Game Results

Congratulations to the winners of the Rubber Duck Race and the Golf Ball Drop

"The boys" keep Don company while he gets dressed in the morning.

Internet Service

The February newsletter is available for download.  Here's a link:  Feb Newsletter

Here is a page regarding Dish internet and our faster fiber optic line that is coming our way.

 The real change to DISH is the monthly fee, and that your payment will be made to the resort.  DISH is a very convenient option here at the resort but residents are not required to use DISH.  There are many other options they may choose from however the $65 monthly fee is probably the cheapest rate around for up to 50mbps.  We will still have our dedicated technician and the same process for service/repair as we have in the past.

*********************

Keep track of these new hours for our offices:

    Mailroom Mon-Fri  11:00-4:00, Sat 11-2

    Guest Services Mon-Fri 9:00-4:00,  Sat & Sun 10-2

    North Gate  Daily 8:00-4:00

********************

Have you noticed the new signage on the buildings?

The ballroom is now called the Three Palms Event Center.

***************************

Ball Drop, Duck Race, and Wigeons

Our drone tried to video the ball drop but (whoops) we had the wrong filter on the lens so quality is not so good.

Photo by Bill Murr

The duck race is on the run.  Away they go.

Photo by Bill Murr

A net was placed across the canal to capture the ducks before they could enter the lake.

Congratulations to the winners! 

(Winners from both events will be contacted by Activities.)

Thank you to Marion and her crew for managing to conduct these events during Covid times.  Times for the events were not posted to avoid a crowd gathering.

*************

We have a new breed of ducks in the ponds this year.  Haven't seen these before.  They have a green head like the mallards but there is a white stripe across the top and almost a white beak.  I couldn't get close to them as they're quite skittish so I asked Tom Gottfried and his MEGA camera lenses to get some photos for me.  

YES!  These are great shots, Tom.  

Photo by Tom Gottfried

Photo by Tom Gottfried

Photo by Tom Gottfried

No good deed goes unpunished however.  Here's the note from Tom:

 Gary Jackson went along with me, working the other side of the lake, driving the ducks to me.  Some left for the other lakes and some circled around this one.  They got the last laugh however as one of them took aim, and as accurate as a bomber pilot, dropped a load of poop on my shirt and arm, missing the camera by inches.  

LOL...............I'm glad the camera survived!  😀

*********************

Here's an announcement from management about more closures for us.

********************

A new water machine is being installed at the Cottonwood pool complex.  Should be up and running soon.

 

****************

My cell phone caught a nice shot of this pretty white egret walking alonbg the course.

*****************

Mouse let me know he was NOT ready to get up this morning so he tucked his head down into the blanket to avoid the light.  

Our Waterways

If you have ever walked the beautiful path through the golf course (or played hole #9), you have seen the main water supply for our resort.  It's even called the "Main Lake".  It's usually full of ducks and a herd of curious fish that will come right up to shore to check you out.  A truly lovely fountain keeps the water aerated to control algae.  It sounds great too.  Music to keep the fish alive.

At the south end of that path, you will pass the structure seen below.  This is the main pump house that draws water from the lake and pumps it where it needs to be to maintain levels in the other lakes and keep our golf course alive through the irrigation system.  

One line goes to the gorgeous lake you first drive past when you enter the resort (for golfers, it's the one on hole #7).  Many a grandparent has taken their grandkids there to feed the fish.  Always brings a smile when you watch.  

By the way, we have a turtle who lives in that lake.  He's grown quite a bit over the years and if you're lucky, you may see him sunning himself on the shore.

       

Notice the water flow entering the lake through the pipe in the background.

Another line supplies the cute waterfall by the statues. 

Excess water then returns down the creek to the main lake.

Luis Vargas and George Chaves accompanied us on our tour and showed where the main electrical controls were located.  Luis and George share the groundskeeper supervisory position with George in charge of the golf course and all grass areas and Luis all other landscaping areas.  They make a great team and enjoy working together.

George showing main electrical control box for the water system

There are two meters like this that monitor the gallons of water we pump from the wells.  This number has to be reported to the state.  Water is precious in Arizona.

