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| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | FEBRUARY 2023 | 13 Sun Lakes Committee Reports Recreation Advisory As we look back to our January activities, we are happy to report an excellent turnout for the Activities Day Event, as well as the Elvis Concert, and the music of the San Diego Horn Swaggle, the first entertainment of our Sunday Concert Series. Comedy Night is scheduled for Feb. 10; you will not want to miss out on this fun evening. As part of our focus on health issues important to our community, we hosted a COVID Vaccine Clinic on Jan. 24 and will host a Lifestream Blood Drive on Feb. 20. Also, the annual Health Fair is scheduled in April; you will want to attend this event! Flyers are available for you in the Main Clubhouse foyer, the Lifestyles Magazine, Sun Lakes website, and Channel 97. WINNERS! WINNERS! Every week we have many winners at Bingo. Come join the fun. Many new residents joined us in January. This month Bingo will be held on Feb. 7, 14, 21 and 28. Doors open at 4:30 pm and games start at 6 pm. Come and be part of the fun in 2023. Bring all your friends and neighbors, everyone is welcome. We play 12 regular and three special games and guests can play all 15 games for as little as $7 for the whole evening. Many cash prizes and door prizes are won each week. Remember cash only - no checks or credit cards. Plus the Restaurant and Lounge staff provide dinner and libations. Chef Chris provides us a different entree every week. The restaurant staff is the best! Only Sun Lakes member cards or credit cards are accepted for food and drinks. Any questions? Call (951) 769-4579 (Toni) or (951) 797-3817 (Karen). Bingo Advisory March is here. It's time to decide what to do with our front and back yards. Do we re-seed the dead and brown grass areas? Do we need to install a new sprinkler system? Do we service our lawnmowers for another year's use? Do we plan for the California drought and decide to install artificial turf or a drought-tolerant front and/or back yard? I thought about this as I rolled my lawnmower into my front yard. My artificial turf had not grown an inch since I installed it three years ago so no need to mow or service my lawnmower. I also didn't have to worry about the sprinkler system because I don't have one. After three years of artificial turf in my front and back yard, I am convinced I have no need for my lawnmower. I also have no need for a gardener or a person to replace broken sprinklers. I have no need for someone to edge the yard or repair areas of my backyard used by my dog. Today's artificial turf is dog friendly. I do, however, need and use a cordless leaf blower to blow other people's leaves off my yard. I have palm trees and they have no leaves. I sat down to calculate what my decision to install artificial turf actually cost and what I was saving in expenses each year. 1. No gardener: $100 monthly; $1,200 per year 2. 70 percent reduction in my water bill. $70 monthly; $840 per year 3. No tree trimming: $300 per year 4. No replacement of or repair of sprinklers: My labor 5. No yard aggravation: Priceless Total Savings: $2,340 per year It will take about four or five years in savings to pay the cost of installing artificial turf in my front and back yards. In the three years I have had artificial turf, I have never needed any adjustments to the turf or corrections to the workmanship. I occasionally have an errant weed growing up on the border of the turf that needs to be pulled. My artificial turf was guaranteed for 20 years and the installation work was guaranteed for five years. If the warranties hold true I will have no turf expenses until 2039. If I save $2,340 per year for 20 years, it means I will save $46,800 over 20 years. This is about four times more than I paid for the artificial turf. You may decide to install a drought-tolerant landscape. A drought- tolerant landscape should have a balance between Softscape (plants, flowers, bushes, etc.) and Hardscape (concrete, rock, crushed granite, etc,). The balance should be a least 30 percent softscape and 70 percent hardscape. Artificial turf is probably more expensive than a drought-tolerant landscape. Whether you go for artificial turf or drought-tolerant landscape you will be eliminating the need for a gardener and reducing your water bill by 60 percent to 70 percent. The only tools you will need to care for your artificial turf or your drought-tolerant landscape is a good leaf blower and a leaf rake to pick up the leaves and put them in the trash container. PLEASE DON'T BLOW YOUR LEAVES OR LAWN CLIPPINGS INTO THE STREET. They will only blow into someone else's yard. If you have decided to re-landscape your yards, drive around your neighborhood until you find a yard with artificial turf or landscaping that you like. Stop and ask that neighbor who did the work and if they were satisfied with that craftsman's work. Get the number and name of the craftsman and contact him or her. It is always a good idea to get bids from two different craftsmen before you sign any contracts. I have now donated my lawnmower to the Antiques Roadshow. It's an antique, like me. ~ Roy Nierman, Chairman Master Architectural Committee Master Architectural

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