Well its been a while...

It has certainly been a while since I have posted on my blog. To be honest with all the social media outlets out there it is hard to keep track of when I have been on what..Starting this week I have someone taking over ALL of the online stuff so I can focus on the jobs I need to do. 

Currently we are getting out Fall Cleanup and Winter Maintenance estimates. If anyone is interested in receiving a quote please let us know! 

Making Good Resolutions

Today as I was enjoying the thoughts of yesterday's trip with the Grandkids to Rockwood's "Parade of Lights" there was a new resolution made. Recognize what should not be changed. Who after all would want to change the spontaneous hug of a two year old as he whispers "I wove you Gwampa". Who wants to change the imaginary dragon nipping at all of us? Why change the obvious highlight of the event expressed by my granddaughter, "Santa ran over the horse poop". Life is like that. Horse poop is funny.  

There is a need for me to resolve to change but no need for it to be some statement made on a specific day. This year there have been enough necessary changes. It is likely this is true of all of us.  Improvements made around the house, more help being offered in regular household chores, changes made in business and even changes in personal habits. These were conscious choices many have made this year.  Budgets get changed, income changes and family dynamics change and all these demand a resolution to cope and adopt. Good people change, they cope, and they resolve and overcome. They fight, often without really knowing what it is they are fighting for.  

In starting this blog I rhetorically resolved to finish it. Douglas interrupted me.  In many ways the story of my life is that "I" have been interrupted.  This is great. It fits with my past goal of relishing hiccups in plans. It is wisdom to understand that the "I" that I strive for is best reflected in the mirror of interruptions. Interruptions by a beautiful wife, wonderful kids, customers, friends and strangers. This wisdom is only half of it though. The other half is that all the above people have graciously allowed me to be an interruption in their life.  Good decision, I loved the break in my day Douglas created, loved learning more about Cerebral Palsy and was fine with having to write this now; which is later than I had hoped.

My business involves discussing changes in a garden.  This consulting process demands a lengthy conversation on what is good about the existing yard. In fact it is my job to point out good things that they missed.  If there is no recognition of strength in the current garden they will likely be disappointed in the creation they hope to make.  Personally, though this likely hurts sales, it is necessary to warn people about the amount of time and money a new garden will cost them. If one has never weeded in the past there is little hope that they are going to weed in the future. New sod takes hours and hours of watering. If you dream of a Ferrari you need to be able to afford the insurance and the maintenance. Better to let us "garden" a change over time than landscape an immediate change.

Attached is one of my favourite poems on change that I sent to a customer who was going through many changes. Reflect a bit on your changes and resolve to joy and the source of this joy. It is not always fun but Jesus loves you.

 

God's Garden Tour

 

December 5th, 2011

 

I always know when He is there

Coming unbidden to my garden

I cringe at the state of my weeds

My best plants are not in bloom

Yet he comes and walks with me

 

He rests and quietly soaks in

All that has always been His garden

He stirs up the fragrance of me

Reminds me how much I am loved

Refresh’s like dew on Roses

 

He plants some exotic flowers

I have no ability to tend

He overwhelms me with presence

I have no capacity to hold

A kiss of the Son through shade

How we work...a snow story

How we work

There is a certain power in kindness. Over the years I have learned so much about this concept; not all the lessons have been fun. In particular some concepts stand out as more off putting than others. One was recognizing that there is no capacity in me to do all the kind things I would like to do; there are way too many opportunities.  Another flaw understood was that there is no way to control the perception of my generosity and that misinterpretations of motive are many. Finally there is the very sad truth that good people do not know how to simply take kindness. This is me and you.  Odd really that we dream of a "kind" world but when someone steps too far into the "giving" realm we step back because of a feeling of bondage or that the person giving is being too generous. Kindness is not easy.

 

Good people all want equity. They want a balanced ledger, one that feels like they have given as much as they receive.  The words "did you like my gift" and "yes I loved your gift" are a form or relationship accounting and good people all work hard at balancing the book. This is so telling of us.  The story that follows is not good accounting. In this story a debt was created that was never intended to have paid back. There is no record of this debt on my ledger but those people who fell victim to my kindness will remember.  It is not "I" that exceeded this kindness quotient but "us".  My customers, suppliers and my family are all as guilty.  It is because of all of the above people that I had the capacity to give as much as I did in the story soooo make sure you include yourself in this story if you are one of the above people.

 

It was a Christmas Eve about three years ago. Lousy weather all day with the snow coming down heavy and then melting to a translucent slush on the road. At about noon I found out that the city had sent out the plows fearful of what the forecaster flash freeze would do to the roads. I knew this was trouble and went out to clear this slop from my customers. I have never seen such a mess in my life. The piles on the end of the drive started out knee high but immediately started settling like concrete. I could see the asphalt under the pile. It was sooo heavy. Gross.

