HOT!!

July 2011

Thank you ALL for the fun email greetings I received for my birthday.  It pays to advertise the big event as the reward was great.  Thanks for writing.  Made my day!

A dear friend (Nancy Flader) dropped off a helium birthday balloon.  Kat and Mouse had a great time.  Thankfully I remembered to turn off the ceiling fans.

I've struggled to find enough interesting things to write about this summer.  Thanks to an idea from Janet Hoppe, I went back through some old photos to find something I thought readers would enjoy.  Here are some favorite photos from July 2011.

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Happy Birthday to ME

Happy Birthday to ME!!  I'm happy to be able to celebrate another year today.

Although I'll need a bigger cake pretty soon.  😨

It's getting harder and harder to come up with news for the blog this summer.  It's also hard to fight boredom but I assume I share that with most people these days.  I so enjoy getting email from readers and hearing your summer stories.  Some can't help but rub in how they're enjoying their COOL temps while we swelter down here although many also write about constant rain and storms with muggy high humidity.  

We had  a "chance" of rain last night but again it bounced around Casa Grande without a single drop. 

Our housewatch service is a real life saver for us as it gives us a daily purpose and something to occupy time.  There's always something to find or report.

An air conditioner will quit so we have to call for service.  Have had six incidents like this already this summer.  Luckily none needed replacement and were able to be repaired. 

We find a flooded street now and then when someone's irrigation system goes haywire.  We take photos and forward them to Donna Kenner who rapidly sends one of our landscapers out to solve the problem.  Donna does an excellent job of getting the problem solved.  She probably hates opening her email and seeing a message from me as it always means work!

We followed the Weed truck yesterday.  This contractor is here quite frequently and watches for unwanted sprouts of weeds.  GREAT SERVICE!

I "think" the golf course was watered in years past but it is certainly brown this summer.  Just the greens are kept green.

It doesn't seem the best year for fruit trees either.  Some are doing well but others are taking the year off without much product.

I pull weeds from many potted plants along our route so the weeds don't rob the plant of precious water.  But ONLY if I have a pair of gloves along.  Weeds are not friendly.  They're either prickly or they emit a milky sticky crud.

Kat has now gotten used to his harness and loves to sit outside without the cage.  Mouse is NOT willing to be harnessed.  No way!  So it is cage life for him when outdoors.

Thanks for stopping by.  Feel free to write back and say hello from wherever you are.

STAY SAFE!!

Clean up and photos

Spotted a clean up crew picking up all the debris from trimming the palms.

Creeks are still dry due to the broken pump on #13.

Pottery room has been cleaned and is shut down again for the summer.

Tree equipment being service and resuming action.

No new house at site 272 since last one left.

Very unusual weather today.  Humidity 50%.  Chance of thunderstorms in the area but not a drop of rain here as of 1:00pm.  It is currently only 84 degrees so this must be a record low for the last two months.  Kat and I sat out on the patio a long time this morning.  

Weather report says we haven't had any rain for over 104 days.  I think its been longer than that here in Casa Grande though.  

Face Mask notice from Sun Communities

Sun Communities has decided to update its Health and Safety Protocols, starting immediately all individuals over the age of 5 years old including team members, residents, and guests, are REQUIRED to wear a face covering while inside Sun’s facilities.  This requirement also extends to outdoor settings where individuals are within 6ft of one another”  Also in order to conduct any business within our facilities and to ensure our team members health and safety you must be wearing a face covering.

 

Thank you

 

Scott C. Houle

Resort General Manager

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The North gate actuator problem has been fixed. We are back to normal operation. Thank you once more for your patience. Gary Gary Lambert Operations Manager

North Gate, Photos

Just a reminder about the north gate repairs:

Residents,

One of the gate closer devices at the North gate is not working properly on the outbound side. We have put in a call to our vendor who takes care of these devices, but I do not have a service date at this time.

We are able to open and close it manually, so until further notice, the North Gate will be open from 8am to 4pm as normal. However, at 4pm we will manually close the gate, and ‘Automatic’ gate opening for outbound traffic will not be available. You will have to use the main gate between 4pm and 8am the following morning for both inbound and outbound traffic.

I apologize for this inconvenience, and will keep everyone apprised as to the gate status and when we will be back to normal operation.

Thank you for your patience.

Gary     

Gary Lambert

Operations Manager

Just some photos from around the resort.  Nothing going on.  Very quiet.  Sky is quite cloudy this morning but still no rain for weeks and weeks.  These clouds look promising but.....they burn away quickly when the sun pops through.  We did see a beautiful rainbow last night even though it didn't rain.

