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It’s wildfire season here in the Rim Country of Northern Arizona, and we’ve already had our first major fire.  Living in Payson, Arizona, or the surrounding communities, it’s important to know what it means to firewise your home in case of an out of control wildfire. If you’re unsure what the term firewising means, it refers to the preventative steps you take in order to ensure your home is at the lowest risk possible for fire.

Here are a few suggestions from firewise.org to keep your home safe:

• Store firewood away from the home
• Mow the lawn regularly
• Prune low-hanging tree branches
• Landscape with fire-resistant plants
• Create small fuel breaks with hardscaping features

Whether you have a permanent residence in the Rim Country or simply a summer cabin, it is important to be proactive with prevention measures during the hot summer months when wildfires are common.

The Payson Farmers Market is back for the summer, and all of the residents of  Rim Country are excited to participate. The Payson Farmers Market is one of the biggest community events here in Northern Arizona, giving residents from miles around a place to gather and socialize, share food and produce, listen to good music, and just have an all-around great time. In short, the Payson Farmers Market has become Payson’s best outdoor community center.

Here are a few great things about the Payson Farmers Market, taken from paysonfarmersmarket.com:

• Fresh, local, organically grown food is available to the 20,000 Rim Country residents and the many visitors traveling through town.
• The Payson Farmers Market a USDA sponsored Farmers Market offering the SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP), and WIC (Woman, Infants and Children) nutrition program certified, giving low income residents access to fresh, local grown produce.
• The Payson Farmers Market is a Locavore style market where all food comes from within 100 miles and sold directly from the farm or food maker to you.
• New farmers are joining the local food movement and turning their acreage into farms, and existing farmers are expanding the size of their farms.

The Payson Farmers Market can see anywhere from 1,000 to 1,200 people on an average Saturday, with those numbers easily doubling on holiday weekends with the amount of tourists and weekenders passing through town.

The famers market runs every Saturday during the summer from May 25 to September 14, from 8 AM to noon, and features live music, games and activities for kids, and monthly contests hosted and sponsored by local businesses. Head on down and enjoy the fun!

Spring in Payson, Arizona is the perfect time of year for an annual cleanup of your house and yard. The weather hasn’t yet turned hot, the ground is still soft from recent snow and rain (making weeding and raking easier) and it’s a good idea to get it out of the way earlier in the year before the summer holidays and events arrive.

Maintaining Clutter Inside

Taking time to manage the clutter inside your house is always a positive thing to do, especially when you’re able to take the clothes and items you’re getting rid of and donate them to one of the local thrift stores here in town — you’re doing something good for you, and for your community.

Yard Maintenance Outside

It’s also important to keep the outside of your house clean and clutter-free; this includes your attic, shed, or garage, as the less clutter you have, the less attraction you’ll have for mice and insects. A few simple ways you can do this are:

• keeping rain gutters clean
• raking leaves and branches in your yard
• sweeping your driveway and porch or deck area
• weeding
• trimming back trees or shrubs

By following a few simple tricks to maintaining your home and yard, it not only saves you time and money in the long run, but keeps your property looking fresh and inviting!

As the temperatures continue to rise here in Payson, Arizona, reptiles and snakes — including rattlesnakes — will begin to appear. This means that residents and visitors of the Rim Country need to take precaution when outside, especially when hiking or exploring trails and creeks.

Oftentimes, the snakes you will pass in the wild or find under or next to your house aren’t harmful. Even rattlesnakes, though extremely venomous, aren’t a direct threat against humans unless provoked.

If you’re walking on a trail or in your yard, and come across a snake, first and foremost, you want to give it space. A snake will not attack unless given reason, and if left alone, will continue sunbathing or simply move along in the direction it was heading.

If you can, it’s smart to do a search on Google to see what kind of snake you are dealing with, especially if it’s in your yard or happens to be on a trail that you frequent. It’s always easier to coexist with snakes when you know more about them, and understand their preferred living places and eating habits.

