We have lots of maintenance activity around the park.  The "Weed" crew is here spraying every site.  Some spray by big truck and others spray by hand.  

Today they're removing the old adobe tiles from the restrooms by the tennis complex.

Next comes the main mailboxes.

Many pallets of new tiles ready for installation.

The saguaros are in full bloom all over Arizona.  Plenty of flowers to keep the bees, bats, and hummers busy.

We were scheduled to have the "Secret Ingredient" food truck here again tonight but they had to cancel at the last minute due to illness of one of their crew.  Sorry to miss them as their food was great.  

New roof tiles, snow

The next stage of the new roof process is to cut the metal flashings for the water run off.  These agile young men are crouched up on the HOT roof to cut the metal with a big cutting shears.  NOT an easy job.

We've been driving around the main admin building every day anxious to see what the new roof will be like.  Here ya go!  It should look very nice.

New tile material:

It's an exciting time of year for cactus flowers.  There's something new every day.  You just have to be lucky enough to find the flowers on their first day as the blooms only last about 24 hours.

I stop by Tom and Bev Gottfried's site almost daily (site 1251).  They have planted a very unique succulent garden in front of their home.  It is amazing to watch these TINY plants grow, spread out, and bloom regularly.

**Special message to Dave and Kathy Porterfield who sent this picture:  Next year don't be in such a rush to get back to Colorado!!

Nothing new or exciting from the cats this week.  Their new expensive beds are still untouched.  Is Kat delivering the message that he doesn't need or want a nice soft bed?

It's always an exciting day for our furry friends when we get an Amazon delivery.  

Roof update

Work continues on replacing all the adobe tiles on the buildings around the park.  There seems to be a big crew making fast work of the job.

After removing the old tiles, they're applying a layer of tar paper.  Haven't been able to find out what kind of roofing or tiles will finish it off.  Will keep you posted.

There's no doubt that the old adobe tiles need to be replaced.....not only for appearance but for safety as they have been known to slide off the roof now and then.

It will look different when finished.

Our Activities Department (namely Marion Nelson & Terri Wellman) set up a birthday party to celebrate May birthdays.  We were all invited for cake and ice cream even if we didn't have a May birthday.  Any excuse to get together is fun these days.

You can't wear a mask while eating but we spaced ourselves out quite well.

Welcome to the merry month of May when our temps start to climb.  So far it still cools down at night so our mornings are truly delightful.  You can bet Don and I and our two cats are outdoors for morning coffee before it gets too hot.

This is the back end of Kat as he tries to curl up in a bed on his cat tree.  There is a noticeable overhang.

We figured we'd better make a trip to Pet Smart and pick out some bigger beds so the cats could be comfortable.  They're lovely beds.  At least Don and I think so.  The cats haven't come near them yet.  I used to cover the two chairs in our living room with blankets so I could pull off the blankets when company showed up and protect guests from cat hair.  There doesn't seem to be a need for the blankets any more as the cats don't go near the chairs now.  I guess you win some and lose some.  <sigh>

Walls and Roof and Food Truck

Day one of replacing all the roof tiles on the buildings around the park.  The tiles are old and do need replaced.  It will be fun to see the new look when completed.

The tiles appear to be quite loose and easy to pull off.

Then the workers toss them into that big bucket truck to be hauled away.

The exterior wall all around the resort is now painted white.

It really stands out when driving down McMurray with the green trees and shrubs against it.  Looks nice and fresh.

We had a food truck visit here yesterday.  Thank you to "the Secret Ingredient" business.

We placed our order and then could wait outside to mingle with others or go into the ballroom to have chips and salsa while waiting.

Look at this awesome cactus!!!

Thank you to Jeanine Sumption for sending this photo to share.

This photo by Jeanine Sumption

I drove over later but the flowers were already closing.

I enjoy driving around the park in search of fresh blooms.  Such pretty colors.

Yes!  This dandy lizard was about 6-7 inches long.  What a handsome devil.

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Received this photo from friends in Saskatchewan this week. They had what they hope...is the last snow storm of the winter.

My thermometer reads 92 as I type this at 10:30 this morning.  😎

 

Active Shooter, FOX, new furniture

We extend a thank you to the police department for being here today to talk about an "Active Shooter".  With so many incidents in the news, it was good to hear advice from the police should we ever encounter such a situation.  

The officer showed a map indicating all the active shooter incidents in the last five years.  (I "think" I remember correctly about the 5 year history.)  

The main topic was to Avoid, Deny, Defend.  

We should all be vigilent about exit points when we are in public places.

The officer left these flyers behind.  The document summarizes exactly what was related today.

We certainly had a good turn out of residents.  All wore masks with social distance seating.

We noticed new furniture in the foyer of the ballroom.  

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Kathy Frania and I had an exciting experience this week.  We were visiting on her patio when suddenly a beautiful red fox came running down Cole Circle into the site across the street from us.  He appeared to be desperate to find a hiding place so wasn't there long before he ran off.  He was absolutely beautiful!!  There wasn't enough time for a picture so I copied one from the net to show you with his long bushy tail.

It has been years since a fox has been spotted inside the PC walls (at least that I know of).  I know we used to trap feral cats a few years back and every now and then a fox would be captured.  Here is a photo of a youngster that was captured.  The photo metadata dates it as taken September 13, 2009.

We certainly can't blame the animals for coming into the park since our desert is so very dry and brittle.  Here we have lush green grass, plenty of water, and a smorgasboard of ducks, doves, cats, and bunnies.  Now that so many folks are leaving, it gets quieter so the critters feel brave enough to roam.