Construction Starts Today!

The local Dillard's store cordially invited us Palm Creek ladies to a little special shopping event Friday morning.  We were treated to some cosmetics demonstrations, bra fittings, and special Father's Day gift selections.  Then we toured around the store searching for some hidden canisters where we could deposit our raffle tickets for a drawing at the end of the event as we enjoyed the delicious muffins, juice, and coffee that was provided for us.

 

I was excited to meet up with Chris Mays in her new job at the Lancome cosmetics department.  Chris and her husband Jim used to live here in the park so many of us knew Chris well.  Chis introduced us to some nice face serums and lotions.

Avis liked the hydrating cream after all her pickleball and golfing sun.

Sandy Morin, Lynne Rogers, and Liz all won nice door prizes.  Dillards sponsors these outings several times during the season.  Grab a friend and head out there sometime.  It was fun.

Afterward, I came home to find our new Trane air conditioner being installed by the dedicated hard working guys from Tri-Core.  Our choice was to invest $2000 for new parts and repairs into an 8 year old machine OR buy a new Trane with a 10-year parts warranty.  It was an easy decision.

 

 

It was a busy day as Friday night is Bingo night at the American Legion....my favorite place to play the game.  Most of the people that attend are "regulars" so we've gotten to know most of them and its a nice friendly group. 

Connie Morin and I love the double action game so buy a couple extra cards.  I really had a wonderfully successful and exciting evening as I won FOUR times that night and brought home some nice bucks.  Yahoo!!  I don't know if I'll be welcomed back next week but I believe I'll be there anyway. 

 BIG NEWS!!
Today marks the beginning of the construction for the new pickleball courts and ballfield area.  There were several big machines toiling away early this morning.  Yes....I'll keep you posted on the progress.

 

 

 

I had to chuckle at this picture below.  Quite a few residents have put artificial doves out on their railings in an attempt to keep the doves from roosting there and making such a mess.  The doves on the railing are plastic but the guy visiting them on the car is for real.  He just came down to keep them company I guess.  At least he's not sitting on the railing.

Ran into Larry and Avis Gray out on the golf course this morning.  The temps are quite pleasant in the early part of the day so folks are still able to enjoy their favorite sport as long as you're an early riser.

 

Have a GREAT day!

Sad Announcement from Marlys Bungum

We received an email from Marlys Bungum today (Site 1766) announcing the passing of her husband Chuck. 

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"On Tuesday afternoon, Chuck had a massive stroke. It was not a blood clot, but a bleeding brain, very very difficult to stop. After a day, according to his living will, he was taken off of artificial support. He died early this morning. The funeral will be at Bethesda Lutheran Church, 1204 N. Nokomis N.E, Alexandria, MN 56308. A reviewal will be 1 hour before the funeral and from 5-7:30 at the Anderson Funeral Home, 920 Ct. Rd. 44, Alexandria, MN. We hope this will be a celebration of his life. The kids and I are doing Ok, lots of tears, lots of stories and laughs, and then more tears. And what a comfort they have been to me. Please contact any others who I may have missed. Thanks, Marlys"

Another Day

Ohhhhhhh......isn't this guy a beauty?  Found this baby praying mantis on the side of a park model yesterday.  I find these critters fascinating.  In fact, when we had our house and huge yard in Ohio, I used to order mantis eggs from a nursery and place them all around the yard to help keep down the pesty insects.  Thus....we frequently found adult mantis' among the flowers.  They tend to remain very still allowing us to get close for photographs and to watch them catch and munch on bugs.

 

 I am convinced by the number of comments and emails I receive that everyone still enjoys cactus photos so here come a few more.  These barrel cacti don't draw much attention with their yellow pineapple looking things on top but if you're lucky enough to be around when the flower is open, they provide a nice show.

If you happen to know Phil and Karen Mills over on Oasis, you can thank them for showing off their plant.

More behind the scenes work and expense that we don't think about.  New tile floors are being installed in the restrooms over by the tennis courts.

This tall thin crazy cactus was stretching itself up to the sun to show off its blossom this morning.  It just looked proud of itself so I had to stop for another picture (and listen to Don groan).

 

 

If you CAREFULLY feel the petals of a prickly pear blossom, you will realize how waxy they are in order to protect their precious moisture. 

Uh oh....whoops....looks like someone had a slight mishap with the brick wall over by the new casita. 

So.....hope you enjoyed today's tour around the park.  I saw an announcement on the Palm Creek Facebook page saying construction will start on the new pickleball courts this weekend.  I'd better charge up my camera batteries!

Palm Creek is now on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/palmcreekresort

summer fun and games

Say hello to the gals who love to play cards in the hot afternoons.  Natalie, Liz, Avis, Lynn, and Karen.  I, of course, am behind the camera.  We play any assortment of games and have a great time as we wile away the hours.


Nothing to do here in the summer?  You are so wrong.  This is a quick shot of the announcement board outside the front office.  Lots of goodies to keep us occupied.

Last night was Bingo.  Here are our avid attendees giving a "Dabbers Up" salute to all you folks who are on other adventures around the country.

See if you can spot anyone you know.  I snapped these photos with my zoom lens since I was up on stage being "the caller". 

 

Congratulations to Diane Gaines and Mary Williams as they were both three time winners!  Diane even won the final blackout game for a whopping $42.  Of course, she and Mary were both threatened with being thrown in the swimming pool for being so lucky.

Thank you, Diane, for the extra effort of making popcorn for everyone.  Hey.....free popcorn and a night out with good friends makes for a lovely evening.

I took a quick snapshot of the callers gameboard.  The next time you yell at a caller for pushing the wrong button...take a breath and remember that there are LOTS of buttons.  It's a fun job though.  I enjoy having the ringside seat up on stage so I can watch people's expressions when they get only one number away.  Love to watch folks have a good time!

