Yuma had its first reported case of the virus this week. There are now four cases. Our resort was very proactive, and shut down all buildings and activities on March 16th. The golf course is open with an honor box to pay. We've been playing some golf, doing chores on our place, quilting and lots of reading. The library closed down about a week ago. Thank goodness for eBooks and our Kindles.
I will share a few events that happened before the shutdown. On March 1st, we had a block party for our street. We think about 50 people attended. It was such a success, we are already planning next year's event.
Our neighbors Nancy and Everett introduced a critter racing game. It's a take on horse racing with betting using cards. Each card cost a quarter, and if your critter won, you got a $1.50 payout. Dice were rolled to advance the critters. Everyone really seemed to enjoy the game.
Kevin and neighbor Brent were in charge of moving the critters.
Several of the ladies sold the cards and handed out winnings.
Kevin and some lovely neighbors look happy with their winning cards and critter number four, the teddy bear.
On March 7th the golf course hosted a drive, chip and putt contest. I was a volunteer. In the driving contest, there was a 3 foot metal rooster in the fairway. If you hit it, your name was put in a hat for a drawing to win it. Out of 90 entrants each hitting 3 balls, only one lady actually hit the rooster, so she won it. It was a lot of fun. Next year we are going to enter the contest.
In January, 2019 I planted an orange tree in our backyard. This year it was loaded with blossoms. They sure did smell wonderful. It is advised to pick off most of the fruit in the first few years so the tree can develop a stronger root and trunk system. I'll be leaving some of them on the tree though. I can't wait to have fresh oranges.
A few weeks ago we had quite a bit of rain. Yuma only averages about 3 inches a year. We had almost that much in 2 days. It doesn't take long for flooding to occur, and the washes to fill with water. As it stopped raining, this beautiful rainbow appeared over the foothills.
This season our park opened a stained glass studio. I took a starter class and made this feather. The $5 fee was a bargain.
The weather has been cooler than normal for March. That's actually a good thing as we've had most days in the 70s. Perfect daytime and sleeping weather. We have frequent pretty sunsets.
I continued to attend the woodcarving lessons. This season we made a wood spirit out of cottonwood bark. Here's my finished product. Next year we are supposed to be making little fairy houses out of the bark. I also made a Santa ornament which is not quite finished.
Since things came to a screeching halt, I've been painting our metal porch ceilings. We have a front and back porch. They had yellowed over the years, so I'm refreshing them with white paint. It's not much fun, but it looks so much brighter and nicer as you can see in the picture. I'm almost done.
Kevin's working on rebuilding the doors of our shed. They had some rotted pieces on them. We also tore up the outdoor carpet on our front porch. It was just plain nasty. We're using our RV mat over the plywood that was under the carpet for now. In fall we plan to replace the plywood with TREX boards. That will be so much nicer looking and cleaner.
We do not have a stay at home order yet in Yuma. Bars and restaurants are closed except for take out and delivery. Most stores are still open. We are pretty much sheltering in place other than playing the occasional round of golf with friends. The good thing about golf is you aren't really close to anyone, and we get lots of fresh air and sunshine!
The only other adventure we've had is grocery shopping. What a zoo. Luckily, we were pretty well supplied with paper products and cleaning supplies. I don't understand this hoarding business. Several of our Canadian friends and neighbors left earlier than planned, so we were the recipients of food they didn't want to throw away. We're set for quite some time.
We wish you all the best, and hope the virus passes quickly. I feel so bad for families who are losing income. I'm also so grateful for all the workers in the medical field including our daughter-in-law Cathryn.
