Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Meet your Neighbors - Justin Clapp & Joseph Lee

Please meet Justin Clapp & Joseph Lee of 401 N. Elizabeth Street.

An illustration of Justin (l) and Joseph (r) that was originally used as their save-the-date card.  They were married in May, 2011.  Ruby and Jasper are pictured as well.  

How did you hear about Cleveland-Holloway?
We found the neighborhood blog as we were looking for a home to buy. We were attracted by a couple property listings and fell in love with our home. 

What attracted you to the neighborhood?
Walkability, SEEDS, lovely homes, great people and a feel that cannot be described.
A favorite hobby(s)?
Working in our yard, reading and Justin likes to paint
What famous person are you commonly mistaken for?
Justin: Queen Latifah; Joseph: Justin Timberlake. Really, neither of us get mistaken for someone famous.
Cheetohs. Crunchy? or Puffy?
Joseph: (and organic to be extra "crunchy"); Justin: Puffy (and organic)
Pets?
Two Cats: Ruby and Jasper
Favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
Bake Bread, read a book or have people over for gamesFavorite song, quote, book, or other?
Joseph has been gleefully reading trashy vampire novels and Justin loves a good fantasy novel.
A country recently visited OR would like to visit? 
In May, we went on our honeymoon to Iceland (everyone should go), but Joseph wants to go to New Zealand and Justin wants to see Vietnam.
Favorite thing about the Bull City?
We both love to eat, so we enjoy the food scene because of the varied experiences and community surrounding our restaurants.
Any home projects on the horizon?
How about a rainwater management system? Ok, so we're putting in gutters and doing more gardening.
Joseph & Justin on the front porch of their new home.
Welcome to the neighborhood!


PS:  If there are new neighbors you'd like to see featured in Meet the Neighbors, please shoot an email with their contact information to Adrian.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Our backyard chickens

Buffy

Sisters

We never imagined having chickens until we came to Durham.  The opportunity presented itself by having a large backyard and an initiative by Durham citizens to allow chickens within city limits.  After the city council voted ‘yes’ it didn’t take long and we acquired our ‘limited agricultural permit’. 

The regulations for raising backyard chickens are meant to protect chickens from harm and provide them with enough space to live happily.  Enough space in the coop and run (outside area) is needed based on the number of chickens one plans to have.  The gaps in the fencing should be narrow and the fence should be buried to keep critters from digging underneath.  Avery netting is also necessary to keep chickens in (they can fly!) and to keep hawks and other animals from coming in from above. 

A couple rules were included to provide a buffer between your chickens and your neighbors.  The coop needs to be at least 15 feet from the property line and the run needs to be at least 5 feet away. 

The regulations are also meant to provide neighbors with the opportunity to oppose having chickens next door.  Unfortunately, this aspect of the regulations has dissuaded some from going through the process, but in reality, there is little to worry about.  Adjacent property owners must be informed in writing of your intent to have chickens and they can oppose your plan.  However, a valid argument must be provided by the opponent in the case of a hearing.  Most likely, the ruling will be in favor of the permit applicant.  Of course, one wants to be in good terms with neighbors and fresh eggs every once in a while might convince them that chickens are okay.

Our girls not only provide us with delicious eggs, but also help clean up kitchen scraps and fertilize our garden.  With a little training, our chicks now share the yard with our two playful dogs.  It is so much fun to watch the chickens run-fly across the yard in their dinosaur-ish way, dust bathe, scratch for bugs, or even catch a garden snake.  They are smarter than one would think and they reward you in so many ways. 

Jana & Mike
Chicks

Flash

Fluffy

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Meet Your New Neighbor - Kelli Keck

As a way to welcome our new neighbors (and we've added several in the last year alone), and to revive a previous tradition -  we'll be featuring newcomers as a way of briefly introducing them to you. 

Please meet Kelli Keck of 507 Ottawa Avenue..

How did you hear about Cleveland-Holloway?  Realtor
What attracted you to the neighborhood?  Walkable and quirky
A favorite hobby? Reading
What famous person are you commonly mistaken for?  No celebrity doppelganger that I am aware.
Cheetohs. Crunchy? or Puffy?  Crunchy
Favorite thing to do on a rainy day?  Turn on sports or trashy TV and take a nap
Favorite song, quote, book, or other? Song- Guitar Man by Bread
A country recently visited OR would like to visit? Mexico but wish it had been Morocco
Favorite thing about the Bull City?  It embraces its past but isn't afraid of change 
Any home projects on the horizon?  Taming the beast of a yard!


Be sure to say "hi" to Kelli when you have a chance. 

Monday, November 21, 2011

Cleveland Hollow'een 2011

Cleveland Holloway celebrates holidays like no other neighborhood in Durham!



We keep a community costume chest of donated costumes to loan out to kids (if you have costumes you'd like to donate, contact Natalie Spring!), we give out candy to neighbors who don't have it in their budget to hand out candy, and we parade around the neighborhood. After all of that, we watch movies and drink warm cider.

We loaned out 44 costumes to kids this year and had many more kids join in the costume parade. We also handed out 25 bags of sponsored candy so that our neighborhood kids could have more houses to trick or treat at. Despite the rain and icky weather, this year had the largest turnout to date.

We gathered at Oakwood Park on a cold wet Halloween to get glow sticks and start trick or treating with a parade!



We had over 75 kids and adults join in the parade and then over a hundred neighbors trick or treat on Halloween! Thanks to all of the neighbors who handed out candy, the kids were all very excited!



To see more images from Halloween check out our albumn here

Cleveland Hollow'een 2011

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Downtown Dog Park: Pre-Grand Opening Affordable Vaccine Party

We’re very excited to be the neighborhood hosting the first ever Downtown Durham Dog Park!


