RAIN !!

 I've said it before...and I say it again:  The salad bar at our Ballroom Cafe is second to none.  So many goodies available to pile on top of fresh greens.  It only costs $10 and it's all you can eat!  Bar is always so neat and clean and fresh.  Thank you to Chef and crew for providing this for our summer.

Another tip from this avid bird watcher:

In this hot weather, we notice many birds rest with their beak open to cool off.  I "googled" them this week to learn more.  (from Google:) Likely, they are trying to keep cool. Birds cool by “gular flutter” which is similar to panting but requires less energy.  Birds’ high metabolism actually makes it EASIER to keep cool. What matters is not the absolute temperature but the relationship between body temperature and ambient temperature. Because birds are hotter inside than we are, the air around them feels cooler to them than it does to us. They can still lose heat to the air by simple radiation when we no longer can.

Most birds also have other methods of cooling off, such as flattening their feathers so there is no insulating layer of trapped air (on a hot day, birds’ legs look longer because the feathers lie closer to the body).  And they can and do seek shade and rest on really hot days.

But in general, birds are better than mammals at staying cool, and less vulnerable to dehydration as well because their urine and feces contain little to no water—they lose less water than we do. Many birds do not need to drink. Birds do very well in hot deserts.

The acorn woodpeckers like to hang outside the windows at the Adobe Room & attack their reflections.

We had an old fashioned Haboob the other night....just lots of wind and dirt.  It took down some tree branches and sadly tore down one of the sun sails over by the softball area.

Photo copied from Nextdoor

We were treated to our monthly Chef Special on Thursday.  Yummy shrimp scampi.  I copied Bill's excellent summary from Nextdoor.

Next month will be chicken alfredo.  Hurray!

We had a real monsoon storm last night!!  First drops of rain since March 30.  We witnessed LOTS of thunder and lightning with a "little" rain.  Rain gauge this morning shows .01 inch.  That's not much!  It was WONDERFUL to sit on the patio for morning coffee at 75 degrees.  What a welcomed relief!  It won't last long but it was certainly appreciated.

With the temperature being so high for so long, our pools have warmed up also.  Water aerators have recently been installed at the main pool.  It feels great to stand under them for the cooler water and it feels like standing our in the cool rain.  

We watched the tree trimmers working in close quarters this morning.

I want to know how they get the ropes up there.

Remember when the Fire Department was here and talked about aging smoke detectors?  Well, Tita showed up at our house this morning with ladder in hand to help us.

She confirmed that we need to buy new alarms because ours were installed with the house in 2005.  Marc is a volunteer who comes along with a ladder to do installation.  Talk about service!!

Happy Birthday to ME

 

Good morning to all and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!  Any and all of my friends will confirm that I love having birthdays and like to celebrate every day like a birthday.  I seldom, if ever, put my real birthdate on a social media site so when people find my name, they send me birthday wishes.  It's fun to celebrate more than one birthday.  😀

I'm VERY happy with my birthday gift this year.  We finally get our new air conditioner today!  In this summer's record-breaking heat wave, we've been struggling with an old machine that "usually" works but can't cool the house the way we want it.  

We researched some quotes and opted to go for Tri-Cor.  They have been here several times in the past weeks to keep our old unit running. 

Sean is dismantling the old unit.   

The new unit arrived via a large crane from the street behind our house.  Don said he never heard it arrive so didn't get any pictures!!  I was at a doctor appointment so wasn't here to capture the action.  I'm soooo disappointed about not having photos to share!  

I searched on Google Photos and found a picture from 2020 when a unit like ours was installed on the house next to us.

It's impressive that the entire unit was completely installed and running within two hours.

Just FYI,,,,the last unit was a 3 1/2 ton but we splurged and upgraded to a 4 ton.  If global weather keeps getting hotter, we want to be prepared. 😎

Also in the news this week is the continuing project of solar installation around the park.

We saw the crew doing some serious digging so stopped to get the story.

They're digging the trench to run lines and underground cables for the solar installation. The crew is from LA so stay here in town in a six bedroom ABNB.  I wish I had asked where in Casa Grande do we have a six bedroom house.

We had a guest speaker from the Casa Grande Museum yesterday who spoke about Pinal County Agriculture.  Arlo is a wealth of information on any kind of Casa Grande history.  I didn't get the best photo but want to give her credit for sharing the information.

I asked about the pecan tree orchard behind the promenade mall.  Arlo had all the answers and sent these articles.  She's awesome.

