Rhonda sent in this picture of herself and a friend. “I’m on the right,” she writes by way of clarification, “in blue.” | Rhonda Palmer
For the past two summers, some of the eleven- to sixteen-year-olds who live in our neighborhood spent their Mondays cleaning yards. With instructions and tools from Joel and Anna of A2 Garden Guides, these industrious teens and tweens raked, weeded, weeded some more, hauled compost, planted flowers, picked apples, got really dirty, and then weeded some more. They were fed and watered by the neighbors, who were overjoyed to see their borders and gardens pop back into view.
My daughter, her four children, and I all moved into a little house in the Springwater neighborhood fourteen years ago, and since then we have enjoyed the quirky, compassionate nature of the place, where the mail carrier brings back our new runaway puppy and people work together on their cars on weekends.
The Springwater neighborhood had actual springs, back when this was home for Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi families. The wet ground and welling water made installing sewer lines and city water pretty expensive in the 1950s, but the township was determined to be part of Ann Arbor proper. Located just southwest of Packard and Platt, this neighborhood now has a mix of housing types and sizes, as well as varying yards and various dogs and a whole lot of trees (we’ve even got a magical little forest on our west side). There are no sidewalks and few streetlights, and the cut through traffic from Packard to Platt is hazardous at times. Still, neighbors walk the streets and chat with one another, and students walk or bike to Mitchell Elementary or Scarlett Middle.
In Springwater, you’ll find both a traditional English garden and a no-mow yard with a planned wilderness. There are rain gardens, fairy gardens, vegetable gardens, flower gardens, birdhouses, and decorative bananas. Authors and musicians and artists live side by side with bike mechanics, nurses, therapists, teachers, contractors, retirees, researchers, and many others. Residents plan events like swap meets, cookouts, and outdoor music. One year, there was a Halloween parade; another year, we had a Fourth of July picnic in the parking lot of the little Calvary Chapel on Nordman. Steve Oz of Oz’s Music (did I mention local celebrities live here too?) brought his students to perform for the afternoon, the church grilled hot dogs, the neighbors brought side dishes, and the Bubble Ladies shared their special beauty and joy on a bright summer day.
Little free libraries abound, and AADL’s Malletts Creek branch is within walking distance. So are hidden gem Mary Beth Doyle Park, restaurants and ethnic grocery stores, Socotra (a terrific coffee shop), DJ’s Bakery, and enough weed shops for the multitudes. We’re basically equidistant to downtown Ann Arbor and downtown Ypsi, and Bicentennial Park and its new splash pad is just up Platt (and right by Lillie Park and a dog park).
Our neighborhood takes pride in its bumper stickers, yard flags, and window signs, but they aren’t just for display. We really do our best to be a kind, neighborly place—and we really do try to “keep Ann Arbor weird.”