One thing I love about Heron Bay is the fact that there are so many places to fit in here (even for a family of herons!). Take Brayson Homes. I checked out their model home in the Pinehurst community while I was walking with Haley last week. They offer all sorts of choices for homebuyers, depending on the homesite you choose, of course. They have basements for those who like extra space and lots of steps. Then they have ranch homes for those who don’t like steps at all. You can choose as many as five bedrooms or as few as three. (After the walk, I took Haley to an ice cream store. As she took 31 minutes to choose one flavor, I realized that I would never want her to have as many choices as Brayson Homes offers. I pity the sales agent who helps her with her first home purchase!)

Back to Brayson homes – this is the best part: These homes start at $189,900, and some are ready to move into right away. That means you could come live in Heron Bay with all the wonderful amenities at a very affordable price, and you could get here while it’s still warm enough to enjoy the outdoor pool and mushroom fountains. The model home, which is loaded with tons of extras, is for sale, too. It’s $229,990. Even with the excellent pricing, Brayson Homes never skimps on quality or service. After all, they’ve built more than 10,000 homes over the last 30 years, so they must be doing something right.

That is it for now - Haley has finally chosen an outfit to wear on this afternoon’s walk. Give me a wave if you see us about. You’ll recognize me as the dad with the most carefully dressed little girl – oh, and we’re the only walking, talking Herons around these parts, too.

Because we herons – at least my cousins and I – catch most of our meals from ponds, we know quite a lot about outdoor water temperatures at various times of the year. Imagine my surprise when I dipped my toes in the water at the Heron Bay pool on opening day (May 10), and it didn’t cause a shiver. Am I ever glad our neighborhood has a heated pool? My cousins would be so jealous. They’re still trying to catch frogs and other pond creatures in cold, murky water, and there I was swimming for fun in a sparkling pool that was as warm as a down-filled nest. (Plus, I can go out to eat tonight in one of the many restaurants near Heron Bay – no frog catching for me!)

It won’t be long before music will be heating up the pool, too. The upcoming Jazz by the Pool event, planned by the Heron Bay social committee, will give us all a chance to warm up the pool deck with some dancing, or chill with friends if we prefer. Whether you like it hot or cool, this spring at the pool has something for you!

It’s getting close to mid April and Helen is all a-flutter. It’s not about tax day (she leaves that worry to me), it’s about the pre-enrollment meeting for the neighborhood charter school, Heron Bay Academy. The first meeting is scheduled for April 17th at 7:00 p.m. She’s worked so hard on this school with other parents in the neighborhood, and she’s excited about having everything finally come together.

If you’re interested in having your kids attend Heron Bay Academy, you need to visit www.heronbayacademy.org and register to attend the pre-enrollment meeting. If you can’t be at the meeting, go ahead and download a pre-enrollment form and send it in. Helen says we need these for submitting a formal application to Henry and Spalding counties in May, then to the State of Georgia a little later.

I’m a bird of many words, especially when you compare me to all the other birds you’ve probably met, so allow me to tell you why Heron Bay Academy is so important. First, parents will be able to walk our children to school (or fly, in my case). Now, we all have to drive, and it’s causing congestion on the roads, pollution for birds like me to fly through, and headaches for parents. The school is even going to have a special gathering spot for parents who walk their children to and from school to hang around after drop off and wait for pick up.

Next, you’ll have the opportunity to become very involved with your child’s school. It’s harder to do at the public schools because of their size and the distance from home. You’ll also be able to take advantage of the playground and facilities after school and on weekends. The school will rely on Heron Bay community members to serve on the advisory board, too. It’s going to become a big part of our community’s personality.

Traditional schools are limited by what they can do architecturally, but we will have flexibility. The building will be constructed using “green” principles and will be connected to our community trail system. Plus, environmental education professionals are involved with developing the curriculum, lending an environmental focus to the children’s studies.

The best news of all is that the process is happening quickly. Our little nestlings could be at Heron Bay Academy as soon as August 2009. It’s going to start out as a K-5 school, but will be expanding one grade level each year up to 8th grade.

All we need now is your support, so go to that website and attend those meetings. Maybe then Helen will calm down!

Wait, Helen’s always a-flutter. What am I thinking?

“Number 1” has so many different meanings. It can be a Jackson Pollack painting, the loneliest number, or the sponsor of the day on Sesame Street. Haley thinks Miley Cyrus is number one, and Spalding hopes that the Braves will reclaim the number one spot in baseball this year. As for me, Helen will always be my number one girl. Helen, on the other hand, says that sometimes the only one I look out for is “number one.”

You’d better bet I was looking out for number one when we moved to Heron Bay. With all the golfing and water activities, it’s my kind of community. Maybe that’s why Heron Bay was Henry County’s number one selling community in 2007 for the fourth year in a row. SmartNumbers, Inc. says 110 homes were closed in the Henry County portion of our community. Eighteen homes closed on the Spalding County side. That makes us among the top eight communities for the entire Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area for single-family homes.

Of course there’s much more at Heron Bay than golf and water. A bird can find plenty to do and lots of friends to meet around here no matter how old he is. Good schools (plus the charter school Helen is helping to start), easy commutes and beautiful, well-built homes in a variety of price ranges are among the best reasons to live here. I’d love to hear from you and learn about your favorite things at Heron Bay.

Meanwhile, join me in the chant: We’re number one! We’re number one! We’re number one!

I just have to tip my brand new Easter visor to Carla Cooper (Events/Activities Coordinator for the Heron Bay Community Association) and the Neighborhood Association volunteers. The Spring Fling and the Easter Egg hunt were a soaring success – and as both a Heron and an airline pilot, I know soaring when I see it. Haley made the Easter visor for me in one of the festive arts and crafts activities at the Spring Fling. When I wear it, I look, uh, stunning. If only she hadn’t chosen pink. Haley made a bookmark for Helen (lucky Helen!).

Spalding’s favorite part of the day was lunchtime with hot dogs, popcorn and cotton candy. He enjoyed the egg hunt, too, for the first time in years. Usually, they’re for younger kids, but this egg hunt had a section for children up to 12. Teenagers even had a special area with activities just for them. I saw a lot of musical chairs and other games going on. That’s the way we are at Heron Bay. We include everybody in the fun.

It was great to see all the little ones dancing to the bunny hop, playing “Bunny Says” and running in sack races. It just reaffirmed for Helen and me that Heron Bay is definitely the right place to raise our nestlings in a close knit, community environment. I think I’ll talk to more of my friends about flying south here this spring.