My last couple posts have brought response from readers. Thank you!! I love hearing from you…..and it keeps me motivated to write more.
Verna and Wayne Sheppard are traveling the country again this summer and saw the blog while in Danville, MO. Verna was pleased to see her prickly pear displayed on the blog and sent me a close up of an ocotillo blossom. What a dandy! It’s hard to get a photo of this plant because they’re sooooo tall. Thanks, Verna.
The pretty red plants with the delicate yellow centers I posted on 5-11 are called red yucca plants. Thank you Dana McCormick. You get a red star! I’m sad to report that Dana and Tom have moved away from Palm Creek and bought a cute townhouse in Tubac AZ. Dana will always be remembered for her vibrant and joyous yell of “BINGO” whenever she would win on Monday nights. I love her enthusiasm! We were also students together at a Spanish class here in the park a while back and played bingo in espanol as part of our numbers class.
I also heard from John Ericksen (1884 Oasis Dr). He wrote all the way from Wisconsin regarding the “white stuff” posted on 5-13. Here’s John’s message: “That "white stuff" and the bugs that create it can be removed very easily. Just put a little dish soap in a spray bottle, fill it with water, spray it on, let it sit for 15 minutes and hose it off. Works wonders, and blesses you with a clean prickly pear. What more could you want than a clean prickly pear? - By the way, do you know that the prickly pear fruit can be made into tasty jelly?” John – when you return to sunny AZ, let’s get together for a happy hour with that jelly and crackers!
Will Updyke, our Palm Creek Maintenance Manager, has more info regarding the post about my trip to the landfill. Palm Creek started the paper recycling program in April of 2008. For the 9 months of ‘08, the residents gathered 27.5 tons (about 3 full truckloads) of discarded paper in the new dumpsters.
2009 collected 51.5 tons (about 10 truck loads)
Drum roll needed here: So far in 2010 (in just 4 months) we’ve collected 40 tons. Palm Creek ranks 13 out of 1,093 paper retriever accounts in the greater Phoenix area and 118 out of 21,320 accounts nationally. This is only paper….and does not include cans, plastics, and corrugated boxes. CONGRATULATIONS to all Palm Creekers for your carbon footprint tenacity!! You are definitely helping to save our landfills and recycle useable products….one paper at a time! Your efforts make a difference!
