The Not List

I have an aversion to making those lists of the "top ten" anything, probably out of sheer stubbornness. I do have a propensity for reviewing the past and looking forward to the future, however. With that in mind, here are some key events in Morrison Ranch from 2005, and a few things to look forward to in Morrison Ranch in 2006.

Lakeview Village
In 2005, many of the retail shops around Albertson's were opened. There are still a couple of empty spots, notably in The Oasis, where we are working on getting a coffee/breakfast facility (and are in the process of working through leasing agreements with one, thankfully). The shops connecting the Albertson's and DiRicci's are being built as we speak - The Mister says that there are things going on top of the concrete that I mentioned on Wednesday - and leasing arrangements are already underway with those future tenants.
In 2006, we hope that the center will be fully leased, and a couple of the pads to the south will be built, including some restaurant options. We've been asked repeatedly about Albertson's plans, and we do not have any "inside scoop;" we only know what we read in the papers.

Higley Estates
This community really got under way in 2005; in fact, Greystone closed on their last house this month. It was our fastest built development to date, and was our first taste of high demand, lotteries, and prices that seemed to rise weekly. The fact that the large lots were in such great demand spurred some thought about future communities with larger lots. I (and many of my neighbors in Higley Groves West) love the covered tot lot. The quarter circle of lighted palms on the corner was also installed in 2005, and it provides a lovely view from our office conference table.
In 2006, the houses will be completed, and hopefully most of the cement truck traffic will abate somewhat as folks get their pools installed. We still have no firm plans about what will go in on the corner; we are being picky about it, trying to get just the right use.

Highland Groves
2005 was really the starting point for this community, and even though the high demand has continued, the pace has been somewhat slower due to constraints on building supplies. Things have seemed to move faster here at the end of the year; perhaps it's just because it's more visible. All of those water and sewer pipes being installed just look like big piles of dirt and various holes in the ground; but once things get recognizable, that's a different story. Morrison Homes has actually closed on a house, and Ashton Woods is making tracks to do the same.
In 2006 - EARLY 2006 - the lakes will be filled and the landscaping will be installed, and THAT will be a visual change of epic proportion. As with Higley Estates, we expect that the buildout will be rapid. The apartments should start construction at the tail end of 2006.

Lakeview Trails North
All of the work on this community in 2005 has been of the unseen sort; the contracts finalized and escrow begun, the engineering and platting, and things of that nature.
In early 2006, the sale of 7 parcels will be finalized to 5 different homebuilders (U.S. Home, Morrison Homes, Ashton Woods, Greystone, and Richmond America) and the models should be started before year's end. There will be all different sizes of houses on various lot sizes. The landscaping irrigation will be served by the lake that is already built at Lakeview Village, and there is a site for an elementary school.

Paperless Office and Other Cleanup
Regular Front Porch visitors have watched me go through the agony of research, the excitement of installation and the satisfaction of actually using our paperless office. According to our consultant, we are ahead of the learning curve; but according to me, we have miles to go before we sleep. I am grateful for the progress thus far. As for other cleanup projects, what was once a feedlot on Higley has continued to be transformed, as the corrals were removed, and we are exploring the options for planting something there. The old mill and quonset hut were also taken down, and the grain tanks painted.
Next year should see the installation of lights atop the grain tanks. In the paperless department, I hope that the remaining documents will get input into the system and everyone in the office will be comfortable using it.

There are many other projects on the stove at the office; the community directly south of Highland Groves (Lakeside Groves) is in the process of negotiations with builders. The Industrial Park should get started next year. There have been initial talks about the commercial areas at Higley and Warner; the opening of the SanTan freeway will turn up the heat on those discussions. I have heard some discussions about the Mesa property, which will not adjoin Morrison Ranch proper, and which will be subject to different building requirements. And of course, there is need to oversee the quality of the ongoing projects; sometimes it feels like we're being a nuisance, I'm sure, but our overarching desire is to remind, prod, and yes, help, the builders complete the community to the high standards to which we would like to become accustomed. All in all, I'm looking forward to a very productive 2006.

Happy New Year to you and yours.

