Wow!! That was OVER a full inch of rain on Wednesday! That's the most we had at one rainfall in a long long time. No bad damage anywhere but plenty of flooded streets. The empty lot next to Wal-Mart looks like a real lake. #2 Fairway has its own lake for a while now too.
Sunken courts at pickleball will take a while to drain.
I found a new bug/bee/insect to add to my nature list. These pretty colorful wasps were found in a light fixture this morning.
Very distinctive markings on their backs.
They build a paper nest like this.
Crews are still working on Sandy Desert Drive where that water main leak occurred earlier.
I sent Don out in the muddy street for the pictures while I comfortably waited for him.
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Meanwhile....back home the cats are waiting for us.
The most exciting news this week is that we had over a full inch of rain yesterday!! Henness and Cottonwood were both flooded up over the curbs. TV crews even came to Casa Grande to video the heavy rain. For once we didn't get missed. All other storms this summer seemed to break up and go around us so this rain was very welcomed. I loved this picture in the paper of a man shielding his little girl from the rain as they left the grocery store. Cute!!
I snapped a few photos along Florence Blvd. while out on errands this morning.
Monsoon season officially ends September 30. How exciting to see a forecast that is NOT triple digits.
I reckon many of you are getting ready to return to our desert paradise soon. The golf course is getting ready for its annual scalping and reseeding so if you live on the golf course, be prepared for some dust. First they finish trimming the palm trees out on the course.
Then comes the scalping....or thatching...whatever the process is called.
This has been a great harvest for spiders so be prepared for the webs on doors, windows, and siding. I carry a big duster with me when we visit all our housewatch customers.
I highly recommend a power wash job before your arrival to get rid of these pesky creatures. Better call ahead of time though because Maldonado and the other companies are very busy this time of year.
I copied this out of our approved vendor list.
Another frequently asked question is "how do I get my internet turned back on". This is the set of instructions in the welcome back package. Maybe it will help?
The secret for the Canadians is that you must use a US phone.
Mud Dauber: On September 7, we discovered this mud dauber nest on the doorway of a house we watch.
On September 10 we returned to that house and found the exit holes where the new daubers have left their nice protective home.
I find these insects fascinating because of the nests they construct. Anything that helps rid us of ugly spiders is a friend of mine. Want to read more? Here's a link: Mud Dauber Information
Sure is a skinny one!
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Remember this picture of the water main break in September 2017?
Looks like that same line may have another weak spot.
. Mark, Eddie, and Vicki were checking it out this morning.
Thank you to Lynne Rogers for sending me this photo of the Great Blue Heron perched atop one of our street lights. BIG bird.
Photo by Kent Evans
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Kat just hopped up on the desk and gave me this ball. I think he wants to play now.
I've been having trouble with my Gmail account as I couldn't find some previous messages I had sent. I researched and googled for an answer to no avail. Then I remembered Chris Guld and her "Geeks on Tour" website so I went to her forum and asked for help. WOW! She introduced me to a new program called "Zoom" where we were actually like Facetime on our computers and with a click of a button she could also see my screen. Within two minutes she solved my dilemma and showed me what I was doing wrong. Later I scanned through her classes and stumbled on one about embedding a video on a blog. It sounded interesting so thought I'd give it a try here. I dislike watching a video on my blog that later takes you straight to YouTube for other videos. This new embedding process should solve that. Mouse probably doesn't appreciate me showing this again, but I like it. Here's a BIG special thank you to Chris and Jim for their help.
Labor Day is here and we turn another calendar page to September.
With "labor" in mind, thought I'd post some pictures of the labor that occurs here daily this time of year. Street repairs are happening all throughout the park.
And we have the wall to rebuild after the recent windy storm.
If you have one of these cactus plants in your site, it was probably in bloom for the last two weeks.
Now these shorter cactus are in bloom.
Such beautiful blossoms. Too bad all of you aren't here to share their beauty.
We're getting ready for a big Labor Day potluck on Monday. Barb Poole asked for volunteers to come set up the tables and chairs. Excellent response from our residents. They brought their muscles and got the job done quickly. Now they're probably all home cooking their favorite dish for tomorrow.
A couple days ago, I posted a picture of a Gila Woodpecker trying to get food from our bee proof hummingbird feeder. He has now mastered the job and is a regular visitor
Here's a short video of him in action.
Say hello to our newest member of the security team. This is Scott who will soon be on staff during the night shift. His 20+ years as a policeman gives credit for this position. Welcome!!
I end this post with just a quick candid shot of your friend, Mouse.
Hallelujah!!!! We have a patio roof again. Thank you to Tim and Donnie from Mesa Awning. It took them exactly 5 hours from start to finish including painting and repairing. Awesome work team. Tim has been with the company for 20 years!
A gila woodpecker has discovered our hummingbird feeder but he has a hard time getting to the openings on our bee guard.
I've been meaning to get over to the woodshop to get some pictures of the new dust collector but didn't get there yet. I took the easy street though and copied these two photos from the Palm Creek Facebook page.
Had a great time at the American Legion Bingo hall last night. Yahoo!!!
They had a good turn out of over 50 people so the jackpots were a little bigger.
These little acorn woodpeckers join us at the Adobe Room windows almost every afternoon. They tap tap tap on the windows to say hello.
When not at the Adobe Room, I'm home playing Mahjong on line with friends.
Kat keeps me company.
Mouse is too big to crawl under the bathroom door now but there is still no privacy.
