Weekend Maintenance Blog

Dan Grady   Morwyn Griffith  

 Friday April 18^th /14

The students began their practical like many before - tired and hungry, but with a quick fix of coffee and timbits they were ready to conquer the day.  Like most practicals, there was much work to be done so it was off to C block to grab the ………  oh wait a sec  the wonderful Jeff Rowley  had forgotten to give us the keys for the equipment  so like Egyptian slaves it was off to get a wheelbarrow and load up tools.  We made our way over to R3 better known as Merlin (weird name) residence to start work on the back garden bed, which was full of everything from plates and sandals to beer cans and condoms.  Full of garden maintenance knowledge, they began cleaning out the garden bed edging from corner to corner, raking like have never raked before (although feeling like they were being watched from every window). They then proceeded to the hydrangeas!  With pruning almost being like riding a bike to them now, they were ready to cut and form beautiful plants. It was a long day for them but they knew the weekend was just beginning; lots of blood, sweat and tears were in the weekend forecast.

Saturday April 19^th /14

They arrived at the greenhouse once again bright eyed and bushy tailed knowing today was the day to really focus and get things done.  It was back to Merlin for them; the largest and most formidable of the garden beds was completed and the crew moved on to the side of the residence.  The spireas stared them down as they approached so it was time to give them a haircut and some manors.  Dan eagerly grabbed the hedge trimmers giving the spireas a nice number 3 all around, his partner Morwyn coming in with a rake and giving them a nice clean shave. It was done with that bed and on to the next one, so they jumped in to action and approached the new bed.  They glared at all the gravel and sand that required removal, chuckling at the very large gopher hole and did I mention more hydrangeas needed to be pruned?  Dan quickly decided to grab the John Deer tractor, careful not to crash into a family moving their children out of residence.  It worked well - loading all the gravel and sand that insulted him.  Morwyn battled the hydrangeas, quickly realizing this would be a battle she may not win, but being the class’s best horticulturalist she made mincemeat of them, cutting with artful quickness and precision. Day 2 was in the books - both members tired, tanned/burned and famished.

Sunday April 20^th/14

The final day and the weather couldn’t be nicer, spring bulbs popping and the smell of chocolate Easter eggs filled the air and did I mention it was Morwyn’s birthday?  The group was ready to take charge of the day. It was off to C block to grab the RTV, tools and Tractor to continue on Merlin Residence.  The group felt good on how the past two days went so it was time to finish strong.  Dan and Morwyn quickly worked their way up the remaining garden beds, raking, edging and pruning, all the while being carful they didn’t scare their new friend Santana the gopher.   With the sun beating down on them, they worked their way up to the last garden bed - the dreaded “when there was snow on the ground they dumped it all on the junipers” garden.  It being filled with gravel, they knew what they had to do so they firmly grasped their hard rakes and calmly raked and fluffed up the garden.  Yes, the junipers were hurting and probably crying inside but like a bad dentist appointment they needed to be cleaned and brought back to life.