Show and Tell

I have been thinking about trying to get an afternoon picture of the tanks now that the painting is finished. I have a picture that is a couple of years old as my screensaver on my computer, and I thought I might replace it. Here are the shiny, cleaned up grain tanks with a nice view of the lake and the mountains, but something is still missing... Oh yes, the fountain. Perhaps I need an afternoon picture with the fountain, taken by someone with a higher quality camera and much more artistic ability than mine; say, The Mister or The Water Expert (hint, hint)?





I have also been thinking about the changing leaves, especially since my back yard is full of them at the moment. Some of my friends long for the changing seasons in other states which are heralded by the leaves turning colors. Well, our leaves also change; it's just much later than other climes. Here is the view along Prairie, with the last of the leaves:



And The Mister came home from the office this morning very excited at his discovery of concrete! We are easily entertained. Anyway, he brought a photo of said concrete, which had just been poured at Lakeview Village. As soon as it cures, the framing will start and the progress on the newest space will feel real.

Highland Groves Today

The Mister and our webmaster daughter and I drove through Highland Groves to check on the lake liner. The good news is that the lake liner is there; the bad news is that it is stacked in the median rather than spread along the bottom of the lake. But the crew was there working in the lake digging a trench for the tie-ins, so they are moving along in the right direction.

Since we were there, we cajoled The Mister into a quick tour of the Morrison Homes models (there was not time, alas, to tour the Ashton Woods models), and there were some great features. I plan to visit again when they have all the problem issues remedied, but we liked what we saw. All three models have a wonderful "great room" - the room where all of life takes place, including the kitchen and TV. They are very open and light. They also have what a friend of mine calls "The Avon Lady Room", which is a more formal front room for receiving Avon ladies and such, but really doesn't get much other use. At least it wouldn't in my house.

Our favorite was the 2 story, and by the looks of the houses being built right now, that was the favorite of most buyers so far, as well. The outstanding feature was the laundry room - it was upstairs along with all the bedrooms, and it had a window. When my four kids were toddlers and unable to help with the mountains of laundry, I affectionately named my laundry room the LTP - Laundry Torture Pit. The room in this model would require a revision of that title; while the work might still be torturous, it couldn't fairly be called a pit. And you wouldn't have piles of clean laundry sitting at the base of the stairs waiting to be hauled up. Well done.

Overall, I liked the models a lot, and most of the decorating. They are open and light, with lots of storage and usable space.

If you're looking for an easy way to walk off some of the Christmas chocolate, go take a tour.

The Day After

Since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, there seems to be a compunction to jump back into the fray of life today. After all, it is a Monday. And we will have an entire week of the various reviews of 2005, the prognostications for 2006, and lists of various celebrities' New Year's Resolutions, which is unfortunate. I may review the significant events in Morrison Ranch before the week is out, but today seems like a good day to combine the sense of the season now passing with the bent of my stated profession of accounting, and talk about... giving.

I'm not thinking about the giving of presents, but the giving of money, tax deductible and otherwise. We Americans are incredibly generous folks, if you look at the facts. The Wall Street Journal (subscription only, so I can't link to it) has an op-ed today that begins with this:

Americans are "stingy." This was the accusation hurled at the U.S. almost exactly one year ago today by Jan England, United Nations Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs, immediately after the Asian tsunami disaster.

Even by U.N. standards, it was a particularly absurd anti-American slur -- although it no doubt expresses the view of many foreign elites, who have come to believe that government is the only true source of goodness and charity. In the weeks and months that followed the tsunami, American citizens dug deep into their wallets, donating some $1.78 billion to the relief effort in Asia -- dwarfing the contributions of other developed nations. Since October Americans have also contributed $78 million to assist the casualties of the Pakistan earthquake.

And lest there be any doubt that the Good Samaritan ethic is alive and well in America, consider the latest totals of charitable giving to help the New Orleans victims of Hurricane Katrina. The Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University announced last week that the total value of private donations in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has reached $3.12 billion, thus "setting what is believed to be a record for a single disaster and recovery effort." This tsunami of aid dollars was donated in just three and a half months.

More astounding still is that this Gulf Coast aid is only a little more than 1/100th of what Americans donate to charities and churches every year. The quarter trillion dollars a year that Americans provide to sustain the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, the American Cancer Society, their local churches, universities and such is greater than the entire GDP of most countries.

