Traffic Circle in Higley Groves

Roundabouts AKA Traffic Circles

Higley Groves has some roundabouts on the northern side of the community; here is a picture of one on a busy (?) Saturday morning. The subject came up because of this article in the East Valley Tribune about Queen Creek looking into roundabouts:

Maricopa County is looking into solving Queen Creek’s traffic problem by running motorists around in circles. County transportation officials have hired a consultant to research the possibility of placing roundabouts at four major
intersections along Ellsworth Road south of downtown. Roundabouts — interchanges in which traffic signals are replaced with a circular path for switching directions — aren’t unheard-of in Arizona, but four of them in a row at one-mile intervals would be a first for the East Valley.

When Morrison Ranch was still in its conceptual phase, we talked a lot about traffic circles. We have some long streets that we wanted to break up with landscaping and at the same time slow down the traffic. A roundabout is perfect for these needs; but it needs to be fairly large to be effective. The Fire Department wanted them to be very tiny in circumference so they could easily maneuver their trucks around them, but a tiny roundabout completely defeats the purpose - people just speed on through. There is a roundabout in Scottsdale at Via Linda that exemplifies this problem; and it is the precise intersection used by the Fire Dept. to illustrate why traffic circles don't work, and also to point out that people don't really know how to use them.

Now Queen Creek thinks traffic circles might be an answer to their needs; I'm sure there will be much discussion about the topic, along the lines cited above. Hopefully, they can come to a good, safe conclusion. (The town leader and influencers of Queen Creek said several years ago that they didn't want what happened to Gilbert to happen to them. The Mister says they got their wish; what is happening to them is much much worse than what happened to Gilbert. The growth is coming, indeed is here, and their infrastructure is far behind. Gilbert has sewers that work, arterial roads that are not 2 lane county roads, and police and fire departments, to name a few areas of concern for Queen Creek.)

Back to Morrison Ranch; after some compromise, our traffic circles went in, a little smaller than we planned, but the fire trucks are well able to get around them. The landscaping is a nice break in the long road, most folks drive at least as slow as they do on the straight path, and I haven't seen anyone going the wrong way around yet. Of course, we don't get a lot of traffic in these circles, at least not on Saturday mornings.

Painted Rock Reservoir

Farming, Extended

The Water Expert flew to Gila Bend on Wednesday and got this spectacular picture of Painted Rock Reservoir. This is an interesting body of water because it was built for flood control, not for irrigation. It is on the Gila River; it has been very full during and after our wet winter, and the water that it stores basically ends up in Mexico.

On a personal note, it is right next to the farm that The First Cousin's sons are now farming. As I've mentioned before, farming seems to be in the genes, passed from generation to generation, and the boys (can't help calling them that, though they're grown men with families) weren't willing to stop farming just because the city had arrived in Gilbert. So their family has invested in a spread called, appropriately enough, Painted Rock.

The other point of interest is the reason the Water Expert went for a visit: he was showing a specific field on the farm to the Waldron sisters, who own Waldron Wholesale, a nursery that grows great trees for Morrison Ranch. The Waldrons are looking for a place to grow some more trees, and the boys have a field that just might fill the bill. Just doing our part to advance agriculture in Arizona!

James Carreno/The Arizona Republic
Angela Groth and 3-month-old son Jeremy get their daily mail in an old-style individual mailbox at Higley Groves.

Now That's What I'm Talking About

Today's AZ Republic has an article (once again I'm not impressed with the headline - "Quaint But Not Secure" - I'm thinking of offering my services as a headline writer) that precisely describes the type of community we are trying to foster at Morrison Ranch:

The idea of neighbors waving to each other as they walk to their mailboxes at the end of the driveway seems so retro in the age of identity theft.

Nowadays, many Valley residents walk or drive up to cluster mailboxes at the end of a long day's commute, often never knowing or seeing the owners of the other boxes. They need keys to get their postcards, packages and junk mail, and it seems safer that way.

The Valley used to lead the nation in mail theft, but relinquished that title as locked clusters of mailboxes began to replace the old standard.

"It's really the developers' choice," said Ronda Carrington, spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service in Arizona. "We do, of course, recommend the more secure, locked boxes."

But a few Gilbert developers and neighborhoods have chosen to buck that trend and go retro with the old-fashioned mailbox in front of each house, saying they like the sense of community it creates.

Mailboxes are part of the theme at Higley Groves in the Morrison Ranch development. It's all white picket fences and neat green lawns with sidewalks out front.

Angela Groth spent most of her life in neighborhoods in Louisiana and California where she would rarely see cluster-style mailboxes. And she can't imagine living anywhere other than Higley Groves now.

Groth, a stay-at-home mom with an 8-year-old daughter and 3-month-old son, said she and her neighbors frequently socialize and chat on their front lawns, porches and in front of their mailboxes.

"Sometimes I go out to get the mail and I don't come back inside for 45 minutes," she said.

Now that's what I'm talking about. I've done it, the Mister has done it, I've seen my neighbors do it as I drive by: you go out to get the mail and you see someone, so you wave hello, then you think of a question to ask, and next thing you know you're standing in the green belt chatting for a while. That's called community.

When Morrison Ranch was being designed and the plans were being discussed with the Postal Service back in 1997, the Post Office did not give us the option of whatever mailboxes we wanted: they REQUIRED us to put in individual boxes. The reason? Mail theft. The thieves were coming in late at night, popping the back off the gang boxes (how do you like THAT name? It isn't my name, it's what developers call them. Appropriate, huh?) and stealing the mail in one fell swoop, easy as pie. So the Postal Service was trying to make it more difficult for them. Shea Homes actually came up with our current design of the dual mailboxes on a fencepost, and we really like it.

Thus far, we have had very little mailbox theft (not zero, but very little) in Higley Groves East or West. I use some of the precautions that the Post Office offers: I pick up my mail soon after it comes, I only put mail out shortly before my mailperson comes or I'll drop outgoing mail at the Post Office. And I've seen some of the individual locked mailboxes on my street. Now the Post Office is beginning to change their minds:

Individual, unlocked boxes are not only a security concern but also more work for mail carriers. "Some of these neighborhoods are getting to be so large," she said. "There is a significant reduction in cost for us with the cluster mailboxes. They reduce time and gas expenses."

So now we have the tension of aesthetics and community-building versus the efficiency and cost of the mail carriers. Which is a gentle warning to future residents of Morrison Ranch that the mailbox requirements may change again in the future. But I share the viewpoint of my neighbor (whom I haven't yet met) quoted in the article:

Groth doesn't think the clustered locked mailboxes would be that much safer. "A lot of times they're off on the side of the street where no one is looking," she said. "Here, people would notice if a stranger was messing with the mailboxes. We all know each other and look out for each other."Despite Gilbert's rapid growth, her neighborhood feels like a "small little community. "The sidewalks, the lawns, the porches and the mailboxes all make it easier for neighbors to get together, even picnic on their front lawns, she said. "Sometimes we even laugh and say, 'Oh, we look like a Norman Rockwell picture here,' " she said.

Exactly.

Jacaranda in Our Front Yard

Well, How About That?

I had nearly given up hope on my jacarandas blooming purple this year. I mentioned in an earlier post that we had changed the plan on jacarandas in the parks. They don't seem to do as well here as in California, and the reason isn't quite clear. An intolerance of salt has been one reason offered, but whatever the truth is, you will see pines in the park areas in Higley Estates instead of the jacarandas. Nevertheless, we planted some jacarandas in our front yard (and lost and replaced a couple of them) hoping for a little late-spring color. They are big now, but haven't looked too full lately, and I've wondered if they would ever turn purple. But when we returned from our recent trip out of town, there they were, offering a lovely lilac contrast to the blue sky.