 

What normally would take two-three hours ended up taking me from noon to 6:45pm. I remember as I almost missed Christmas Eve service and could not clean up before going. I was the poor drummer boy that night lol.  I was the nasty guy in town. People actually cried because of me...and you, you helped pay for and maintain my truck with plow. If you give a boy a sling shot all kinds of things will happen.

 

Here is how it worked. I would drive down the street and see some cute old lady moving the snow one tablespoon at a time. We got eye contact and through some system of signalling that only an auctioneer could understand she moved and let me plow it for her. Time taken was 15.5 seconds. This same visual discourse would happen between me and the small boy already dressed for church or the man and his son trying to get the car out, also obviously late for some event on Christmas Eve. People would reach for their back pocket, they would rub their fingers together with a questioning look or they would force me to open the window. The price was the same for all of them. Nothing. 

 

I was nasty and did not allow a single one to pay. If they could expect Santa, some guy they have never really met, to give free gifts worth many times the cost of my 15.5 second gift AND if they can make the poor sap go through the chimney then poor me can make them take my gift.  Sure having eye contact with the giver was harder, that's why Santa comes at night. All dirty deeds should be done under the cover of darkness. It was weird, these people had to put up with the little bit of sweat trickling out of my eye, mistaking it for tears of joy at being able to give. I don't cry!  I had to put up with their faces. Even now I get a glimpse of the relief and thankfulness and I want more, I feel bad for their debt and yet I pray for another storm.

 

My employees know the drill. They know they are allowed to help, to use our blessing for others. They know that 10 minutes giving directions to some lost guest of Guelph is not "down time". There is actually a rule we have made for "helping" in winter. If someone asks to have their drive done the worker is to charge our going rate and then they are to keep the money for themselves. They are only allowed to do it  3 times, if they like us they can become part of the cool system that is us. If they see someone is struggling with plow excretion they do not take into account the equity of employment but just help. Some of you reading this know this.

Well, I am accepting of the idea that my joy of being a nasty giver comes out of your monies as a customer or the good work of our suppliers. My capacity to give comes from you. It is us giving. Soooo, like with the employees, I am sharing this awesome power. All customers and suppliers now have the power to "give a snow plow". They can sic Sandra, Jami, Mark, Chrissy or I on one person in need during a storm. They can be the giver. They can get the eye contact, they can have the tear and they can struggle with the arrogant concept of being "the nice guy". Lol, you think this is kind?  It's kinda mean. Why should I have to bear all the burden.

Just before printing this story there was an incident at a Tim Hortons. I have heard of this happening. In fact I have done this. The filthy deed of buying a stranger a coffee. Wow. I defended myself as best as I could by throwing out a bunch of words. "No its ok, I can get my own", "are you sure?", "oh thanks so much".  Obviously it was to no avail and this guy won. It will do me no good to get revenge on the next stranger, it will do nothing to eliminate this debt with this kind freak. It will stick in my craw the same as the very kind appreciative words from a long term customer.

 

Thanks to all and keep it up.

 

Falling leaves...

The leaves are falling, the weather is changing. Schepers Property Maintenance can help get your home ready for winter. Raking leaves, eaves cleaning, painting, and whatever else you may require. If we cannot help you then we can always try to find someone who can.

 

Give us a call today to book your fall maintenance

519-820-6507

Its Bugging Me!!

At the end of this blog there will be a point I suppose. We will get there together; enjoy the walk while we head there. It begins with my Granddaughter and our walks that take forever but somehow always get there. See how that ties in?  It’s sort of about my granddaughter’s fixation with all things buggy. It is this bent in her nature that make the walks long; that and her astounding abilities to notice all things gunky and gross. The smallest bug will not escape her.  So observant is she in fact that when I turned over a rock expecting to keep her occupied I was interrupted when I proceeded to turn it back in my disappointment in the lack of the creepy. Lyla reached down and pulled up a BB sized ball that looked like a Potato Bug Armadillo. She turned a pebble and caught a worm that was 6" long and, in the process of yanking out this worm, she found the "mommy" Potato Bug.

 

I love observant people. People, who remember names, people who can research, people who look through people. People who look through peep holes. (Philologists and scientists lol, that was fun). There is a certain amount of trust I give my Granddaughter. One "trust" I give is that if she says "look" or can I "hode it" (hold it) there is something to see and something to hode. I do not trust my granddaughter not to touch a scorpion or a bee and I do not trust her fully when she says there is nothing in her pockets; I have found the "Snea Snails" in my carpet. Now, please take the hand of the person next to you as we do a little jump to the point. I take these steps all the time but word is out that others do not always follow. Hence the warning.

