Reeling in the Years

Tyler copping a snooze during lunch, minutes before he was a stone shoveling machine

This past week was really fun.  It is Bruce's 64th birthday August 5, and we have been on a birthday roll. Seemed to me 64 should be celebrated heartily in the tradition of the Beatles classic "will you still need me, will you still feed me when I'm 64?"  64 seemed really old to me when I heard that song, now it is just another number and I am grateful to see Bruce reach it healthy and wanting to have some fun. 

We started on Tuesday by going to dinner at  a well known Japanese steak house in Fort Wayne and seeing the band Steely Dan at the Embassy Theatre what a great show, with good company.  Friday found us on a secret mission, secret from Bruce as we headed out the door with another couple destination unknown for the birthday boy.  A great meal at Schuyler's in Marshall, MI and a quick trip to Firekeeper's in Battlecreek where we saw The Steve Miller Band perform.

Ryan working on a pond out in the country

Finally last night we had a small party with friends and family, lots of really good chow of which I ate way to much.  Had chocolate pie, boysenberry cheesecake, egg casserole and fruit and that was just leftovers for breakfast.  Good times.

Work is jammed Bruce has a deadline to install a foot of mulch at the playground of one of the schools and it needs to be finished by next week.  Takes lots of equipment to dig out the earth and lots of manpower.

Lone Tree Point on lake James offered its usual
 challenges when we installed 15 ton of river wash on a hill and terraces.  Doug built a shoot and we shoveled it down, turned out it was more effective to drag it down in weed fabric.  Oh well got to do a little engineering every once in a while.  We still
 did good on the job the men worked really hard.

Went specimen shopping for me the other day at a couple of nurseries.  The purpose was to show a customer potential plant material for selection.  It was easier to review the presentation when each plant was sitting right in front of us on the table.

 We installed this dry creek bed and simple planting for a new customer in Angola last week.   She really liked the finished product and it is very easy care.

Poodle Crazy

This week was scolding hot on Monday (Memorial Day) and Tuesday, over 90 degrees the high yesterday barely reached 50 with steady wind and drizzle.  Walking the dogs I spied this red wing blackbird singing  despite the crummy weather.

Our customer on Jimmerson Lake was happy to see the delivery of the green material after being in the house for a few weeks with no yard or landscaping.  We nearly have all the hard scape finished;  snap cut stairs, natural stone steppers, tiling the downspouts out the lake and building the seating wall and beach.  I think the beach will be a big hit.

Jamie and home owner Renee first clean then plant a mugo pine.

Theresa is lost in the foliage of a Japanese Maple while unloading the box truck.


Two sisters share the responsibility for choosing the plant material with my guidance.  The man of the house enjoys trimming so this installation has more specimen plants than we normally use.  We have not put in three ball poodles since we did Caruso's restaurant a few years ago, I like them.  It is a win win situation providing the  minimal look they want with clean simplicity.

A couple of the other jobs we recently finished are looking fine.  The lawn is filling in between the flagstone pieces of the walk on Crooked Lake, they have mowed the grass several times.

Another job on Crooked Lake got a new look when Colby Claus installed the new fire pit top and grill top.  We all love the new look.