In Case You Hadn't Noticed

There are a few obvious updates around Morrison Ranch:

The entry sign at the edge of Higley Estates has been replaced - and yes, it is now straight.

The restriction of Elliot Road to one lane on the north side should be changed back to normal soon; the street lights along the side of the road are being removed (and will be used at Highland Groves at Recker and Elliot - convenient recycling).

Greystone has started building on the lots behind their models at Higley Estates; this means that they are nearing the finish line. The last thing we heard was that they would be having one more lottery. The more amazing feat is that the projection is for all homes in Higley Estates, including U.S. Homes will be actually BUILT, finished, complete - by December of this year.

The golf store at Lakeview Village is working on their tenant improvements, and should be the next new store to open there - just in time for those summer golfers who love the lower green fees.

Panda Express, which will be going in on the corner of Higley and Elliot - behind the Bank of America, across from Albertson's gas pumps - is in the process of getting town approval for their plans, then getting working drawings, and are still probably two months from breaking ground. Sigh.

I'll put my ear to the ground today to see if there are any more interesting details to share.

Rain in the Ranch

Morrison Ranch received .19 inch of rain over Friday and Saturday, according to our weather station.

Family-Friendly Front And Center

At least, I think that the family-friendly feel is quite prominent in Gilbert; that's why I have to say I disagree with the headline and opening premise of this article in the AZ Republic:

That family-friendly feel becoming faded memory
Chris Ramirez and David van den Berg The Arizona Republic Apr. 26, 2005 12:00 AM
Government and home-building industry leaders agree that a booming real estate market is keeping the kind of buyers out of Gilbert that gave the town its family-friendly feel.

The article goes on to talk about the increasing housing prices in Gilbert, and the lack of affordable housing. And then the reporters state the conclusion that young homebuyers looking to raise a family are being shut out. I'm sure that some young folks indeed cannot afford Gilbert's current prices. But who do they think is buying in Gilbert? Older, childless, wealthy folks? Have they not strolled through any of the Morrison Ranch neighborhoods and seen the young families? Or do they notice them but think that young families who are able to afford to live here are not the kind of buyers that give Gilbert its family-friendly feel? I'm sorry, that headline and first paragraph just don't sit well with me. If they want to write another article on the high housing prices, fine. Just don't diss my great neighbors, young AND old.

Full Roosevelt Lake

We Are The Only Living Human Beings To See It That Full

As the Mister said last Thursday.

We are back, the long line of thunderstorms is dissipated, though it appears that northern Arizona could still be in for some precipitation this afternoon.

The East Valley Goes East

I read this article in the AZ Republic this morning, and found myself saying, “Huh? This sounds interesting, but I feel like there must be a lot of underlying information that I don’t have or understand. And who are these people and groups, really?” So, as I often do, I went to the Mister and asked him for an explanation. As usual, he had a pretty good grasp on those unreported facts, and on who the players are. So I’m going to pass it on; if you find the issues of land development boring, feel free to skip this post and wait for something more Morrison Ranch-specific. If you want a slightly better understanding of some of these issues, go read the article in full, and then come back and I’ll share my (or, actually the Mister’s) thoughts.

The first thing that caught my eye was the reference to the Morrison Institute for Public Policy. This is an Institute (think tank) given it’s initial funding for creation by the Mister’s parents back in the 1980’s; it has an affiliation with one of the colleges at ASU, and it’s purpose is to study public policy issues that affect the State of Arizona, or the local areas of the state. Sometimes they come up with the subject of study themselves, and sometimes, someone hires them, as in this case. Our family really has had nothing to do with the Institute, other than getting it going (and thus the name); we don’t have any input into the studies or their conclusions. (Although I DID once get a copy – no charge - of one of their studies on the Tax System In Arizona – it was fascinating) So, that’s who the Morrison Institute is, in this context.

As for this expanse of land called the Superstition Vistas, it goes from the south edge of Apache Junction to a little bit north of Florence. That’s the first we’d heard it given that name, but it makes sense. The Mister used to farm some ground in Florence, and his comment was that you could see the Superstitions from there just as well as from Gilbert, and they looked pretty much the same. And unlike most of the trust land in Arizona, this is in one very large piece. Most trust land is broken up into small bites, 60 acres here, 200 acres there. The trust land is required, by the state constitution, to be used for education. Period. And furthermore, it must be sold for the “highest and best use” and the proceeds then fund education throughout the state. This may, in part, be one reason why our state legislators seem to be a bit stingy with the tax revenues for education: there is so much trust land, worth so much money, and it can never ever be used for any other purpose; why not let the trust land proceeds fund education and move the other revenues to other areas? So there would also be some incentive to go ahead and sell this land to get the funds for education, but it would be sold for development, which would require schools, which would require some of those funds, and well, you can see how that loop gets going.

The other interesting factor in this is that this is Pinal County. So the Board of Supervisors in Pinal County would like to see this land developed, because it will bring revenue and prestige to Pinal County. They wouldn’t mind so much if it became part of Apache Junction (since AJ is in Pinal County), but they don’t want it to be part of Mesa, because that is Maricopa County. And Queen Creek, the other bordering town, ends up as the baby brother in all this, too small to really exert much influence one way or another, and ultimately having to “go along” with the big boys.

Another player is the Superstition Area Land Trust. These are people who want to see the foothills of the Superstitions preserved in their present state, and includes everyone from ranchers to hikers to conservationists. They are going to try to broker their support for the development of the flatlands in return for guarantees that no development will happen in the foothills.

There isn’t too much in this article about the Sierra Club viewpoint, but they generally don’t want any growth anywhere, so from the one quote provided, it appears that this would be a troubling arrangement to them even if it did provide funding for education.

So there’s some background for this subject for me and you for the next time it comes up in the newspaper; these things usually are full of politics, money, principles of every stripe, and varied opinions. But it’s always better to form one’s opinions with more facts, not less.

April Showers...

...can ground small airplanes. The Mister and I are stuck in Colorado Springs right now, with a line of weather all the way back to Phoenix. Anyone who flies small airplanes and is committed to safety (as the Mister is) has to be willing to lose some time now and then. I think of it as enforced rest, which really isn't too bad.

In the meantime, we are thankful for the moisture in Arizona; after our wet winter, it is imperative to keep some moisture in the high country so that it doesn't turn into a tinder box this summer. We are a camping family, and lately have endured some camping seasons with no campfires allowed.

As we flew up here last Thursday, the Mister pointed to Roosevelt Lake below us and said, "We are the only living humans to see it that full." He then explained to me that the capacity of the dam was increased a few years ago, but then we were hit by the drought, and that capacity has never been used. This year, for the first time, it is filling up, and it has only three feet to go, but is still continually filling with snow melt, and now this storm. Which means, of course, that some other living human has now seen it even more full than when we did on Thursday, but that's okay. I don't mind having my record broken in this category.

We hope to return safely tomorrow evening.

