Thursday, May 30, 2013

Thursday

It may look like just more dirt to the casual observer, but we can definitely see the progress as the sewer line has been buried and the water line is being assembled.

 

A new spec home just arrived and is already sold!!
 
Fence for the dog agility area is continuing. 
 
Pouring concrete inside the blocks to add strength.




This line of huge palm trees between the ballroom and the card rooms is getting some attention.  The sprinkler lines need to be fixed and upgraded.

 
Another magnolia blossom opened up for us.   
 
 
The boys are still on the golf course every morning.
 
 
It gets a little rough playing through the aerated areas.
 
Looks like a lot of goose poop from a distance, doesn't it?

The plugs are very solid...about three inches long.  Aeration is needed for the soil and grass to get moisture.
 
Meanwhile back out in the construction area, we can see the main 12" water line that will run all around the perimeter of that entire construction area.




This is a HUGE project and will join up with the water line for the rest of the resort.  When all is done, there will be a total of 76 new sites available after this summer.....some of which are already sold.

Gray pipe for the electrical lines just arrived this morning.
Nick and Luis are installing phone and computer lines to the concession stand.  



Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Tennis Resurfacing

Here comes a new park model to Site 748.  

 
Do you know Jerry and Becky Andrews?  Tell them congratulations on their new site at 1958.  


Nick and Louis are helping to take down the nets and posts as work continues on the tennis courts.
 
 
Yup.  I'd say these courts need some help alright.
 
 
 
It's Empire Fence to the rescue again.  We see familiar faces from installing the pickleball and softball fences.
 
These boxes have arrived for the Lapidary room.  What's inside?  

Posted by Picasa

Cutter Bees


We've had several residents notice that "something" is eating their plants or trees and they're requesting information as to what is happening.  Damage looks like this photo:
 


This smooth semi circle is a result of the Leafcutter Bee.  Here's some information from a recent google search:


Leafcutter bees are important native insects of the western United States. They use cut leaf fragments to construct their nest cells. They often are essential pollinators of wild plants


Most common leafcutter bees (Megachile spp.) are approximately the size of the common honeybee, although they are somewhat darker with light bands on the abdomen. They also have different habits. Leafcutter bees are not aggressive and sting only when handled. Their sting is very mild, much less painful than that of honeybees or yellowjacket wasps.
Leafcutter bees are solitary bees, meaning that they don't produce colonies as do social insects (honeybees, yellowjackets, ants, etc.). Instead, individual female leafcutter bees do all the work of rearing. This includes digging out nesting areas, creating nest cells and providing their young with food. Adult females may live up to two months and lay some 35 to 40 eggs during this time.
Leafcutter bees nest in soft, rotted wood; thick-stemmed, pithy plants (e.g., rose); and in similar materials that the bees can easily cut through and excavate. Nest tunnels may extend several inches deep and coarse sawdust may be deposited at the entrance. This sometimes causes confusion with other wood nesting insects such as carpenter ants. However, leafcutter bees restrict their tunneling to soft, rotted wood and do not cause damage to homes or other wooden structures.

After the nest is made, the bees collect fragments of leaves to construct individual nest cells. The bees cut leaves in a distinctive manner, making a smooth semicircular cut about 3/4 inch in diameter from the edge of leaves.  This injury often is only a minor curiosity.

Leafcutter bees do not eat the cut pieces of leaves that they remove. Instead, they carry them back to the nest and use them to fashion nest cells within the previously constructed tunnels. Then they provision each leaf-lined cell with a mixture of nectar and pollen. The female lays an egg and seals the cell, producing a finished nest cell that somewhat resembles a cigar butt. A series of closely packed cells are produced in sequence. A finished nest tunnel may contain a dozen or more cells forming a tube 4 to 8 inches long. The young bees develop and remain within the cells, emerging the next season.

Insecticides are ineffective for preventing leaf cutting. The only known control of leaf injuries is to cover susceptible plants with cheesecloth or other loose netting during periods when leafcutter bees are most active.


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Memorial Day Luncheon


We held a wonderful luncheon today to honor the men and women who served in our Armed Forces to protect our freedom.  Veterans and guests were abundantly fed!  It looks like MaryAnn Brown was on duty to guard the food from invaders......but she was really there to help serve us.  LOL


Those big delicious hamburgers were at the front of the line.....followed by table after table of wonderful side dishes and salads provided by residents.   Bob and Sharon Fahrenbruch were among the happy volunteers to serve our dinner.

