Pickleball News

I received an email from Rosemary Reese this morning regarding some Pickleball news......which led me to read the Pickleball blog.  Be sure to check out Rosemary's blog for some fun news.  Just click on this link:

pickleball blog

www.palmcreekpickleball.blogspot.com 

To Promote our New Courts, Palm Creek has developed  a New Program.
If you refer a first time guest or bring an old friend back (someone who has not stayed at Palm Creek since 2010), Guest will receive $150 per month discount up to $450 for a 3 month Stay.  You will receive $100 per month - up to $300.  The Pickleball Club will receive $50 a month up to a $150.
Note: The above is how the plan will work (not what is printed on the coupon)

A link has been put on the Blog Menu for your future convenience

Rosemary Reese
Club Secretary, USAPA Ambassador, Blog editor: http://palmcreekpickleball.blogspot.com

Memorial Day

Hello Readers!  We have had some lovely pleasant weather for the past week or so with highs only in the 80s and some nice breeze.  We tried to soak in all the cool temps we could. 

We had a very nice Memorial Day dinner yesterday including good old American apple pie and ice cream. 

Ed Brown and Jim Gaines grilled some terrific pork steaks for us.

 

Our usual summer gang of volunteers were busy in the kitchen.

but we always take a few minutes to have some fun.

There were 46 residents for the meal. 

If we had been giving out prizes, I think Ann Lykens would have won the award for the most decorative sandals.  :)

Say hello to two of the cutest baby roadrunners I have ever seen.  Actually, these are the only baby roadrunners I've ever seen because they're very aloof and hide their nest well.  It will be fun watching their progress.

Sandy Morin spotted a clutch of eggs over on the 15th fairway.  She was concerned because they're out in the open and may get mowed.  Don and I drove over to take a look but by then Mama duck was back on duty.  She certainly picked a wide open space for her nest!

Mama Dove must be a good flier if she can build a nest in a picky cactus plant like this. 

Our water volleyball addicts are still having summer fun.

And.....to end this post....another beautiful cactus blossom.  This one has soft yellow streaks in the petals.

Hope you all had a safe and happy holiday!

Jose Luis Vega (Chilese)

To our friends and family of Palm Creek:  We have a tragic item to share with you today regarding one of our long-term, loyal employees on the landscaping crew.

From Jim Dawson (Palm Creek Facilities Manager)

It is with a sad and heavy heart that I announce the passing of Jose Luis Vega - one of our long standing and most LOYAL employees.  'Chilese' has worked for our company in one capacity or another since the early 1990s.  Chilese worked on many of our properties but he took a much more significant role at the Pecans of Queen Creek where his pride and work ethic made the Pecans one of the most beautiful and best maintained properties in the valley. 

For the past two years, Chilese has carried on with his fine work and attention to detail at Palm Creek.  This past season, Chilese single handedly planted all the flower beds and all the flower pots.  We have had more comments this past year about how beautiful the flowers were and this is for the most part because of Chilese and his attention to detail. 

Chilese was always in a good mood and always had a smile on his face.  He never complained about a single thing - no matter how difficult the job.  He was one of the most courteous people I have ever met.  After speaking with Chilese nearly everyday for the past 20 years - this will be especially difficult.  Chilese has a wife (Lupe) and 4 children.  Please keep Chilese and the entire Vega family in your prayers.

Sincerely,
Jim Dawson

Friday, May 26

I HAD to take a picture of my thermometer this morning as it shows a very RARE occurence for this late in May.  It is actually cooler outside than it is inside right now!  Awesome!  Every window in the house is open to enjoy the fresh cool early morning breeze.  The weatherman claims this is a cold front coming through.  I want to soak up every bit of cool weather we can for the months ahead.

As I headed off to the Palm Creek breakfast yesterday, I saw Fernando and crew busy installing a paver walkway over by the shuffleboard courts.  This will be helpful in keeping pedestrians off the busy street when they head down this road.

 

As I neared the club house, I saw the maintenance crews out at early morning chores.  How great it is to enjoy our two big pools when someone else gets to clean them and test the water daily.  Thank you guys!

