Mowing before storm

A hurricane named Danny is predicted to come close enough to Massachusetts that we will be experiencing heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday.
So Rob, has decided that he wants a second mowing crew to go out and finish up all of the mowing for the week by Friday.

I have not gone on a mowing route in many many years and it was like being in a time warp all day.
I used this day to train Guillerme on using both of the mowing machines we had with us. A walk behind hydro 36 inch mower and a hydro 52 inch stand on mower. Fabio, who was also with us was already familiar with both machines.

It ended up being a fun day, where I could share stories with the guys about how it was when I first started and all of the mowing machines were walk behind and were belt driven. We were finished around 4:40 and went back to the shop and the guys washed the trucks and mowers
before the rain came in.

The picture above is of what the sky looked like at 4:00 pm from the last house we mowed.

Getting Babson ready for the start of the year

We went to Babson College today to continue with the weeding of area's that had been neglected during the year so the college would look its best when the fall semester begins this weekend.

Guillerme, Fabio, Ceillo, Rob and I went from building to building weeding and cleaning up the areas close to the buildings and parking lot areas.

Some of the kids had already arrived and you could feel the buzz starting to grow on campus. It is fun being here although it is very warm and humid this week.

The picture is of the entrance with the "mums" that were planted last year. The nurseries and store's seem to get the mums in earlier and earlier every year. We remove annuals that were planted in the spring and can not tolerate the colder temperature that will be arriving soon and plant mums, which are hardier.

Back from my Vacation

I am back from a week off, which I needed. I have found that a week off during the summer refreshes my attitude, work and gets me ready for the colder part of the season. We use a large part of our energy doing our work and when it gets colder our bodies start to use more and more of that energy. So this was a very beneficial break for me.

It is hard for me to come up with current pic's to add to the post as the season is winding down and most of the flowers are no longer in full bloom and are rather dull looking.

When I came back I had to finish the feritlizer route, which Guillerme and I worked on before I left. I finished up the 4 properties on the route and then went to Babson College to meet up with Rob and the guys. The had spent the entire week while I was gone, getting the college ready for the fall semester.

Vacation.....................

This week I am on a much needed vacation. The warm summer season is almost over and the cooler fall and winter season are on the way. I just needed to recharge the old batteries. I will be back next week.

Pete

Trimming the Olin college home

We went to the home that is used by the President of Olin College today to trim and weed the property because there was going to be a party on Monday. I had Fabio and Guillerme with me.

Before we even started the guy who is in charge of the Olin College campus showed up to mow the lawn. So we had to have a small break to have a chat with him. Then he was off to mow while we started to weed the beds.

I enjoy coming to this property as well, because the lady of the house loves her flower gardens. She enjoys having us come over and always brings us coffee and homemade blueberry muffins for our 10AM break. she just came back from Paris and had a lot to tell us about her trip and even brought us out some books on Notre Dam and the Louve, great pictures and great stories.

We finished up just about 5 pm, and had to work a little bit harder and faster at the end because we knew we had to be done by the end of the day.

The Neighbors house

Today we are the property right next door to the one we were working on for 2 days that I posted about yesterday. I really enjoy both of these properties because the owners are very , very nice people, they love their yards and the nature that is found in them. they always look great when we have finished and that takes a lot of time. We will be here for a day and a half.

Before we started working I gave the neighbor some SUNJING, because the day before he told me he was having a therapist come over to help him work out some soreness he was experiencing. When I was talking to him the owner of the property we were working on came out to talk to us and she showed us how she had twisted her ankle. she had gone on a trip to Brazil and on the return flight dropped her bag on her foot, so I gave her a bottle of SUNJING to rub on the soreness.

I only had Guillerme with me tody and it was another hot one, so we worked on the rock garden out front early in the morning to avoid the mid day sum and heat. After that we stayed on the perimeter beds which for the most part are in the shade.

As I was working at hand clipping the holly bushes the homeowner drove into the driveway and rolled down the window and said "wow, what is that stuff it reeally works great", so I gave her my card with the website on it so she could buy some. It is great stuff for sore muscles.

Large Trin job in Wellesley

Today I was with Guillerme and Fabio, at a large property in Wellesley to trim up the bushes, weed every where and a few odd projects here and there. We are under pressure though to be finished up by the end of the day tomorrow. The owner is expecting some VIP's as he says, his children and grandchildren are coming for a visit. This is the same property that had the mother turkey in the springtime that I wrote a post about.

Monday we will have the front yard finished, even though this is one of the few days we are having this summer that is in the 90's and very, very humid. After we went around and weeded all of the beds both Guillerme and Fabio got the power shears and sheared up all of the bushes. This is one of the few properties around that still has a lot of yews to trim. Newer landscapes have moved away from that style of bush. We went till 5 pm and then it was time to go back to the shop, it was a hot day for the guys.

Tuesday was another hot and humid day. We were off to the back yard and the owner pointed out a mother robin that had made a nest in a bush, and told us to skip it for now. Later in the day I was trimming a tall weeping cherry and kept seeing a cardinal flying by and then I began to hear the cardinal chirping and I looked up and saw the nest. Another tree that will not be completed until after the babies have left the nest. We still have about 3/4 of a day's work to do here but it will have to be after the VIPs leave.

Southborough trim job continued.........

Guillerme and I went back to the property in Southborough, to finish up the pruning and weeding job, we had started yesterday.

Today, it is not sunny and that is a blessing as this property is out in the open sun and yesterday, it was hot and humid.

As, I have written about in earlier posts, this years lillies have really deep, rich colors and they are very large, 2-3 feet in height and very healthy. They must have enjoyed our 2 months of cool rainy weather, unlike me and the guys who had to endure working in it.

Southborough Trim Job

Guillerme and I are in Southborough today to start a 2 day weed and prune job. I have been taking care of this property for over 15 years and the owner is very, very nice. we have installed all of the plantings at this home over the many years we have been taking care of it. When I first came to the property there was not a pool in the back yard only a small swingset. The property is in the direct sun all day long and everything just loves growing and getting bigger every year.

We start off in the front yard and as we do, the owner comes out and talks to us before she goes golfing for the day. She wants to know if it is OK, to leave her dog out while she is gone and of course we agree. We enjoy having dogs around while we work, they break up the routine and are fun to be with. It is so warm and humid todat that the dog decides laying down on the cool garage floor is more enjoyable than hanging out with us.

Crabgrass spraying

Today, I went with Guillerme and Rich to spray the crabgrass at Olin College. Crabgrass loves to grow in warm sunny areas and there are plenty of those areas at the college. Along roadways, parking areas and along all of the sidewalks.

We concentrate on the "hot spots" and do a visual check of the interior areas and spot spray any crabgrass we see. I will be using the Permagreen power spreader and the guys will be using backpack tank sprayers.

This year, with all of the cool weather we are having has, reduced the amount of crabgrass and the size of the crabgrass. Usually at this time of year it is quite large, approximately 7-8 inches in diameter and requires multiple spraying to eradicate it. This year we are seeing the crabgrass to be only about 3 inches in diameter max., which is good thing, because it will require only 2 applications to kill it off.

It takes us the full day to cover the entire campus, and we will be back in a few weeks anyways with the next fertilizer application.