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It seems normal for the temperature to be in the 80’s on Halloween. That seems so fall like. Nothing says apple cider, trick or treating, and fall displays like arm pit sweat. This month, mother nature has been something. It will ultimately be a colder than normal month but with only a trace of precip. In fact, the record at BWI for consecutive days without rain is 32. We’re at day 29 with no end in sight. And also, nothing says Halloween more than this new issue of the Caper, right? I mean, it’s jam packed with goodies. Like for instance….

Jerome, always the poet, talks about the cooler temperatures and how gorgeous College Parkway is at this time of year. Ok, sorry, I added that last part. October, though is always very active and this year is no exception. The annual Halloween Happenings party, Goshen Farm’s music nights, and Cape Conservation Corps have continued their mission of beautifying our surroundings. As always folks, SLOW DOWN, there are people out and about.

It’s also that time of year to remind everyone about the open call for nominations for the Cape St. Claire Improvement Association Board. Now is your time to submit your request to the Town Manager so your name can be added to the ballot for the vote in January. Jerome also talks about the Fairwinds Marina Development Possibilities which refers to the proposed retirement community of 30-50 townhomes in the Fairwinds Marina location. Details inside!

Frank, the Town Manager, discusses the upcoming budget for 2026! Included in this month’s Caper (page 4!) are all the details you will need to make an informed decision at the Annual meeting taking place on January 14th 2025.

In community news, Goshen Farm takes the opportunity to thank the 2024 sponsors for all of their support. The list is too long here so feel free to check it out on page 7. Don’t forget to join Goshen, details are on this page as well.

Cape Conservation Corps, as always, continues to beautify the community through their many projects. Stacey gives a great write-up on all of their success in 2024 and beyond. It’s on page 10.

The Cape Garden Club’s next meeting is on Tuesday November 12th. Members will enjoy a social evening of Garden Bingo with plant & plant themed prizes. Then on Tuesday December 3rd, they will be doing their popular annual Evergreen Wreath Workshop. Check out all of the details on these great events on page 11. In addition, on page 12, the Garden Club is having 2 raffles to support our Cape neighbor facing health challenges. Please scan the QR code and donate today.

In other community events, there’s a Holiday Craft show at the Byzantium at SS. Constantine Helen Greek Orthodox Church on Saturday and Sunday November 23rd-24th. On Sunday December 1st, we are having the Annual Tree Lighting event! Come one, come all to the Cape St. Claire guard shack and hopefully the weather cooperates this year!

On Saturday December 14th from 8:30am – 10:30am, Santa will be here and having breakfast with the families at the Cape St. Claire clubhouse. Signup quickly as these seats go quickly. See page 22 for the signup sheets!

See you around the Cape!

Calendar says spring but winter has had other ideas. Cold morning have been followed by lukewarm days. This will probably be one of those years when we go from Winter to Summer. I hope I’m wrong on that.

Beau, in his Presidential message, has noticed the amount of people strolling about the beaches. Even with the cold weather, many have been curious about the beach project. He mentions a few things to consider when out and about. Be sure to check out the rules here online. Be sure to review before you head out. He also puts out a request for volunteers. We have upcoming events like the Easter Egg Hunt, Strawberry Festival, worksdays on our properties and the 4th of July parade. He is also asking that you consider joining the Board of Governors in the future.

Ryan, the Town Manager, reminds everyone to be cautious while driving about the Cape. Cold weather or not, many people have been out and about so slow down out there. For those selling their homes, he offers tips on what size portable storage containers you’re allowed. Be sure to read the Caper for more tips in his message.

In community news, Goshen Farm is having their open house on Saturday April 23rd from 10am to 4pm at Goshen Farm. This free event is open to everyone who wants to attend. This year they are raffling off 2 lifetime charger 10ft kayaks. Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased online at https://goshenfarm.org or one of their events.