I have married into an incredibly generous family that shares dollars, time and brainpower with the local Gilbert community in various facets, extending through the educational system from elementary to university; and this giving even goes beyond the borders of Arizona and outside of the United States. It's a great inspiration.

When I was preparing tax returns for folks as a public accounting CPA, I would tell them that our tax system actually encourages the generosity that many people naturally feel, so why not take advantage of it? I am scrupulous in following tax law, and this is a legal way to reduce taxes; in fact, it's encouraged. I know this is not a tax blog, and you shouldn't rely on my advice without talking to your accountant, but, in case you didn't know, I'll offer a few end-of-the-year thoughts about giving:

You can still give to the qualified charity of your choice this week and have it count as an itemized deduction on 2005's tax return (there is a provision in congress to allow those who do not itemize to deduct their charitable contributions, but it is not yet law).

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the President signed into law a provision allowing you to deduct contributions equaling 100% of your adjusted gross income for 2005, rather than the normal limit of 50%. This does not apply to gifts from foundations or donor advised funds.

On the local level, you can still contribute to Arizona schools through the tax credit program. If you are going to owe any AZ state tax, the amount can be offset by up to $300 for a couple filing jointly just by donating that $300 to the school program of your choice. In other words, you are re-directing some of your tax money to a specific program at a specific school. In additional other words, this doesn't really count as charity since it costs you nothing but a few minutes and your $300 out of pocket until you file your tax return, but it is a great way to have a voice in where your tax money goes. I have traditionally split my gifts among my various children's school programs (choir, yearbook, football), but you don't even need to have a child in school to take advantage of this opportunity. If this piques your interest, here's the link to the Gilbert District (yes, of course I'm partial to Gilbert), and you can do it online. I made my contribution online this year; about a week later I got my receipt by mail to give to my tax preparer (that's ME), and the entire procedure was painless.

Oh, and if you use a CPA to do your taxes, do me a favor; don't take your information to them on April 12th in a shoebox...

Morrison Ranch at its finest

Here is a picture that captures the kind of interaction we hope to promote with the design of Morrison Ranch.

There are at least two, and maybe three generations in that photo. They are hanging out, watching the RC sailboat on the lake. I think the little boy is controlling the boat at the moment, with the help of someone bigger, kneeling next to him. Perfect! I hope we get lots of moments like that during the holidays.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Light To No Blogging

That has been the pastcast for the last few days. But I suspect that your attentions have also been turned to other important issues, and there has been light to no reading, as well. At least we all have our priorities straight!

My priority will always be my family; all four of my kids are home and I am loving it all - even the chaos and the late nights. We cook things, wrap presents, go shopping, irritate each other, watch lots of movies, talk about everything and anything, intercede in each other's misunderstandings, reminisce, and laugh a lot. It's a great time.

And being a person that values the spiritual and intangible side of life, I try to remind myself often throughout December about the birth of the Christ child and his journey to manhood and early death. Indeed, my relationship with him is actually my deepest priority, and from this relationship all others emanate. I wish I lived better, in his honor; but the irony remains that my failings, acknowledged, actually bond our relationship.

And that's it in a nutshell. My family and faith are the underpinnings for this entire commercialized, chaotic, wearying, overeating time of year, and that is why I love it. Even the commercialized, chaotic, wearying, overeating parts.

Merry Christmas!

Not Panicking Yet

My list of shopping yet to do has decreased significantly; the only downside is that each item requires a trip to a different store, so it's a good thing that I have a full tank of gas. My three daughters are all a huge help to me in the final countdown, so I may wake up on Sunday morning never having entered the panic stage.

I do have a couple of tidbits of news about Highland Groves, however. Ashton Woods did indeed open their models last weekend, and Morrison Homes plans to open their models this weekend (although surely not on Christmas day...?). I'm looking forward to a tour sometime in the next couple of weeks.

The lake earth work is completed and the lake liner is to be delivered on Friday and installed next week. The Water Expert was told that "in a perfect world" we could fill the lake the first week of January. I wasn't born yesterday, so I know we don't live in a perfect world; expect the lake to start filling no earlier than the the second week of January.

