Longscape - Cargo Jettison

We have had a rough couple weeks at Longscape in terms of us breaking things. The victim list so far includes:

• Sprinkler head - failure of it to recede back to the ground, resulted in its head being chopped off by the mower
• Two Shovels - snapped at the connection of the shovel head to the handle while removing some azaleas
• Mailbox - Queen would be proud of Giselle's large backside. The safety radius required while mowing is often underestimated. This mailbox suffered a weld-breaking blow off its post as it was knocked to the ground.
• Satellite Cable - coax cable always loses when it goes up against an auger. An attempted splice repair was unsuccessful so the satellite repair man had to be called out. 

The culmination and hopefully the last of all the mishaps happened first thing one morning. We were pulling out of the neighborhood ready to get the day started when I heard a noise outside the truck. I looked in the mirror and noticed one of our orange jack stands rolling across the pavement. We have the jack stands on the trailer to put underneath the back end when we take heavy things, namely Giselle, on and off the trailer. Since it weighs so much this alleviates some of the pressure put on the rear end, hopefully prolonging the life of the trailer. They are rated to hold 3500lbs a piece. I have had them on the trailer for nearly two years and never had any trouble with them. I'm still not sure how it came off. The Billy Goat must have knocked it off in the turn, but I tried to reenact the even when we got home and was unsuccessful.

I told Matt the jack stand has come off and to pull over. I wasn't too worried about it because it was bright orange and thought people could avoid it. I got out of the truck and ran along the side of the road back to the jettison spot. As I was running I noticed cars were not avoiding it as readily as I thought they would. Before I could reach it a Ford Escape ran right into it. There was a terrible noise and I immediately knew there was some damage to the car. The jack came apart into two pieces. I got the first in a break in traffic. Before I could get the second piece it got hit several more times. After gathering up the pieces I looked back towards the truck and noticed the Ford Escape parked in the center lane with the front right tire sitting on the rim. Debating if we should just leave or fess up to the cause of the damage, I knew we had to take responsibility. We always live under the fear of a lawsuit, but I couldn't just leave with this lady stranded.

I walked up to the car amidst all the traffic and saw the woman driver and her daughter in the car. I asked if she was okay and she said yes as she proceeded to tell me what happened to her week old tire not realizing I was with the party responsible. I told her yes I know, I saw the whole thing and it was my "thing" in the road that she hit. Like anyone during rush hour she needed to be somewhere. She was never mad at us but a slight panic set in since her day was being disrupted. I asked if we could change her tire for her. Her spare is located under the back end of her car, but you need the wrench and jack which were in the back cargo area. She then informed me she was moving a bunch of stuff so her car was packed full, blocking the tools. Understandably unsure about letting some random guys who just broke her car try to fix it, she insisted to just call a tow truck. Knowing this would cost lots more money and not save any time, I convinced her we could get it changed. I asked her to give us 5 minutes. This was a bold statement, but it worked. We got to work. We had to unload some stuff to access the tools. Remember, we are still in the center lane in rush hour traffic. We got the spare tire lowered, but we had trouble getting the car jacked up. It was a scissor jack and the arm to turn the lifting screw was not long enough to reach outside the underneath of the car so you couldn't get any torque to turn it. A trip back to the truck's toolbox to get the vise grips took care of the problem. We proceeded to get the tire changed with no more further trouble. It ended up being about a 20 minute process.  Still not too bad given the circumstances. I got the checkbook and settled up with her for buying a new tire. Tough check to write since I knew I would not really make any money the rest of the day. She was very appreciative of us helping and we all went on our way.

Our two jack stands portraying a before and after.

It could have been much worse so it ended up being a good reminder to always check and make sure your equipment is secure before you travel. It was also nice to see that we as humans can still settle a problem on our own without the government, insurance agents, or lawyers. Accidents do happen and since we were honest about our responsibility she did not try to take advantage of us.

Longscape - Front Yard Makeover

We had the privilege of getting to replace some shrubs at a customers house recently. Her main complaint about her existing landscape was it wasn't attractive, except to the deer. The primary existing plants were azaleas that were near the end of their lifespan. I'm not much of a plant suggester, but I was happy with what Matt and I came up with. We added an assortment of gardenias, banana shrubs, yellow anise, camellias, and 'Otto Luykens' laurel. We also took down a large red maple that was in decline and replaced it with a Japanese Maple. Taylor was along for the day and was a big help in removing the existing plants.

