Day 48 - Meet the Farmer Friends
The restoration project was definitely going to be long-term. It also needed to be a team effort. Though I had many conversations with various experts, we had chosen to work with a restoration expert who shared our vision. Based on conversations I had with him, I had a bare-boned plan of attack on the reed canary grass, step one in the restoration process. His schedule was filed for the season, but he did provide some tips to get the land ready for a full-blown reed canary grass attack in spring. All had to do was get the big backyard mowed.
Easier said than done.
Knowing my luck with regular mowers, I needed to reach out to someone a bit higher up on the lawn mower food chain. This was especially crucial since we moved in early August, the grass was in the peak of its growing season. In either words, it was green and it was tall. My lawn mower wouldn't cut it (literally and figuratively).
Not knowing exactly where to begin, I reached out to a local pumpkin farmer I had worked with to coordinate a pumpkin sale at my school's outdoor classroom. Coincidentally enough, he lived a few houses down. He came to the house and pretty quickly identified this mowing opportunity was not a job he wanted or was able to accomplish. He did however have a reference.
We contacted the reference and gave them the information about the job. They seemed much more available and interested. Being a small word, this father and son team had direct ties to the school where I teach. The son was a member of the initial graduating class. They lived in a subdivision nearby, already contracted with other neighbors in the area, and had plenty of experience with the previous owner. They understood his quirks and personality and had actually worked with him in the past. Needless to day, they knew the land and had the equipment to help get our project started.
Within a few weeks of our initial meeting, our new farmer friends started the process. Little did they know that we would rely on them for many other projects in the future.
