Harris Hawks at Palm Creek

 We've spotted one or two Harris Hawks here in the past but we're excited to know that we have a group of at least FOUR visiting Palm Creek right now.  Carol Cook got a good photo of two of them this morning.  One is sitting on the meter and the other is perched to the right in the background.

Photo by Carol Cook

Don and I were driving our golf cart up Palm Creek Blvd between holes 9 and 6 when we spotted them alongside the creek.  One flew up into the air, dove down to the pond, and flew away with a fish clutched in its talons!  How exciting for us bird watchers!!

The Harris hawk is notable for its behavior of hunting cooperatively in packs consisting of groups while other raptors often hunt alone.  Their social nature has been attributed to their intelligence which makes them easy to train and has made them a popular bird for use in falconry.

Undoubtedly because it pursues large prey often, this hawk has larger and stronger feet, with long talons, and a larger, more prominent hooked beak than most other raptors around its size.  They hunt primarily cottontails and jackrabbits.  Harris hawks will hunt in cooperative groups of two to six.  

These hawks have been increasingly used in falconry and are now the most popular hawks in the West for that purpose as they are one of the easiest to train and the most social.  They have been used to remove an unwanted pigeon population from London's Trafalgar Square and from the tennis courts at Wimbledon.  They're also used for bird abatement at locations including airports, resorts, landfill sites, and industrial sites.  

It's easy to identify them in flight due to the white patch near the tail.

Photo from Wikipedia.org

Photo from Wikipedia.org

P.S.  By the way....

Our golf course crew had better plant a lot more grass seed than usually needed.  😕 There are hundreds of doves enjoying the feast of new seeds.

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REMINDER:  Friday, September 29, is the last day of serving for the Ballroom Cafe.  The Bistro will open on Monday, October 9.  Guess we'll have to cook our own meals for a whole week!

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Something special:  End of Summer Dinner
Found this poster in our mailbox today.  Must buy your tickets by Oct 2.  $25pp

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Here comes October!

WOW!!  What a wonderful morning!  Cool 66 degrees for the first time all summer!  It was awesome to sit out on the patio for morning coffee, watching the sunrise, watching as the hummingbirds awaken and race to the feeders, etc.

Look at this current forecast for Casa Grande!  No more triple digits!!! 😃

There is activity all around the resort as crews get ready for the massive return in October.

Park maintenance and landscaping are working hard on the grounds as they get ready for the season.  Fertilizer arrives by the semi load a couple times a week as our crews spread it around on the golf course.

Be sure to load some extra seed to keep the doves happy.

Freshly fertilized.

Then turn on the water!  Sprinklers go morning and night so the fairways and greens grow.

The north pickleball courts are getting a face lift.

Good crew working in preparing the courts.

Maintenace is cleaning up the sports area, setting up tables and chairs, etc.  So much to get done for your arrival.

Flower beds are resting before the new flowers arrive.

Crews are walking along the backyard of the golf course sites, blowing away the excess dirt and dust from the reseeding process.

We enjoyed another crazy bingo game sponsored by our Activities Dept.  It was a big birthday surprise for Terri Wellman as well.  Thank you, Terri (and Barb) for all you have done to keep us entertained this summer.

Event ticket sales opened yesterday at 9:00 a.m.  Activities received over 600 ticket orders that morning so we know the staff will be hard at work for the next few days.

Bistro News

 We had a nice presentation at the Tuesday morning coffee from Greg, the new Food & Beverage Manager.  He explained that the new beer and wine license will take effect this season starting with the opening of the Bistro on October 9.  Hours at the Bistro will be 9:00 until 2:00 but changing to 9:00 until 7:00 pm.  The Bistro will also offer dinner items this season.

New coffee service will also be available with the new 1850 coffee brand and a number of flavor additives available.

We summer residents are VERY grateful for the new food service available to us and it sounds like Gregg's new ideas will be even better this coming season.  How nice to be able to stop by for a charcuterie board and a nice glass of wine.  Or stop by the new dispenser that will have fresh salads and sandwiches all ready to go.  Lots of new ideas happening.

