Solar Panels, Softball, Cotton

 Installation of the solar panels is moving quickly.  Here's a picture of the first posts installed on October 25.

Just two days later:

Our weather is absolutely perfect this week.  Mid to upper 70s by day and nice cool 50s at night.  October is definitely our favorite month of the year.

Softball players were out practicing today as they look forward to a fun-filled year.  Soon the Getaway Cafe will be open too.

The cottonfield across Cottonwood Lane is showing a bumper crop.

That's a HUGE field!!

Solar Power Coming to Palm Creek

 We received this flyer in the mail today.  Looks like we'll see some construction activity.

Have you seen the cute little tree lizards that climb along the brick walls and trees around the park?  They're cute and fun to watch.  I asked Tom Gottfried (photographer extraordinaire as far as I'm concerned) to get a couple close ups of them.  They're so fast that its hard to get a close look but Tom's new camera lens did the job!  Thanks Tom.

Some folks refer to the little critters as geckos but there is a difference.  The ones we see are tree lizards with dry skin and movable eye lids.

While most lizards have dry and scaly skin, the Gecko's skin is thin with small bumps on it. Lizards possess external ears and movable eyelids while Geckos have no eyelids but have a transparent membrane which they lick to clean.

There is our nature lesson for today.  😉

P.S.  Tom specializes in photos of our Anna's hummingbirds.  Samples:

The new shade sails are up and ready by the softball food court.  Will be much appreciated when games begin.  I believe the Get Away Cafe will start serving in November.  Haven't seen an official announcement yet but we're hoping.

No other new announcements for today. 

 I found Kat rearranging our kitchen drawer this week.  (sigh)

Coffee Minutes

 

Wednesday, October 12, was our monthly coffee and donuts program.  Terry Wellman, Activities Supervisor, was present and talked about event tickets.  She said they  are working on all the ticket orders and will be notifying everyone when the tickets are ready to be picked up.  Target date for tickets is November 1.  The meals for the dinner shows have not been published yet as the menu will be created by the kitchen staff. 

Opening date for the Getaway Café is scheduled for November 1. 

Pottery announced that they are opening the last week of October with orientation being held after November.

Taylor, our Social Media Coordinator, said the Happenings news letter will be available in November.  The format will now include a resident’s section for club personnel to make announcements of their events.  Articles must be submitted to Taylor prior to the 20^th of the month so she has time to incorporate the info into the newsletter.  Taylor will also be publishing the Ad Corner. 

Dennis Jordan, General Manager, was called away and was not able to attend.  Residents had several subjects they wanted to address:  Will coffee and donuts go back to weekly sessions?  Will Dennis be present?  Someone wanted to bring up a concern about stray cats in the park.  There was concern expressed about speeding and stop signs.  There were questions about the garbage bins being full.  The garbage truck has been broken down so they were trying to get an outside company to empty the bins.  We’re hoping the truck will be back in service by this weekend.

Our snowbird friends are arriving in droves.  We see more RVs and rigs arriving daily.  The power wash crews are busy from morning till night along with the landscape teams sprucing up yards and houses ready for the owners to return.  We're looking forward to a fun-filled season ahead.

Reminders

Look at this beautiful 10 day forecast!!

 So many people are out shopping for plants to start their winter season.  Thought I'd mention this sale at Avocado Nursery

Reminder for Oktoberfest Oct 12 4-7pm

N. Pavilion , Potluck BYOB

Plates utensils and napkins provided. Bring your dancing shoes and voices Polka music and Karaoke by Dusty

Coffee and Donuts with our General Manager, Dennis Jordan, at 8:30am in the Ballroom.  Pick up your complimentary ticket in Activities by Monday, October 10.

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The Water Volleyball Club will be hosting a Halloween party in the Ballroom at 6:00 pm Monday, October 31. Sign up in the Activities Office.  (This is a resident sponsored activity.)

Softball Season

 We should have even more fun at the softball games this year as we'll have the shaded food court area close to all the action.  Work is still underway to put in all new paving under the sun sails.