Lights, Christmas Style

The AZ Republic has an article touting some neighborhoods' light displays in Gilbert:

Santa will have no trouble spotting several Gilbert neighborhoods from his sleigh this year.

The Christmas light displays will guide his way.

Several neighborhoods in Gilbert are known for their spectacular lighted displays of holiday cheer.

Val Vista Lakes' clubhouse is a sparkling gem visible driving south on Val Vista Drive from Baseline Road. Residents go all out, too, decorating the front and lake-facing backs of homes.

The Islands' waterfront light displays near Warner and McQueen roads add holiday sparkle to the community.

But for sheer size, it's hard to top Gilbert's Circle G Ranches near Lindsay Road and Houston Avenue.

Most of the houses are 5,000 square feet or larger, leaving plenty of roof space and eaves to deck with lights.

They also give the link to a printable map of the valley's largest light displays: http://www.az central.com/families/holiday/lights/.

I have to say that the neighborhood I drive through daily, Higley Groves West, is quite pleasantly lighted for the season. As a matter of fact, I noticed that every house save one on my own street is lighted. I was wondering where the tradition of lighting up our houses came from, and I found one explanation here:

True outdoor Christmas lights were not introduced to the public until 1927-1928, almost 45 years after the first electric tree lights were demonstrated. There were sets offered for sale as safe to use outside before1927, but they were small, dangerous and extremely impractical for the average family.

In 1927, General Electric first used the large, intermediate size base for their new outdoor Christmas light bulbs. The outfits that were sold consisted of 7 lamps, and were wired in parallel so that the failure of a single lamp would not affect the rest. The earliest of these lights are round, but by1928 they were the familiar swirled or flame shape. Also, the early lamps were painted on the outside, but later issues feature a scratchproof inside color. These lamps are still made today, although they are once again smooth rather than textured, and the color is again on the outside. It is interesting to note that General Electric and the various Edison Electric distribution companies sponsored many neighborhood "decorating with color-light" contests in an effort to induce sales of the new outfits. Their strategy worked quite well, as within several years communities all over the United States held friendly decorating competitions at Christmastime.

So there you have it; good old-fashioned American capitalism and ingenuity! Whatever started it, I'm glad for it; I think it's very cheerful, and I like to see the different styles of decorating. Well done.

Gen Y Party at The Office

No, I'm not talking about the folks who find it amusing to climb the tanks and toss off computer monitors (which will definitely be more difficult to do now that the ladders have been cut off); but about the 50 or so folks who were milling around the back yard of the office last night. First, let me quote a national marketing firm's definition of Generation Y, which seems to square with my own understanding:

Born between 1981 and 1995, generation y members in America are more than 57 million strong. The y generation is the largest consumer group in the history of the U.S. Other names for gen y include Echo Boomers and the Millennium Generation.

Member of the y generation have annual incomes totaling $211 billion, according to a study from Harris Interactive. The study found that generation y spends $172 billion per year and saves $39 billion per year, and drives many adult purchasing decisions. Consequently, the y generation represents the future market for most consumer brands. The study also found that pre-teens (ages 8-12) spend $19.1 billion annually, while teens (13-19) spend $94.7 billion annually and young adults (20-21) spend $61.2 billion. 87 percent of income for children under age 13 years is adult-supplied, compared to 37 percent of teens and 7 percent of young adults, with teens and young adults relying mostly on jobs for their income.

Marketing to generation y members requires using more involved techniques than the traditional ones used to attract their parents. Member of generation y best respond to marketing methods that bring the message to places the y generation congregates, both offline and online. Successful generation y brands are perceived as hip and popular, but without the air of heavy commercialism. Also, generation y demographics show that gen y is more racially diverse, with one out of three members considering themselves non-Caucasian. One out of every four members of generation y lives in a single-parent environment and three in every four have working mothers.

This definition includes all of my children by birthdate, though thankfully they grew up in a two-parent environment. This also includes most of the folks who enjoyed a Christmas party at the office last night. The Mister helped put on the party to thank the volunteer leaders of Young Life, which is an outfit supported by everyone in the office in some way or another.