Before:

 

After:

There's a large amount of sawdust from the grinding of the stump.

Ikea Trip

This trip had been coming for a long time. All the excuses...we don't have time, we don't have space, our car is not big enough....had run out. Since moving into our new house, Rebecca was adamant about finally getting a real office. We now had the space, so she was going to make the time and reserve the work truck for hauling back the goods. I can't really argue with her. Her desks over our marriage have consisted of an old window on four Bed, Bath, and Beyond mini shelf things, a door on same shelf things, and finally my old desk. Having a good work environment is important and since she is full time at home, she needs to be super productive.

Having been several times before and being aware of the jokes about what this store can do to a marriage, we did not enter into the trip lightly. In my opinion there are only two ways to shop at/experience Ikea. You can either say we are going to run through to just see what is about and not buy anything (which is very difficult); or you can set aside a whole day and commit to getting through it section by section (also difficult). If you try to put a time limit on yourself and still shop the whole store, you'll never make it. One person will end up alone in the cafeteria knocking back some meatballs and the other may attempt to choke themselves with the complimentary tape measures. Limited time with seemingly endless decisions just don't go together.

We headed over to Atlanta on Labor Day in the work truck, enjoying the barely double digit MPGs. We got to the store about 11am eastern time. The store was a popular holiday destination. Without really any time limit other than driving back to Birmingham, we began to leisurely stroll through the store. Before we knew it a couple hours had passed. We realized we needed to solely focus on office furniture if we were going to get anything accomplished. So we went to the office section and selected a layout. A feature about Ikea furniture is that is interchangeable, but can also add to decision making. So rather than just get a regular desk, you can get just the desktop and use other furniture as the legs. So we decided on his and her desks using a combination of drawer case things and bookshelves as the legs. We also got some accessories to go on the walls. The only other major piece of furniture we got was a shoe holder to go by the front door. Four hours later we were finally set on what we wanted and made our way to the warehouse to pick it up. We get to the desktop section and they are out of the left hand side of our desk. Rebecca being physically exhausted and now somewhat defeated just sat on the ground. I checked with an employee and it would be two weeks before they had anymore. Not wanting another color and not having time to come back anytime soon, we just got two right handed desks and decided to flip one over. The bottom side has a slightly different finish and lots of holes for leg and brackets, but it would work for the time being.

Now 5 hours later, we had the truck loaded and empty stomachs. Knowing this is a common occurrence, the store has a cafeteria when you come in and a snack shop when you leave. This particular weekend they had a deal where if you spent $100 on furniture, you could get your meal in the cafeteria for free. I was in the mood for some Swedish meatballs and so it was an obvious choice for me. I called Brad, who now lives in Atlanta, to see if they wanted to meet us at the store. We had planned on going out to eat, but the price was right here. Brad and Lauren met us there and we all got our food for free. If ever in the situation again, there is no limit on how much food you get for free, so stock up on the prepackaged stuff. It was good to catch up as we reflected on the long day.

It was a successful trip. I'm very happy with how the office set-up has turned out. It is a more enjoyable place to work now, and we have more space in which to work. Here are some photos of the day and finished project.

Before we went into the store. Rebecca's caption on FB, was "Ikea, where marriages go to be tested"

Entering the warehouse

Just to give you an idea of "Assembly Required"

Finished Product

Shoe Holder Dresser

My half of the office.

Rebecca's Half.

Summer Crew

Just shy of two months without posting. Its not from lack of topics, just a lack of setting aside time. I sure hope to get back in a groove soon.

Summer, aka "the growing season" is winding down for us. After a blistering hot and dry end of June and beginning of July, lately we've been getting plenty of rain. August has also been unseasonably cool, which has been awesome.

Things have been going very well at Longscape. Since Matt has joined the team upon his graduation, it has really made things smoother. Aside from not getting bored being by myself all day, having a partner has also allowed me to relinquish some responsibilities to him. I'm also not nearly as tired at the end of each day. We also had Sam help us some days this summer. He helped me last summer too, so it was nice to have someone who already knew how to handle things.  