Pruning Time

This article in the AZ Republic points out that now is the time to prune, if you're going to, and it takes some thought:

As Eisenhower puts it, "Pruning is an art and a science. Learn the science and the art will take care of itself."So, if you want a beautiful landscape, healthy and properly growing trees, if you want to protect your investment and acquire a boatload of invaluable information about pruning, here are some of Eisenhower's time-tested observations:• Most of us suffer from fear of pruning.• In many cases, we are "chopping and topping" our trees to death.• In most cases, we are overpruning.• You should never remove more than 25 percent of the tree's foliage in any one season.• Often we plant trees in the wrong spots.• You need to justify every cut you make and know what the end result will be.• Water sprouts, the small sucker-like branches on the interior of the tree, actually play an important role in the tree's health.• Staking a tree too rigidly is a very common mistake.• Trees don't heal well if we don't prune well.

Read the whole article; it is really quite interesting. The arborist quoted in the article reminds me of The Sixth Man; he hates gas-powered shears with a fiery passion, and it's been said that as he snips each branch by hand with his very sharp hand-shears, he apologizes to the tree or shrub. But he's had a great influence on us; one of the things we hope you will never see in Morrison Ranch's common landscaping is what we not so affectionately call "bush balls": bushes that have been trimmed until they look like little cotton balls, or trees that look like lollipops. We prefer the natural look.

Meet the Missus

Here I am at my desk; you may notice that I have the corner office with the view. This is not because I'm the Boss (though the Mister may beg to differ), but because I'm the accountant, and I need some peace and quiet to think. Our office is what was once the Mister's grandmother's house, and the rest of our crew has desk space in what was the living/dining room. The joke is that we manage by eavesdropping, because when someone is on the phone, the rest of the group can't help but hear the conversation. Errors are quickly corrected, and if a topic needs attention, everybody is there and aware of it. But my duties don't include all of those details (though I am welcome to listen and join in), and so I requested a desk in a back bedroom where I can work in relative quiet; though I will confess that I can be distracted by the gorgeous view of the back yard.

Quite opposite from the Mister, I did not grow up living in the same place all my life. In fact, our family moved a lot, though mostly we lived in Wyoming. I grew to greatly dislike the 9 month long bitter winters, and upon graduation from high school, left the state, going all the way to Colorado. I graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in accounting, and ended up in Tucson through a network of relationships, where I worked for a national accounting firm and became a CPA. This is where the Mister and I fell in love, and so I eventually came to Gilbert as a newlywed. Other than the fact that I have kept my CPA certificate current, and worked from home throughout my kids' growing up, the rest of my story parallels the Mister's, of course, and so you already know it.

My involvement in the Morrison Ranch office started off with doing basic bookkeeping and bill-paying, and overseeing the preparation of the tax returns and the financial statements. I enjoy doing this (and nobody else in the office really does, so it's a good fit), but my main motivation was to be in on things as they developed. Spending the first part of my marriage as a farmer's wife, I had already adjusted to working with my husband on a daily basis, and I like it. My duties have evolved over the years, and as the kids have been leaving the nest, I've begun to spend more time at the office. I now do most of the accounting, and actually prepare several of the company tax returns (I've learned that there is no problem that can't be solved by forming another entity, but that's a different story). I also seem to be the liason to the Mister if someone wants to try to keep something in his scan over an extended period of time.

And of course, I do most of the posting on the Front Porch, offering you a glimpse into our office, and into the continuing work of building a community. I'm not terribly comfortable being in the public eye, but that's good, because my other 5 office mates fill that role beautifully. I prefer the one on one chats on the porch (or in the oasis!) with a cup of coffee. So if you're ever walking, driving around, or living in, Morrison Ranch, and you see something and say to yourself, "hmm, I wonder ..."; or hear a rumor about something, send me an email. I guarantee I'll do my best to respond.

Meet The Sixth Man

This is the Sixth Man standing next to the plotter, which is a type of printer that he can really make hum. Well, actually, it doesn't hum, it sort of clicks and clacks, but it spits out large pieces of very colorful paper that represent various parts of Morrison Ranch.

Why do I call him the sixth man? It's a term used in basketball (you may remember that in our odd household, I am the one who loves to watch sports, and the Mister endures them for my sake) and I think it provides a good analogy for his role in our office. Technically, the definition of a sixth man is the "off the bench" player which doesn't start the game. He's the first guy in as a substitute, and, far from being thought of as a lesser player, he is a great player with a specific role. According to an article by an online writer for the Boston Celtics, Brian Gleason, "Red Auerbach has widely been credited with developing the sixth man role in basketball. His thinking was that if you take one of your top scorers and bring him off the bench, he'll be matched up with one of the opponents' weaker players when he enters the game." Our Sixth Man is not family, but he has worked as though he is, and his skills have been perfectly suited to our needs. Let me give you some background.

The Sixth Man grew up in southern California, where his folks had a nursery and a floral shop. It was here that he learned all the Latin names for plants and flowers and trees (which is why sometimes we don't know what he's talking about - he lapses into Latin). He got his undergrad degree in Landscape Architecture from California State University at Pomona, and then at the Harvard Grad School of Design, he earned his Masters in Landscape Architecture. He came back to California, married his sweetheart and started and finished his family all at once, with a lovely daughter.

Sixth Man worked for the architectural firm that masterplanned Irvine Ranch, which was a huge 108,000 acre piece of land held by a family in California (which makes the 3,000 acres held by the Morrisons seem pretty small). He moved from that tiny project to Washington, DC for 4 years to work on the capitol mall redesign when they updated their master plan. Returning to California, he became a partner first in a large planning firm, then in a large landscape architecture firm. And Sixth Man received the highest honor in his field, being voted in as a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects by his peers for his projects and planning. This guy has some serious experience in the world of landscape architecture.

And that is the next question, of course; what is a landscape architect? Most people think that he is the guy that plans your backyard (which Sixth Man can do, of course; it's completely his fault that the Mister and I have Sherwood Forest in our back yard). But it's obvious from the jobs that he's been involved with, that he does so very much more. He does land planning on a large scale and on a small scale, which means that he decides what things go where, from houses and shopping centers to trees and bushes. He is an artist by nature, and a perfectionist, which seems like a paradox, but fits him perfectly. He thinks regularly about things I'd never heard of, like paving patterns, and drain covers, and light bollards; and, may I say, Morrison Ranch is the better for it.

So how'd we luck into such a guy to work with us? The timing was perfect; he had achieved such success that he was spending more time managing people and less time designing communities, and he prefers to design. Our situation was reminiscent, on a much smaller scale, of the early days of Irvine Ranch, and he was excited to get in on the conceptual level, and see what might develop. He mentioned the other day that he now has 14 years of files on Morrison Ranch; it's been over 14 years since he and the Mister were introduced by a mutual friend and started this venture together!

By the way, he is still a Californian; he commutes to Gilbert 3 days a week, pretty much every week. The other 4 days he spends in Newport Beach being wrapped around the little fingers of his 2 granddaughters. In the office, he often provides us with some comic relief, and puts up with some very serious ribbing from everyone but me and the First Cousin.

So here is the perfect Sixth Man; the first guy off the bench, with tons of talent, lending stability to the lineup, scoring points at will, making everyone around him better at their job. And if you see him out walking around Morrison Ranch, and he stops and points a camera at the ground, just leave him alone. He's not crazy, he's probably just noting paving patterns.

Meet the Water Expert

Here is the Water Expert in his home away from home - the pump station behind the lake. He understands what all these brightly colored fixtures do, and manages the flow of the lake, the irrigation system, and the fountain, from here.

