Grayslake Cooperative Nursery

The Grayslake Cooperative Nursery is getting a new location! After renting space in different areas for 30 years the GCNS will now be relocating to Shops of Station Square in Prairie Crossing. Set to open in September, just in time for the school year to begin. To learn more about GCNS check out the website.

Lake County Illinois Fair

The Lake County Fair will be held this year at its new location just off of Peterson Road between Rt 45 and Midlothian road. The fair runs from July 28th (Tuesday) until August 2 (Sunday). I can’t wait to get Anderson’s Candy (from Richmond), a real treat. The fair brings crowds from across Illinois and Wisconsin and is fun for all.

There will be 70 contestants that will compete for crowns of Miss, Junior Miss, and Little Miss for the Lake County Fair title. Read more from the Sun-Times

Hope to see you there!

Grayslake Farmers Market

The Grayslake Farmers market is the oldest and largest evening market! The Summer market is beginning on Wednesday June 10th and will run through October 7th. Go out and try the soda vender! I actually bought some last year and my husband went back right away to buy more, it was that good. They also offer vegetables, fruits, flowers, baked goods, meat, and so much more. The market runs from 3-7:00pm in downtown Grayslake just off of Center and Slusser Streets. For more information about the market and the venders you can call them at 847-289-7138 or stop by their website.

Grayslake Historical Walk

The Grayslake Historical Society will be hosting a historical walk to learn about some of the homes in the area. While no homes will be entered they will explain some of the unique history of Grayslake that pertain to some of the homes. The walk will begin on Park Ave near Westerfield place on June 14th at 1:30pm. The cost is $10 for the first person of each family and 45 for each other family memeber. Children 12 and under are free! The profits from the even will go to the exhibit fund for the new Grayslake Heritage Center. To learn more please contact the Grayslake Historical Society at 847-223-5509 or go to the website.

SWALCO Household Electronic Collection

The Village of Grayslake will host a SWALCO electronics collection event on Saturday, June 6th at 8am-12 noon. Items can be droped off at the Public Works Facility located at 585 Berry Ave just off of Route 83. Please visit the SWALCO website for items that will be accepted.

Fredrick PTO fundraiser

May 11,12, and 13th

Family Dinner Night

Location: Davino’s (821 Center Street) next to the Piggly Wiggly in Grasylake

Divino Cafe will donate 10% of the sales from dine in, delivery, carry out and catering orders to Fredrick School.  To see the menu at Divino’s Click Here. They offer pizza, pasta, panini and savory authentic Italian dishes that are fresh and made to order. They even offer homemade Gelato! Hope to see you there!

Gypsy Moth in Grayslake, IL

The Village of Grayslake will be spraying for the Gypsy Moth later this month. This invasive insect feeds on the area trees and shrubs, which can cause devastating damage.  The village will spray two applications by helicopter with 7-10 days between the spraying. They will be spraying the following areas:

• Hillside Ave (west of Hillside Parking Lot)
• Carol Lane (northwest of Central Park)
• School Trail (bike path northwest of Grayslake Central High School)
• Lexington Woods (between English Meadows and The Links of English Meadows)
• Central Park.

We also recieved the following information written by  a past client that works with The Chalet Nursery.