Young Life is an organization that reaches out to teens - Gen Y'ers - by primarily using college students - other Gen Y'ers - and offering support and friendship during the tumultuous junior high and high school years. The leaders offer a Christian world view, but the acceptance of this world view is in no way required for the participants; and if I say "Christian" and you think "church youth group," let me correct that impression. A common phrase among these folks is that "it's a sin to bore a kid with the gospel" - and believe me, they do not allow kids to be bored for a minute in whatever activity they are promoting. Skits involving pudding and chili peppers are common, and their summer camp up near Williams AZ is like a 5 star resort for kids, complete with zip lines, swimming pools and game rooms, and lots of noise and activity. They reach out to any kid: nerd, jock, goth, handicapped, and they even have a special program that reaches out to teen moms.

That is why we want to thank the volunteer leaders, the college age kids who spend about 20 hours a week on various Gilbert campuses, making friends, bringing pizza, attending cross-country meets and badminton tournaments. They do not receive pay for this, just the reward of reaching out to their own generation, and the thanks of us old folks who throw some money their way to cover expenses.

There are plenty of Generation Y kids that make the headlines for their poor decisions. I am grateful that we get to know some of the Gen Y'ers that make great decisions and also make a difference in the lives of their peers. They're good kids.

Proud Aunt Alert

As The Mister suggested, I pretty much wiped out my camera battery; but I always carry a spare, fully charged. Here is a look at the new nephew and I when he was a few hours old and alert. This is one of those rare occasions in life when I am struck with the significance of the event at the moment it occurs. As I said yesterday, new life is always a miracle. Add to that the fact that I enjoyed this miracle with folks that I deeply love, namely the parents of the baby, and watched my dearest girlfriend operate in her strength as a delivery room nurse, and it's a miracle with significance!

A son is born!

Colton has entered the world! Everybody is healthy. Yeah! The Missus will post at length soon, I am sure. She probably ran her battery dead on the camera! Watch for it.

God bless us, every one!

By the way, I am thinking of posting a lot for a bit, because I really like to say:

Merry Christmas!

PROGRESS!

Just a quick note to say that we have progress on the store space next to Albertsons in Lakeview Village. (Note my clever way of reminding people that the shopping center is named Lakeview Village, and not "the Albertsons Center". Now you may go back to calling it what you always do. :-) ) The columns that are going to hold up the roof are being placed today. That should mean that the concrete footings and the floor should be poured next week. Yeah!

By the way, Merry Christmas!

The Miracle of New Life

No posting for me today as I'm off to the hospital, where I will join my sister and brother-in-law to welcome their son into the world. He will arrive by C-section this morning; The Mister will hold down the fort with the siblings. It's a miracle!

Highland Groves Details

The Mister and I drove through Highland Groves on Monday and he was very encouraged with all the curbs and gutters. He showed me the house of the very first new residents; I guess it would be exciting to be the first, but there is an awful lot of noise and activity all around. It actually looked like they hadn't physically moved in yet. We stopped off at a corner to inspect the truncated domes (The Mister explained these in this post), which thankfully are not yellow, but are embedded in the sidewalk, and we thought they looked as good as possible.

Now is the time that things are happening that you can see every day.

Ashton Woods is trying very hard to get their models open this weekend. They were carting in furniture as we drove by, and the parking lot looked ready; the landscaping was being worked on, but not ready. I'm excited to see them, both for the layout, and to see how they decorate.

The Water Expert tells me that the lake edges are all fixed now and they should be laying down the lake liner (the big sheets of plastic) this week. He hopes to get it filled in the next couple of weeks, although that will be running through Christmas. But once it's filled, that opens the floodgates - okay, not floodgates, but the irrigation system, anyway - to start installing the landscaping, and that will be dramatic visually. You will remember that the lakes' purpose, though aesthetically pleasing, is to provide the transportation of the reclaimed water to the community for landscape irrigation.

Since the curbs and gutters are coming along so nicely, the next step of actually paving the roads is also accelerating. This means we don't have to 4-wheel it through the project anymore, except when we're looking at the lakes.

Stay tuned for updates and pictures of the coming transformation.

