First two weeks

So I know some of you have been curious about my first days at my new job. Well, it was a really slow start. I started last week Tuesday. I had about an hour of paperwork an hour of watching informational videos by myself, apparently this was my orientation. They sent me over to the landscaping building, but hardly anyone was there. All the landscapers went home because it was raining, so they sent me home too. Wednesday was a half day of taking down wire mesh from around tree trunks (winter protection from deer/rabbits), then we went home early because of rain. Thursday was a snow day, and Friday was my first full day. I blew leaves, edged, and pruned bushes at two different lake houses.

Saturday was a nice warm day so we went back to Kohler Andre State Park for a picnic and got our annual sticker. We will definitely be going back there to camp later this summer. They have two quiet woody campgrounds and two nice beaches. We took a walk through through the woods and smelled campfire smoke, it made us wish it was summer!

Monday through Thursday was pretty crazy. I was working at a huge house across the street from Lake Michigan. The owner was the daughter of the man who started Shlitz beer and the widow of the man who started Northwestern Mutual. Now here is the crazy part: we were hand thatching her whole yard! We were on our hands and knees pushing and pulling metal rakes through the grass to get out the dead grass from last year. Then we raked up the dead grass, went over it with a leaf blower, mowed it and then fertilized it. I was numb that whole week. The nice thing was that she gave each person a $20 tip and a box of cookies each day! The guys said that would be the only time I would have to do that and that it would be the hardest thing I would have to do, trial by fire I guess.

I will mainly be doing maintenance landscaping like blowing, raking, edging, pruning, mowing, stuff like that. I still don't know how I will be involved in native landscaping or organic gardening. I think I will find out more once planting starts picking up, or after my first 30 days when I get a review.

A side note on the fertilizer: Every once in awhile, we smell this really weird odor coming from downtown. It smells like a dirty rancid wet dog, but that doesn't begin to describe it, it's very unique to say the least. So the fertilizer we were using on the job was something called Milorganite. The guys explained that it is basically human poop from the Milwaukee municipal waste company. Mil(Milwaukee)-organ(organic)-ite is the final product of sewage that has been dried, baked and pelletized. Once the guys began spreading it on the lawn, I recognized that unique smell. That is what we have been smelling! No joke!

Friday we had a game night with the 20 somethings group from our church. It had been awhile since we had done anything with them, so it was good to get out and socialize. We played the dice game called Bunko. If you haven't played, it's a good way to mix people up and get them talking. We also played a Hilarious game of Catch Phrase.

Last night, we went out for a really nice dinner with all the tip money I got to celebrate my getting a job. It was the first time in ages that we went out to a restaurant. I had a great sirloin and coconut shrimp surf and turf, and Leah had a grilled tuna steak. And of course I had to get a Shlitz beer to honor the founder of the feast.