Gypsy Moth: The Latest Non-Native Insect Threat

There have been several warnings about non-native insect pests that devastated areas in the U.S working there way into our neck of the woods.
Unfortunately, the gypsy moth has made its appearance in Lake and Cook counties in Illinois.   These pests have been controlled for quite some time but now seem to be growing in numbers.  Hopefully with some education we can keep this potentially devastating creature at a manageable level.
 A single gypsy moth can lay an egg-mass with up to 1,000 eggs; this means that 2 gypsy moths can produce up to 1,000 next year. With this multiplication it is easy to see that it will not take long for an infestation. 
In April or May the egg-masses will hatch and the 1/8”-1/4” caterpillars will fall from the trees with small silken threads intended to carry them to new areas.  This “parachuting” behavior can carry them up to 6 miles from where they hatched.  This is not the only method in which gypsy moths will find new areas.  The caterpillars can be carried by hitching a ride by car or other transportation without our knowledge.  The newly hatched caterpillars will be hungry and looking for food.  The favorites foods of these caterpillars are Oak, Willow, Crab-apple (or apple), Linden, Maple and Roses.  This does not mean that this is all they eat, oh no; they are not picky they just have a preference, anything will do! All they are concerned about at this point is eating and growing.  It has been observed that the caterpillars will move up the tree at night to feed and come back down during the day. This may not be a rule as the caterpillars I’ve seen didn’t discriminate between night and day, all they did was eat!  Gypsy Moth caterpillars have been known to strip entire forests of foliage in during times of heavy infestations.  The caterpillars will consume all they can for about 2 months, then they start their transition into a moth.  The caterpillars will be determined to find an out of the way place that they will transform into a pupa.  Generally this transition takes place in mid-June to mid- July.  This step takes about one week, then the gypsy moth emerges.  The male Gypsy Moth is a light brown color about 1½”-2” long and the female is whitish in color and generally larger than the males.  The female gypsy moths cannot fly and will crawl around waiting to be found.  The males are able to fly and will do so in a crazy erratic way looking for a female. Once the two have met egg masses will be laid. The egg masses are more or less oval and tarnish in color.  When these egg masses are first laid they are a bit brittle but harden as time goes on.

How they damage plants.

Gypsy Moths, as a moth, don not feed and really don’t pose a threat. The caterpillars however, are a different story. Trees and shrubs use theirleaves to produce energy to grow, since the caterpillar feeds on these leaves it can weaken or even kill the plant. If a plant is defoliated (stripped of leaves) early in the season often it will produce more leaves in an attempt to grow and thrive. Healthy hardwood trees like Oaks can withstand one or two consecutive years of defoliation (50% or more of its leaves) but will be stressed from the trauma. If the defoliation happens during a period of drought or if the plant is stressed due to construction or similar disruption it may be lost with a single defoliation.

What can be done?

Fortunately Gypsy Moths have a number of natural predators. Birds like chickadees, nuthatches, and robins seem to  have a taste for this pest as do a number of other woodland mammals like chipmunks, mice, raccoons, and squirrels. With birds and animals using this pest as a food source it is better to stay away from the old pesticides. There is a naturally occurring bacterium called Bacillus Thurngiensis (Bt for short) that you can find onlineor at a garden center that if ingested will eliminate the caterpillars without harm to other wildlife. Bt does not work instantly, so be patient. Another option is insecticidal soap: this product does not have a residual effect so it will only kill the caterpillars you spray it directly on. These products are harmful to humans or other wildlife, so once it’s dry you can conduct business as usual. Reducing the amount of clutter or objects outside that the mothes can lay eggs on will also help. The moths are not picky about where they lay their eggs. Some usual targets are on or in sheds, fences, ladders, old tires, play sets, or even your car! If you notice egg masses they can be killed by spraying them with Horicultural Oil. They can be scrapped off the trees, shrub, or any other creative place they are laid and burned, buried 8″ or deeper in the soil, or submerged in soapy water for 3 days to a week.

Thanks for the great information T.R.

This month in real estate.

Do you have questions about the first time home buyers tax credit? This video will help to clarify some of the questions you may have. As a seller are you worried about selling in todays market. Here is a few things to think about when it comes to price.

This month in real estate March 2009.

Election Results

The Grayslake Referendum failed yesterday.  The propose referendum was to purchase the open space at the corner of Washington and Lake Street.  To see more on the story go to The Daily Herald.

Rhett Taylor will be the new mayor for Grayslake and the three Trustees, Bruce Bassett, Amy Edwards and Shawn Vogel were re-elected

Libertyville gained a new mayor. Terry Weppler defeated Harger 71 percent to 29 percent with all 21 precincts reporting.  Read more at The Pioneer Press.

Lake County April Events

Did you know that Travelhost magazine sends out a monthly e-mail with area events. They also talk about some is the restuarants in the area that you may like to try. You can check out the current magazine by clicking here: Travelhost.

If you would like to receive the e-mail then jst let me know. We would be happy to add you too.

Upcoming events include:     Valentino Vineyards      eSkape  and the Jelly Belly Candy Store

Check it out!