Painting Update

Here's a picture of the newly painted tanks taken about an hour ago. The picture has a kind of wintry feel, I think. But those tanks are shiny!


This is a stunning shot that The Water Expert took last Friday as they were doing the painting:




And in other painting news, the light bollards are coming along nicely. I showed you the creepy looking bollards last week. This is what they look like after the old paint is gone, and before the new paint is applied:


And here is the finished product, though not a closeup. Once the masking comes off, I'll get a closer look:

Some Christmas Musings

The Gilbert section of the AZ Republic has an article today about giving too many gifts to your kids at Christmas:

Once you're too old to sit on Santa's lap, Christmas often loses most of its magic. That is, until you have children.

For parents, the magic returns, two-fold, as your children's faces light up as they open gift after gift. Parents love that feeling so much, oftentimes the presents never seem to stop.

And some parents start wondering "How many gifts are too many gifts?"

Read the whole article to see how some parents have dealt with this age-old dilemma. It all stems from the fact that for most moms I know (in my experience at least, not as much with dads) , we just want our kids to be happy. We like to be the causal factors of our kids' happiness, and surely giving gifts is one way to accomplish that.

On the other hand, since we are older and wiser, we also know that giving them too much is precisely the thing that will hinder their future happiness; so we need to strike a balance.

The other defining factor in this equation is how the parents grew up; was Christmas a time of extravagant gifts? Was the emphasis more on tradition than presents? These things tend to get passed down from generation to generation (after the first big fight and compromise for the newlyweds) and we don't even realize how deeply we hold those beliefs.

Why am I even thinking about this question? My kids are all adults, even the one that is still living at home; we settled this issue years ago. Maybe I'm thinking about it because it's December 12th, and even though my goal was to have all the shopping done and packages mailed by December 1st, I find myself only halfway through my list, with not a single package in the mail. No panic yet, but I'm starting to peddle faster, as it were.

For the curious, The Mister and I decided to limit our gifts to our kids to two; one is a "big" gift and one is a "small" gift. By the time that the unwrapping is finished, they've received several other gifts from family and friends, and they don't feel deprived (I think). I do know that the traditions established over the years are far more meaningful to the kids than the actual gifts received.

And now, I've got to get off the porch and go shopping.

Water Celebrations

In some cultures, the medium of exchange is cows or other animals, and one's wealth is determined by the size of one's herd. In Arizona, one symbol of power and wealth is water, the lifeblood of the desert. (Should I mention here that the very first event to which I was escorted by The Mister - can I call it a date? no - was a past FFA state officer's dinner where the featured speaker thrilled us with his long dissertation on water law? I didn't understand a thing he said; no doubt I was dazzled by being in the company of The Mister.)

No wonder then, that the Gila River Indian community is celebrating and declaring today a paid holiday for all the workers on the reservation. This AZ Republic article explains:

It's Gila River Water Day on Saturday on the Gila River Reservation, a new holiday that honors the largest tribal water settlement in U.S. history.

But the tribe will be honoring the holiday today, in the same way that the federal government recognizes weekend holidays on a Friday or Monday.

The Gila River Indian Community holiday, which will be observed annually, commemorates a federal water settlements law signed last December by President Bush.

The signing of the Arizona Water Settlements Act of 2004 meant that after decades of lawsuits and negotiations, the Gila River community had established its right to a major supply of water.

"The act settles in perpetuity the community's historic water claims," said Gary Bohnee, the spokesman for the community.

The federal law guarantees the community 653,500 acre-feet of water each year. The water will come from the Central Arizona Project canals and Gila, Salt and Verde rivers.

The reservation's main tribe, the Pimas, call themselves Akimel O'odham or "river people" because they have lived and farmed along the Gila River for hundreds of years. They began losing the river water about a century ago to upstream dams.

All Gila Community employees have a paid holiday today in honor. A celebration for the community is planned Saturday at the Huhugam Heritage Center on the reservation. At the ceremony, more than a dozen subagreements will be signed, such as those specifying water claims between the community and Salt River Project, Florence, Safford, Roosevelt Conservation District and other municipalities and groups.

The community also had a two-day celebration in April to celebrate the water settlements. The Community Council voted unanimously then to declare Dec. 10 an annual holiday, Bohnee said.

