Converting Two Yards

Saturday promises to be a brave new day.

I have contracted with a landscaping company to come out and aerate the yards of both houses and apply gypsum and Turface to both. We've already applied Microlife fertilizer to 5206, but they will apply it to 5127 for us. I have spent days this week trying to get both yards watered enough that they can be aerated!

But the brave and new part comes in the form of a very enthusiastic young man by the name of Douglas. I finally got around to running a "Help Wanted" ad in the Rice Thresher, which ran last Friday. We got up Tuesday morning to an e-mail inquiry from Douglas, identifying himself as a "hard-working high school student". We were looking for college kids who needed a part-time summer job, and got a high schooler. Hmm. We were dubious.

We corresponded via e-mail this week and he sent me his references, both of whom spoke very highly of him, his skills, and his work ethic. His mom confirmed this evening via e-mail that they are aware of, and support him in, this endeavor and will be driving him back and forth. He's not yet 16.

To make matters more interesting (or complicated), we came home from the new house to the old house to find the "Westbury Yard of the Month" sign in our old house's front yard! To say that the garden is in need of tidying would be like asking if teenaged boys are hungry! So...it's possible we'll be working on the old house's yard before we work on the new house's yard (which is what had been planned)!

We have more exciting news on several fronts, but all of that will have to wait for another day. I see that I've been very derelict in my posting - it's not for lack of action, but lack of time! There are several posts that I started and never got finished, so they'll follow when I get a chance.