Street repair is complete by the big water main break.  Let's hope it stays fixed now.  It has certainly been a trouble spot over the years.

Mouse loves nice warm sheets just out of the dryer.  Guess we'll have to wait a while to make the bed.  😉

Trees, Activities

Ashley Delgado is trying to help us stay busy by presenting a demo on how to create a snowman.  You can check it out on Facebook at:  Snowman

Our tree trimmers are still at work on the hard stuff.  Can't imagine climbing up this skinny tree.

The creek is completely dry now.  Waiting for the big truck to come repair the pump at #13.  

First Responders, Art Contest,

If you should see a couple first responder trucks parked near the pickleball courts at night, it may not be due to an emergency.  Our heroic responders are more than welcome to come use the courts at night whenever opportunity allows.  They bring their truck along in case they receive a call.  Hopefully, they can play for long times meaning no emergencies call them away.

Two photos courtesy of Terri Wellman

Have a good time guys!

We thank you over and over for the service you provide!  

You have assisted many of us who live and stay at Palm Creek.

The Casa Grande library recently held an art contest for young artists and posted the entries on a special website.  Fun to browse through their work.

Art Contest:  Library Art Contest

Our weather forecast is looking good to get us out of the 110+ range.  We desert rats can handle triple digit temps but when it goes over 110, it's a different story.  The sun just scorches and burns!  The forecast for early morning 80s is pleasing also so we can enjoy our coffee out on the patio with the cats.

My friends may be scattered across the country but thanks to the app "Messenger", we still get on line several times a week for some serious Mahjong play.

Nothing else new to report for today.  Even Mouse looks like he needs more action and excitement.

Weather, Bingo

It's time for another virtual bingo game!

Trimming continues EVERY day.  I'll just post a couple occasionally to keep you alert.

Remember the great dust storm photos sent to me from Scott Honodel?  After chatting with him, I discovered that he is an official Weather Spotter for the National Weather Service. 

NWS Phoenix SKYWARN/Weather Spotter Program

Weather.gov > NWS Phoenix > NWS Phoenix SKYWARN/Weather Spotter Program'

First Haboob of the season

We had the first haboob for this season last night.  Our son called from Eloy and warned it was very windy, rain and perhaps light hail.  Eloy is right under the heavy yellow spot just south east of Casa Grande.

 The sky looked rather ominous.

We got plenty of dust but not a drop of rain.

Scott Honodel sent a much better photo!  

Not a good time to be outdoors as the dust is so thick.

This photo from Scott Honodel

Casa Grande didn't get much of the wind either.  No tree branches or any sign of damage when we were out this morning.

It only cooled to 88 degrees at sunrise and the humidity was 25% which to us is UGLY.  We're used to the 1-10%.  Humidity sure makes a muggy difference in comfort.

Heat doesn't stop the pickleball though.  There was a group at play this morning.

We noticed that it was always very warm inside our dishwasher when we would open the door.  Don decided to try insulating the area by the hot water heater.  We really noticed a difference that same day.  It might be a good suggestion for other homeowners to help keep the kitchen cooler.  We also insulated the sky light.    Looks like it's going to be a HOT summer.

Even the cockroaches are cooking!  👍

Found this critter on our driveway.  

That's why we have an exterminator do the spraying every month as it eliminates the food source for scorpions.  This bugger will be a nice crispy treat for the birds.

I took this photo with a "magnifier" app on my phone.  Try it sometime.  It's fascinating to get nice close ups.

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Our only other exciting news is that our microwave died.  Can't live without a microwave any more these days so we masked up and went to Lowes.  Learned more disturbing news while shopping as the clerk explained they have very low inventory due to the virus situation.  Shipments aren't coming in on any kind of regularity.  Stocks are very low.  I'm stubborn and wanted a white one so bought the last one they had in stock.  

Several days later, the installer arrived.  What a delightful young man.  He's been installing and repairing appliances since he was in high school and following in his Dad's shadow.  He had the old machine out and the new installed in about 30 minutes.  He said he has installed all kinds of appliances here in Palm Creek and has been with Lowes for 8 years.  

Thank you, Kyle!

We wore our masks while Kyle was here as a courtesy to him.  He's expecting his first child in a couple months and even showed us a sonogram photo of his little girl.

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Kat enjoys keeping me company at the computer.  Sound asleep of course.