Now for the not so exciting news of living here in the summer.  Everything is just fine as long as your air conditioning works.  Guess what I discovered when I came home from Bingo last night??  Dang!  Lucky for us that we use Tri-Cor as our vendor of choice because Jason was here at 7:00 this morning to get us back up and running.

A quote for a new Trane unit will be arriving soon.    There are always a few little bumps in the road of life.

Y'all have a good day! 

P.S.  In answer to frequently asked questions:  No....Construction on the ballfield & pickleball has not started yet.  Yes...I will keep an eye out for the baby ducks.

(Closest I could come to a duck cartoon.) 

Another Day

Drove past this tree on our rounds this morning and couldn't help but notice the thick swarm of bees around these palm blossoms. 


Naturally, I wanted to get closer  so while Don was yelling at me to stay away, I slowly came forward to get a better look.

I hit the jackpot!  Among the blossoms was this tarantula hawk.  It is really a wasp but its official name is tarantula hawk.  Easily recognizeable because it is huge....about 2 inches long with bright orange wings.  They kill tarantulas and then haul them underground to their nests to feed their young larvae.  Saw them on nature programs several times.
Watch this video on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXVH8gaY7X8&feature=colike

A ladder on the back of an RV always makes a perfect nesting spot.

Say hello to mama dove.

Then we headed over to the 15th fairway to check on mama duck and her eggs.  As soon as she saw us in the area, she hunkered down to the ground and remained perfectly motionless.  I took this photo with my zoom lens from a safe distance so as not to disturb her.

As we were leaving, we spotted this green heron approaching.  Guess it was time for him to hunt in the creek.  They're much smaller than the great blue but are just as pretty and fun to watch.

I copied this photo from the internet so you could get a better view.

It was definitely a birding morning.  A little later, this burrowing owl flew across our path and landed on the overhang of this park model.  There doesn't seem to be a shortage of these owls around here.

Good news!  The new Ocotillo Room has arrived.  This will be a great spot for holding small classes and more much needed meeting space.

 

 Upon arriving home, I spotted a few of the neighbors outside so stopped over with camera in hand.  AJ laughed and said news must be hard to come by if I needed their picture for the blog.  When it is this quiet here, anything that moves becomes a target of interest.  Say hi to AJ Fraties, Connie Morin, Linda and Gary Fochen.

And..........no day would be complete without a cactus picture so here are some pretty red ones taken at Greenwood's Site 1543.

Okay...you all have a great day!

Update

Good Morning Readers....and happy Sunday to you.  Thank you, thank you for all the comments the blog has received recently.  There are some nice comments on the Guestbook page plus I've received nice emails from folks who can't seem to get the guestbook page to work for them.  I don't know why some have difficulty making an entry there....perhaps it has something to do whether or not you have a Google account.  It's a mystery but not that important.  I always appreciate hearing from you.

Work still progresses on the new paver sidewalk over by the shuffleboard courts.  It weaves its way clear over to the horseshoes area with a nice ramp at the end.  Very nice!  There are many hours of HOT labor involved.

 

 

There are still cactus blossoms popping out sporadically around the park but now they're all starting to look the same as previous photos so I hesitate to post them.  This one caught my eye though.  It is a big cactus barrel with cute little red feathery blossoms which I thought were quite unusual.  We've all probably driven past this plant on Cole Circle hundreds of times without noticing it so it goes to show that sometimes we have to slow down and look closer at our surroundings. 

 

And....take a look at the HUGE prickly pear plant behind it.  That's a monster.

Everyone frequently asks what it is really like to spend the summer here.  It gets daylight around 4:30-5:00.  Most everyone here is an early riser so we can get out for some fresh air and exercise while it is still relatively cool outdoors.  The pickleball folks start playing at 6:00 and I see several folks who are out walking with their dog or just out for a healthy stroll or bike ride.

I don't know where everyone goes in the afternoons but I like going  up to the club house to play Pegs and Jokers or some other fun card games with the girls.  The guys tend to hang out in the pool room and the library frequently has several visitors either to just browse the newspapers or pick out another novel.  Other alternatives would be to curl up with a good book or take an afternoon siesta (which is also a favorite of mine since we get up so early.) 

Evenings are the best time for a nice swim after the intense sun goes down.  A couple of us head up to the American Legion to play Bingo on Monday and Fridays and, of course, Harkins Theatre sees us a couple times a month along with meals out at area restaurants.  Life is pretty good here.

Tomorrow we have Bingo scheduled here at the park so I'll certainly have some photos to share after that. 

Sooo.....hope you're all having a good summer too.  We'll keep the lights on for you while you are away. 

Keep an eye on the Palm Creek Facebook page!

Palm Creek now on Facebook!

BIG NEWS FOLKS!!

Palm Creek now has a newsy page on Facebook.  It will have lots of nice news reports and stories just like my blog.  Check it out at this link.

Palm Creek Facebook

And....you will be able to leave comments, feedback, and share your stories. 

Other than that, all is still quiet.  We stop at one of the village homes every morning on our rounds just to say hello to the little burrowing owl who loves to roost there.  I hope not too many people observe these two grown up seniors sitting in their golf cart talking to a little owl but we like to say Good Morning so he gets used to having people stop to chat. 

Avis sent me more pics of the baby roadrunners.  They're certainly not one of Mother Nature's 'cutest' babies, but we sure do love seeing them race around the resort when they grow up.

The next picture will tell you why I'm headed up to the club house to play cards with the girls this afternoon instead of spending time outdoors.  Need I say more??

The little numbers at the left tell you the high and low for the last 24 hours.
Have a good day and be sure to check out PC's Facebook page.