Our good friends Don and Arlene Bates have retired from retiring and are returning to Seattle. We will certainly miss seeing them here and Apple Tree will sure miss them.
They were the keepers of the flock so when they left we felt we should celebrate by going down and picking up a new quail block. It only took them 20 days to consume the entire thing.
The NCCC kids (though they really aren't kids they are our kids when they are here) helped us with some landscaping at the Orchard.
They cleaned up the area around the sites---
---and around the trees--
---moved a lot of rocks, large and small---
and when they were done---
---The place had a much nicer curb appeal.
They also took time to make a number of drawings on the walls, garbage cans and planters at the Orchard, Apple Tree and Boys and Girls Club.
They are really a great group of young people.
We also had a new group of Sowers join us for March. Both of these couples are new to Sowers. L to R they are Ray and Jan Weed, John and Tina Austin and of course Billie and Bob.
One of the tasks we had to perform was to dig 75 feet of trench for the new water line for the house we are remodeling. Boy is this ground hard. One had to use a pick to break through.
We shared in the toil and soon had a trench which was 75 feet long and 18 inches deep.
Behind the Apple Tree building are several things which must be maintained. However, in order to get there one had to walk out to the street and all the way around the building. We decided it would be much easier and safer to simply go out the back door so we installed a gate in the perimeter fence to allow us to take a shortcut.
There also seems to be an annual chair fixing for the chairs in the conference room so Ray and John took the apart and replaced the broken pieces to insure that no one falls off of a shaky chair.
On one of our weekend trips we were approaching Hatch from the west during a strong wind. WE were able to drive through but the vision was as low as 100 feet.
The bathroom between the 2 and 3 year old room had a leaky sink. Upon further investigation we found the sheet rock under the sink was bad as well as the piping and the faucets.
The sink was taken outside and cleaned and sealed---
---Then was reinstalled and sealed in place.
Then it was time for a cookout. Ray and John are Dutch Oven kinda guys so they made us a complete meal---
---that is with the help of Jan---
---and Tina.
Another beautiful sunrise as we prepared for Resurrection Sunday.
One more group that we will miss is our Sunday School group.
We all spent one Sunday afternoon with the Edenhoffers at their camp site in the Elephant Butte State park where they are hosts.
We close this episode as we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior.
