Services

Ranch Maintenance

Maintenance

Supervisor

David Grover

903-769-9503

Thought to ponder:

Those who would give up Essential Liberty

to purchase a little Temporary Safety

deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

 Benjamin Franklin

Ranch Maintenance

Will somebody please tell me when spring like weather is going to get here? It’s the last week in March and the temperature this morning was 24 degrees. I’m ready for 85. Even though it’s been cold, the maintenance crew has gotten off to a great start getting projects knocked out this year. We are still working on tree removal and I expect that will be on going throughout the year.

Our pool near the lodge is about 12 years old, and it still had the original plaster. 12 years is better than average for the life of the plaster. There were a few small spots where the plaster was completely gone (chipped off) and several areas where it was thin or rough. Once the plaster starts to show ware from age, it will deteriorate quickly. We drained the pool at the beginning of February and had Trinity Valley Pools come in and re-plaster the pool for us. After we filled the pool back up, we started the process of balancing the water. We would take in water samples to be tested and Trinity Valley Pools supplied all the chemicals needed at no extra charge. Adam, the pool man on our crew, has done a great job getting everything ready for this year’s pool season.  Thanks Adam. At the same time we were working on the pool we noticed how much in need of repair the shuffle board scoreboard was. We built a new scoreboard using the old wheels and with a good coat of paint, it looks great.

Another project was re-sloping the lake side of Holly dam. It took about 1000 tons of material to do, and we still need to put rip rap at the water line to prevent erosion. It will make the dam easier and safer to maintain. That side of the dam had become so steep due to erosion, that we could not stand and weed eat without falling. The last time the State came out to inspect our dams, it was an item we were cited on.

While walking the fence line checking for areas needing repair, we realized that about 30% of the posts on 2869 north of the main entrance were rotted off at the ground level. The other posts and barbed wire were in such good condition that they held up the bad posts where it wasn’t visually noticeable that they were bad. We went through and replaced all the bad posts. When we finished with the barbed wire we went right into putting up the split rail fence at the Lodge, the Holly Hall and along West Holly Trail from putt-putt almost all the way up to the fitness center. Thanks Melvin.

A few other projects we worked on to round out the first quarter of the year were the gun range and dog park. At the gun range we replaced the steel cable, installed sound insulation at the shooting line, and built a wall to secure the shooting lane so that nobody could accidently walk into the line of fire. The wall is insulated so as to make it a sound barrier as well. The dog park is located behind the old mail box area in section 1 at the end of Holly Lodge Circle. The area has been cleared of all underbrush and a six foot fence has been put up.

Looking forward to summer, we are gearing up to mow, weed eat, and do road repairs, usual maintenance. We will also finish a few other projects such as, planting crepe myrtles in a few locations, painting the exterior of the fitness center, replacing missing reflectors on the roadside on the dams, and do repairs to the walking path.

Until next time, “May you be blessed with a bountiful harvest from the seeds that you sow”.      

Dave