Monday, April 30, 2007

Grass

So... we spend weeks upon weeks fretting over grass...

"It's too cold to take the tarps off"
"oh noes! it's dead"
"work the seams"
"it's too wet"
"It's too dry"
"get 'er done"
"looking good"

Just when I thought it was safe (afterall, all the sod was down) a new twist

"Neal! Take the new guy and bury all the sod with sand"

Well... thats not what he said, but thats what he wanted us to do...

SO we managed to get 3.75 greens covered... The biggest one required about 500 lbs (I kid you not) of sand to complete... All of which needed to be scooped from buckets by hand and placed on the greens in an organised pattern...

Now the first problem, is each bucket of sand weighs about as much as I do (I can support myself from a bar with one hand, but I could barely support the bucket with two)

The second problem was my coworker... He's new, and seems afraid... I dont know what, but even my bosses assistant (the one who's usually quite keen on the "no talk =>better work" theory) comment on how quiet he was...

I tried for 4 hours (really I tried) but to no avail. He plays handbells... but wouldnt talk about them... he's taking science at school... but wouldnt talk about that... He's a christian... still nothing to talk about... He likes outdoorsy activities... but nothing came out of that either(I dont know what I could add to a conversation about that... so maybe it is my fault)...

Eventually I gave up and listened to the radio...

At least he's a really hard worker and follows directions well...

I dont know if I could have made it an entire day if the conversationw as lacking AND we couldnt accomplish anything...

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Ugly Postcard Competition

A little bit about this historical competition...

It was started many years ago by a creepy (very) old man, named Scott, who ended up being shipped off to colorado for the summer as a job placement (fun!)

He made the request, and his friends complied, and out of this came the ugly postcard competition (if any of you would like to add to the history of this, feel free to do so)...

Anyone can participate... Just send in an ugly post card... You don't actually have to know any of us, or anything about Edmonton, or Canada... if you are reading this, you are eligble...



a few prize catagories are (but not limited to)
Ugliest postcard
First runner up
Second runner up
Best Effort
Ugliest postcard sent in by a pirate
Ugliest postcard sent in by a ninja
AND from Amber's addition last year
Prettiest postcard!! (its the blooper prize)



So yes...

Send now, send often...



J. Jassmann
c/o Our Saviour Lutheran Church
795 West Island Highway
Parksville, British Columbia
V9P 1B9

after august you will have to send your postcards to

11164 69th street
Edmonton, AB
T5B 1R4

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Moved

New place, high above the city... Even the refinieries look pretty at night.

Accepting housewarming gifts!

Need to sleep (leaving early for work since I dont know how long it'll take me to peddal there...

Neal

<3

It's nice to be on a mower again...

all this manual labor was getting tiresome

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Sod

How to Sod a Golfcourse

So... You start by cutting up a dead green and seperating the two types of grass 1) dead grass 2) moderately less dead grass

Put the dead grass in a compost pile, put the less dead grass in a neat pile all rolled up.

Load less dead grass in a cart and move it off to a shady loaction.

Unroll less dead grass in predeterminded shady location.

Get told less dead grass is too unorgansised.

Roll less dead grass, move over two feet, unroll (repeat ad infinitum)

Decide on location of where less dead grass should go.

Roll less dead grass.

Put less dead grass in cart.

Get told there are two types of less dead grass, both of which you now have in cart.

Transport both less dead grass.

Unroll less dead grass.

Sort less dead.

Roll one of less dead grasses, unroll the other less dead grass.

Transport the rolled less dead grass and transport it back to start.

Unroll transported less dead grass.

Return to less dead grass.

Cut less dead grass until sufficient amounts are of relatively equal lengths.

Place less dead grass in appropriate location.

Cut less dead grass so the pieces fit.

Find more less dead grass from a different location (which ends up being the first location but a different first location)

Put new less dead grass with old less dead grass (at appropriate location)

Roll up unused less dead grass.

Return to different first same location.

Unroll less dead grass.

Return to other less dead grass.

Place other elss dead grass in cart.

Find other less dead grass, and slightly living grass, throw in same cart as otger less dead grass.

I've been earning my wage, you better belive it.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Soup... and not the edible kind

So the weather left the parts of the course we needed to drive on in quite a state...

A least 6 inches of swamplike mud on all of the non paved paths... Everythig is filthy...

It's still cold... but it's a bareable cold now...

Indeed

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Work work work

Why, oh why, does it have to start snowing the day I start working outdoors again?

*shudder*

at least i remembered two pairs of gloves (oherwise it would have been way too cold)

Work is good. Everyone has gotten back into the routine of making fun of me (ah ha ha ha ha... neal doesn't have his drivers liscense lets stand around and make him park all the workmans... bwahahahah...)

Other than that, everything is pretty enjoyable.

The fences came down a lot faster than they went up, the hay is a lot easier to deal with when you're not trying to spread it evenly, and picking up garbage when there isnt waist high grass isn't my least favourite chore.

Theres a new guy whos started today with me. He asked me if we normally got to take so many breaks (no we dont) so I hope he doesnt get to used to the 45 minutes of work 45 minutes of break routine.

Oh, and for those of us retouring to Highlands this eyar (or those of you joining us)... The snow came to quick so the ground didnt have time to freeze before it was insulated. Almost all the greens have severe winter kill, and we will be resodding... A LOT of resodding (when I asked in comparison to last year, they laughed and told me we barely did any sodding last year) *shudder*

on a very light note

Sunday, April 01, 2007

An update

...

Yup...

that's about everything...

Work starts at the golf course on monday (although checking the weather, I hope thats still the case)

I am terribly excited...