Roundup on the Ranch

The Mister's family has a cattle ranch up in the Cottonwood/Sedona/Flagstaff area. In the fall, one of the duties involves rounding up the cattle that have been grazing in the open range all summer and take them back to the enclosed areas of the ranch. It would be easy to think that the title of this post is referring to that process. But that would be incorrect.

This is a quick look at goings-on around Morrison Ranch:

Higley Estates
I haven't said much about Higley Estates lately, but that community is nearly completed. The First Cousin's mother will be the last Greystone customer to close on her home, in November. I suppose there will still be plenty of concrete trucks for months to come as folks get their pools put in, but soon the construction traffic will die down considerably.

Lakeview Village
The shops between Albertson's and DiRicci's continue to progress in building. As with everything else right now, it is slow due to availability of building materials.

Panda Express is fenced and poised to start construction, but there are still some holdups there, as well.

The backordered pedestal for the transformer box next to Bank of America is "in." No word yet on when it will be installed, leading to the lighting of the palms on that corner.

Feedlot Cleanup
If you've driven down Higley lately, you've noticed the great improvement in the area next to the grain silos, as the feedlot corrals are gone now, and preparations are underway to plant some hay there. We have also contracted with a firm to paint the silos (same color) and hope to have that completed by Christmas.

Putting up a fence and hiring a security agency seems to have greatly reduced the number of incidents of trespassers on and around the silos; though we did have some kids in the quonset hut a few days ago (the police handled that). It grows more dangerous, not less, as the demolition of the mill next to the silos begins.

Highland Groves
Ashton Woods has begun selling from their trailer on the project. Of course, Morrison Homes has had several lotteries now, and continues to build homes that are already sold along with their models. U.S. Homes, the third builder, shouldn't be far behind.

And in the ever-present hope for concrete, there is actual grading and markers for the curbs and gutters; this is a good sign!

Lakeview Trails North
Invisible to the naked eye, this community on the south side of Elliot Road continues the necessary process of being built on paper before being built with wood and stone. Thankfully there isn't yet a shortage of paper or computers, so this work continues apace.

Lakeside Groves
This community is even more invisible than Lakeview Trails North for the moment; but we just filed the preliminary plat with the Town of Gilbert this week. So it will be happening just after Lakeview Trails North. (If you want exact locations of these communities, check out the website.)

Paperless Office
This has been a good week for the quest for less paper. The Mister and I are feeling more comfortable every day with the system and I have been gathering large piles of paper for the shredder as the contents of the documents go into the computer. Bias For Action and The Water Expert will get some initial training tomorrow, and then the process should really accelerate.

Papered Office
Most of the wallpapering is finished, but we had to order a couple of extra rolls (my fault, I didn't understand the implications of windows when measuring) so it won't be complete until next week. I'll post some pictures of the final product.