WEED IT and REAP!

We're having a near record hot spring, following a wet winter, so the weeds are on a rampage! The park was late in spreading pre-emergence weed killer --the weeds had already emerged, so it's "A Time to Kill" (with apologies to John Grisham).


I get out there with the weed spray on a regular basis, as do some of our neighbors. The park's Facilities crew sprays in the common areas. And the weeds continue to grow. So it's hands and knees time, reaping the little monsters. Of course, the weeds love to snuggle up to our cactus plants, so OUCH! Get out the long nose pliers, put on the leather gloves and go at them.


And while my back is turned, more weeds spring up in other parts of the yard.
Weed it and reap!

Here in the SKP Saguaro Co-op, the Board has decided to spend money this summer while everyone is away. That's not being sneaky, it's just that a lot of work can be done when the park is nearly empty. (We only have 110 leaseholders and 27 guests in the park today.) The first project is a complete remodel of the club house kitchen. Can't really get in there for pictures, you'll just have to take our word for it.


The second big project, and it is a big one, is that some of the interior roads in the park will be torn out and rebuilt, along with the boondock parking area. The asphalt surfaces have gotten soft, and periodic spot repairs have been second rate. So the roads are very bumpy, the boondock area isn't level enough, and we're getting potholes.

The boondock area is bumpy and awkward.

The main road is in bad shape!
The heavy equipment is in place, and a huge mound of gravel has been piled up.




Oooops! Flat TIre!

From 2010 Park Roadwork Cming

Don Newport, the Board Member who is spearheading the project, told us that there are 100 tons of a fine gravel waiting and ready. One wag mounted a sign reading "Mount Newport. Elevation Darn High."


The project will begin tomorrow, so we'll miss the start of everything, as tomorrow we head to Tucson for my surgery. It will be interesting to see what has happened when we get back.

We know for sure that all traffic will have to be diverted in the park, as it is the main road up the center that is the worst. It really needs replacement!


This is a major capital project, and we were asked to vote on whether it should be done. The cost will be $510 per leaseholder, payable over three years. That's pretty reasonable, and we all know it needs to be done, so the vote was strongly in favor.


Here at home, I finished building the base to raise my recliner about three inches, for easier in-and-out not only after surgery, but for the rest of our stay here.







So, the laundry is all caught up, projects are finished, we've lined up a neighbor to water our sensitive plants in our absence. The freezer is full of easy-to-prepare meals, and we are switching back to paper plates and plastic forks for the duration. We borrowed crutches from the park's Helping Hands closet, and we also have a walker from one time that Suzy needed it.

Other friends have volunteered to come and sit on occasion, and lots of folks have offered best wishes and prayers for successful surgery. When we get back, we'll line up physical therapy and start popping pain pills. A busy time in... Our Life on Wheels.