We had over 150 residents for dinner!!!  I think it proves that folks are staying longer to enjoy the wonderful spring time weather.  I don't remember seeing this many people at an event so late in the year.

I took a bunch of pictures as folks mingled and waited in the food line.  You can scan through the photos to see if you spot any of your friends.  Remember:  if you click on any of these photos, it should open up in a slide show so you can get a better view of the pictures.
 
 
Gail Tollison and Linda Balzan were our greeters on stage.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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

Other News:  Tuesday
Work begins at the tennis courts as they take down the fences and get the four north courts ready for resurfacing.




*******************
Do you remember the email I posted on May 25 from the lady requesting information about Palm Creek??  Look at the wonderful response sent by Kate Perrie. If I didn't already live here, I'd surely want to sign up.    Thank you, Kate, for writing such an informative letter.  

Lynn,
Hi!  I saw your request on the palmcreekupdate.blogspot.com website.  My name is Kate Perrie and I am the outgoing President of the tennis club.  As Penny Mason and Glenn Carter (who came to Palm Creek last year after staying at a park in Mesa for many years) were just voted in to replace me at the end of last season I thought it might be best for me to fill you in on the tennis club activities as they probably don’t have the handout on their computers as yet.  I have attached a copy of last season’s tennis club’s handout that covers most of the organized play.  Every day, Monday to Friday at 9:30 AM we have social tennis which is basically a drop in, round robin for all levels of play.   In addition to all of the organized play scheduled on the attached handout, last year we had tennis events every month including the annual Palm Creek Tennis Tournament, our Cancer Awareness Tournament and an evening social event at the end of the season with some of our best players putting on an exhibition combined with an extensive wine tasting and array of appetizers followed by dessert.  Next season, Palm Creek is going to be participating in a community wide tennis league where you can play ladies doubles, men’s doubles or mixed doubles offered in different skill levels and play against teams from other communities.  You can also get more of an idea about the tennis club at our website www.palmcreektennisclub.blogspot.com.  Scroll down and there are some photos of the wine tasting event we call “Saturday Night at the Courts.”  In addition, I can share with you that, without a doubt, we have a great group of fun loving, friendly people who all share a love of the game.  That is a quick summary.   If you have any specific questions about tennis or would like to get more detail about any of the aspects of the Palm Creek Tennis Club, please feel free to give me a call at 816-578-4131.

We also play quite a lot of golf.  The course at Palm Creek is one of, if not the best executive course we have ever played.  You can get a copy of the scorecard on the Palm Creek Website www.PalmCreekgolf.com.  I have a 16 ladies in a group that I organize and we play at Palm Creek every Wednesday afternoon.  We love the course and there are quite a few holes where even our best players do need to pull out a driver.   The local courses are all quite good.  I play most of my golf at San Miguel, but there is also Robson Ranch, Mission Royale and Francisco Grande nearby.  There are quite a few courses that are a bit farther away that are quite good.  Palm Creek organizes at their golf course-  a ladies golf league on Wednesday Mornings, a Men’s golf league on Monday mornings and an organized play on Tuesday and Friday where they schedule the foursome. 

There is a great hiking club and I have copied Connie Emerson (who also heads the tennis club ladies league) as she and her husband Skip are key players in the Palm Creek Hiking Club.  They have a scheduled hike every Friday with two routes – one a little easier and one a little harder. Connie can give you more details if you would like.

There is no biking club and sad to say there are really no bike trails in Casa Grande.  There are bike lanes on many of the roads.  This is one of the few things that Palm Creek does not have an organized group for.

If you have any questions or would just like to pick my brain, feel free to call me at 816-578-4131.

We have stayed at Voyager and it was a very nice park, but we absolutely love Palm Creek and have been spending 5-6 months every Winter season at Palm for the past 5 years.  We are full time RVers and without a doubt Palm Creek is the best value of the campgrounds we have stayed at in all of our years of RVing.

As to shuttle service.  There are shuttle services it depends on when you plan on arriving.  I know of two residents who do shuttle services.  One is Natalie Aarons who lives at Palm Creek full time and the other is Phil but I don’t think Phil starts until he arrives.  There is also the Casa Grande Airport Shuttle 520-251-8336 and a couple of others.  I think Natalie and Phil charge one flat rate regardless of the number of the people in the van.  I think it is about $60 each way – which is quite a good deal.  I don’t know if anyone has gotten back to you on shuttle service, but if you need more info – just let me know and I will get it for you.

Hope this helps,
Kate

Posted by Picasa