Getting Ready

Every day brings more activity to the park in preparation for the big influx of winter residents and visitors.  Even this pretty cactus on Oasis is looking purky.  Hopefully some of these blooms will be around when the owner returns to enjoy them.  If you know the folks at 1809…..tell them thank you for sharing the pretty flower.

While cruising down Oasis, we ran into Jim Shackelford and Bob Herinck.  Jim just finished matting and framing a piece of Bob’s wood scroll work.  I’m hoping Bob will be displaying his wooden works of art at the craft fairs again this year.  He does some amazing pieces.  Fantastic!  Jim is the guy to see if you need any art work, photos, sewing projects, etc. matted and/or framed.  He does great work and it’s more fun to go see Jim than to talk to one of the big box stores for framing.  We have such talented people in our midst!!

One of the highlights of our rounds this morning was when we came across the men from the Weber Group well repair company hard at work repairing one of our two wells. A very affable man named Caleb pretended not to mind the interruption as he explained the complicated process to a couple of curious Creekers.

  Caleb

It turns out that they send a video camera down to check out the condition of the casing and if you ever wanted to know what it looks like inside one of our wells, these pictures ought to satisfy your curiosity. If you have plans to hand drill a well to water your plants be advised that the water level is 362 feet down.  Those dark spots may indicate holes where water is escaping.

We were really surprised to find out the well casing goes down over 1000 feet. We actually pump water from about 380 feet, the other 700 feet being our reserve in case needed.

Their job certainly has its hazards. Even the tools are oversize. Take a look at that wrench!

That pipe thingy on the back of their truck is how they clean out the casing. If you look at it closely, you can see some wires sticking out from the sides. These are actually wire cables. When the pipe goes down the casing. it turns and the wires clean out the inside. While this process sounds simple in theory, Caleb explained to us there is a lot more to it than meets the eye.

Say Hi to Victor…..but you have to yell pretty loud for him to hear you WAY UP THERE!

 

This pile of piping they already brought up shows how the pipe deteriorates over time.

They said it will take a couple of days to get the well back up running. That ought to make Fernando and the landscaping guys very happy.

 

Work still continues on the front 9 of the golf course.  With the grass all shredded and waiting for reseeding, it is a good safe time to drive around and trim all the trees.  Lots of branches come down for their annual haircut.  Cutting them down is one job……….picking it all up is another!  Load after load after load goes to our handy compost pile instead of into the expensive landfill. 

The fish always surface if you stand close to the edge of the pond.  They’re hoping we’ll ignore the request not to feed them.  If we feed them bread, cereal and other goodies, they won’t do their job of keeping the pond clean.  But if the little grandkids come to visit…..ignore the rule and let the kids enjoy feeding the fish.  (But don’t tell management I said that!!) 

As crews are working on the golf course, clearing gravel for new homes, digging holes, etc. I keep wondering about all the different trucks and pieces of equipment it takes to keep this place in operation.  We stopped over at the maintenance building the other day and watched Pascual and Will at work.  They’re part of the mechanics team that keep all this equipment in tip top shape.  Thank you both for all the “behind the scenes” work you do for us!  Pascual is relatively new….so….welcome aboard, Pascual!!!

Pascual:

Will

Of course, while all this work takes place to keep our resort beautiful, we residents enjoy the fruits of their labor.  Be sure to stop by the pond this season when “the boys” are out with their boat “toys”.  It’s really fun to watch.  Popkorn is gearing up so he’s ready when the gang returns.

We all come to enjoy the Arizona sunshine…..but some of us enjoy it more than others!

Have a GREAT day!  And when you come back to Palm Creek, please stop by to say hello. 

Pigeon Bit the Dust?

Received this photo today from Don and Dorothy Quigan at Site 43.  The last time I heard from them is when they sent me the photo of the road runner looking through their patio door.  Today’s photo is hilarious.  A pigeon flew into their window and definitely left his mark.  The poor guy must have been out there on the golf course during reseeding or else flew around in our last dust storm.    That’s his dusty outline left on the window.  Don’t be concerned though…although he must have hit pretty hard, he recovered and flew away.  He should really be looking for a bird bath!  Thank you to Don and Dorothy for sharing!

