Saturday, August 07, 2021

More TidBits, Leaf cutter bees

I received a confirmation from the City Planning office that Lin's Chinese Buffet is going to open up in the former Macayo's building on Florence Blvd.  Still no confirmation on someone moving into Mimis.

Today's paper announces we're gaining another fancy car wash by the corner of Trekell and Cottonwood.

 


Don and I (and the cats) were delighted to see a Gila Woodpecker visiting our hummingbird feeder.  He is more than welcome.

The bushes in front of the north pavilion have been removed to allow more parking space for the big events that occur during season.


Parking is available on both sides.


Almost a daily occurence when there are furry felines in the house.


Julie Wolf captured this colorful sunset after our small dust storm yesterday.


We found a couple houses where the leaf cutter bees are calling home.  Leaf Cutters are solitary bees so are not found in swarms but they burrow into small openings to lay their rolled up leaf segments and egg cases.  They don't do any real harm to the house, but it is rather an unsightly mess.  Make sure you putty up the edges of window and door frames to prevent their access.




By the time they seal up the hole, it can get quite messy.


They look like a regular honey bee but they're all black.  
The bees cut a perfectly round circle from a plant leaf.


Then they roll it up and carry it to their nesting site where they lay an egg and then seal up the hole.


Hopefully that nesting site won't be your house.  

Kat from Kat's Pest Control confirmed the identification and behavior of the bees.  


Thank you, Kat.

















Thursday, August 05, 2021

Tid Bits, Pavilion progress, Dredging

 It was sad to see this huge saguaro cactus lying on the ground today.  I assume that it picked up so much water from the recent heavy rains that it just couldn't hold on any longer.


As soon as I heard of the demise, I rode over for a personal inspection as I wanted to check the root system.  I was surprised to see that there isn't much of a root system.


This branch broke off and looks typical with it's "wooden" structure.


Proof of too much moisture is evident by the thick black gooey liquid that is oozing from the main body.


Some little arms flew off and scattered.


These beautiful giants are on the other side of the house.  You can see how expanded they are between their ribs.  Sure hope they'll be okay.  A strong wind could do them in.


I watched the doves gather for a feeding frenzy on the freshly mown grass in Palm Park.  



I've never seen so many blossoms on one plant before.  Incredible! Spotted this beauty in the backyard at site 676.





Too much glare on this photo but the signs appear up at the club house now.  Masks are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED regardless of vaccination status.  I noticed at the grocery store yesterday that many more people are back to wearing masks.


The trenches at the new pavilion are now filled in.  Progress continues.





About six courts of players this morning in spite of the heat and humidity.  



It was 89 degrees at 5:30 this morning with 46% humidity.  Ugh!!  It was 113 yesterday afternoon and triple digits are expected all week.


Just a word of thank you to our maintenance folks who have kept the trash and recycling areas so nice and clean these past few months.  It's a constant challenge and much appreciated.


Ingo and Ken discussing world issues.  😄


The dredging work continues at the main lake.  This is the south end of the lake where the silt is being temporarily moved.



Work will probably continue through the weekend.



Short video of the flow.


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Anyone need help training their cat?






Tuesday, August 03, 2021

Pickleball Pavilion

The vinca flowers seem to enjoy the summer sun.  Looks nice to have them this year.


The tree trimmers are back in action.  


The driver parks in the middle of the street and then swings the bucket from side to side so he gets both sides of the street at once.  A crew follows behind and puts the branches through a chopper and into a dump truck to haul away.  Nicely done!!


Work has begun on the pavilion for the pickleball area.  Footings are dug and a trench to run the wiring.







Sent the drone up this morning.



Found this beautiful cactus by site 139.  Gorgeous blossoms and plenty more buds ready to open.

More whimsical artwork from our son as he relates his experiences with having a new cat.



LOL.  I guess the cat (named Newt) got all fluffy when dried.  😸