Cape Conservation Corps will be hosting their 2nd annual native plant swap. In addition to reading this month’s Caper, more information can be found here. Stacey, from CCC, gives a great write-up on Spring Ephemerals & Early Bloomers so don’t miss it!

An amazing write-up on the completed beach project is also in this issue with pictures. Please don’t miss out on reading this and finding out about all the work needed to get this project done.

Lastly, don’t forget that the Garden Club will be hosting their plant sale on Saturday May 14th from 8am-2pm. For more information see this month’s Caper or visit their site.

See you around the Cape!

The Holiday season is in full swing in Cape St. Claire. With the Holiday season comes change. Jeff Roche, who has led the Cape as President over the past year, won’t be President again in 2022. Please give him a round of applause for all of the hard work he did for Cape St. Claire in 2021. Thank you, Jeff.

Ryan Anderson, our Town Manager, is letting everyone know that the annual maintenance fee renewal forms will be going out in the mail soon. Keep an eye out in your mailbox for that little yellow postcard. The fees are due by March 1st. He also provides some great Holiday season tips. Don’t forget that our Annual Membership meeting will be held on Tuesday January 11th 2022. At this meeting, we’ll be electing board members and voting on the budget and a $5 increase to the SCBD Fee. Please review the ballot and budget requests in this month’s Caper.

In Community group news, Goshen farm announced that their Round Up campaign, taking place at Cape Ace, managed to raise more than $4,798.95. Goshen also lists out their upcoming 2022 events which start with their Annual Meeting at the clubhouse on January 19th at 7:30.

The Garden Club’s next meeting will be held on February 1st, 2022 and will be with their renowned garden speaker, Claire Jones.

Cape Conservation Corps has a GREAT summary write-up on their amazing 2021 and their plans for 2022. Their Wednesday Weed Warriors program has logged over 300 hours and removed hundreds of invasive plants. They continue to do great work around the community.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you in 2022!

Labor Day has come and gone which only means one thing … summer is nearly over. We hope that you had a great Summer around the Cape and wherever else you visited this year. Jeff, in his Presidents message, talks about many of the things you might’ve done this year and gives us hope as we head into Fall. Also, don’t forget that if you’re interested in joining the board here at Cape St. Claire Improvement Association, that our meetings are the 2nd Monday of the month. Feel free to come to our quarterly meeting, set for October 26th at 7:30pm at the clubhouse to learn more.

Ryan, the Town Manager, in his message, talks about great tips in the fall for renovating your lawn. Don’t miss out, especially if you’re looking to get your grass green and ready for the spring.

In community news, Goshen’s Fall Open house is scheduled for September 18th from 10am – 4pm. There will be a presentation on drone flights, Birds of Prey from Raptor’s Eye and a presentation from the Bee Keeper as well as a booth from the AACO library. The winner of Goshen Farm’s 2021 Kayak Raffle is Linda Beck!

The Cape Garden club will be meeting on Tuesday October 5th, and will feature Dan Benarcik of Chanticleer Gardens who will be speaking on Design Principles of the Pros as well as their popular Seed & Cutting Exchange. To join the fun, email [email protected] or text 410-212-1944 for more info.

The Cape Community Swap will be help on Sunday October 10th from 10am to 2pm. More information on this great community event can be found in this Caper. We are accepting submissions for the 2022 Cape St. Claire Calendar Photo contest. How to enter this awesome contest can be found in this month’s Caper.

In Cape Conservation Corps news, their Native Plant Fest and Sale will be held on September 25th from 9am to 12pm behind the clubhouse field. Don’t forget that they hose their Weed Warriors every Wednesday night from 5-7pm at the Serene Ravine. Their 7th Harvest Bash fundraiser & membership drive will be held on November 5th, 2021 from 7-10pm at the clubhouse.