One of the missions of opening the park was to reach out to neighbors who have dogs but might not be able to afford appropriate vaccines or the tags to gain admission into the dog park.* 
 
 To this end, we’re going to offer a raffle award package for two neighbors at our "pre-"grand opening this weekend:  all required vaccinations and the tag expenses paid (value = ~$70 each) . We do not want to make this too cumbersome administratively – but the target recipients would be folks who probably cannot afford the vaccinations/tags.   

We have gone door-to-door to individuals in our neighborhood with dogs, offering them a flyer with information about the free raffle. The raffle will be held on 8/20 at 10:00 am, and participants will be asked to bring the flyer we gave them.  Winners will be announced at 10:30 am, and of course will need to be present!  Even if folks do not win, they can gain access to helpful information that will be on hand from the Animal Protection Society of Durham, who will be at the 8/20 event.

Please share this with any neighbors you think might be interested and would enjoy use of the dog park.

Here is more information about all the events:


Thanks for your support!

* Durham Parks & Rec requires vaccinations in order to purchase a dog park use tag (see: http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/parks/dog_park_fees.cfm) and gain access to the park.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

4th Annual Cleveland-Holloway Home Tour is this weekend!

One of Durham's many champions, Jessica Sadler from Urban Durham Realty, wrote a post about this weekend's home tour on her blog - Red Bag Realtor. Thanks for the plug Jessica!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Downtown Durham Dog Park Clean-Up


A group of Cleveland-Holloway neighbors spent last Saturday mowing, weeding, mulching, digging, building, shoveling, mixing, and more--to help get us that much closer to the opening of the Downtown Durham Dog Park (DDDP) on what was up until recently a vacant, city-owned lot at the corner of Roxboro and Elliot.

The Durham News just did a nice article about the park, which will open as soon as signs have been installed. Check out the DDDP's Facebook Page and remember that before visiting the park, you will need to obtain a tag for your dog, issued by the City. Contact Durham Parks and Rec for more information.

A HUGE thanks to all the neighbors who dreamed this, stuck with it, and made it happen, and to our awesome partners, City of Durham Parks and Rec, and Keep Durham Beautiful.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Sweet as Sugar: A Fence for Shug

One Sunday in March, the tireless volunteers of the Coalition to Unchain Dogs paid Cleveland-Holloway a visit to build a fence for Shug of Oakwood Ave.



Watch how much he enjoys his new freedom and space to run! Thanks to this awesome group, another Cleveland-Holloway dog is off his chain.




Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A year in review...

We thought it would be nice to recap some of the positive neighborhood activities that have taken place since last year. Below you can see, by the numbers, all of the great things that have been organized from March 2010-March 2011!

Meetings
1. Held 12 neighborhood meetings attended by 241 people. This represents 105 different neighbors who attended meetings with an average attendance of 21 at each neighborhood meeting. Some people attended 1 meeting, some people attended all 12.

Events!
2. Held 10 potlucks at 10 different neighbor’s homes between July and March and have three additional potlucks planned!

3. Held a block party on May 22nd on Primitive St (75+ neighbors attended- Free DJ, Bike Co-op Mobile Bike Clinic, and food!)

4. Hosted a Halloween Parade, costume and candy distribution, and movie on October 31st (27 free costumes distributed, 16 free bags of candy & treats, 75+ neighbors participating in the parade and trick or treat)

5. Hosted a home tour on November 6th that 100 non-neighbors (and many neighbors) attended and our neighbors opened their homes.

6. Sang Christmas Carols and Holiday songs for our elderly neighbors on Christmas Eve. Thirteen neighbors sang for ten different families.

7. Held three energy efficiency workshops with Clean Energy Durham.

Progress
1. Built a dog fence for Star (January)
2. Won a Keep Durham Beautiful Plant Grant in March and planted 13 trees, 40 bushes, and hundreds of flowers throughout the neighborhood.
3. Created rules and priorities for spending money
4. Established the Underemployed Neighbors Fund
a. Utilized this fund once (5 individuals paid for their work on Oakwood Park)
5. Built and installed a Community Message Board in Oakwood Park (May-June)
6. Submitted a petition to extend the local historic district (June)
7. Held three workshops to create a neighborhood design (August- October)
8. Cleaned- up Oakwood Park on October 2nd with 12 volunteers from Duke, 20 volunteering neighbors, and 5 neighbors utilizing the Underemployed Neighbors Fund.
9. Partnering with Independent Animal Rescue ~15 feral cats and kittens have been altered and released or adopted.
10. Working together we have found new homes for many stray dogs.
11. Built two more fences for dogs.

Still in the works!
1. Received permission to garden vacant city lots
2. Monitoring local planning decisions and downtown re-zoning
3. Monitoring proposed changes to Alston Avenue
4. Setting up a neighborhood watch
5. Clean up of Goose Creek scheduled for March 26th (meet at 500 block Canal St)
6.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Open for Business

Entrepreneurship is alive and well in Cleveland + Holloway!

We have many resident owned businesses and will be adding a side section with permanent links. We'd like to highlight some of our amazing small business owners as we add this new feature to our blog.

Garden Environments Most homes have landscapes, few have gardens. We create gardens.

Jessie Gladin-Kramer - Photographer

Charles Davies, REALTOR®/Broker, Dream Living Realty Helping Home Buyers Find Their Dream Home, and Making It a Reality!

Porch Life Productions, LLC

Ken Gasch, REALTOR®/Broker, Seagroves Realty

Visions Alterations & Custom Sewing Your Vision is My Vision

Williams Lawn Service - No hustle too small (919) 692-5451
Special thanks to Matthew Fishman of PranaFlo for making this post possible!

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