Another interesting fact I was surprised to learn is that our ponds are infested with Asian mollusks.  The shells from these mollusks disintegrate and over time cause a lot of damage to our irrigation system.  The golf course irrigation comes from the lakes so the bits of shell get sucked into the sprinkler heads causing them to clog up.  

There is a huge pile of shells in the pumping area as they get cleaned out of the lake regularly.

We also receive water from the city through this raised valve near the walkway bridge.  Whenever the city wants to change the level of water in their big water tank, the water flows into our canal and feeds into the lake.  This water is free...Yay!

The grates were built to catch floating debris before it reaches the lakes.

So where does the water come from?  We have two wells, both 600 feet deep.  The water level is at 300 feet so we have quite a bit of leeway should we ever need it.  The reason for two wells instead of one is redundancy.  Should one pump go out, we are still covered.

This is well #1, across from the sewing room.

Well #2 is located south of the pickleball courts by site 416.  When this well is turned on, it feeds water directly into the concrete canal which in turn feeds into the main lake by Hole #9.  This is also the well that is turned on for the duck race.  

It takes a large pump to bring that much water up from so far down.

The northlake water lines work the same way.  Water is pumped from the north lake (hole #13) to the two lovely waterfalls at the south end of the back nine where it then runs down the creeks back into the northlake.

This is the waterfall at the south end of Granite.

This is the waterfall/pond at the south end of Oasis

A big thank you goes to Mark Kenner, Luis and George for taking the time to explain the 'water workings' to me and Don so we can relate it to you.

Golf Course

I'm not a golfer anymore but I certainly admire the green golf course that flows through Palm Creek.  Yesterday I received some information from Mark Kenner, our PGA Golf Professional.

Hi Sue, here are a few pictures for your blog. We roll the greens every month which promotes a good roll on the green. It also speeds up the pace of the greens an allows for a very consistent roll. We use a stimp meter weekly to check the speed of the greens. A stimp meter as you see is a special tool where the ball is rolled and the distance the ball rolls in feet is recorded. Our greens have increased in consistency and speed every month this year. Today the ball rolled out 9 feet thus a 9.0 on the stimp meter. We are getting great compliments on the condition and speed of our greens. A big thank you to all of the Landscaping team for all they do to make Palm Creek a very special place. Mark

Sunsets & Music

I'm copying these photos that folks posted on Nextdoor so all you folks back home can see them too.  We've had some beautiful skys lately.

Jeannine Sumption

Al LeBel

Larry Voorhees

****************

DRIVEWAY DUETS

🎶 Friday Driveway Duets 🎶. This Friday, February 5, Judy Tawney and Mary Hansen will be playing  a potpourri of classical, jazz and pop flute music during:

“Driveway Duets,” at 11:00 am, 

          Site 1946 on Granite Drive.  

You’re invited to walk, jog, drive, bicycle, golf cart on by and sit a spell. (For everyone's safety, please wear a mask and remember physical distancing guidelines.)

Tomorrow night is the luminary activity where they light up Palm Park.  

Have a cup of chili for charity.  Friday 4:00-5:30

Hot dog and chips combo.  Saturday, Feb 6  11:00-1:00 in front of sales office

Buy balls for the golf ball drop at the pro shop or in activities no later than Saturday

The duck race will be broadcast for all to see.

New electric meters, new street signs, & tennis news

All sites in Palm Creek are receiving new electric meters.  I spoke with an APS driver this morning to get the scoop.  

Here is your new meter:

Compare it to the one being removed.  She explained that the Arizona sun fades the color making the meters hard to read.  The sun does that same thing to the headlights on our car.  I laugh and say our car is getting cataracts.

*****************

Our street signs are being painted and the signs are being replaced with new ones that are MUCH easier to read.  Posts were brown and are now black.

Old:

New:

******************

Round Robin Tennis – You are invited to play in the round robin tennis activity held Saturday morning at 10:00.  Play with many different players and have lots of fun.  Please arrive early to sign up. -- Kate and Marsha

 

Super Bowl Tournament Sign-Up - The PC Tennis Super Bowl is fast approaching. It will in fact be played Saturday afternoon February 6.

We need several more to total 32 players to fill all the courts. The sign-up sheet is on the board at the tennis center. An extra few for possible subs are always a good thing.  It is open to all skill levels