Whew!! Busy times! Don’t forget that Halloween Happenings IS happening on October 23rd from 10am to 3pm and Trick or Treating is going to be held at the Cape Shopping center on Thursday October 28th 2021. It will begin at 5:30pm. More information and signup forms on Halloween Happenings and Trick or Treating can be found in this issue.

Lastly, the Strawberry Festival was held on August 28th 2021 and it was amazing. It was so great to see everyone this year after having to take 2020 off. This Caper issue has all of the Strawberry Festival images you can handle! Don’t forget to check it out!

See you around the Cape!

Larry Hogan announced yesterday that Maryland will be in Phase 3 of COVID recovery on Friday. That’s good news. Some would argue that’s too fast and others would say it’s too slow. No debate on that here. It’s nice to see us climbing out of the COVID doldrums and trying to find out sense of what normal used to be. Events around the Cape still continue to be cancelled. We hope to have something in October but perhaps that’s simply wishful thinking. Maybe we can light the Cape tree in December. Maybe Santa can come for a visit…? I’m skeptical but am hopeful.

We’ve received most of the required permits to get started on the beach project(s). Now, we have to wait for the contractor(s). Due to the project’s delays, we won’t be able to start in 2020 but we’re on target to start (and complete!) work on both projects at the same time in the spring of 2021. We absolutely cannot wait for that, It’s been a long road to get to this point. Thanks to all board members for their hard work this year and in previous years to get us to where we are today.

Bill’s Presidential message is the standard stuff from that stiff … say that 5 times fast. Ryan’s town manager message talks about the ways you can get your lawn ready for the fall. He also reminds everyone about the Quarterly meeting, scheduled for October 27th 2020. Cape Cleanup is scheduled for September 18th and 19th. This Caper has more information about that. Cape Conservation Corps is hosting their fall plant sale on Saturday September 26th from 9am until noon at the field behind the clubhouse. They will be practicing safe social distancing. The Garden Club is hosting their annual Seed and Cutting Exchange on Tuesday, October 6th, 5-6pm. They will practice social distancing, in the parking corral behind the Clubhouse.

Please don’t miss out on the tribute to Josephine Gardner. A long time Cape board member, she was a tremendous influence and hard worker for this community for so many years. She will be missed. Don’t miss the beautiful tributes by many Cape St. Claire board members and residents.

We hope you enjoy this issue of the Caper. It’s a smaller issue. Interested in making a contribution to the Caper with an article? Email [email protected]. We’d be happy to have you help out.

Hello Capers. We’re midway through Spring and what a busy few months it’s been. I’ve got the new Caper here in all its glory and it’s full of the usual goodness. Bill Szczytko, the President of CSCIA throws down a great Presidential message filled with wordy prose. He discusses the Sphinx and the University of Michigan all in the same paragraph. You shouldn’t miss it.

One thing that’s great to see is the number of new families that have come to the Cape. The Easter Egg hunt was packed this year, filled with laughter and new smiles. It’s wonderful to see.

** ALERT ** Please note that work has begun on updating the playgrounds at the main beach and deep creek. It’s been an open project since May of 2018 and it’s great to finally see it’s getting close to completion. More details here.

This Caper issue is all about the Strawberry Festival. Don’t forget to mark your calendar to this amazing event. June 1st, 2019. Parade starts at 10am from Cape St. Claire Firehouse. More details can be found on their website. This Caper has all the forms you might need to enjoy this great event.

Don’t miss the Town Manager message by Ryan Anderson. He discusses many of the goings on around the Cape and highlights some upcoming events. It’s a must read.

In upcoming events, the Cape St. Claire firehouse is having their annual Touch-A-Truck fundraiser on May 4th from 10am to 2pm at the clubhouse fields. The Garden Club is having their annual spring plant sale on Saturday May 18th from 8am to 2pm at the Cape Clubhouse field. More details on this great event are in this issue.

Stacey Wildberger has a great article in this issue about Rain Gardens and their importance. Don’t miss it.

See you around the Cape.