Dear Neighbors,

It’s looking very nice here at Sea Pines. Spring flowers have been blooming for a few weeks now and Brewster in Bloom is being held this coming weekend, May 1-3. It’s a delightful day today, near 80 degress already at only 10:15am. The beach has been just delightful recently and the water, while still chilly, is so clear. Sunsets have been lovely.

Of course, this is in stark contrast to the harshness of this past winter. While there was an average amount of snow, it was the exceptional cold coupled with a biting and often howling wind and rain that has played havoc with our Bluff siding project schedule, creating delay after delay. Most of the project will be complete by the end of May but the work on 3 buildings will be put off until September, hopefully to be completed in October. That as much work has been done despite the often awful weather is a testament to the abilities, determination and verve of the contractor and his crews.

It is with much sadness that I have to report the unexpected passing of Vera Fields last December 2. She was an original Sea Pines resident, clerk of the FMB for more than 30 years and author of the Sea Pines newsletter "Tidings" for several years in the early 1980’s. She will be greatly missed. All the newsletters can now be found on the Sea Pines web site http://SeaPinesBrewster.com by clicking on the "Monthly Newsletters" link.

Aside from the bluff siding project, this has been a relatively quiet period since the last newsletter in November with little to report. Finances are currently meeting the budget, things that should be getting started at this time of year have been started and there is nothing new to report on the kayak storage issue with our abutter.

Please note that a new, much more comprehensive "zero sort" recycling program will begin May 1. Look for the signs in the garbage sheds. Sorting recyclables will not be needed. It will finally allow recycling of cardboard and almost all forms of plastic. Please do your part and recycle as much as you can, making sure it is clean before you put it in the recycle bin.

A reminder: please pamper our septic systems. They are precious to us and very expensive to replace. If a blockage occurs and the septic pipe backs up into a unit, the damage can be rapid, pervasive and extremely expensive to fix. Don’t flush anything down the toilet except what you use a toilet for. There was a septic pipe blockage last weekend in Landing Lane that partially flooded a unit with grey water and nasty stuff. The blockage appears to have been a large ball of dental floss which clearly has no business being flushed down a toilet where it ends up acting as a web. Sea Pines was very fortunate that the damage to the unit was small since the owners were present for the weekend, discovered the problem shortly after it happened and acted quickly to prevent it from spreading while calling Mercantile for help. Nevertheless, it will be a multi-thousand dollar bill Sea Pines (we owners!) have to pay for between the work to find and fix the clog and the cost of new carpeting in the affected unit. It would have been a LOT less expensive to Sea Pines had the dental floss been discarded in the trash can.

If you’re going to be here Memorial Day weekend, please stop by the BYOB Cocktail Party in the Clubhouse on Sunday May 24 from 5-7pm. Watch for notices posted in the garbage sheds.

Please remember that our Annual Meeting will be held on May 31, the Sunday after Memorial Day this year. You will receive a packet in the mail within the next couple of weeks with all the information. Please attend - it will be good to see you.

For the FMB,

19 Landing Lane