**NOTE:  The session was at 1:00 so we went up to the Ballroom Cafe for a delicious salad before the meeting.  USE IT OR LOSE IT!!  Don't forget to visit the Cafe frequently so the $numbers$ show how much we appreciate having the cafe open in the summer!!  This week's special is the yummy Monte Cristo sandwich with fries.

And lastly today...photos from our sons.  I always love hearing from them.

Kevin sent this awesome close up of a tufted titmouse at his window birdfeeder.  To me, as an avid bird watcher, this is a jewel. 

Son Anton is back at his art and is dabbling at watercolor.

He has a whole series of "Cat Dad" paintings.

LOL...I still get complaints if I don't include at least one cat picture.  Ok....Here is Kat patiently waiting for us to open the living room window so he can come back into the house from his cat condo.  I feel like a doorman as they request to go in and out.  It's another reason I'll be glad for cooler weather so we can just keep the window access open all the time.

P.S.  Thank you to all you readers for the birthday wishes and comments about the blog.  You keep me MOTIVATED.  😁

Have a GREAT day!!

Heat Continues & Tree Trimming

 This article is out of date now.  We are on the 22nd day in a row.  As I type this at 7:56 a.m. it is already 95 degrees.  It was 91when we sat outside with our morning coffee.  There was a light breeze which helped.  We got a good laugh though when our cats came out BRIEFLY and went back in the house.

I even feel sorry for the birds as they survive the heat.  This acorn woodpecker frequently visits the windowsill at the Adobe Room.  He sat there for quite a while yesterday...beak wide open struggling for some cooler air in the shade.

Whenever we see birds on the golf course, they're always clustered in the shade of the trees and near to the creek or sprinkler heads for water.

Looks like this chick left the nest too soon.  Mama was there to protect her even when we got real close.

I showed a picture of the dove on her cactus nest the other day.  Now she is sheltering her chick from the sun shining down on them.

We came across a couple feral cats this morning.  I hope they find good shelter somewhere.

Our award-winning tree trimmers are hard at work.  They're amazing to watch!

This is where they started less than an hour ago.  All cleaned up!

This week's special at the Ballroom Cafe is that yummy Monte Cristo & fries again.  Be sure to stop in.

Monday we will have a speaker from the Casa Grande Museum who will talk about Pinal County Agriculture.  Should be very interesting to hear about the water cutbacks and how it will affect the acreage around here.  I hope he can tell us about the orchard of trees planted behind the promenade mall.

Wednesday is the poker and BBQ party in Ballroom 2 at 1:00.  Pulled pork sandwiches, chips and soda.  Tickets are $15.

Friday is Chef's Dinner Special from 4-6 in the Cafe.  We're having Shrimp Scampi, Caprese Salad, and Orange Sherbet.  Tickets are $20.  Ticket cutoff is Monday, July 24 so hurry!

Chef and crew still prepare that wonderful salad bar every day.  It's the best deal in town!

Class & BD Breakfast

 

We had so much FUN at our iPhone class yesterday.  We learned lots of new tips and tricks to make cellphones easier.  Never stop learning!  I think, by popular request and feedback,  we'll hold more classes this summer to keep entertained.

On my way home after class ... and in the heat of mid afternoon 113°... I stopped to observe some dedicated  employees hard at work to keep our resort in operation.

Looks like some heavy duty work by the main pump station.

Even the ice machines can break down in this weather.  This is a sample of the "small stuff" we don't hear about when it comes to maintenance.

The palm trees seem to be just fine.  Look at the bountiful harvest of dates on his one.

After yesterday's phone class, I was playing with some photo apps.  My son sent me this picture of a little spider.

With a few clicks on my cellphone, I magnified the spider, drew the circle, and labeled it.

Then with Google Lens, I was able to research him as well.

Sometimes it's just fun to play with photos.

Today was the July Birthday Breakfast.  July birthday people get to go for free.  Others pay just $5 for a lovely little breakfast.  Our half burrito was yummy accompanied by two beignets & coffee.

I chatted with Chef while he was carving up some fresh chicken.  He says he likes to use fresh foods whenever he can.  Thus the chicken pieces out on the salad bar are "real" chicken instead of the packaged stuff one can buy.  He chops it all up into desired pieces for whatever recipes he has in mind, then individually wraps them and freezes them until needed.

Say hello to second-in-command sous chef Dean.  Dean will be full time helping in the kitchen.  Bridgett is on a brief vacation so Chef is filling in on her sous pastry creations.

As I'm told by readers, every blog entry needs to have at least one cat picture.   I thought it was cute when my son sent this one.  His cat insists on being able to see out even when the blinds are closed. Sooo....problem solved.  LOL