I'm looking forward to fall and winter to get a little break, cooler temperatures, and a slight change of pace allowing us to get some other projects done.

New Attire

Its been a little while. Hopefully I can get back to posting a little more regularly.

Driving around Birmingham, it is not hard to spot a lawn care crew. I sometimes wonder how any of us have enough business to survive. Since the competition is so stiff, I try to look for ways to set us apart. One of those ways is looking nice. Dressing to impress is not a revolutionary idea, but most crews look borderline hobo. It is a dirty job, but you don't have to dress like you never shower or wash your clothes.

So I make it a point to always look as nice as possible but still practical. That usually consists of collared shirt and khaki shorts. I've been slowly demoting my 'good' shirts to 'work' shirts. However the material of most of those is not the most comfortable for working outside. I took a survey of my shirts and found a cotton/polyester blend felt great and handled sweating the best. I like two buttons, the third button always seems to be unsure of its role on the the shirt. I also decided it was time to get some official Longscape shirts with our logo on them. I contacted Laura Beth about embroidering them and she said she could take care of it. Matt and I ordered an array of colors to see what we would like best with our logo.

Laura Beth was able to drop them off the other night on her way through Birmingham. She did a great job and I'm super pumped about them. They feel great and I pretty much like every color. Maroon and Forest Green are my faves, with yellow being my least favorite. We may even expand our brand into caps and jackets next.

Rebecca will be embarrassed at the quality of these photos.

Weekend in Tampa Bay

Wedding season has begun. Last weekend started a string of 7 weddings in 8 weeks. This weekend was our furthest ever. A family I knew from church back in the day contacted us about shooting their wedding in Tampa Bay. We were flattered at the offer and got their date locked in. The wedding was on a Friday so we scheduled to stay an extra day and make a very mini vacation out of it.

After doing the math I figured it would be cheaper to drive even though the 10 hours one way was not appealing. Rebecca was also afraid at the possibility of having to get her gear checked. Lost camera gear could not be an option. So to spice up the drive down a little bit a decided to set up the camera and do a time lapse. I know I've been a little time lapse heavy as of late, but I think they're fun. We set up the camera in the back seat on the tripod. Photos were taken every 60 seconds except for a few certain scenes that warranted being closer together. Rebecca will be adding some actual photos of our trip to her blog in the near future.

We drove down on Thursday and got there just before dark. We got some seafood at a local joint then went briefly to the beach. I don't think we've been to the beach since Matt's triathlon nearly two years ago. Josh and Lauren's wedding festivities began at one on Friday. They had the ceremony at a local botanical gardens which was really pretty. Everything went real well. Once again, I'll let Rebecca give a more detailed account of that day.

Saturday we had to cut back on our per diem since we had gone a little high the first two days. So we went to Chick-fil-a for lunch and used some coupons. We also had to go to the Apple Store because Rebecca's laptop had quit working. Since she had planned on working in the car on the way home we figured it would be best to go ahead and get it fixed. She needed a new battery and a new charger. Glad to have that taken care of we moved on to activities we couldn't actually do in Birmingham. Next stop was Ikea. The 3 hour maze of home furnishings was overwhelming as always. I calmed my nerves with some Swedish meatballs in the cafeteria. Keeping the per diem low. Rebecca got a few small things. I think she's set on some new office furniture, but we didn't have room in the car. Maybe it was just a secret ploy on Rebecca's part to go back? After leaving we went to the beach and got there just in time for it to start raining. A little ice cream helped to pass the time and got back out for the rain to pass and leave a beautiful sunset.

The drive back today seemed to drag on forever. Rebecca managed to squeeze in three naps. She'll probably stay up most of the night now.

Monday Morning Mishap

I rarely take the interstate in the morning. There are about 3 comparable routes to my parents house, and I usually get set on one for a while then I'll switch. In the afternoon, the interstate is always the fastest, so in the morning I usually go one of the other two. Traffic was light on Monday as I pulled out and so got in the turn lane for the interstate. I get onto the interstae from Hwy 31 and from this point on I-459N to the I-65 interchange there are 5 lanes of traffic. I don't have to merge any because the on ramp lane turns into the I-65S exit lane. One lane over is the I-65N exit lane, and the other 3 are through lanes. Traffic was flowing freely in the 3 through lanes, very backed up in the I-65N exit lane, and slow in my lane.

