Lightning and rain this time

Last night's storm was a real dandy with CONSTANT lightning.  Heavy rain followed for a change but luckily we didn't get the deluge they did in other parts of Arizona.  Nine people were killed in Payson when flash floods washed them out.

I never tried video at night but this short clip can give you an idea of what I mean by constant lightning.

Lots of dust and dirt everywhere today.....especially evident in our beautiful swimming pools.  Eddie and Louis had their work cut out to vacuum up the mud.

You can see every stroke of the wand.

We send the drone up over the north pool and also captured an aerial view of that wayward palm tree.

****************************

Yes, our weather has been hot lately.

Storm Damage

Whoops..........perhaps I spoke too soon when I said we didn't find any storm damage.  This palm tree appears to have blown apart and landed in the neighbor's car port.  I never heard of wind breaking a strong healthy palm tree so perhaps it was a lightning strike???  Luckily it is just a carport awning that sustained damage.

Since the tree looked so healthy, judging by the blackened base, I'm guess it was a lightning strike.

***************************

Another Haboob!

The storm tonight was the fourth one in the past week .... and it was also the strongest.  We recorded wind gusts up to 37 miles per hour.

As soon as the wind and dirt receded, Don and I drove out to check on the houses we watch.  I'm VERY happy to report that we didn't find any damage to any of our customers.  There were a few others that lost some skirting or sun screens but nothing serious.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here you go.  I took these from my kitchen window.

Couldn't even see more than a block away.

Don, on the other hand, stayed outside to get live video for you.  He says the video is jumpy because he couldn't see very well.  I believe him!  HA

Not a drop of rain in this storm though.  Just dirt....and lots of it.

The streets were littered with debris from the trees.

It was a little sandy over on Granite too.  Our landscape and maintenance crews will be busy on Monday.

Sewer lines

Some of the green sewer pipe has already been installed and covered over.  Fast work!  Looks like the crews are on summer schedule of working 10 hours four days per week.  Today is Friday and no one in sight.  That's good!  Gives them an extra day to recover from being out there in the heat.

Don sent the drone up for an overhead view.

BIG NEWS from our home.  We took Mouse in for the second shot in the kitten series.  

As we suspected, it is now confirmed that the female kitten we requested is a male.  So now we have to train ourselves to refer to HIM instead of her.  Crystal offered to take HIM back since it wasn't what we requested..............but it is far too late for that.  How could we ever part with 3 whole pounds of cuteness like this????

Sorry for the slightly blurred photo, but it is very difficult to get HIM to sit still for a picture.  

HE is growing fast!  It means HE takes an even bigger place in our hearts.  LOL

NEWS FROM THE MAIL ROOM

Notice from Palm Creek Facebook page

Thank you Sun Communities for another investment as the mailroom has been waiting a long time for renovation.  They process huge volumes of mail for our residents.

Sewer Line Starting

Quite the excavation project!!

They're starting at the bottom to lay the sewer line.

They use a laser beam to make sure the pipes are at the perfect angle and slope.

We thought they were drilling a well or something but they're just taking soil samples.  Always interesting to watch.

*******************************

Mouse update:

She's growing bigger every day.

*************************

Trenching the Back 40

Mouse is keeping Don company while he has his breakfast.  

Great way to start the day.

It is amazing to watch the HUGE equipment over at the north 40 area.

Now they're digging the trenches and dumping some of the dirt through a screen to take out the big rocks.  They don't want any big rocks in the fill dirt they use to cover the pipes underground.

DRONE VIDEO OF TRENCHING:

Trenching Video on You Tube

Today they're laying out the first of the new sewer line.

While all of the work continues at the north 40, we still see another new house starting on Flowering Cactus Drive.  Don't know the site number but it is directly across the street from site 2024.

***********************

Back 40 update -- digging started

WOW!!!

Those big tonka shovels are in full action this morning!  We were shocked when you drove down the street and saw these huge dirt piles!!  Yesterday, the ground was entirely flat.

The different depths and layers will be for sewer, water, electric, cable, etc.  

Deep Deep Deep trench.  I'm glad that man was standing down there so you can judge how deep it is.  

You Tube link:  Trench digging

Tickets to summer events

I spoke with MaryAnn Brown this morning and she would like to remind everyone to buy your tickets for the upcoming summer events. So far there are only 6 tickets sold for the pizza party (scheduled for July 27) so she may have to cancel it as there is a minimum requirement to get the vendor to come. Coffee and donuts for Monday, July 17 has already been canceled due to low ticket distribution. Again, it doesn't pay for the vendor (Amazing Dental) to travel here for such a small attendance. Hopefully things will be better next summer when we have a kitchen again.


************************************

Back 40 Update

It's starting to look like more than just a field of dirt piles!!

Sent the drone up to take a look this morning.

Monsoon Season

Morning sunrise looks a lot better than the haboob we experienced last night.

Barb Poole captured a great shot as the storm approached.

Photo by Barb Poole

I watched safely from inside and took some shots from the kitchen window.

The palm trees were really swaying.  Our highest gust on our anemometer was 28 which shouldn't be enough to cause any damage here.  At least we didn't see any problems on our rounds this morning.

Several folks have sent photos as it's always fun to watch the first couple storms of the season.   Here's two more.

from Avis Gray

from Avis Gray

Short video from Suzette 

Wildlife and Glass Shop News

WOW!!  

Don and I were riding past the creek and saw a huge Harris hawk attack a small duck.  He hauled it up on shore and held it until...........(I need not say more).

On a happier note..................we found this tiny lizard in our house!  Maybe he came to visit Mouse??  We gently caught him and put him outside in the flower bed unharmed.  

Mouse chases mouse.  Don says its really hard to concentrate when Mouse comes to visit.  She chases the mouse pointer around the screen.

I stopped in to visit the Glass Shop and see the latest projects.

The introduction to Fusion Class will start July 11 for a total of three sessions.  Tuesday 1-3, Wednesday 1-4, and Saturday 9-12.

Gym Flader has been working on a cow skull.

He's pausing to consider what comes next and how to finish it off.

Sandy Milner has decorated several instruments already.

Sandy Milner

 Now Sandy is working on a frame.

Sharon Kidd

Sharon's granddaughter is working on a gift for a friend while she's here on a visit.



************************************