                          WELCOME To the Palm Creek Softball League

We promote fun, comradery, and safety in our CO-ED league. We seek to provide a memorable experience for all players of all levels of ability in slow pitch softball. Our league is made up of softball associations from Fiesta Grande, Mission Royale, Palm Creek, Robson Ranch, and Sundance parks.

If you are new to softball, please review the New Player tab under the Training Bar on our website: and Google:  Palm Creek Softball.

All are invited to attend Open / Drop-in play on Monday and Wednesday Mornings starting at 9am (Fall), 11am (Winter). Take some batting and fielding practice. During these times, players are assessed for ability, which then produces a ranking for draft and substitution list purposes. 

There are 3 seasons of play each “year”: Fall starting Nov 3,2022 and ending Dec 15,2022, Winter starting Jan 2,2023 and will end Feb 16, 2023. Spring starts Feb 28,2023 ending on Mar 23,2023. Our Tournament teams usually play on Friday and Saturday at various parks.

 

Coed Practice:  Scheduled practices are every Wednesday, from 9-11, approximately October – February.  Everyone is welcomed to attend these practices.

Women’s Team Practice:  Scheduled practices are every Wednesday, from 11-1, approximately October – February.  These practices will be a combination of batting, fielding, conditioning, and scrimmages.  These practices will be used to assess player skill levels and build the Silver Slider’s Women’s tournament team. 

Silver Slider’s Women’s Tournament Team:  Women interested in playing tournaments on weekends will be recruited from participation at Wednesday’s practice/scrimmage.  For the 2022-2023 tournament season, there is approximately 5-6 tournaments that are scheduled.  The tournament season generally runs from January – March of any given year.

 

For further information regarding Palm Creek Softball League, please contact:

Women’s Team Manager - Diana Pratt Wilson

Mobile: (303) 917-2941

Email:  dpsydney9@gmail.com

Ticket Update, Flowers, Course, FOG!

 

The back of the order form says ticket sales start on Tuesday, Sept 28.......but that should be WEDNESDAY, Sept 28.  Best way to place your order is via email but doing it early won't do any good.  Orders prior to the 9:00 start time won't be accepted until the 29th.  9:00 a.m. Arizona time.

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We awoke to some real FOG this Thursday morning!!  It may not look like a lot on this photo but it was quite a view for us as I think it's only the second time we've ever seen fog here in Casa Grande.  We have the late night rain to thank for the moisture.

Our golf course crew will be hard at work the next few weeks preparing the course for its annual reseeding.  Piles of fresh fertilizer are arriving.  

It is amazing to see how nice and green the course stayed this summer.  Normally it would be crispy brown by now but we've had nice rainfall this year.

This interesting plant is growing by the farmer statue at the 4-way stop.  Not being a country gal, I had to take a picture and let Google lens identify the plant for me.  It's sorghum.  It's like a grain or millet type of product we assume was planted as a gift from the birds who frequent the statue.  It's been interesting to watch it grow.  

Update:  Just drove past the 4-way stop and see that the flowers have all been removed so they can prepare the beds for our fall planting. 

 LOL....they left the sorghum for us to enjoy.

We saw one little duck head peeking out at us as we took the photo. 

Other than that, there's not much else to report.  I'm hearing from more and more people that they're packing suitcases and getting ready for their journey back to Palm Creek.

Kat is up to his usual antics and has to see if there is anything new in the cupboards.

Once he gets inside, he may decide to nap and take advantage of the darkness.

Other times he just wraps himself into a ball so he fits in the bed of his cat tree.

I think he uses the post to block the daylight from his eyes.

Mouse is a much more active creature.  When we dispense Temptation treats at night, Don tosses them one at a time high into the air for Mouse to capture them in mid-flight.  He's really pretty good at it.  If he doesn't actually catch them, he knocks them down before snacking.  It's cute to watch.

Wednesday Coffee Notes

We enjoyed a well attended and very informative coffee this morning and heard from several staff members.  

