Garden Helper

Earlier this week, one of the neighborhood boys left some flyers and a handwritten note on my door.  This is a boy who asked for a lawnmower for his 8^th grade graduation so he could have a proper summer job.  He’s a sophomore in High School now, and school is out for the summer, so he’s looking for some projects to keep him busy.  Since he lives in the neighborhood, he knows I’ve done away with my grass.  But, I do have him help with leaf raking in the fallj, so he dropped off a flyer anyhow. 

His flyer didn’t mention prices or what kinds of projects he wouldn’t be willing to do, so I gave him a call and asked him to meet me after work to talk about a couple of possibilities – one being the dandelion field in the front, and the other being the stepping path on the west side of the house.  I figured these would be good projects for him to do on his own – with just a bit of instruction up front.

We talked about whether the project(s) should be paid for on a per-project basis or whether hourly was more fair.  We negotiated a “per project” fee for the dandelions and agreed to see how that worked out before committing to the stepping path project. 

He came prepared the next morning with his garden gloves – but without a watch (or phone) and without a water jug.  I told him I’d set a timer for him so he could get home in time for lunch and set out a pitcher of water with a glass.  And, then reminded him that it’s hot out so he should bring water and he’s a business man, so he should track his own time.  Today, he showed up with both water and a way to tell the time!  Quick learner!

Here’s the progress so far!  All that’s left is to mulch!  He’ll be back in the morning – unless we’re having another deluge – to finish up!  I won’t post his picture since he’s a kid, but here’s an image of a garden helper with wings, because he’s such a fast worker!