Blossom Valley, Mountain View

It takes time to build community. Schools, parks, Neighborhood Watch, babysitting co-ops and neighborhood get-togethers pull families together. Busy streets and busy lives push them apart.

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Four neighborhoods -- Springer Meadows, Varsity Park, Blossom Valley Estates and Gest Ranch -- fit like a neat jigsaw puzzle on either side of Cuesta Drive, between Springer Road and Miramonte Avenue. The neighborhood grids conjure up names of U.S. presidents (Lincoln, Madison, Jefferson), fruit trees (Appletree, Walnut, Peartree), universities (Notre Dame, Yale, Cornell), and proper names (Barbara and Marilyn). Here friends and families bike together; little ones play in Varsity Park under the watchful gaze of parents; and a middle-aged woman crosses the street to check on an elderly neighbor.

Blossom Valley facts: CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS (NEARBY): St. Timothy's Nursery School, 2094 Grant Road; YMCA Kid's Place, 525 Hans Ave.; Little Acorn School, 1667 Miramonte Ave. FIRE STATION: No. 2, 160 Cuesta Drive NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Springer Meadows Neighborhood Association, Carole Stepp, coordinator, springer_meadows@yahoo.com PARKS: Varsity Park, Duke Way and Jefferson Drive; Cuesta Park, Cuesta Drive POST OFFICE: Blossom Valley, 1768 Miramonte Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOLS (NEARBY): St. Joseph Catholic School, 1120 Miramonte Ave.; St. Francis High School, 1885 Miramonte Ave. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: (Eligibility for school districts depends on resident's address) Los Altos School District -- Springer Elementary School, Blach Middle School; Mtn. View-Whisman School District -- Bubb Elementary School, Graham Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District -- Los Altos or Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Blossom Valley Shopping Center, Miramonte Avenue at Cuesta Drive; Rancho Shopping Center MEDIAN 2006 HOME PRICE: $1,137,500 ($882,000-$1,528,000) # HOMES SOLD: 26

The ranch-style homes began as 1950s tract developments, supplanting the acres of plum and apricot orchards. They were built by companies like Excell, Bogdanich Construction Company of Santa Clara, and Jadsco Corporation.

Beverly Correia, a retired elementary-school teacher and original homeowner, has seen countless families raise their children here. "When we first moved here, there were lots of children. But, when my girls left to go away to college, it was mostly adults for a while. And, then young families moved in. We went through a cycle and are starting all over again."

Often it's the newcomers who instigate community building. Varsity Park has hosted a July 4th party for the past few years and Springer Meadows hosts an annual fall potluck to coincide with the start of school. Both efforts were the result of new families in the neighborhoods.

According to Carole Stepp and Bill Orner, who moved to Meadow Lane in 1997, the Springer Meadows Neighborhood Association evolved with the support of the Mountain View Community Grant program, beginning with a playgroup and an annual fall potluck. The association distributes a monthly newsletter, The Springer Meadows Star, and has formed a Yahoo newsgroup.

Besides potlucks, Halloween parades and an Easter egg hunt, the group organizes holiday caroling and a Neighborhood Watch Program.

Current concerns focus on the upcoming sale of the Satake Nursery on Marilyn Avenue to a developer and the impact on traffic from proposed new housing.

Doug and Shirley Pearson moved from a condo complex in 1979. When they checked out Varsity Park they immediately liked the neighborhood -- and its proximity to Los Altos schools.

About 90 percent of the children in the greater Blossom Valley neighborhood attend Los Altos School District schools; the rest are in the Mountain View-Whisman School District.

Beginning about 10 years ago Doug Pearson noticed more families with children moving in, and for the first time in several years, handed out a lot more Halloween candy.

Noting that the neighborhood goes through cycles of many and few children, he's happy to see the kids return.

"It was a neighborhood for families with kids at that time and still is," he said.

-- Suzanne Bellamy