Terri Wellman introduced Sarah Felix as a new Activities Assistant.  Sarah will be working full time in Activities.  Terri talked about the event Ticket Book that has recently been published.  You can access the book at the PC website:  Palm Creek Ticket Book.  Ticket SALES begin on Wednesday, September 28 at 9:00 a.m.  No orders will be accepted prior to that date.  The best way to place your order is via email or in person.  Phone calls will be hard to manage so email is the best bet.

Sarah Felix and Terri Wellman

General Manager, Dennis Jordan, was present to answer a number of questions.

Dennis Jordan

Lakes are clearing up.  An environmental company approved by the Arizona Water Board is treating the lakes and it will be a several month process.  So far they have added 150 pounds of pellets to disintegrate the algae and sludge that has built up in the ponds.  
The north pump project has finally been completed so irrigation is back onto the back nine.  
Street paving will start in October for sections of the park.  Repaving will be on a schedule for the next five years due to the high cost.  
Resurfacing some pickleball and shuffleboard courts will be done.  
May be relocating the woodshop which is a long term capital project under discussion.  
It was mentioned that Granite Drive has an accumulation of dust and sand built up from windy days.  Our PC street sweeper is not operable but we still have an outside company responsible for sweeping the streets on a monthly basis.
Questions regarding the national pickleball tournament and daily maintenance of the courts were directed back to the pickleball chairman.  Dennis has been in close touch with the pickleball board so questions should be directed to Chuck or Steve.  Eight courts will be entirely resurfaced.  The military tournament will be held at Palm Creek. 
Will alcohol be served at PC this season?  We now have a liquor license but won't have an open bar this season.  Staff is currently working on extended Bistro hours and menu.  A reminder that if beer or alcohol is being sold at an event, we do not bring BYOB.

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Our Marketing Coordinator, Taylor, announced that Palm Creek is in the top three candidates for Best RV Park (competing with Casita Verde and Fiesta Grande) in the Chamber of Commerce "Greatest of the Grande" contest.  She encouraged all of us to go to the Palm Creek Facebook website and look for the link to cast our votes.  Also look for any of our sponsors who are in the competition for their categories.  Taylor is in charge of the Ad Corner so will be publishing that information soon.  If we have any suggestions for sponsors, we should drop off the info to Taylor.  We are also nominated for Park of the Year with the National Association of Recreation Vehicles and Campgrounds.  

Taylor

Leah Lombardi was introduced as a new Construction Assistant that reports to Terry Fosmore. Leah worked for CalAm under Dennis for a few years.  She is responsible for the admin process working on site improvement requests.  She helps with department schedules, working on the classroom models, bids for repairs, etc.  

Leah Lombardi

Terry Fosmore, Director of Facilities

Will Ocampo was introduced as the Gate and Ranger Supervisor.  He has been working with the Casa Grande police department and is asking them for more visual presence within the park.  The security truck still drives through the park from 9pm to 5am daily.  

Will Ocampo

We really enjoyed meeting the staff and look forward to many more "meet and greet" opportunities.

Roller Derby + More

 Say hello to Wil Ocampo who is the new head of security (replacing JD Nelson).  Wil has a military background plus worked on the Phoenix police force before retiring with his RV.

We had another great monsoon storm yesterday that brought us almost .5 inch of rain.  

The sky was continually lit from the lightning.

Saturday about 20 of us attended the Casa Grande Roller Derby to support the Bombers.  Don and I were there early so got to chat with some of the participants.  

This was our first visit to their new stadium.  We really enjoy watching these women in a very rugged sport but will enjoy it more when we come prepared with soft cushions for the hard bleachers.  The auditorium is not air-conditioned so a small personal fan would be a great help. 

The two jammers line up at the back of the pack.  They must break through the blockers and get around the track to score points.  Getting past the blockers is a challenge!

We found another orb spider showing off her pretty colors.

I certainly appreciate the pest control techs who take time to sweep away the cobwebs from the doorways when they make their monthly visit.  It makes the job of your housewatcher a lot better when we don't have to scramble through the webs.

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Mouse almost fits in the bed.  😸