New Digital Meters Installed

Say Good Morning to some of the busy beaver APS crew that swarmed through the park this morning.  Wow....they were everywhere....a big crew.  They have the new meter replacement down to a science.  Someone walked ahead and placed the new meters on top of the stands while others installed them and then someone picked up the old ones.  Very efficient!

 

 

 

 

 

Click on this link to see a video of the process.


http://youtu.be/RYs8BQgpsYY

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RAIN!!

Wednesday afternoon was our Ice Cream Social.  A great opportunity to meet with the neighbors for a chat and catch up on the local news.
 

 

 

 
Hmmm.....I don't quite understand what's happening here.  It looks like two eggs may have rolled out of the nest so mama dove can't sit on them anymore.  She probably has more though knowing how well they multiply.

 
RAIN!!!  Our weather alert kept beeping at us yesterday alerting us to blowing dust warning.  Then it changed to thunderstorm warning.  Yahoo!

 
It was a beautiful awesome thunderstorm!!  We can't remember the last time we've had any rain.  The sun was shining between the storm clouds, streaks of lightning across the sky, thunder rumbling, and precious rain was falling.  It lasted a good hour too.  Awesome!  That will help wash off the palm trees, clean up our streets, and water our precious desert. 

Another Haboob

I think Gamble Quails are really cute!  They run along the ground making cute soothing cooing sounds and the little bobbers on their heads bounce around.  We spotted this little family this morning.  Couldn't get close enough for a decent photo but I wanted to share anyway.


Here are some cute pictures I "borrowed" from the internet.


Some cactus don't necessarily need flowers to show off their color.  Look at this pretty purple guy that resides at 1647.  Very nice!

We had a sudden dust storm again last night.  It wasn't strong enough to do any damage but left us with plenty of good old desert dirt to clean up this morning.  Now with the palm trees in bloom, we have discarded blossoms to clean up also.  Here's our street after we and our neighbors blew off our patios. 

All those teeny little blossoms come tumbling down like snow.

Don and I had a nice chat with an APS driver yesterday.  We asked him for more details about the upcoming meter changes.  He said the switch shouldn't be any problem for homeowners as it will just be a short blip in connection.  They're going to do the whole park within two days.

The crew will come in and release the silver ring around the meter, pull the old meter out, and snap in the new meter.  They don't need access inside any electric panels or inside anyone's home.  Yes, I will take photos during the process.  Should be happening next week.

I took these pictures of the construction site this morning.  There is progress but it's hard to see in a photo.  The fencing is down.  There are many survey markers in place.  Gravel has been scraped away.  Sprinkler systems removed and I can't really tell what else has been done. 

 

As you see from my thermometer, it has been a tad warm lately with a low of only 86.  Humidity at 16% until the storm blew through last night.  That cloud on our thermometer looks like rain......but it is actually dirt!  We don't have rain here....just dirt and lots of it.

We went to Barro's Pizza for dinner last night and laughed as we approached the building.  They had to tie cloths around the door handles because they're too hot to touch.  We think Barro's has the best pizza in town in case you haven't been there yet.  AND...we get a lovely 12% discount if you have your Palm Creek ID card.

 

 Here are some pictures from the dirt storm last night.  It wasn't bad....no damage that we saw this morning other than those troublesome car covers that blow off at the slightest opportunity.  To the untrained eye, this might look like fog...........but it is NOT fog.  It's just plain desert dust.  As many times as we've watched these haboobs roll through, it is still fascinating.  They come and go so fast and without much warning.

 

That's my news for now.  We're having an ice cream social this afternoon so I must hurry to the shower and get ready.  You folks have a great day!

Cactus Stories

Good Morning Readers--

I'm sure you would love to see some construction progress pictures but all the work is still just digging up the ground, leveling, and removing gravel so it doesn't make for exciting photos.  Instead, I shall entertain you (or bore you) with more cactus pictures.  I'm sure Gary and Rosemary Schatz at 1655 will be happy to see their cactus in bloom as they just moved into their new site this past season.  This skinny little guy sprouted a bud earlier this week.

I drove by this morning to see poetry in motion as this big beautiful blossom opens.

By this afternoon it will probably spread out even more.  Cactus are just amazing plants!

I also went back to visit mama dove up in her cactus tree near 684.  Even more interesting than the dove is the cactus itself.  Look closely at how precise the rows of thorns grow.  Every thorn bud is perfectly spaced along the arms of the cactus.  I find it quite fascinating.

And then there are the oleanders.  I don't think you could kill an oleander if you poured gasoline and lit a match.  The landscape crews cut these bushes down to within a foot of the ground.  By the time you folks return to the park, they'll be all grown up and in bloom again.  In fact, they like to be trimmed and they come back healthier and more determined to show off their blossoms.

By now, many of you have received your letter from APS (Arizona Power Service) announcing that all meters are being switched out to digital.  Gary Lambert (Palm Creek's Office Manager) explained that APS is switching the entire city of Casa Grande to digital meters over a 3 month period.  All of Palm Creek will be converted sometime by the end of the first week of July.  I posted this announcement earlier but will post again.  I copied this from the Palm Creek Facebook page.  If you have trouble reading the small print, remember your hint of using the key and the + key.

 

Another Day

We spotted Clint, Fernando, and Faustino at work on the golf course yesterday so stopped to see what they were doing.  Clint wanted us to get a picture while Fernando had a shovel in his hand. 

Fernando explained that they're digging drainage trenches where the tee boxes used to stay wet so long after watering.  Digging anything by hand is NOT an easy chore....especially at temps over 105+.

 

 

Palm trees are tough to withstand the loving touch of the woodpeckers.

Other crew members are busy trimming oleanders.

 

Later in the day I drove by that area again and found Faustino still hard at work.  WOW!!!