 

Fiesta weed spray. There are certain things I trust about it. In fact, it is pretty transparent about its ability in the literature it provides and warnings it gives. Proper research makes it possible for people to make informed decisions.  It may in fact work on certain stages of listed weeds at certain stages of the season in certain weather conditions if properly applied. It and Nematodes are new and complicated products and IF I am to use them I need to trust the things they say about themselves. Sooooo, in the case of Fiesta I would never spray in the fall, I would never give more than two applications a year and I would not raise people's hopes. Sooooo, when one of our customers gets an application of Fiesta done this past Monday the 15th of October I can say that the person doing it is nuts, he can't be trusted. 

 

In the case of Nematodes I am even more curious. I want to give Lyla a microscope and show her the difference between our tap water and my Nematode infested water. There is a little fear and hope that she will never drink water again. Fear because I expect its gross looking, hope because the mean buggers that eat grubs should be gross looking. I trust that there are bugs in that package, that the way they say to store them preserves them and that the way they say to mix them is correct. They are not leading me astray in the latter and I trust therefore that they are not misinforming me when they say when to apply and in what conditions. Now is too late so why sell the service?  Call me May 15th to get on the list.

 

Finally, for those still with me, I want to see a Nematode streak towards a grub. I want to see the Grub recoil as the worm starts destroying it. I want to have the time to turn over a rock, sit on my haunches and stir the dirt with my fingers. I want this time not to be a "hobby", a "vacation" or a "break". It needs to be normal and expected and not a waste of time. Anyone with a Nematode, a Grub and a microscope that wants to take me for a walk is welcome to call or write.

Christmas Chill

It is that time of year again! Our BIG Christmas party for local small businesses in Guelph and area.

December 1st 2012
7pm - 1am
at
Guelph Youth Music Centre
75 Cardigan Street, Guelph.

We have had so much support already but we want to make sure that we can raise as much money as possible for our local charity.

Right now we are looking for donations for our raffle table.
 This will be great exposure for your small business!

So far we have donations from

Partylite - www.partylite.biz/mjl

Zumba - www.facebook.com/DragonflyFitnessClub

Epicure - www.adaliacullen.myepicure.com, www.facebook.com/AdaliasEpicure

Schepers Property Maintenance - www.guelphlandscapedesign.ca

Abbey Rose Creations - www.facebook.com/AbbyRoseCreations

Abbey Rose Accessories - www.facebook.com/AbbyRoseAccessories

Sarah's Old Fashion Cleaning -www.sarahs-oldfashionedcleaning.ca

Groove Studios -www.thegroovestudios.com

Cakes by Mockingbird Design - www.facebook.com/groups/214136272047838

Segue Music - www.segue-music.com/
We Deliver Wellness 24/7 - http://tkampen211.blog.com/2012/10/01/concentrate-if-you-care

All profits made from the raffle table will be donated to:

The Childrens Foundation of Guelph and Wellington

http://childrensfoundation.org/

 

I am getting so excited!! This is going to be a great night!!

Thank you in advance for all of you who are participating in this event!

Where does Crab Grass come from?

We were really confounded this year by the amount of crab grass present in the rear yard of a customer. Though we have talked about crab grass recently our conclusion of how this infestation occurred is important to keep in mind.  

Last year, when there was some crab grass spread to the rear yard, we blamed it on our mowing practices. This year we changed up how we mowed the lawn and were far more aware of weed transference due to a dirty lawn mower.   We cleaned the lawn mower more regularly and noted more closely what the machine was used for. We were of course diligent to get the crab grass out before it turned to seed so we knew that there should have been less this year.  What we ended up with was more crab grass and it was really confounding.  

On further inspection it was recognized that there was some new construction of a walk in the rear yard. This meant that foreign materials were brought to the rear yard and amongst this material was sand and screening. The latter two materials are notorious for having tons of crab grass seed present and are as bad or worse than the road sand used by the city. One bucket of material spilled or, if there was just a bit left over, it was spread out to "top dress the lawn". This would have been enough to create this year's infestation.  Just a note, I too would likely have done the same thing or one of my workers may have. It really is not a bad practice depending on the volume of material.

The conclusion was again proven to be the likely cause when we experienced a huge infestation of a customers year who had just installed a pool and new deck.  The infestation was all around the perimeter of the construction site. The quote from us for getting rid of the weeds was quite high and as this was a country property he had resources to kill them city folks don't have. My worry is is that unless you get rid of every seed head that was formed and actually pull them out before you pick up mature seeds with shoes and lawn mowers this infestation will not end. This will become a yearly event of spraying and then reseeding the lawn. Pull them out folks.