Now, navigating water law is like going through one of those cornfield mazes at Halloween: you run into plenty of dead ends before you find a way through. And coming out the other side of the water law maze, at least, you will find many people that are dissatisfied with the process and the result. That's why it's taken so very long to come to an accord. The Mister's older brother, an attorney, has been heavily involved over the years, and is widely reputed to be an expert on water law; he could explain the issue from all sides of the spectrum, though I'm not sure I could understand it today, 26 years later. In any case, the agreement has been reached, and the celebration is on for the Gila River Indian community.

The First Cousin will be attending the signing tomorrow in her official capacity as a board member of the Roosevelt Water Conservation District. She's been on the board for nearly a year now, and has learned a lot as well as offered much to the board. Maybe there will be some pictures of the event that I can share later.

Birds at the Preserve

Even the bird population in Gilbert is growing. The AZ Republic has an article today on some special birds that are wintering, at least for a while, at the Riparian Preserve:

It happens every year. Thousands of tourists converge on Arizona, most trying to skirt winter's chill elsewhere. But it's two recent visitors that have state Game and Fish officials excited.

The Streak-backed oriole and Groove-billed ani, both Mexican breeds that have been rarely seen in this corner of Arizona for decades, are back. At least for now.

And that has binocular-bearing bird enthusiasts from all over the West, even Alaska, heading to Water Ranch in Gilbert's Riparian Preserve to catch their cameo appearance.

Read the rest of the article to get the full flavor of "bird excitement;" I need to get my birding friend from Tucson up here to have a look.

Out of Town

No blogging today, as The Mister and I are out of town. Back tomorrow.

Ewwww!

You may have noticed the light bollards in the palm circles and around the lake covered with blue plastic for the past few days. This is the beginning of the repainting process. It was only several months after the bollards were originally installed before the paint began to crack and peel, and they were looking pretty bad. The contractor is making it right, however, and the first step is to remove the bad paint. The bollards were coated with a substance that "melts" the paint; the substance is harmless to the plastic and to humans (the Water Expert says it is like an exfoliant - his hands were as soft as a baby's bottom afterward) but makes the old paint easy to remove. So off comes the plastic and this is what is left:


But wait, what's that smell? Look a little closer, it's like leprosy or something, AND it's smelly. But perfectly harmless.


Starting today they will powerwash the paint off and then they can start painting with a new wonder paint that should last - and look fabulous! - for years.

Wiring Morrison Ranch

The Mister had a meeting yesterday to start formal negotiations with a company that has made several proposals to us in the past months. It looks as though a three-way agreement between Morrison Ranch, IntelliCommunities, and Qwest might be in place in the first quarter of 2006. They are offering us the ability to facilitate several things that we've been wanting to do in promoting community throughout Morrison Ranch using technology.

For a list of some of the services, go check out the website. Here is the applicable page. The first four items on the list are the key ones for me:

Email with domain name
This would provide email service for Morrison Ranch residents using a common domain name. One of the names that both The Mister and I like is morrisonranchlife.net, which seems long at first, but would be easily remembered, not to mention that most of us bookmark our URL addresses anyway.

Community News, Events, Photos
These types of entries would be overseen by the Morrison Ranch Community Council and would include everything from The Pecan Festival to the opening of a new store in one of the commercial centers. Obviously, some of this would overlap with the community section on the Morrison Ranch website, but that's okay; it's just more exposure.

Calendaring - Personal, Group, Community Integration
This would provide a resource for residents to see, for example, not only when the Pecan Festival is, but also when the planning meetings are for the Festival. Or, in a different but related place, the GYSO schedule for youth soccer, or the High School swim meet schedule. Or the HOA meetings. Or whatever calendar items would be useful to the Morrison Ranch community.

Groups - Interactive Collaboration and Management
I'm not exactly sure how this works in the technical sense, but this would provide for say, the coach of the soccer team, to have a place to post the team's schedule (and win-loss record?), as well as which family signed up to bring half-time snacks, where the team party is, and whatever other items would be helpful to the parents. Or perhaps a local bunco group could organize their schedule online. There are many possibilities for this function.