Here are some of our eager beaver volunteers prepping a delicious morning breakfast for everyone.  I highly recommend volunteering for events while you are here.  There is something for everyone to do and it makes for some fun times as you get to meet more people and feel a part of the team.

 

All the Palm Creek employees were our invited guests.

 

 

Martha Stewart and Betty Crocker (aka Diane and Linda) cooked up a delicious breakfast casserole.  Actually we had two casseroles and they were GREAT with the fresh fruit and a big muffin.

We had 45 residents present.

 

All the palm trees are getting ready for their annual blossoms.  Did you know that palm trees blossom in the summer?  First they send out these long spindley arms which slowly split open into a huge abundance of pretty white flowers.  I'll post more photos in a week or so when they're in bloom.

Here's Faustino up along the wall trimming back the oleanders.  That's quite a heavy hedge trimmer he has and I bet its hard to reach way across these big bushes. 

 

 

Elsewhere in the park, the palm tree bark gets trimmed up again. 

 

 

There are so many different kinds of palms!  Many of the species look alike as you walk past, but each sends out different kinds of blossoms and fruits.  I'm always fascinated by the vegetation variety Arizona offers us.

Avis Gray sent me some photos of a roadrunner nest she found here in the park.  I had to laugh at the location as it is made possible only by the installation of the dove deterrants the homeowners had installed. 

Here's Mom and Dad both busy building the nest.

It is almost noon now and it is still a glorious 81 degrees outside so I must hurry out to enjoy the fresh breeze.  Have a great day!

Sunday

Good Morning Readers--

Sunday is our day off....no housewatch duties on Sundays so I slept in until 8:00 this morning which is very unusual.  It is daylight here by 5:15 so we like to get up early and enjoy the beautiful cool mornings outdoors while we can.  The golfers that are still here love these mornings of free golf.  By 8:00 they're done with their round and are back inside to enjoy the air conditioning as the thermometer has inched its way to upper 80s by then.  The 80s don't sound too hot but the sun is intense.  Shade is always a welcomed relief.

So far there are no real signs of new construction around the park.  There's lots of maintenance projects underway.....like digging up all the sprinkler connections to clean them out, sandblasting and repainting all the bridge railings, lots of pruning and trimming the landscaping, fertilizing the course, and the never ending job of attacking the weeds that insist on growing in our acres of gravel, etc.  The outside contractors are all busy for individual homeowners.....putting in new patios or pavers, or building sheds, painting homes, etc. but these stories don't make for interesting blog articles so I haven't had much to write about lately. 

You'll have to settle for quiet news like this little family of ducks that spend their days on our ponds.....

Of course, there are always photos of the beautiful cactus blossoms but Don says I post too many of them.  Sorry Don....but they never get boring to me as I think they're a beautiful mystery of nature.  How such a plain jane cactus can create such beautiful flowers is always a lovely surprise.  Leroy and Barb Weaver over on Oasis have the cream of the crop.  When this plant blooms, it is indeed a champion.  Just look at the delicate array of color in these blossoms. 

 You folks have a nice day!

tidbits

The weatherman says our temperatures are going to be in the triple digits for the next week or two but at least it still cools down to the low 70s at night making our mornings totally awesome.  As I sit here writing, it is 101 outside but a nice cool 80 inside where I am comfortable and enjoying the solitude of 'off season'.  Tonight several of us 'year-rounders' will head down to the American Legion hall to play some bingo.  Wish me luck!

Our maintenance folks are hard at work even with the triple digits.  The railings on all the bridges need to be painted which may sound easy, but the prep work definitely is not.  Here the guy is sandblasting to get the pipe ready for paint.

 

Elsewhere around the park, crew members have shovels in hand and are digging up around all the sprinkler control boxes as they need to be cleaned out and repaired.  We probably don't pay any attention to the great number of control boxes throughout the resort but there are a LOT of them and that ground is HARD as rock.  Not an easy job to dig these holes.

 

 

Karen Cowden at Site 987 has these huge yucca plants in her front yard that bloom heavily this time of year.  They send tall spikes of flowers skyward.