The Water Expert was born in Scottsdale, and ended up going to High School in Gilbert. After graduating, he worked construction for a while, got his carpentry apprenticeship, and operated heavy equipment. Then he joined the Navy and became an air traffic controller. The Water Expert was stationed in San Diego for a while, then in Japan on the aircraft carrier the USS Independence, and finally in Fallon NV, a small town near Reno, and the home of Top Gun. He and the First Cousin fell in love during his stint in Japan; they will have been married 9 years this July. During those years he has taken up hunting, both rifle and archery, and fishing, and he got his pilot's license. (Along with the Mister, you'll recall. Have you ever been around pilots? When you get two of them in the same room, well, it goes like this: we'll be having a very nice lunch discussing the Highland Groves project or something, and out of the blue, one of them will say, "Speaking of flying..." - which, of course, we weren't - and then go off into some long story about airplanes. We roll our eyes and let them finish, because there is just no changing the subject once it gets started) He runs marathons, too (and he runs circles around us old fogeys in the office).

The Water Expert separated from the Navy, and he and the First Cousin returned to Gilbert to help out with Morrison Ranch. He eased into the role of Water Expert by training in the Rainbird Maxicom Central Control Irrigation System, so that he can oversee the irrigation systems of Morrison Ranch. From there he was handed the lake project behind Farm Bureau, and he jumped into that with both feet (literally). When that was so successful, he was crowned Water Expert, and all future water projects will go through him. He has also appointed himself as our trespassing watchdog, putting up the signs and keeping an eye on the properties that really ought not have folks fooling around, and chatting with the hobbyists that end up in the alfalfa fields. This is a good fit, since he is almost as personable as his wife. He spends a lot of time outside with the various subcontractors and landscape workers, and he knows them all by name, and they respect him, which makes the working relationships so much smoother. Plus, he gets the stories behind the scenes (remember the boa in the car?)

So if you're ever walking around the lake, and you run into the Water Expert, tell him how beautiful you think his lake and fountain are. I guarantee you'll make his day.

This Dog Park is Special

Back in March, Town Deputy Manager Tami Ryall gave us a tour of the freeway underpass walls that will bear a likeness of the Morrison Ranch grain tanks, and I posted a picture of it. After we oohed and aahed about the panels, we walked over and looked at the dog park. (Well, actually, it was a little like looking at the lakes at Highland Groves - you had to use your imagination to form the dirt into some semblance of a park.) I could tell that Tami was really excited about it, and she said it's going to be the best dog park in America. I don't own a dog at the moment, but it sounded pretty cool: a lake for the dogs to swim in, places for the dogs to roam without leashes, places for obedience classes, etc. Well, there's an open house tonight at the Freestone Rec Center, according to this article in the Republic. If you're interested in the park, you might want to check it out.

Meet The First Cousin

This picture was taken out in the front yard of the office, and the First Cousin is showing us a color board for houses at Highland Groves, which is only one of the areas to which she gives her artistic input.

The First Cousin (think First Lady, not to mention ONLY Lady much of the time) is the only daughter of Kenneth and Bunky; which, obviously, makes her and her two brothers first cousins to the Mister and Bias For Action. She was born on Halloween, and she still "dresses up" for her birthday every year. Hanging out with all the boy cousins contributed to her being a tomboy growing up; but by the time she hit high school, she had evolved into a cheerleader and was selected as the FFA Chapter Sweetheart (you know, the girl that got to wear the white FFA jacket). She and the Mister are the same age, and so they often embarrass our kids by remembering when they took accordian lessons together (I've tried to organize a reunion concert, but the Mister no longer has his accordian, and the First Cousin says something about holes in her bellows) or learning the Fox Trot together at Junior Assembly.

The First Cousin married right out of high school and had two children (boys, of course). Their dad was later killed in a car accident; they have grown up to be fine young men, married now and with 5 grandbabies for the First Cousin to dote on. They are carrying on the family farming tradition by providing farming services for the Morrison Ranch ground that is not yet developed, and farming their own spread down in Gila Bend, where they hope they will be able to continue for a very long time.

The First Cousin has had a veritable cornucopia of career experiences. She did payroll at Gilbert Schools; managed the Luhrs office building in downtown Phoenix; she has loaded baggage, pushed back airplanes, and performed secretarial services for the VP of America West Airlines; she managed 2 different Victoria's Secret stores and received national honors for her store's increase in sales performance; and in her spare time, she got her realtor's license. She also drove Jeep tours in Scottsdale, and her favorite job was working at the Farm and Ranch Supply store in Fallon, NV because she was able to meet everyone in the small town. She is currently the only woman on the RWCD (Roosevelt Water Conservation District) board. But I think she's used to being the only girl.

She has lived in Gilbert all her life, except for the few years that she lived in various places that her naval husband (the Water Expert) was stationed. When she joined the team at the Morrison Ranch office, she and the Water Expert were living in Fallon, Nevada, and she actually commuted to Gilbert for a year or so.

The First Cousin heads up Public Relations in our office, and she is also our retail expert. She travels each year to the International Council of Shopping Centers, which is a large expo style event where folks looking to place their stores meet the people hoping to find some stores. The First Cousin has a good grasp of style, and she helps scrutinize color schemes (like the board in the picture) and other details around Morrison Ranch. She is also quite good at family biography, which is really helpful when dealing with a family as large as the Morrison family. The First Cousin is as comfortable at Walmart as she is at Nordstrom's, and her ability to relate to everybody makes her the perfect PR person. She claims that she is like a child whose favorite part of school is recess; her favorite part of the job these days is going to lunch!

So if you see her walking from the office to the shopping center, which she does frequently, stop her and say hi; I guarantee you'll be dazzled by her smile and warmth.

Highland Groves Update

We drove (or should I say 4-wheeled) through Highland Groves yesterday after lunch. I took a picture of the south lake, but decided not to post it because, really, it looks mostly the same as the last time I posted a picture.

The sewer line is going in; that accounts for the piles of dirt along Recker Road. The two lakes are pretty well roughed out, though there was some discussion in the car about whether the banks are level (don't worry, the Water Expert is keeping an eagle eye on it). Most of the roads are easily discernible, as well as the retention basins. And the big mountain of dirt on the east side should decrease a little as they put some back in the lake. The rest will have to be moved.

As we headed back to Elliot Road, we drove over an area next to the road littered with large stones, perhaps 6 or 8 inches in diameter. Those rocks seemed so out of place that I wondered aloud why they were there. "Track Out," the Mister replied. "It's to clean the mud off the trucks before they enter the paved road; they get fined big if they track mud from the project." And of course it's muddy because the dust restrictions require them to spray water continuously across the project as they work; that part, I knew. The Mister is so smart.

What Would You Plant?

The Water Expert is looking for suggestions on what type flower to plant in the small squares in front of the stores at Lakeview Village. The geraniums are finished for the season; is there a summer flower you'd like to see? Click on comments below with your suggestion, or email me.

Meet Bias For Action

This is how we usually see Bias For Action, except that I made him turn around so we can see his face (we actually usually see the back of his head). I'll bet that's a schedule of some kind on his computer screen, because he is the Supreme Scheduler, keeping track of all the various appointments for everyone in the office.

I mentioned yesterday that that the Mister is the middle son of June and Marvin; Bias For Action is the youngest son, which, very obviously, makes him the younger brother of the Mister. He too graduated from the University of Arizona, majoring in General Agriculture and minoring in Business. From there he moved to Dallas, Texas and attended Dallas Theological Seminary, collecting a Masters of Theology degree. This is where he was smitten by a cute Texas gal, and married her as soon as he could talk her into it, and then they moved to Austin, where he pastored a church for 7 years. They started their family there; they have a boy and two girls, all very talented, as indicated by the artful picture taken by one of them, and posted here a while back (and yes I AM biased, since I'm their aunt). After a year pastoring a church in Memphis Tennessee, they came back to Gilbert. Bias For Action finished off (I think he's finished, anyway) his education by earning a Doctorate of Ministries from Phoenix Seminary. He's a smart guy.