It’s never wise to kill a snake, because not only can it be dangerous for you, but killing a snake actually damages the delicate balance of life in the ecosystem around us. Sometimes it is necessary to have a snake removed, when it’s near your home or frequently appears on your property, especially if you have children or pets or livestock. If you need to remove the snake, it’s best to call the Arizona Department of Game and Fish, and not attempt to do it yourself, especially if it’s a rattlesnake.

5 tips for avoiding snakes:

1. Research local species and be aware of their preferred habitats and their appearances.  Know what to look for.
2. Never step or reach into an area you can’t see. Most snake bites occur when the creature is startled accidentally.
3. Be alert, not only with your eyes, but with your ears. Snakes have a very distinct sound when moving through underbrush and across beds of dead leaves.  And of course, be aware of what the rattle of a rattlesnake sounds like.
4. If you do happen to cross paths with a snake, leave it alone and allow it to have its space.  Snakes will respect you if you respect them.
5. Keep in mind that snakes enjoy dark, hidden areas, but they also enjoy the sun, especially in the spring.  Snakes are not as likely to be seen during the high heat of the day when temperatures are most oppressive, but they can often be found out in the open when mornings are cool and there are plenty of patches of warm sunshine.

Part of the beauty of Arizona is our diverse wildlife, and while snakes aren’t the most favorable, they’re part of the environment just like other animals, and deserve to be treated with respect.

The weather is warming up here in the Rim Country, which always brings about subtle but steady changes, specifically for Payson, Arizona, and the surrounding communities. The ground is starting to come back to life again thanks to the warmer temperatures and the moisture leftover from the heavy rain and snowfall, and the elk and deer are beginning to reappear again, little by little. Photographers will find it easy to capture stunning pictures of wildlife and the surrounding landscape as the warmer seasons continue to approach.

Not only does the warmer weather of early spring bring change for the residents of the Rim Country, it also brings with it hosts of visitors from Phoenix and the Valley area, eager to escape the coming heat and be in the cool mountain air. This means businesses in Payson will start to flourish and experience an influx of activity, and the cabins and summer homes in the northern Rim Country area will begin to buzz with life and energy once again.

Whether you’re a local resident, enjoying the changing weather from the comfort of your back porch, or a tourist from Phoenix, visiting the mountains for a weekend of hiking and exploring, spring in the Rim Country brings excitement for everyone!

The weather will be warming up soon, leading us into “Event Season” in the Rim Country. We offer the perfect escape from the high temperatures of the valley for many thousands of people each year… and we make things fun! You can visit the local Farmer’s Market on a Saturday morning and go to the Summer Concert Series in the park that night. For outdoor recreation enthusiasts, Payson offers the fastest growing mud run in the state of Arizona in our “Mogollon Monster ®” as well as many trail runs.

Payson, Arizona is the host of the World’s Oldest Continuous Rodeo, attracting contestants and spectators from all over the country. The 4th of July is a massive party every year with an all-day event in beautiful Green Valley Park, capped off with a huge fireworks display over the lakes. In the same park, we hold one of Arizona’s largest rural Food Truck Festivals with a local beer garden for guaranteed family fun all day! There truly is no better place in Arizona to live and visit to enjoy endless family fun under the beautiful backdrop of the Mogollon Rim.

These are just a few of the amazing events happening in Payson, Arizona every year! For a full list, visit: https://www.paysonrimcountry.com/

What a great year! Our small community saw growth and success for its business owners and economy in 2018, and we are cruising into 2019 with optimism!

Here is a great article from the Payson Roundup: https://www.paysonroundup.com/business/payson-economy-booming/article_a928f7e2-72fb-5b04-9ede-de72a442481f.html

We are very thankful for all those that trusted our team to take care of their real estate needs this past year. With the forward economic progress within the community, and new developments being mapped out, we are optimistic about an increase in inventory throughout 2019! We are in the business of finding the perfect home for our customers, and with more developments being planned and built, we will be in a better position than ever to do what we do best.

To learn more about what’s happening in the Rim Country housing industry, contact Rory and get the scoop.