Ash Tree Chainsaw Massacre

The heat continues, drought endures although we had an inch or two of rain during the past week.  We are losing hours and workers as we have been coming in early and barely are able to get in a scorching 40 hours per week.  Our freshman female worker sweet Jessica has been out for over a week with heat stroke and dehydration as the diagnosis, she has been to her family doctor, the local hospital and Urgent Care but continues with vomiting and fever.  All manner of tests and pills yet she feels no better.  It is on to the big city hospital in the morning for her.

What to do with dead ash trees killed by the emerald ash borer, the city of Fremont, IN has the solution turn them into wood sculpture?  Several of the trees were cleverly carved by a local chainsaw artist, bears, raccoons and squirrels are playing on the once ugly stumps.  Sweet.

Last week was cooler and we did get in a full week.  We were still short Jessica and Theresa was gone a couple of days, this week will be the last for Rick as he will be going back to college.  I hired a young man whose father is an excavator we know his name is Cody his dad says he had a bottle in one hand and a shovel in the other for as long as he can remember so I have high hopes for the kid.

We are wrapping up the odd commercial job a nursing home in Angola where Bruce has been in charge, he did manage to find a spot for one of our signature rock walls.  His biggest concern has been watering and for the last three week ends he has been going to town to water the new plants.  Soaker hose and timers have been installed and the maintenance men at the nursing home will be taking over the watering chores this week.

The landscaping around this small block wall belongs to Mike Stuckey at M & C Trenching, Mike and Cheryl's son is getting married and they are sprucing up their yard.  The wall was already there and they had a couple of deceased ash tree that were removed last year.  Mike reworked the wall and I designed the new look while he and his crew installed it with a little help from us. 

I traded Mike for the use of his mini excavator for a day and Bruce P dug a retention pond at our property to handle overflow rain water and pick up ground water and divert it from the retaining wall next to our house.  You can see the heavy clay soil that will hold the water, our soil is a mix of clay, sand, gravel spots and the rare loam all on 25 acres.