Every day brings more activity to the park in preparation for the big influx of winter residents and visitors. Even this pretty cactus on Oasis is looking purky. Hopefully some of these blooms will be around when the owner returns to enjoy them. If you know the folks at 1809…..tell them thank you for sharing the pretty flower.
While cruising down Oasis, we ran into Jim Shackelford and Bob Herinck. Jim just finished matting and framing a piece of Bob’s wood scroll work. I’m hoping Bob will be displaying his wooden works of art at the craft fairs again this year. He does some amazing pieces. Fantastic! Jim is the guy to see if you need any art work, photos, sewing projects, etc. matted and/or framed. He does great work and it’s more fun to go see Jim than to talk to one of the big box stores for framing. We have such talented people in our midst!!
One of the highlights of our rounds this morning was when we came across the men from the Weber Group well repair company hard at work repairing one of our two wells. A very affable man named Caleb pretended not to mind the interruption as he explained the complicated process to a couple of curious Creekers.
Caleb
It turns out that they send a video camera down to check out the condition of the casing and if you ever wanted to know what it looks like inside one of our wells, these pictures ought to satisfy your curiosity. If you have plans to hand drill a well to water your plants be advised that the water level is 362 feet down. Those dark spots may indicate holes where water is escaping.
We were really surprised to find out the well casing goes down over 1000 feet. We actually pump water from about 380 feet, the other 700 feet being our reserve in case needed.
Their job certainly has its hazards. Even the tools are oversize. Take a look at that wrench!
That pipe thingy on the back of their truck is how they clean out the casing. If you look at it closely, you can see some wires sticking out from the sides. These are actually wire cables. When the pipe goes down the casing. it turns and the wires clean out the inside. While this process sounds simple in theory, Caleb explained to us there is a lot more to it than meets the eye.
Say Hi to Victor…..but you have to yell pretty loud for him to hear you WAY UP THERE!
This pile of piping they already brought up shows how the pipe deteriorates over time.
They said it will take a couple of days to get the well back up running. That ought to make Fernando and the landscaping guys very happy.
Work still continues on the front 9 of the golf course. With the grass all shredded and waiting for reseeding, it is a good safe time to drive around and trim all the trees. Lots of branches come down for their annual haircut. Cutting them down is one job……….picking it all up is another! Load after load after load goes to our handy compost pile instead of into the expensive landfill.
The fish always surface if you stand close to the edge of the pond. They’re hoping we’ll ignore the request not to feed them. If we feed them bread, cereal and other goodies, they won’t do their job of keeping the pond clean. But if the little grandkids come to visit…..ignore the rule and let the kids enjoy feeding the fish. (But don’t tell management I said that!!) 
As crews are working on the golf course, clearing gravel for new homes, digging holes, etc. I keep wondering about all the different trucks and pieces of equipment it takes to keep this place in operation. We stopped over at the maintenance building the other day and watched Pascual and Will at work. They’re part of the mechanics team that keep all this equipment in tip top shape. Thank you both for all the “behind the scenes” work you do for us! Pascual is relatively new….so….welcome aboard, Pascual!!!
Pascual:
Will
Of course, while all this work takes place to keep our resort beautiful, we residents enjoy the fruits of their labor. Be sure to stop by the pond this season when “the boys” are out with their boat “toys”. It’s really fun to watch. Popkorn is gearing up so he’s ready when the gang returns.
We all come to enjoy the Arizona sunshine…..but some of us enjoy it more than others!
Have a GREAT day! And when you come back to Palm Creek, please stop by to say hello.