As mentioned in his blog profile, Bias For Action has, well, just that - he gets things done, and he gets MORE things done than the average person. (As you may imagine, this is very helpful to those visionary types that plan big, but need a little help with follow-through, though I'm not naming names.) His part in helping Morrison Ranch translate from a vision to a reality was crucial, and for more reasons than that he keeps us on schedule. Frankly, the Mister had grown somewhat discouraged in those early years in his quest to transition the farm to a community. There are many extended family members who have a say in how to proceed with the land, and if you've ever tried to get a number of people to agree on anything as inconsequential as where to go out to dinner, you can imagine how difficult it might be to get them to agree on something more important. There were other pressures as well, and the Mister was growing weary. At just the right moment, Bias For Action returned and threw in his lot with the Mister, and that provided the encouragement to persevere. Sometimes you just need one other person to stand with you, and Bias For Action did that at a crucial moment.

From the perspective of being pleasant to be around in the office, he makes sure we always have fresh roses from the yard on the conference table; he has organized and carried out the arbor day celebrations that we've sponsored the last few years; he always knows when it's someone's birthday; and he has the greatest belly-laugh.

If I were to highlight one characteristic of Bias For Action (and I will, since I'm the one writing the post) that makes him an incredible asset to have in the office, I would say it's his unflagging commitment to the project at hand, and ultimately to Morrison Ranch. So if you ever want to schedule a meeting, or get a question answered, give a call to our office (480-813-8234); you'll most likely find Bias For Action on the other end of the receiver, and I guarantee you he will try to help, if he can.

No Surprise Here

The AZ Republic is doing a series of articles on housing affordability in Gilbert. Both potential homeowners and current Gilbert residents are not at all surprised by this comment:

Gilbert has gone from a place where you can get a lot more house for the money to one where you can get a lot more money for your house.

It's nice to have our home values increase, of course, but it becomes difficult to "move up", as they say.

Prospective home buyers are seeing the house of their dreams increasing by thousands of dollars a month while they wait the chance to buy a premium lot on what was a alfalfa field a couple of years ago.And, those looking at existing Gilbert houses are seeing a 33 percent price increase during the last year.

Read the whole article, and respond to their survey, if you are so inclined.

In the meantime, our office has begun to talk to folks in the apartment industry. Apartments would provide the ability to live in Morrison Ranch for those folks that can't swing the purchase of a house just yet. The southeast corner of Highland Groves (where the big dirt pile is at the moment) is zoned for apartments. It's very preliminary, but I'll keep you posted if anything happens on that.

Meet the Mister

There are new folks finding their way to the Front Porch each day, and we welcome them. To get a better understanding of our chats, a person could go back and read all the previous posts and all the archives. But who has time for that? I will occasionally reference a prior post (and provide a link so the reader can go back and read it), but I am also going to repeat myself on occasion, going over plowed ground, so to speak. So if you are a long-time reader, or you already know this, skip these posts, and hope for some more interesting data to show up. I thought I would put a spotlight on our office crew this week, and hopefully give you some idea of why we have such fun working together. Logically, I will start with the Mister.

The picture above shows the Mister as we usually see him: with a phone on one ear, and a computer nearby. Part of the third generation of the Morrison family, he is the middle son of Marvin and June, born and raised here in Gilbert. He spent 5 years in Tucson getting his degree (starting in Physics, ending in Agricultural Engineering), and about 2 years in Colorado mentoring military men and women, but all 43 other years were spent here, inhabiting the town of his youth. That is, in itself, quite extraordinary in today's mobile society.

Upon graduation from the U of A, he farmed with his brother, thinking to carry on the family's long tradition with the earth. We did that for 10 years, starting (and completing!) our family, spent the aforementioned 2 years in Colorado and then returned to Gilbert in the middle of a growth explosion. This was a difficult time of transition for the Mister; the old Gilbert of 2,000 souls had ballooned to about 24,000, and farmland was being eaten up by new development daily. I posted about this angst a little bit back in February, here, but the long and the short of it is that he decided to adapt to the inevitable change, and try to create a community reminiscent of his youth. Being a man of deep faith, he places a high value on people, and that figured strongly into his dreams, as he pondered how to proceed. He began educating himself, finding other folks to mentor him in what was a completely new career path, building a team, getting to know the town staff, serving on about a million boards (okay, that was from the viewpoint of the wife kissing her hubby goodbye every night on his way to another meeting), and all the while developing the conceptual plan for Morrison Ranch. His father and uncle had always been on the cutting edge of agriculture; he wanted to honor them by being on the cutting edge of forming a warm community, and he wanted to name it after them (we can't help it that it's our name as well, but WE know for whom it was named). Most folks aren't aware that Morrison Ranch took a long ten years of learning and planning to even get off the ground.

The Mister is a very gregarious guy, seemingly able to talk to anybody about anything. He is great at negotiating, whether it be land sale contracts or just getting a subcontractor to do what he contracted to do but failed to do, and I think the secret to his skills are that he truly wants to figure out how to make situations be win-win. He is not interested in being the winner, and someone else the loser; he is interested in seeing his vision, Morrison Ranch, come to reality. We in the office call his love for social interaction "schmoozing", for which I've heard several definitions, but in his case it just means relating with people. He is the visionary and the author of many of the creative solutions for the seemingly interminable problems that arise; he recognizes that details are not his strength, so he leaves most of those to others in the office.

Another hat he wears is the IT guy, the techno-geek. All computer, printer, fax machine, internet, and plotter problems go straight to him, and he is almost always successful. The love of variety is one of the attractive things about farming: a farmer moves from fixing a tractor to meeting with a banker to hiring employees to learning accounting to checking the irrigation water, and much, much more. This business of creating communities also has plenty of variety: negotiating contracts, to presenting plans to the extended family, to overseeing details like tree placement, to dealing with the town on a myriad of topics, and so on.

I realize this has turned into an adoring wife's assessment of her man, so I'll stop here. But if you see a guy walking around Morrison Ranch with a phone on his ear, and a computer under his arm, just holler, "Hey Mister!" I guarantee he'll stop and talk with you.

Would You Like To Fly From Gateway?

That's the question officials are asking about the airport nearest to Morrison Ranch. The Mister and Water Expert have their plane based there, and I can tell you how much I like the short drive. Today's AZ Republic poses the question of commercial flight:

MESA - Officials at Williams Gateway Airport are courting commercial flights, and they're asking for help from the community. Gateway officials are trying to find out if residents want commercial service from the airport and, if they want it, where they want to travel.The airport already has about 1,000 responses from surveys distributed by the airport at a recent open house and other community events, said airport marketing and development representative John Barry. He'd like to get at least 10,000 responses. Residents can go online at www.flywga.org to fill out a survey.

Take the survey and let them know how you feel.

Gilbert is Looking For Firefighters

And especially for female firefighters, according to this article in the East Valley Tribune:

The department is on the brink of a massive recruiting effort for 45 firefighters to staff the stations and form a new battalion, Chief Collin DeWitt said. There are about 100 employees in the department now.

...

DeWitt and other town officials would like to increase the department’s gender diversity. Women comprise just 6 percent of the department’s employees. DeWitt said officials plan to advertise in churches, women-only gyms and other places aspiring female firefighters might frequent. Greater gender diversity could help firefighters better care for women, he said.

