monday blog

I’m back to talking about the installation project that Nich landscaping was doing in Essex. After hiring Northern Essex excavation to come in and use a mini excavator to dig out the premises of the walk way. Going to work Monday we had to get some 3/4" crushed stone for the base. We had to spread about two yards for the base. After spreading the base we used a plate compactor. The plate compactor is a machine that uses the power of the motor to shake vigorously that makes the bottom material to settle and become compact hence plate compactor. After using the plate compactor for the first base, we had to get blue stone which would be used to fill the cracks left from the 3/4" crushed stone. After laying a healthy layer of the blue stone, yet again used the plate compactor to finalize the base of where the flag stone pavers are going to go. You want just enough material that will make it so when you lay the stone of your choice the stone is level with the original sod on the property. I learned that some stones that you choice might move around too much, so an old trick is to take the material you are going to fill cracks with and mix it with some loam, that way it creates moss making it to most likely not move.

installation project

Monday we started a big install program on turtle back road in Essex. An install project consists of making a plan and getting the okay from the home owners and start putting in what they image. These particular costumers went to Corliss brothers in Ipswich, where nich landscaping gets the majority of loam, mulch, and plants from, to talk to a landscape designer. The designer came up with a plan and nich landscaping received it and stared on the project. When getting the design from the designer, they make a scale, so when you create it, it looks just like it is on the piece of paper. Pete took fluorescent pink paint to differentiate from the dig save paint and makers. When doing a project where you are going to be using machinery you always have to call dig save, to know where things such as water, cable and electric lines are to save headaches in the long run. Because of the project we are doing we needed to call in a sub contractor, because we are putting in a flag stone walk way along with some other plants like dog wood trees, lilacs, and boxwoods. We got everything layed out, so tomorrow we can start the excavation for the walkway and the beds for all the new plants and trees we are going to be putting in on this install project.

working friday

Starting off Friday morning I asked Pete what we were doing today, he replied that we were going mow the Rowley and Topsfield accounts. Making our way to Topsfield to start off the day we were going to do the mowing accounts backwards from usual to see if we would make up any ground on work to try and catch up with work. First account we went to was a place we did a spring cleanup and a bark mulching job. Building relationships with your customers is key, because we you do good work at their house and they see the craftsmanship, they usually want to see what you can do mowing also. That is how Nich landscaping has over 35 mowing accounts, plus whatever miscellaneous jobs Nich landscaping also has to do. I learned that if you screw something up you should go back and fix, because it’s the only right thing to do. I quote that Pete always says is “do it once, do it right”. It means a lot to Peter because business is everything that keeps him going and his work is known around people in the north shore, especially around Ipswich townies. Every time I work now I try and play that quote inside my head, because he’s right, why would you want to it twice? It’s awesome that I keep on learning so much about other things than just landscaping and I hope it continues.

Using a de-thatcher

Nich landscaping does various jobs. One job that I just learned how to do is de-thatch lawns. The de-thatcher is a very unique machine that pulls all the debris on the bottom of the grass to the top of the grass, making it ready to be barreled for composting. Using a machine can be very efficient and that is what the name of the game is in in the landscaping business. After de-thatching the lawn we had to use backpack blowers to round up all the leaves, dead grass, and other debris for barreling. It was taking a very long time and so we had a bright idea of using the lawn movers with bagging systems on them so we could be down with the project faster. It worked out great that we used the lawn movers to bag all the material because we got out of the job quicker than we expected. Tomorrow we will be starting the mowing season, so stay tuned!

Score post

today we went down to do a spring cleanup and to bark mulch this customer’s lawn. We headed down towards to belle drive which is off of linebrook road in Ipswich, but we needed to make way to Dunkin Donuts. After Dunkin Donuts we left to go to the job, we arrived and there was a lot to do. Peter gave me a job to do and it seemed the amount of work would never seem to end. I had to pull all the weeds and get all the leaves and other debris from the beds. After barreling all the debris that collected from last fall and winter, I had to lift all the debris into the company dump truck. I started off doing small loads in the barrels, but continued to put more in the barrels after every load. Today I learned that lifting heavy things in front of the boss isn't going to score any points in his book. It was embarrassing, because at one point I put too much in and had to ask for help. He told me that over working myself is only going to injure myself, he told me this from experience. Peter has been doing this for a while and I took what he told me and was thinking about all day. It is something that is very true, Pete’s back is actually been screwed up for a while because when he first started he was lifting way too much. It is something that I will take away from that day

Score Outline

Ryan Reed Ms. Tanner 3/12/2013 S.C.O.R.E Outline & thesis  Overall theme is the importance of trees and the impacted on the community and processes for taking down and reusing trees  Thesis: Tree services have become more than just taking down a tree and more about preserving and controlling them. People underestimate the impact of trees in communities across the world. Strategies have changed drastically throughout the years in order to preserve the trees in communities around the globe. S1  Give overview of Mayer Tree  When  Who  How  Reasons to start business S2  Importance of having trees in parks, yards, in overall in the world  Trees can help on lowering heat/cooling costs, provide protection from erosion and help ozone and CO2 levels in the earth  talk about how cutting down a whole tree is sometimes worse than just pruning the tree properly with a Mass Certified Arborists  Explain that when people say that the tree is “dead” sometimes it really isn’t S3  Explain the process on how to properly to take down tree and how if done wrong can effect eco-system and parks for example.  Conventional dropping the tree is obsolete and use of modern technology is key in the business  What kinds of low impacted machinery on ground and earth  Cranes, Tracked Bobcats, and low emission trucks S4  Explain when the trees are taken down that waste products are becoming more green in which they reuse the parts of the tree and recycle and make into many different products  Scraps of trees are used for paper and other textile mill products  Can be chipped and reused for mulch/ put into energy (wood pellets or chip burning mills)  Stumps or “butts” of trees can be used for artists Citations • Wilmoth , Brenda. Environmental Science: In Context. Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. • Gutierrez, David. "City Streets with Trees Reduce Asthma in Children Living Nearby." NaturalNews. N.p., 03 Oct. 2008. Web. 12 Mar. 2013 • Sterba, Jim. Nature Wars: The Incredible Story of How Wildlife Comebacks Turned Backyards into Battlegrounds. New York: Crown, 2012. Print • Leahy, Christopher W., John Hanson. Mitchell, and Thomas Conuel. The Nature of Massachusetts. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Pub., 1996. Print • Treeworknow. "Benefits Of Having Trees." N.p., n.d. Web. • TreeworkNow. "Tree Topping." N.p., n.d. Web. • TreeworkNow. "Tree Trimming." Tree Trimming. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2013 • I am going to be interviewing other employees at Mayer Tree and using their information to add to my paper One will be the Owner of the company and how he started and the other is i will be talking to a massachusetts certified aborist • International Society of Arboriculture. "Trees Are Good - Tree Care Information." Trees Are Good - Tree Care Information. International Society of Arboriculture, 2005. Web. 15 Mar. 2013.

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