As is typical this time of year, we are sharing the annual budget as early as we can, giving the community an opportunity to provide feedback on a preliminary budget draft. We invite you to join us for one of two budget Q&A sessions being held at the Ranch House next week in person or via zoom. A draft budget will be sent out to the community prior to the sessions.

Zoom Information: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87491812785?pwd=WFmfnQTipUIGiQECOxrl9b2uR8J7XN.1
Meeting ID: 874 9181 2785                                                                                       
Passcode: 264265

Zoom Information: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82764498436?pwd=K02yizWqQGVZGHZGjAbwlKGTrOoJQL.1                                                                      Meeting ID: 827 6449 8436
Passcode: 221824

With cooler nights and shorter days, autumn is here! Visiting an apple orchard is a quintessential fall activity. Ensure your experience is eco-friendly by choosing orchards that follow sustainable farming practices. Look for those that minimize pesticide use, support pollinators, and avoid excessive water consumption. When picking apples, bring your own reusable bags or containers instead of using single-use plastic bags provided by the orchard. We are fortunate to be close to many orchards in beautiful neighboring Paonia. To help you choose where to start, check out the website for the Valley Organic Growers Association.  Valley Organic Growers Association - North Fork Valley, Colorado (vogaco.org). Or if you are traveling around Colorado, maybe doing some leaf peeping, here is a state directory of orchards. Colorado Orchards Directory - our listing of orchards in Colorado (orangepippin.com). Happy picking.

Payment Due

The first due date for half of the special assessment was October first. If you have not already made a payment, please drop off or mail a check to:

RVRMA
444 River Valley Ranch Dr
Carbondale CO 81623

Alternatively, you can email our Controller at accounting@rvrma.org to have the payment ACH from your bank account.

Pictured above is an example of an appropriate water-wise landscape design in keeping with the objectives of the River Valley Ranch Design Guidelines.
Click here for a larger, printable version of the drawing.

We are seeing more and more homeowners taking steps towards creating drought tolerant landscape improvements on their properties. RVRMA encourages the use of water conservation practices and it's wonderful to see many in the community are headed in this direction!

The RVRMA DRC and management worked with Professional Landscape Architect, Richard Camp, to create an example drawing of a home in RVR that implements a xeriscape design that is compatible with the overall aesthetic themes in the community. We hope that this example can inspire residents to take even a piece of this plan and execute it at your home. 

As a kind reminder, any improvements to the exterior of your home will require approval from the HOA. Many landscape projects can be approved through the Administrative Approval process including landscape installation, tree planting & removal, raised garden beds and more. More complex landscape projects may require a more formal design review by the DRC. In all cases, please fill out and submit a Home Improvement Application.

For a list of appropriate drought tolerant trees, click here to visit the CSU website.
You can find more information on the RVR website here.

RVR management, together with community members and Lisa DiNardo (Horticulturalist with Eagle Crest Nursery) came together to create a native plant habitat at the Ranch House. The garden is located in the planting bed at the end of the lap pool. It was planted this spring and has already taken off throughout the summer months!

We wanted to create an environment where pollinators can find food and a nesting space that also promotes a native biodiversity.

We invite you to stop by the Ranch House to view our new native plant habitat!

Lisa shares the following on the Eagle Crest Nursery website, "We humans, being at the top of the food chain, enjoy the greatest creature comforts: favorable housing, access to food at the grocery store and from our gardens, but not so for beneficial insects, pollinators, and animals. They must exist in our transformed environments where the reciprocity between organisms and their food sources has significantly deteriorated.

Decades of clearing indigenous landscapes and building urban and suburban environments have replaced the nutritious original food sources with nonnative plant species that are very challenging for animals and their young to feed on. From an early age we have gleaned, by mostly nonverbal cues, that our gardens and landscapes are things of beauty and status and mistakenly assume that the local park or the narrowly forested tracts along our highways and byways are sufficient for wildlife to sustain themselves." Click here to read the full article.

Click here to view the Town of Carbondale meeting calendar.

Now that fall has swooped in, we are making arrangements for leaf disposal and irrigation blowouts in the community.

Leaf Disposal

The annual leaf dumpster service at the Ranch House parking lot will be in place on Monday, Oct. 7.

*This service is offered to RVR homeowners only. We ask that you please communicate this to your contractors. No plastic bags or other inorganic material allowed. 

Irrigation Winterization

Irrigation blowouts are scheduled to commence the first week of October for common areas and the second week of October for private residences. The team will continue to work on residences through the last week of October. Upon completion, we will place a sticker in your controller showing "2024" once it's winterized.