So if you know anyone who wants to be a firefighter, send them to the town to apply.

Ready For Prom

Proud Mom Alert

It's Prom night for Gilbert High School; and the Mister and I think our son looks mighty fine. And he can dance.

Say What? revisited

As stated below a post or two, many of us ARE proud of the moniker "Hay Capital of the World". It was granted when more hay went out the railway station than anywhere else that year...to feed the cavalry horses...in WW I...in 1914. I would just like to point out that THAT WAS NOT MY YOUTH!! Thank you.

No Golden Algae in Our Lake

Yesterday's East Valley Tribune had this article with the really scary title:

Fish-killing algae invades Arizona
By Joe Kullman,
Tribune
A rapacious, fish-killing algae linked to the recent loss of more than 1,000 fish in a Gilbert lake also has been found in Saguaro Lake. The fast-spreading species of golden algae could do extensive ecological damage, officials said.

I went straight to the Water Expert, of course, because if you read the article, the Gilbert Lake that it references is the Riparian Preserve over by the library, and so I worried about the proximity to our lake behind Farm Bureau. The Water Expert did some research and told me that we do not have that kind of algae (although we do have a little of a different kind), our fish are fine, and he will keep a close watch on it, but not to worry. Good news.

Say What?

Most long term residents of Gilbert are proud of the moniker "Hay Capital of the World" from back in the Mister's youth. I suppose he was called a hayseed or something like that at one time or another. But the latest term of derision for our residents - "Gilbillies" - seems egregiously incorrect in view of the fact that 1) we have very few hills 2) we boast the highest per capita income in the valley and 3) we have the most highly educated people in the valley. Who comes up with these names, anyway?

A Different Kind of Two Wheeler

Taxing Days Are Over

Today, people will be hustling to get their tax returns finished, mailed, or extended; and I would not be surprised to yet receive a call or two for advice even though I no longer work in public practice. But as for me and my tax responsibilities, I mailed the final return yesterday, and now it's all over but the cleanup. So our entire office went to Nando's to celebrate, and we saw this two wheeler bike parked outside the restaurant. Now that's a ride!

Water, more water!

The Missus longs for more water recreation. Frozen or otherwise. Well, the Town is hard at work building a public pool at the southeast corner of Elliot and Greenfield. That is on the grounds of Greenfield Jr. High. The Town has been doing this for years. Gilbert and Mesquite Jr. both have pools. It looks to me like the pool at Greenfield might be ready this summer. Just a short bike ride down the road!

Town Council Gives Thumbs Up to Water and Ice

I mentioned on Tuesday that the Gilbert Town Council was considering a long term land lease at Crossroads Park for a water park/ice skating facility. Today's Republic reports that the go-ahead has been given for negotiations to start:

Talks are under way to bring an ice-skating rink and water park to Gilbert.The Town Council on Tuesday voted to allow town staff to start development negotiations with Hawaiian Falls Waterparks and Polar Ice Entertainment Inc.

I find myself really hoping that this venture succeeds; Gilbert needs more recreational facilities, especially for kids. The water park could be opened by May 2006 and the ice rink by August 2006, according to the article. That would be none too soon.

Aunt Ola's House

So Long, Neighbor

Bias For Action mentioned the trail system through Morrison Ranch, and so when he was getting pictures of the trail on the west side of Higley Estates, the Mister took a picture of his Great Aunt's house, which is right next to that trail. Today, she passed away, at the ripe age of 97.

The thing I (and everyone else I've talked to!) remember about Aunt Ola is her flowers. I've posted many times about the Mister's Grandmother's roses; but her sister really had a flair with all varieties of flowers, and had plenty from which to choose to make an arrangement, which were offered at just about every social event she attended, I think. Her flowers frequently graced the altar at theFirst United Methodist Church of Gilbert. I received several of her boquets at the annual mother-daughter event at that church, given to moms with the youngest baby or some other contest.

Bias For Action remembers her as quite the joke teller, not letting you leave the house without telling you six, seven, eight or more of her favorites. He also mentioned that her husband, Uncle John really could play a saw with a bow and create a melody; I was completely flabbergasted the first time I heard him perform.

Aunt Ola rolled out the red carpet for every occasion, and was the original Social Butterfly, according to The First Cousin. Her parties were with china, and of course, fresh cut flowers, and really kept the extended family connected.

Most of us remember her as very social and talkative; the last several years she was unable to recognize most of her family and friends, but was still willing to chat, even if she didn't know you.

Preserving History

The Gilbert Historical Museum, located on the southwest corner of Gilbert and Elliot, holds much meaning for the Mister's family. That building was the schoolhouse for all of Gilbert, K-12, when the Mister's parents were growing up here in Gilbert. In less than five minutes of visiting with the Mister's father, you can learn that he made his first overtures to the love of his life in 5th grade, in this building, as he wrote on his hand her initials and his initials enveloped by a heart, and then held it up for her to see. That must have been a pretty effective way of wooing her, as they've been married over 60 years now. But I digress; about the building...

As Gilbert's population grew, a new high school was constructed (the current administration building), and the corner building became the junior high, which was attended by the Mister's older brother. The new elementary school was built just west of the corner building, in the style of small cottages, and the corner building only housed 6th grade, which the Mister himself attended there. If you're curious about the progression of the schools from then on, it goes something like this: the "new" High School (current admin building) eventually became the junior high, and a truly new high school was built, which currently houses Mesquite Junior High. The elementary cottages are still an elementary school, and when the junior high went to its current location, another new high school was built on Elliot Road. Got it? From there on out, you're on your own, as Gilbert now has 4 high schools, with plans for a 5th.

But back to the building on the corner. It eventually became the Gilbert Historical Museum, storing artifacts and history from Gilbert's earliest days. The Mister's parents and extended family, along with many other early Gilbert families, have donated items as well as oral histories to the museum; and the Mister's mother is on the committee that is selecting a curator for the museum. So this editorial in the Republic struck a sympathetic chord with me:

Stepping into the Gilbert Historical Society museum can be like stepping into the past.The aging building at the southwestern corner of Gilbert and Elliot roads holds the beginnings of Gilbert. The town's earliest families have entrusted the Gilbert Historical Society with handwritten letters, clothing, photographs, antiques and other items, all handed down for generations.With Gilbert losing rural characteristics more and more every day, it is important that the town invest in the museum to protect these collections and assist the Historical Society in serving the community by fulfilling its mission to "provide educational opportunities and research materials for the general public by identifying, procuring, preserving and displaying artifacts which reflect Gilbert and the surrounding area's past and unique way of life."
This is why the Town Council made a wise decision two weeks ago when it approved $250,000 over the next five years to fund a full-time curator position and $50,000 for capital improvements at the museum. Although a gift to the Historical Society, the funds could go a long way toward strengthening the bridge between the past and the future for the people of Gilbert.

Read the whole article; or better yet, go check out the museum yourself, and take some kids with you.