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It's time to say goodbye to the summer flowers as the HEAT has taken its toll on them.  They'll soon be prepping the flower beds for the fall planting.

Get your tickets for Wednesday, Sept 27 when we celebrate the end of summer with Chef.  Tickets are $5 for pie and coffee.  A chance to congratulate Chef and the whole kitchen staff for a wonderful summer opportunity.

Special wine tasting event:

SEASON EVENT TICKETS GO ON SALE

Wednesday morning , Sept 20, at 9:00 a.m.

Your best bet is to email your orders.

Last day of summer for the Ballroom Cafe is Friday, Sept 29. 

We'll have to cook our own meals until the Bistro opens on Monday, Oct 9

It's also time for the annual clean carpets in our activity rooms.  The Santan Room, both North and South Sonora rooms, and the Adobe rooms will be closed from Sept 28 through Oct 2.  Plan your events accordingly.

Watch out for some lane restrictions on Henness Rd for a while:

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Mouse makes himself comfortable even if the bed is a little small for him.

Omelet Breakfast!

 We had an AWESOME Omelet Bar Breakfast this morning!  Congratulations to our kitchen staff for a FUN morning adventure.  

There was a huge selection of fresh ingredients to custom make our omelets.

Chef and Dean were flipping the omelets like the pros they are.

YUM!

The crowd continued to grow and all were very happy.  No standing in line either.  We came in, gave our tickets to Terri, received our pager, and proceeded to get coffee and choose our table.  When the pager went off, we headed to the bar to watch our omelet be created.  It was fun to pick and choose our ingredients.

And, as always, thanks to the Activities staff for their help.  They're always the "behind the scenes" to assist.  (Debbie and Terri)

The summer season is nearing a close.  Friday, September 29, is the last day for our WONDERFUL Ballroom Cafe.  Then food service will be closed for a week while staff prepares the Bistro.  Bistro is scheduled to open on Monday, October 9.  

Get your tickets now for Wednesday, Sept 27, to celebrate the end of summer with Chef.  $5 tickets for pie and coffee at 1:00.

The Fireside Bistro opens early this season on October 9 with hours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  On October 30, the Bistro will extend their hours to 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Yahoo!

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Driving past the creek this morning, we were shocked to see how thick the ooze and mud and algae had grown.  It's like a foot deep.

High on the clean up schedule.  This poor young man must have drawn the short straw to shovel it out.  Congrats to him as he can still maintain a smile.

Lots of "end of summer" projects.  Asphalt work, stripe painting on the streets, grass work on the golf course, cleaning the creek, and the never ending trimming of trees and shrubs.  Morning temperatures have finally cooled down into the 70s making that morning cup of coffee on the patio much nicer!  We're still in the triple digits every day but nothing over 110.  

TICKET BOOKS ARE NOW AVAILABLE

 Here's the link to the Sun Communities homepage with the ticket book and order form:

https://palmcreek.com/ticket-book/

I recommend downloading the pdf format.  I copied some of the most pertinent information below.  Your best option for ordering is via email at pcactivities@suncommunities.com

Sounds like a wonderful year of programs for us!!

Tickets go on sale at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 20.

ORDER INSTRUCTIONS:

Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, September 20th at 9:00am. We will not accept early orders - any order received prior to 9:00am on September 20th will not be processed. Orders will be date and time stamped and will be filled accordingly. You may place your order in person at the Activities Office, email at pcactivities@suncommunities.com or by fax: 520-208-9714 or by phone: 520-371-5840.

If you are ordering by phone and need to leave a voicemail, we will utilize the date/time stamp from the message you leave. We will call you back as soon as possible. Please remember that we are literally receiving hundreds of orders all at once and it will take time to contact you.

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If you are emailing or faxing your order, please make sure you list your credit card information including your zip code. We are no longer able to accept checks in the Activities Office.

Your ticket order may be picked up in the Activities Office beginning Monday, October 9th at 9:00am.

Limit of four tickets per event per household.

To be fair to all, we will be limiting each order to four tickets per event per household. We are unable to accommodate requests of residents to sit together.