There are other services, including message boards and classified ads, and I'll share more when I have a better understanding of the big picture. This would be open to all Morrison Ranch residents, who would access the site via password, and would be maintained and run by IntelliCommunities. Quality control would be overseen by the Community Council, but there is much latitude for individual residents to relate with one another.

And because I am a resident of Higley Groves West, I have to point out that Higley Groves and Higley Groves West would not automatically fall under this agreement. The Mister is hoping to be able to work out some cross-agreements between our neighborhoods and the Community Council so that we, too, can reap the benefits of this system, which will require the approval of the residents. More on that as the opportunities arise.

So I can see this wiring up of Morrison Ranch as a way to get the community involved with each other's lives more deeply, and that's a great thing. I don't feel threatened at all, really. You'll still have to visit my Front Porch to get the inside scoop on the office goings-on. Really. I'm sure you'll want the latest news on the wallpaper or the paperless office or the pictures of the paving in the latest developments, or the history of the family; and you'll be at least as interested in those things as in the things that directly affect your own kids. Really.

Staying Sharp

Well, at least I'm trying to; attending a continuing education class today to maintain my CPA certification. So I won't be posting today.

But I did want to say that The Water Expert caught some kids running on the tanks again this weekend. We have put up signs, put up fences, hired security guards, and The Water Expert drives by often, and we still can't seem to keep the kids away from this very dangerous activity. The next step is to cut off the ladder, which may already be done. If that doesn't work, maybe The Water Expert can set up a cot for sleeping at the base of the tanks, though I'll bet The Second Cousin wouldn't be too happy about that arrangement.

Fashionably Gray

The transformation of the tanks is underway, and it is noticeable from the road now. The first order of business is to power wash the tanks with a high pressure water sprayer. Here's a shot of that procedure on the lower tank (this is a water tank):



Next up is applying the primer. When we see a car driving around that is this color, we know that it is not intended to stay that way. In the same way, this is not the final color for the tanks, but will make the final silver paint last longer. A crane is necessary to reach the high spots:




This is how far along they are as of this morning, and while it looks nearly complete, is really just the south side:

While the painting will be complete before Christmas, it looks like the lights will not. Have I ever mentioned that it always takes longer? The good news is that the lights will be on year round, once they are installed.

More Highland Groves Progress

The Mister tells me that Morrison Homes has scheduled a walk-through for their very first Highland Groves resident on this Friday. An actual resident seems like great progress!

Big League Neighbors

Highland Groves residents are going to have a big league neighbor, which is to say, Big League Dreams. This is a sports complex of ball fields, mostly baseball and softball, but also an indoor soccer field. This is being built by the Town of Gilbert and run by the Big League folks in a cooperation between public and private entities that should make Gilbert residents the better for it.

When I've posted on this in the past, I've incorrectly used the movie title "Field of Dreams" when talking about this; I'm trying to get the name straight for the future.

The Sixth Man, who lives in California when he isn't here designing plans for Morrison Ranch, took a little trip to an existing Big League Dreams park in California, and he snapped a few pictures for us to help our visualizing, and also so that he and The Mister could offer their input to the Town of Gilbert as the Elliot park is built. Here is the entrance:



You might remember that the premise is to build replicas of famous ballparks, like Wrigley Field, so that participants might fulfill some dreams of playing in those parks.

Here is a picture which, to my untrained eye, looks like kind of a boring picture of a parking lot:


But not so! It's a picture of the detail of the outside walls, and how they are constructed and maintained. One of the suggestions that The Sixth Man and The Mister will be making has to do with using a different material at the base of these walls. Oh, now I see.


This is a picture from the inside of the park. If you click your cursor on the picture to enlarge it, you can see the facade on the left of a painted crowd cheering on your home run:

There are several different fields in the complex; the Elliot Park version is scheduled to have 8 playing fields, each replicating a different park. One park they are hoping to include is Chase Field, though I don't know what feature they will try to use. It obviously could not be the roof, but perhaps they could paint in a swimming pool in right field.

We are optimistic that these folks will be great neighbors for Highland Groves; they have welcomed our input into their design process, and it seems like a great fit for Gilbert, as well.