Playgrounds, Picnic Areas, and Other Common Areas
Hopefully by now you've heard that Governor Ducey has released additional executive orders which rescind, modify, or update previous orders, In general, there is an easing of some of the previous restrictions along with additional guidance, and some timelines exist for future adjustments.
In accordance with his new executive orders, and based on numerous opinions from a variety of sources, Rio Crossing will remove the "caution tape" and prohibitive signs at playgrounds and picnic areas throughout the community's common areas in the next day or so.
However, new signs will be placed which advises and reminds visitors to those spaces that certain precautions are still required, and that use of common area space remains at your own risk. The following guidelines should be followed at a minimum:
- If you are sick (not just with COVID-19,but with any potentially contagious disease), stay away from playgrounds, picnic areas, and other common areas to the extent possible.
- Continue to observe social/physical distance guidelines of 6-foot separation in these areas.
- Avoid these areas if you are in a high risk category. This includes adults 65 or older and people of any age who have serious underlying conditions.
- While visiting/utilizing these areas, don't touch your eyes, nose, or mouth.
- After leaving these areas, use hand sanitizer and/or wash your hands (recommended washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds).
Additional public health guidance is available from sources such as the Center for Disease Control, Arizona Department of Health Services, US Department of Labor, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
As situations warrant, we'll continue to update you through this mailing list and the various community social media venues.
Please do your part to stay healthy and reduce the risk of becoming infected, and be watchful of those who need supervision.
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Brown Turf Now, Green Turf Soon
As long as I've got your attention...
I'm sure you've noticed by now that the grassy areas around the community have a certain "ugly brownish tan" color. This is by design! If you've been reading these mailing list updates long enough, you know the drill. If you're wondering what's happening, here's the scoop.
In order to have nice grass in the winter, the summer grass ("Bermuda grass") has to be made dormant (or "put to sleep") by turning off the irrigation for a couple of weeks, and after that the winter grass seed ("Rye grass") has to be planted and watered heavily to get it to come up and be beautiful. So that happened back in the fall of 2019, as temperatures started dropping into the 60s.
The good news is that the summer Bermuda grass roots are still underground waiting to be "woken up". This requires what you've seen over the last week or two: less irrigation (there has been a little so that the Bermuda doesn't totally dry out), and then late last week and early this week, Stillwater (our landscape company) cut the rye grass very, very close to the ground.
Now you will see the irrigation system on much more than normal for a couple of weeks, while the Bermuda grass gets the encouragement it needs to wake up and push past the short stubby Rye grass, so we can enjoy nice green turf from late spring, through the summer, into early fall... when the process repeats itself.
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