Oh, Pat, that is awesome! I can only imagine what a hardship that might have been for you if it took 8 people three hours to do it! In this heat, too!

I would love to know more about community services, i.e., who qualifies, cost, is it all volunteer work?, etc.

Brenda

Oh Brenda...I'm riding on a cloud of hope and appreciation! I couldn't believe that I had forgotten my experience with an affiliate in New Mexico several years ago. The organization that I'm dealing with now is called "Shascade Community Service", I'll post the info. as soon as I can get up to their office to pick up any literature they have. In the meantime, these are people with disabilities, some physical, some mental who earn their way thru organizations as this one. I was so glad that they got here early enough to beat most of the heat, they were all anxious at first, wanting to please, but I think I put them at ease and we got on with it. The supervisor appointed each one to a specific job, making it very clear that if they didn't understand they should ask & they did. They had their tools, but I offered some of mine as they were a bit more efficient. There was one eldery gentleman that took charge of getting all the hardscape cracks cleaned out, then he sprayed the cracks with something. I got down on my hands & knees with the other young men to show them what was weed & what was flower. Of course in doing this I managed to get really tangled up with my tank & hose, but no matter, these young people took charge and got me untangled, good laugh too! I made sure that there was plenty of cold water available and to top it off I had a package of wash clothese that I put in cold water and had them tie the cloth around their necks. They thought this was a great thing & when they finished their chore, everything was collected, picked up, cleaned and brought to me. As far as cost goes, the gentleman who was in charge had come out prior to this work day to find out what I wanted done and to assess the time and cost. He quoted me $50.00 for first visit and then If I wanted monthly service it would probably be 25 to 30 dollars a month. Like I said, I'll get all the info. from their office as soon as I can get up there, I'm sure there is a facility in your location that provides work for the disabled/handicapped. Pat

Pat that's terrific and has to be a load off your mind. What a solution and that's a great price to pay to get your property and garden cleaned up. Sounds like you're pleased. You'll have to keep an eye on them though if they don't know what are the weeds...

DH went to get his lotto ticket last night and ran into a guy mowing around the corner from here. He quoted him $25 a month to mow the front yard once a week, sold. We have a son who lives 3 blocks away but his life is too busy to help out, though I watch his children. It's a small yard but takes my husband several hours to get it all done because of his disabilities. I don't have the upper body strength to get the mower through the thick lawn or slight uphill rise. I tried, I can make one pass around the yard, pathetic.

I'm very pleased for you Pat that you found a way to get your gardens cleaned up. Now you can just enjoy and not worry over what needs to be done:)

Pat, what an incredible resource! I was telling my mom about it yesterday, and she, being of a cynical nature, thought maybe convicts were involved. LOL!!! I told her, "I can't imagine Pat would want those types of people in her yard, Mom!" LOL

And that's a wonderfully reasonable price! A little patience showing them the differences between ornamentals and weeds is nothing compared to the help they provide. And your entanglement in the hoses provided great entertainment for them! LOL

It sounds like you got a great deal, too, Leslie. I sometimes wish my yard was more simply laid out, without all of the awkward, geometric beds, etc. But at least DH doesn't have to mow...and my weed whacking is kept to a minimum during the spring months. :D

Brenda

Good for you, Pat! It sounds like a bargain. It also sounds as if you might have done a little teaching yourself. And, what are you doing crawling around on the ground, Woman! You're as bad as me! :^)