First Church.

Thank you Village Green Preschool for hosting this wonderful Sterling event!

The children love the Frog Jumping Contest, driving the tractors, and the carnival rides.  The Chocksett Club will serve the outstanding pancake breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings to raise money for their scholarship fund.  The Sterling Fire Department will serve great fresh grilled sandwiches.  The fresh squeezed lemonade and home make apple crisp with vanilla ice cream are some of my favoite things.

The animal judging, including the cows, goats, sheep, chickens, and rabbits is always a big hit.  The oxen and horse pulls always draw a large and enthusiastic audiences.

Fireworks are planned for Friday night, September 9, 2011, and the Fair will continue on Saturday and Sunday, September 10 and 11.  Local bands will play music, and our own Paul Rogers of T & G fame will come speak about everything to do with gardening.   Come and experience the best of the country fair where there is something fun for the whole family.

Hurricane Irene did come roaring through Sterling on Sunday and certainly left some damage.  There were some trees down, and we did loose electricity for a short while, but we really escaped the worst of it.

After the ice storm of 2008, Sterling residents can take most anything.  We also learned during the cold days and nights of no power that electricity is a very important feature in our lives, and we really miss it when there is an interruption. 

I lived in Norwood for many years, and today I read an article in the Norwood Patch, called “It is a Norwood Thing.”  Norwood has its own municipal light company, and it reminded me of how truly lucky we are to have our own Sterling Municipal Light Company. 

A number of years ago the town considered selling our municipal light company to National Grid, so I don’t have to tell you how long we might have waited for those folks to take care of us. 

We need to honor our own local police, firemen, and Municipal Light Company workers, who stand ready to take care of our town under all emergency situations.  Next week the Light Company will string lights and provide electricity to make our Sterling Fair a reality.  It is a “Sterling Thing” to be able to count on our local people under all situations, and we are a very lucky to have them.

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Sterling Common

Davis Farmland

Davis Farm on Redstone Hill in Sterling MA is celebrating a birthday this weekend.  The Davis family has been farming this land for 165 years and  during the weekend of August 20 and 21, there will be special events at Davis Farmland, which is a children’s discovery park petting zoo, and children’s water park. 

The Davis Farm began as a dairy farm in 1846, and seven generations have been actively farming this land.  More recently the family created a very special place for families to bring their children to see what farm animals are all about.   The original Petting Zoo offered young children a chance to pet the baby goats, see the chickens lay eggs, ride the ponies, and enjoy the most exciting children’s play ground ever.   My granddaughter and her friend were able to watch twin baby goats being born and the “farm hands” let them name the babies.  It was very exciting for her.

Baby Goats

Over time the farm has expanded to include the water park and mega maze, and families come from near and far to enjoy the “Farmland experience”.  This weekend will bring special events.  Don’t miss the chance to share this time with your family, and your children will thank you.