Spring is In the Air

Although many members enjoyed the unseasonably warm winter and visited the Ranch every weekend to enjoy board games, video games and community dinners with friends, the season officially started on March 31st with Clean Up Day. In spite of a rainy start, approximately 30 people arrived bright eyed and with their bushy tails in clothes, to clean the clubhouses and pool area. The sprinkle of raindrops did not deter the members from accomplishing much and by noon, the clouds cleared and the clean up continued.
Charles and his boys tackled the monumental task of cleaning the chairs and although several joined in to assist for a while, they quickly moved to other cleaning chores while Charles and the boys completed the task. Many other transformations took place. The bathrooms were tackled by Marty and Suzie, a pleasant task they both seemed to enjoy, and others found other projects to undertake.
Craig asked Lynn if there was anything that needed to be done, and after moving refrigerators, freezers, TV's and other items, he soon realized his back was in for a treat. His trip home produced a pressure washer and Craig, Dick, Carl, Tim, Ed, gave the deck and Tiki bar area a fresh look for all of us to admire. Although this didn't help their backs, it did take up about 4 hours of sun time and gave the area a clean appearance.
Suzanne, Ashley tackled the Tiki Bar and put their decorating touches on the overhang to create a new look for the beginning of the spring season. Christa, Susan,Niva, Tim and several others scrubbed the windows of the clubhouse and proceeded to other areas that needed refreshing.
Ashley, Brian, Suzanne, Dick and Lisa decided to rearrange the big clubhouse by moving furniture cleaning behind EVERYTHING. Every time Lisa got one area swept, something else would be moved and she started all over again. The big clubhouse has a fresh, "sparkling" look, for a while anyway.
Don, Gary, Ed and several others did the members a major favor by spending all morning fixing the ice machine. It is now draining properly, producing ice and making us happy.
Susan and Lynn spent much of the day scrutinizing, moving and tossing, and making decisions to determine where questionable items should be placed. At the end of the day, there were things that could be found and things that couldn't.
Lunch was a tremendous success, and gave the workers a break from their back breaking chores. Most decided to enjoy the sun after lunch and tried to avoid eye contact with those who were still finishing the deck and chairs. It became a big joke about the "guilt" but those feelings were soon overcome. We continued to talk about the feelings, but talk was all we did.
John and Lisa bought a flat screen TV to contribute to the clubhouse area and had to make a trip to Reidsville to return and replace it. As the NCAA tournament began, many were camped in front of it, enjoying the action.
As noted, the day was a overwhelming success. The changes will be apparent when members arrive for their first visit of the season.
Many, many thanks to all who lifted, cleaned, scrubbed, hauled trash, repaired, swept, mopped, vacuumed, dusted, and assisted in making the Ranch better for all of us. Thanks also to those who continue to maintain throughout the year.
We had a new member join also, thanks to Brian and Ashley, so that topped off a fantastic day.
We all look forward to a wonderful summer season, spending time with our friends, and enjoying the atmosphere that the have at the Bar S Ranch. Our motto continues to prevail, If it is to be, it is up to we.