We’re at the Yin time of year, the energy is low, the days are short, nature is quiet on the surface. The time of year when we look backward and forward.
Our business this past season has consisted of a lot of repair work, very little new construction and a fair amount of tree removals, some maintenance thrown in also. MaryAnn is a design/build person, she loves the hectic scheduling of suppliers, weather issues and people. The past year wasn’t a favorite of hers. I, on the other hand like problems, don’t get me wrong a day of smooth sailing is wonderful but figuring out why something won’t start or why a sinkhole appeared, is to me, enjoyable.
Our client base has changed over the years, the big build jobs have gone away, the big estate stuff is shrinking and the clients disposable income is significantly less. When I started 38 years ago in the gardening industry, maybe ten percent of my client base was government employees or contractors, this doesn’t include police, firefighter, municipal type of folks which make the municipality run smoothly. Today, 60-70 percent of our client base are government employees, this makes sense, Maryland is located just north of DC. Roughly 65 percent of our clients are center to left in their political views. When I started the diehard democrat would have been considered a republican today. The biggest change in that time frame I’ve seen, and I’m talking politically, is how people have become intolerant of the other side, they hate each other. I don’t understand the benefits of having a country run by only people you agree with, the other guy never has any good ideas? I want to hear all the ideas, all the solutions, I want to talk to people who have been there and seen it. In school I learned America was a melting pot of all peoples and that made us strong, I still believe that but we’ve allowed ourselves to be weakened by foolish bickering.
The marketing in this country has become so good that people take it as the Gospel truth. Your lawn has weeds, you’ll be less than your neighbor unless you have a mono crop of fescue, nature abhors a mono crop . Whole body deodorant that lasts for 72 hours, whatever happened to bathing? Take this medicine for a good nights rest, come work with us for a day, you’ll sleep well without medicine. We’ve lost touch with reality. This past election was a great example of marketing, the ol’boy was everywhere at once, he sewed up the religious right vote and moved on to the Hispanic vote, after that he went after the Amish. He did something that previous candidates couldn’t do, he got the Amish involved. Successful selling is creating a crisis and then providing a solution, the solution always caterers to the seller. Capitalism run amok.
A great number of our clients are dealing with cancer as I write this, it’s disappointing. I’ve said and written about it many times, limit your chemical exposure. Lawn chemicals, pesticides of all sorts, no you don’t need to treat your landscapes for ants, they’re part of nature’s mechanism, they’ll be there long after you’re gone. Spiders and other insects the same thing, put them outside and figure out why they are in your house, they have to be eating something. Mice are the same way, they show up when food is available. Clean up the kitchen and don’t leave crumbs around. When you treat the property for “pests” you are not understanding that these chemicals will kill you, and don’t tell me they only use a small amount, poor argument. There are remedies for problem insects and or rodents, e-mail MaryAnn, she has some good solutions. Treatment to prevent “pest” problems buys you a bed for treatment in the hospital, some of these chemicals hang around your house and property for 400 days. Golf courses are another cancer problem as are farm fields and conventional farmed food. It goes back to marketing, people buy anything that is marketed to them, good or bad. The same company that made chemicals for use in the holocaust make a popular weed killer today, their products weren’t needed back then and aren’t needed today. It goes back to successful salesmanship, create a crisis, provide a solution. It’s up to you as the consumer to educate yourself. We are so concerned about education we send our kids to the best daycares that provide early education but aren’t concerned that these same daycares treat the ground the children play on, wake up folks. A popular phrase I hear a lot is “ the government wouldn’t let it on the market if it was bad”, let me explain it like this. The circuses have a clown shortage, all the applicants went into politics. The genetic issue is about 15 percent according to what oncologists have told me, I don’t know how accurate this is, but the info comes from a good source. It’s interesting to note that many of these chemicals affect the DNA by turning genetic switches on or off. The question is how do you reverse this? No one knows, not even the chemical manufacturer. Parkinson’s, diabetes, and gut issues among other health problems also go back to chemical exposure. I carry a tremendous amount of of knowledge about this subject because I was born with out a complete enzyme package in my liver, the above mentioned chemicals along with synthetic fragrances and a few other items cause me to have seizures or go into anaphylaxes shock. I know more about this stuff than most doctors, pay attention. With insurance companies running the health care system, we are in trouble.
A few words on landscape products and practices, first, don’t set your yard waste out for the trash man. Compost it, look up hugelkultur, a German derived way of composting that handles all yard waste, the Koreans practice a similar method. Second, colored mulch from big box stores, this stuff is less than garbage. It robs the nutrients from the soil and stunts plant growth. If you are going to use colored mulch, which I don’t recommend, buy it from Frey agriculture, these guys make it properly. Third cut your lawn at 4 inches, I know, I know I sound like a broken record but higher cutting thickens the grass and helps shade the soil, it all about good horticulture practices, good horticulture practices save money and promote better health to the gardener. Fourth, don’t expect your lawn crew to know these things, most do not, educate yourself and then educate them. Everything has been learned about gardening and agriculture for us to harvest a crop, most of it has been forgotten, go back and read Steiner, Charles Walters, William Albrecht, the old timers. Pay attention to Joe Salatan, John Kempf, Acres magazine, these guys are the here and now on gardening and agriculture. Good horticulture practices are becoming rare.
It’s been rumored that a well known gun company is making a new gun, it’s called the “Congressman”, it doesn’t work and you can’t fire it. Going forward in 2025 wouldn’t it be nice if the government served us? Not the other way around. Instead of raising taxes, let’s not spend as much. Let’s make John’s Hopkins hospital accessible to everyone, matter in fact let’s clean up the debris that’s carjacking folks and robbing them and all the other quality of life crimes that affect Baltimore. It’s not that hard, it’s called keeping politics out of the police department, it’s called education of the student, Baltimore is the perfect example of why more government does not work. We have a whole bunch of kids in Baltimore that would be good mechanics, landscapers, urban farmers, plumbers, etc. if the city government stopped worrying about color, gender, wokeness and other unprofitable ideas. A rising tide lifts all boats, stop trying to drain the harbor. People are people.
I’d like to thank everyone that is in the community, our clients, our suppliers, the police and fire folks, the businesses that sell things and provide services. The people that do things behind the scenes that make a difference. These folks, and there are many, do things and take care of issues that improve the community, these folks dig into their wallets and spend their time, almost no one notices them. America doesn’t need to be made great, it is great because of these people.
Finally I’d like to mention one of these people from the above mentioned paragraph. Worthy Washington, Worthy is retiring from the Sheriff’s department in Carroll County after many years of service. A true public servant that benefited everyone in the community with his work. Hopefully his lovely wife Ella has a list of things for him to do to keep him out of trouble. Many thanks, Worthy.
Have a great, safe holiday season and a happy 2025.
Eric & MaryAnn
It should be noted that MaryAnn bears no responsibility for the content of this letter.
Eric’s blog 