 

What a beautiful weather day today!  The high was only 79 and it was wonderful!!  I spent some time with a good book out on the patio and had to smile as I saw a number of RVs and rigs driving in.  Rangers are busy with parking. 

The back 9 of the golf course is coming in beautifully with its velvety green color.  Now they’re chopping away at the front nine.  Better not get your park model polished up yet.  I’d wait a few days till the dust settles.    Can you see the cloud of dust coming up from the mowers?  The crews are hard at work getting ready for your return.

That’s lots of dusty grass to rake up and haul away.

Important dates for your calendar:

February 18 – Quilt Show

February 19 – Pottery Show

March 1 – Woodcrafters Show, Photo Club Show, and Artist/Craftsman’s Show

Summer is Finally Over!

Whew!  That HOT summer is finally over!  It cooled down to 65 last night so we could sleep with the windows open.  Today’s high is expected to be in the high 80s.  Awesome!!  And a very welcome relief.  Of course, we had just power washed the house so yesterday we had some strong winds that blew all the dust back again….but at least it is pleasant outside while we clean it all up AGAIN.

We’re definitely gearing up for the season.  Ranger Bob and crew are up front distributing our car decals.  They have a little production line where one takes off the old sticker while someone else writes down the license number and name, and applies the sticker.

Our new name badges are ready too.  The set up is changed each year so it is easy to identify a current badge.  This year we’ll have the vertical style.  They’re experimenting with the background to see if we can get rid of the harsh glare. 

Say hello to Keith Saunders.  Keith is the new “Pet Ambassador” and will be taking care of all the doggie runs this season plus will help out with miscellaneous maintenance chores.  His wife, Nettie, will be helping out at the front desk.  We met Keith this morning as he was driving the street sweeper.  He grinned and said he was having a blast! 

The back 9 of the golf course is really growing nicely!  I love that rich green velvet color!  It is amazing at how fast the grass grows!  I believe planting day was September 24 so in just 11 days the bare brown turf now turns a precious vivid green.

This view down the 13th fairway is just beautiful!!!!  The owners who view this from their patio are very fortunate!

We have had an exceptionally HOT, dry, DUSTY summer.  The landscape crews have been extremely busy but are taking time to help the home owners to clean up their yards.  This week I see the guys out with leaf blowers cleaning up yards by blowing the debris out into the street where it is raked up or the street sweeper picks it up.  Thank you fellas for a great job!

While some work at this project, others are still digging up spurge.

Order your event tickets from Activities!  They’re going fast.

Whoops….gotta run.  Don is grilling brats for lunch!  Have a great day!

 

Pottery Room Renovations

Suzette Taylor and Rex Fetzer have been hard at work this summer helping with renovations in the pottery room.  I got a personal tour yesterday and would like to explain all the things they’ve accomplished……………but never having worked at pottery before, I’m afraid most of the conversation went way over my head.  I don’t understand glazing procedures, or the wheel people, or the painting section, or the baking….or whatever else Suzette was trying to show me so I asked her for a short quote that I could post here.

 

Soooo….from Suzette:  “Not to worry wheelers.  You have your own room.  The summer potterers are busy straightening up the room and getting ready for you.  Lots of new ideas in the planning.  Looking forward to seeing everybody.”

 

Suzette was especially proud of this sample display area.  She said Peggy Tomaso created this and she believes it to be a wonderful almost one-of-a-kind display of the different colors.

Of course, the part I was excited to see and hear about was all the projects that the club is creating for their annual pottery sale.  They need the funds for more supplies and equipment.  Be sure to attend their show and BUY some of these unique pieces of art they create. 

There are other projects on the shelves in various stages of completion. 

Okay you potterers………….you can come back and start to play again.  Invite me over when you’re hard at work creating your masterpieces so I can get more photos for you to share with the folks back home.