Water and Ice

No, not a new store; a potential for some new recreation opportunities. This article in the AZ Republic explains:

Once known as the Hay Capital of the World, fast-growing Gilbert soon may become a home to pucks and waterslides.Two companies have submitted plans to jointly build and manage an 11-acre recreation complex that includes a Hawaiian-theme water park and an indoor ice skating rink at Crossroads District Park. Town staff will ask the Town Council tonight for permission to start development negotiations with the firms - Peoria-based Hawaiian Falls Waterparks and Polar Ice Entertainment Inc., which has an office in Tempe.
The companies' plans call for an 81,000-square-foot ice arena on 2.65 acres and an 8-acre water park on the undeveloped parkland at Ray and Greenfield roads. If approved, the water park would open around Memorial Day 2006. Polar Ice officials said they want to open the rink by August 2006.
"We're going to build this facility with families in mind," Hawaiian Falls development director Greg Yost said. "It's going to be something younger kids, older kids and everybody can enjoy."The water park would have a six-story water slide, wave pool and a "Rain Fortress" featuring about 150 water toys for children.Much of the ice rink's business would come from youth hockey leagues, figure-skating programs and recreational customers, said Brad Berman, president of Polar Ice, which has rinks in Chandler, Peoria, Tucson and three other states. It also could become practice ice for the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes under an agreement the company has with the league.

Now that would be cool, in more ways than one.

Higley Estates Trail

Frothy Blue Fountain

The OTHER Fountain

A couple of years ago, when the lake behind the Farm Bureau building was being constructed, the Mister and I would go out there almost every morning to see what new things were happening (the Water Expert, of course, just threw a sleeping bag in the bottom and lived there continuously, since this was his baby). As it neared completion, our visits increased to mornings and evenings. The excitement was so hard to contain that we started taking friends and visitors over to see it; it was almost as though we had moved every shovel full of dirt ourselves, we were so proud. It's sort of like that cheesy TV series from back in the day, when the cigar-chomping fellow would say, "I love it when a plan comes together!"

I've been visiting another water feature lately, not as faithfully as the lake, but pretty often.

All projects have some disappointments; many times things don't turn out quite the way we envision, though we work very hard to make them reality. This fountain, located in the Oasis at Lakeview Village at the south end of the center, has been one of those struggles for me; scaled down and a different design from our first dreams, due mostly to cost constraints, it hasn't lived up to my lofty desires (all the First Cousin and I were asking for were a few spouting frogs with lots of opportunity for interaction with kids). But there have been problem after problem, delays and more delays, tearing out tile and replacing tile, and it was definitely not "coming together." There is no use in laying blame; at the moment we are just trying to press through and get it as right as possible.

So now it is up and running. It is now cycling through 3 or maybe 4 different cycles: one is a frothy bubbling stream about 12 inches high coming up the center; another is the spouts from around the edges arcing into the center bowl; a third is the negative edge effect, a smooth pool of water flowing over the edge of the upper bowl to the lower bowl; and then, possibly, the frothy spurt in tandem with the side spouts.

Now the tables and chairs are installed, and it really is a pleasant spot for a cup of coffee and a muffin, or a lunch. Even if the fountain is different from our original dreams. And I do love the blue tile.

Going Very Fast

The Mister stopped in at the sales offices at Higley Estates yesterday, just checking on where things are at the moment. U.S. Homes has only 4 lots left, including the construction trailer and parking lot (the models are already sold), which they are getting ready to convert to homes. Greystone had a lottery on Friday, with 35 people putting their name in for 8 lots. They have 9 sites left and will do one more lottery next month, and put all 9 lots into that lottery. Wow, that seems fast.

Welcome, Neighbor!

I mentioned on Friday that DiRicci's was open - we didn't make it to their grand opening celebration last night, something about April 15 being one week away - but there is another neighbor to welcome. As I slave over a hot computer finishing up various tax returns, the Mister is kind enough to go get food and bring it home. He was at the Subway yesterday getting lunch, and noticed that Cactus Pool Supply is now open. It's located right between DiRicci's and Subway; and just in time to get those pools ready for the summer.

Drought Definition

That question keeps popping up: when is the drought "over"? Here's one definition from Karen Young, Gilbert water conservation coordinator, in an article in today's Republic:

...recent rains have eased short-term implications but that the drought has not ended. In fact, Gilbert continues to operate under Stage 1 Drought guidelines.

So as long as we are under Stage 1 Drought guidelines, it ain't over. Read the rest of the article for some good water-saving tips.

Field of Dreams Update

The Arizona Republic has a short article on the visit to California Field of Dreams parks:

Members of Gilbert's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board said they were generally impressed by the ballparks they saw last week during a two-day
fact-finding trip to California.

I originally posted about this development here, and the question still remains whether this will be a viable option for the area right next to Highland Groves. Thus the fact-finding trip by the Board.

Board chairman Von Payne said the parks were full of children and
adults, many dressed in baseball uniforms and stretch pants. He and board member Jim Bilas saw potential for Gilbert. "They were bringing money in, and not putting a drain on the community," Bilas said. "That's what we could use. "Big League Dreams establishes partnerships with communities to build sports complexes that feature small-scale versions of major league ballparks, such as Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. It wants to build an eight-field sports complex at Elliot District Park, a 63-acre parcel north of Elliot Road, between Recker and Power roads. Big League Dreams and the town are in the tail end of a 90-day development negotiation. Early indications suggest that Gilbert would pay $22.7 million to build the fields, while the league would be responsible for maintaining them. The facility is designed to generate revenues from league play and special tournaments.

We'll be keeping an eye on how this develops, waiting to see who the neighbors will be for Highland Groves.

Fine Art at Grand Canyon University

Proud Mom Alert

May I introduce you to our third daughter, a freshman and studio art major at Grand Canyon University? She had this pastel selected for display in the gallery, and the Mister and I think it's lovely. She calls it "He Calms My Storm." On display as a freshman! Isn't that great?

The Hills Are Alive

Well, sort of. We used to grow cotton and alfalfa until we transitioned into growing alfalfa and communities. And now it seems we've added a new crop: dirt. I mentioned at the end of a recent post that we've named the pile of dirt to the east of the Lake "Mount Morrison." It was supposed to be just enough to go under the shopping center, but as you can see, there was too much (it will go under Lakeview Trails North). There was a similar problem in Higley Estates, and that excess dirt was hauled off to the airport. There were long, earnest conversations with the engineers before grading started on Highland Groves, and everyone was bound and determined to get it right. Alas, seemingly overnight, those darn dirt piles have been springing up on Highland Groves just like spring weeds after our wet winter. *Sigh*

We'll keep trying.

Cottonwoods in Pocket Park Before Leafing

Trees, Glorious Trees

There was a meeting in our office yesterday morning, with only one topic of discussion: trees. The participants included some of our office mates, a certified arborist, a landscape maintenance boss, and the Higley Groves West HOA president (who is also a Master Gardener). They interacted about tree varieties, watering issues, trimming and training the trees to grow properly, and life expectancy of the trees. I was happy to hear that the arborist added his approval to many others of our selection of trees and that when established, they should be around for tens of years, especially the pecans.

My kids will tell you that I'm a big fan of shade (they mock me for parking in the shade of Suburbans in grocery store parking lots, but if that's the only shade available...) and so I'm delighted that the crew at the office puts so much thought and effort into providing me shade throughout Morrison Ranch. Now if only they could make those trees in the Albertson's parking lot grow a tad faster...

What is the Morrison Ranch Community Council?

This article in the Arizona Republic raises the specter of HOA trauma:

Les Presmyk knows all too well how rocky the transition of power from developers to homeowners' associations in neighborhoods can get. Presmyk, a
Gilbert Town Council member and president of The Leadership Centre, was among the HOA board members in the Islands who ended up in court after their neighborhood's developer went bankrupt in 1989. The Leadership Centre, an HOA education institute, is offering a class Saturday for homeowners to avoid those types of conflicts and be prepared to make the transition smoothly from developer to homeowner control.