Immediately after I get on, I see people trying to switch positions trying to avoid the backed up exit lane, either to get to my lane or to get to the through lanes. I see a grey SUV pull out of the I-65N exit lane into one of the through lanes moving at a decent speed. She must not have noticed a red sedan was already coming in that lane. The red car slammed on the brakes and veered slightly to the left to try to avoid. Not having enough time the red car hits the SUV and bounces even further into the next lane over where there happens to be a semi-truck. The red car hits the wheels of the semi (miraculously avoiding getting stuck underneath) and bounces off it back into the backed up I-65N exit lane, hitting a black SUV and blue sedan. Writing this it sounds much worse than actually observing it. While scary, there wasn't major damage to any of the cars, and my immediate thought was what a terrible way to start a week. As I get even with the red car I look over and notice the driver appears to be unconscious, thus greatly changing my impression of the accident. I pull over on the shoulder, grab my phone, and run to the car. I get to the window and he is definitely knocked out. The windshield is hard to see though and the side airbag has deployed making it hard to get close to him. He's leaned up against the door, so I don't want to open it to risk moving him. So I try yelling at him. He still doesn't respond. I dial 911. While talking to the dispatcher I notice, no one else has stopped to check on the guy. The other 3 drivers involved, having much less damage are still sitting in their cars talking on the phone, I'm guessing insurance, family, or 911 themselves. I tell the dispatcher where the accident is while trying to figure out a way to get to the guy. Just about then he comes to. He must have gotten knocked out by the airbag. He's dressed in scrubs, so I figure he's in the medical industry. The dispatcher wants to know what the injuries to the guy are, so I hand the phone to him so he can just tell her himself. His arm is a little cut up from the glass, but other than that he's seems to be ok. He doesn't remember anything after running into the semi.

The authorities arrive soon after and take charge. I stick around to give my statement to an officer, then head on my way thankful I wasn't heading north that morning.

Pretty much just below the 459 icon is where the accident took place.

Sod Party - Time Lapse

One of my favorite non-maintenance landscape jobs, is putting in sod. I love transforming a space and I love turf, so combining the two makes my day. I schedule this job to coordinate when Matt would be home for Easter. The shady backyard needed to be replaced with Zoysiagrass and came out to about 6 pallets. It also needed some topsoil, so we brought in 10 cubic yards. The backyard had limited access so that meant everything had to be carried by wheelbarrow into place. Since it was also on a pretty steep slope we had to staple a good portion of the sod so it would stay in place. We had a two hour rain delay on Thursday and also made things pretty muddy. Dad came out for a couple hours that afternoon to help out. The rest of the project took all Friday and an hour on Saturday to finish up. It all went really well and glad we got to be a part of it.

Mr. No Shoulders

Mr. No Shoulders with no head.

I set up the camera to do a time lapse of the project. Since its Rebecca's gear I had to be extra careful with it and so I put a ziplock bag over the camera and lens to protect it from dust and rain. That's why its a little hazy and has trouble focusing in some. The third guy in some of the pictures is the homeowner who was working on his back patio. The camera battery died in the afternoon on the first day so that is the reason for the big jump in progress.

Super Mom

Spring/Summer has come quickly and with it lots of new business, which is fantastic. The only problem is I can only do so much by myself. Matt is set to join the business when he graduates, but that is still a month away. My first earthly priority has shown no interest in helping me again since her last Longscape outing. So I moved on to the other female in my life, my Mom. Never afraid of any task she stepped up to provide some much needed assistance. Without it, I simply could not have gotten the projects done. Thanks so much for help.

Pine straw has been on the docket a lot lately and so that is what I needed help with. She has now helped on three such jobs covering 1.5 days, one of which was the same that Rebecca helped with last year. On the first day we put out 95 bales between two yards. Today we added another 30 to our resume.

Lot of straw.

Client decided they wanted some shrubs removed before we put down straw.

Finished product.

What a trooper.

Who wouldn't want to help with this project?

And yes it is as steep as it looks.

All tuckered out.

Tub-O-Grub

Spring has come very quickly which has been great for business, but a tough transition from winter dormancy. Hopefully some of my Spring projects from work will make it up here. I just have to remember to take pictures while I'm there.