Stickers will look like the ones above.

Tuesday, October 8

Come to the Ranch House to meet the leaders of three local nonprofits and see how you can help make a difference.

We received interest from additional non-profit groups to participate, which is wonderful! We are working on a second date to host these additional local non-profits. Keep an eye out for more information on a second gathering.

Friday, Oct. 18

There was so much participation and enthusiasm around the first presentation, Don Marlin is offering a second geology presentation! It will start with a Q&A session to follow up on his first presentation. Then, Don will get into subsurface geologic interpretations of Carbondale, Perham Creek, and Coal Creek Basin. Complimentary.

Wine, beer, and small snacks will be provided.

Saturday, Oct. 19

RVR's Pam Porter will host a fun and festive cookie decorating class for adults and teens!

Friday, Oct. 25

We had a wonderful Tennis Season this year and want to celebrate with a bang on Friday, Oct. 25 from 5:30-7:30 p.m., potluck, 50% off of drinks.

Saturday, Oct. 26

Join us for an adult Halloween Potluck Party on Saturday, Oct. 26 from 5:30- 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 27

Come to a Kids' Halloween party at the Ranch House on Sunday, Oct. 27 from 2:30 - 5 p.m.

Thursday, October 31

Want to hand out candy for kids but don't live in the most highly trafficked kid area? How about switching homes with someone who does?

Please call 970-963-6300, email frontdesk@rvrma.org or stop by the front desk if you’d like to add your name to the list.

Saturday, Nov. 2

Craft Fair open from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Come and support community artists. Great holiday gifts!

No registration required for shoppers.

Vendors (RVR Residents only) please email Ali Royer to register: ali.royer@rvrma.org

Boundary board meetings are for Boundary property owners of record only. 

Boundary owners are invited to attend the Boundary Homeowners Association Quarterly Meeting on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 3p.m. Owners can participate in person in the Ranch House conference room or via Zoom.
Click here for Zoom Link 
Meeting ID: 857 3532 7841
Passcode: 926846

View the agenda here.

With election season here, we would like to remind RVR homeowners of our sign and flag policy. RVRMA's policy restricts size, placement and quantity. Similarly, the same restrictions apply to flags. With limited and clearly defined exceptions, each lot is allowed one sign and one flag. For properties that back onto the golf course, pedestrian easement or a public park, a second sign is permitted with different size restrictions. Please review the policy for specific guidelines here.

We continue to receive notifications from homeowners of bear sightings in the neighborhood and traces of their activity in the community including bear scat very close to RVR residences.

Remember, bears can be attracted to the neighborhood by trash being left out overnight, bird feeders, pet food, barbeque grills, fruit trees and compost.

Click here to learn more about how to bear proof your home from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. 

Homeowners may now
install deer fencing!

Homeowners may now install deer fencing to protect their valuable landscaping from our resident mule deer.

To read more about RVR deer fencing guidelines, see section 6.58.1 of the Design Guidelines.

Please review some friendly tips for an organized trash & recycling collection day.

*More information can be found on the Town’s website and Mountain Waste’s website.

Click here to view the 2024 Town of Carbondale Waste Calendar.

Thursdays with Shelly from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m.

Join us Thursday mornings at 7:30 a.m. for Vinyasa Flow (moderate) with Shelly. This class is designed for those who are seeking a more vigorous yoga workout that will deliver strength, cardio and flexibility as well as assist in focusing the mind. This class offers a dynamic, continuous flow that connects breath to movement in a sequence of poses that will include sun salutations, down dog, planks, twists, lunges and balancing poses. Note: Some experience practicing yoga is helpful but not necessary.  This class requires the mobility to step from down dog to high/low lunges multiple times throughout the hour.

She also teaches Gentle Slow Flow Yoga on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. and Friday at 8 a.m. This class is designed to strengthen and increase the body’s flexibility while calming the nervous system and focusing the mind. We’ll begin class by settling onto our mats while tuning our attention to and deepening our breath. Next, we’ll begin moving slowly with both seated and supine poses to slowly stretch the back, legs and hips, eventually moving to forward fold and standing poses designed to increase our balance, physical and mental strength, body awareness and coordination. Note:  This class requires the mobility to safely move from the floor to standing several times throughout the hour.  This class is designed and appropriate for most levels of mobility and fitness.

Qigong Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9492574662?pwd=YTZ3Mkc5Z3FrdllEdjVyZ3R0TXFadz09

Passcode: 400427

970.963.6300  •  www.rvrma.org