Back in the day, when Morrison Ranch was still in the vision stage, we looked around to see how other communities had successfully negotiated the issues surrounding HOAs. Bias For Action became our resident expert on HOAs, spending many hours in various meetings and fully educating himself on ways to enhance Morrison Ranch and benefit the residents. We decided to loosely model the structures at Anthem and DC Ranch, and thus was born the Morrison Ranch Community Council.

The Council is an overarching entity that handles many of the functions of the typical HOA; all the maintenance of all the open space, whether residential or commercial, is overseen by the Community Council. That includes the lake and park next to Farm Bureau as well as the strip of turf and trees in front of the houses, and much much more. There is also a companion entity, the Morrison Ranch Residential HOA, and this entity is the one that has the oversight of things like basketball hoops and not leaving your trash cans out in the street for too long. I don't know the actual mechanics of the transaction, but the homeowner pays monthly dues that are somehow divided between the two entities. Higley Estates will be the first residential community to operate under this system; Higley Groves East and West each have independent HOAs. Perhaps at some point in the future, these HOAs will have agreements with the Community Council, but at this time they are separate.

We think this arrangement enhances all of Morrison Ranch; we want the HOA system to do what it was originally intended to do: maintain property values while serving the residents.

Sitting In The Shade At The Oasis

They're Here! They're Here!

Doesn't the Sixth Man look comfortable and cool as he ponders the next Morrison Ranch project? The tables and chairs have arrived in the Oasis, and I am so excited to go sit and have a relaxing chat with a friend. This will be great for the lunchtime crowd (and eventually the breakfast crowd); as we were arranging them I was struck by just how much shade those palm trees really provide. It's already a very pleasant atmosphere, and hopefully will keep growing more inviting.

Welcome, Neighbor

We just got back from lunch at the Subway; it's such a pleasant walk from the office, and we know the weather will be hot soon, so we try to take advantage of the present. Passing DiRicci's we noticed several people inside and hair being swept up, so we stopped in for a look. It opened today! Of course, the Grand Opening with the ribbon-cutting and celebrities will be on Saturday evening. The philosophy on the flyer says,

DiRicci's has a philosophy of creating individual hairstyles for each client, which will maximize their looks, personally suiting the facial structure, fashion style and lifestyle of that particular client. This is achieved by building a solid relationship with the clients, talking with them to find out what kind of look they would like, how long they spend on their hair and what other personal needs they may deem important.

That sounds very personalized; just what you might want for your hair. Check them out.

The Fountain and Higley Estates

What's On Deck?

Baseball season has started, so you'll have to bear with my analogies; but looking at how complete Higley Estates appears from the vantage point of the lake made me think about the progression of Morrison Ranch. The builders are anticipating that by the end of this year, all of Higley Estates' houses will be built. Highland Groves, down at Elliot and Recker, is booming along at a rapid pace (if you know what to look for, it still pretty much looks to me like they're just moving dirt from here to there and back again); and so, what's next?

The office has been working hard for some time on the next project, Lakeview Trails North. This will be located on the east side of the town center lake, going behind the shopping center all the way to Elliot Road. Recker is the eastern border, and the southern edge is the field road which is a half mile south of Elliot (the road that goes past the grain tanks). These will be various sized houses; the smallest will be as small as those found at Highland Groves, and the largest will be larger than those at Highland Groves, but nothing as large as at Higley Estates. When we get the final documents completed, I'll let you know who the builders will be, and when this should all begin.

For the moment, you can dream with me about taking a picture from the other side of the lake and seeing Lakeview Trails North instead of Mount Morrison (our not-so-affectionate name for the large mound of dirt immediately to the east of the lake; but that's a story for a different post).

Blogs Are For Everyone

The Arizona Republic has an article today about a Chandler High School student who blogs:

Before she can fall asleep, the Chandler High School teen sits on her bed and opens her laptop. She logs onto Xanga, the Web site where she keeps her online diary, and begins typing. On certain nights she'll vent about her hectic class schedule; other times she'll write about how her social life resembles a soap opera.

This is a little different from back in the day when we girls had those diaries with the key which we would hide but our brothers would find anyway and then sneak in our bedroom and read our longings for that certain boy to look our way and then bring up that boy's name at the most inopportune moment, like at the dinner table... But this is a new generation.

Tieu, like millions of online teens, finds comfort in writing in her Web log, or blog, expressing her thoughts to the world, or at least anyone curious enough to read them.

So there you go; they not only offer to let their brothers read their thoughts, anyone at school can indulge, as well.

My hope is that the news media will get a better handle on blogs; I always try to provide a link to their stories when I write about them, and I'm wondering why there was no link or at least an URL address for this girl's blog. These things take time, just like everything else, I guess.

New Sign at Higley Estates

Is It Really Crooked?

The Mister pointed out to me that the new Morrison Ranch Logo sign is up at Higley Estates. So when I drove by with eager anticipation, my first thought was, "Oh, no! Is that really crooked?" Ever the tactful one, the Mister allowed that it might be so, but it might not. But the Water Expert and the Sixth Man set me straight today: Yes, it is QUITE crooked. The Water Expert said he'd received phone calls on that very subject from nearly every person who has his phone number. It will be fixed soon.

We're Back

The Mister and I flew back from Colorado yesterday, despite the winds trying to keep us up north. After five hours in a small plane, being constantly buffeted by winds up to 55 knots, I still will say that I prefer the flight to the 13 hour drive. It was amazing to see the dirt blowing across the landscape, muddying up the air for miles and miles.

And by the way, if the fountain hasn't been on lately, especially in the afternoons, it's because of the wind. There is an automatic feature that doesn't allow the fountain to operate if the winds are above 10 knots.

Roses at the Office

And Speaking of Grandma and Flowers

Grandma was most famous for her roses; when we turned her house into our office, there was never a question about keeping the rose bushes. Many of her original ones didn't survive the new landscaping, but we planted new ones along the outer fence, and as you drive by either on Higley or Elliot you can see them blooming like crazy. Bias For Action always keeps some fresh ones in a vase on the conference table, and hands them out to visitors. We got some help from a rose expert this year who told us to put a drip irrigation spaghetti on EACH SIDE of the rose bush, and voila! abundant roses. I don't begin to know the various varieties or names, but I sure do enjoy the varied colors.

Slow Blogging Alert

Sorry for the lack of posts the past couple of days. I've had my eye on several little tidbits of information to share, things that are in the works, but it always takes longer, as they say, and those works aren't happening just yet. I promised myself when I started blogging that I wasn't going to just fill space if there wasn't something useful to say; frankly, there wasn't much to say.

And now, the Mister and I are going out of town for a couple of days, so I'll be back to full blog power on Tuesday.

The Orchid Tree

A Short Family Legend

This is an orchid tree that is planted outside our office, and more specifically outside my office (I get the corner office with the view, because I can't concetrate on accounting thoughts when the rest of the folks around me are talking). The office is what is affectionately known as "Grandma's House", because that is what it was, until her death back in 1986. An aunt lived there for a while, and then she moved and so some of the grandchildren bought the house in order to preserve it for posterity, and we ended up making it our office. It is a classic 1950's house, with pink formica kitchen counters, one pink tiled bathroom, and one yellow tiled bathroom, and a myriad of other features from that era. But I digress. The family story says that Grandpa planted the orchid tree shortly before he died around 1960. It never bloomed, until more than 25 years later; the first flowers ever appeared shortly after Grandma's death. It smells heavenly right now.