One purchase that had been on my mind for a while now, arrived in the mail this past week, thanks to some help from Tyler and his Costco membership. Rebecca and I had discussed occasionally the idea of storing some food. Once a common practice, it is now left to the 'prepper' realm. There's no need to store food when you have a grocery store within easy access. Having been near major natural disaster and visited areas soon after major disasters I don't think it is a total lost art. Not to mention the ever present threat of Thunderdome. If something were to happen or if times got to tough, I don't want to have to depend on the government to give me my daily bread, since it looks like that is where we're heading with every other aspect of our life. But that is a whole other blog post. We thought about having a rotating stock of canned goods in our garage, but it would probably just end up passing its expiration date. So as I searched for other options I came across this; a bucket of food built for emergencies. It contains 330 servings or enough for 1 person for 1 month, getting 2100 calories/day. So 15 days for the both of us eating healthily, or 30 days on a diet. Another nice feature is it has a 15 year shelf life, so no constant need for rotating stock. I wanted to try some of it, to see how edible it is, but unfortunately each food item is sealed together. So I didn't want to break a seal thus reducing the shelf life.

Rebecca of course shakes her head at my purchase, but I think it is a good thing to have on hand. Worst case scenario for the food/best case scenario for society, we never have to use it. If that is the case, then in 15 years we'll have a party and we can all partake of the food bucket. What a great way to spend my 42nd birthday. 

Rebecca's New Toy

I know you're probably thinking its a camera, lens, computer or other type of gadget. She has plenty of those at the moment. This one she isn't exactly that excited about or will use it that much. I'll probably get more enjoyment out of it than her. She also refused to pose for a picture with it.

We finally took advantage of her second amendment rights the other day and got her a handgun. We went with a Ruger SR22. I wanted to get a small caliber for several reasons. This will be a good one for her and anyone else to learn to shoot on. The ammo is super cheap relative to other calibers. I feel she will be most comfortable with it the rare times she goes to shoot with me.

I also wanted to get the gun for some other reasons.

• They're cool.
• Fun activity.
• Guns will hold their value.
• Last forever.
• Always have a use. 
• The never desired but always possible scenario of self-defense.

I like to joke with Rebecca that we are going to put all our investments in firearms. She always responds with rolling her eyes. While I would never do this, I don't think it is the most unreasonable idea. I really can't think of a tangible thing other than guns and land that will always hold its value no matter the status of society around you. A lot of people go to precious metals to diversify, but I don't like that idea much. Gold, silver, etc., don't have any real use aside from decoration. Their only value comes from the perceived value of others. So if times got super tough, say Thunderdome, what good would gold be? Food and fuel always have a shelf life. Since we can't afford any land at the moment, we're left with firearms. If we are ever fortunate to own some property, we'll be ready to protect it.

Hopefully we'll make it up to the range soon, so she can christen her new toy.

Little Lucy

Ever since a video chat last summer where we were surprised by the picture of the sonogram, we have been anticipating David and Emily's baby. Whenever the subject has been mentioned since then Rebecca's usual response is either "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" or "Widdle Wucy." Lucy Jean was born last Wednesday to some very proud parents. Once we got the call from David they were headed to the hospital, Rebecca and I tried finished up our work for the day and hit the road. Rebecca actually got to video chat with them when they got to the hospital and waiting for Lucy to come. They signed off to a crying Rebecca, who has a habit of getting more emotional for others big events over her own. We made it to Starkville a few hours after she was born. David and Emily appeared to be doing great when we arrived and said Lucy had come without any trouble. We got to go look at her through the glass in the nursery before we had to leave for the evening.

A trip to Starkville also meant we got to see some friends and spend some time with Mammie. We got to eat dinner with Brett and Megan. Mammie runs on college time so she always stays up late and therefore usually sleeps late. I hadn't seen her since Thanksgiving so it was great to spend some time with her. Rebecca and her also got to do a little shopping while I went up to campus to see Matt and the turf crew.

We then got to go back to the hospital to see Lucy one more time. This time she was in the room so we both got to hold her. I believe this was my first time to hold a newborn. The whole process is amazing to think about, but when you get to hold a new life it takes it to a whole new level. What an amazing gift from God. We are very excited for those two and know they will be fabulous parents.