I know I'm not alone in saying this, but I love this time of year.

What's not to love about it?  My crew and I are are cranking out plenty of top-quality projects, and on top of that I get to wear my favorite apparel on a regular basis -- shorts, flip-flops, and bad Hawaiian shirts.

Longer daylight, grilling, baseball, block parties, summer concerts, lazy days (although not as many as I'd like thanks to being the busy season), impromptu get-togethers, the kids are out of school, swimming, days at the beach, fishing, canoeing, summer road-trips and family vacations.  All part of my favorite season.

And to celebrate the season I set out to write this week's blog post about the 4th of July and celebrating summer.  So I started to do a bit of research about July observances.  A quick online search made me realize that maybe I was biting off a bit more than I can chew.

First, from a business perspective I discovered that July is Smart Irrigation Month. Pretty cool, eh?  A whole month dedicated to water conservation and promoting smart irrigation practices.  Although quite frankly I wish that more people would practice this on a year-round basis instead of just for a single month.  But at least there's an effort to educate the public.

Next I discovered that July is also National Doghouse Repair Month.  We have two dogs, but no doghouse.  Hmmmm.  I wonder if that also encompasses building a doghouse.  I don't know, but maybe I can incorporate that into some of my marketing strategies for next year.  Doghouse repairs.  I'm pretty sure I won't have a lot of competition.  If you know of any doghouses that need to be repaired, just let me know and I'll be happy to provide an estimate.

But there's more.  A whole lot more.  July is also home to National Air Conditioning Appreciation Days.  Environmentally, I'm not a huge fan of AC, but tomorrow is supposed to be 98 degrees, so maybe I can buy into a little air conditioning appreciation for tomorrow.

National Share a Sunset with your Lover Month.  Sheila and I might just have to celebrate that one.

Women's Motorcycle Month.  No go for us on that one.

Family Reunion Month.  Check.  Got that in the plans for mid-July.

National Independent Retailers Month.  That's cool.  I'm all about supporting locally-owned businesses.

International (International!  Wow!) Blondie and Deborah Harry Month.  I've always found Heart of Glass to be a cool tune, so I can buy into that.  I wonder what other countries celebrate this one.

Cell Phone Courtesy Month.  Interesting.

National Bikini Day is scheduled for July 5.  Not quite sure how or why this one just got a single day.

I could go on and on and on and on, but the list is enormous, and some of the "celebrations" are a bit depressing, seriously, but you can search for youself and see just what I mean.

But I would be seriously remiss if I didn't mention the food celebrations.  Aparently everybody loves to eat in July.  Here's a quick overview:  Mango and Melon Month, National Blueberry Month, National Ice Cream Month, National Hot Dog Month, Nectarine and Garlic Month (This is combined as one observance -- I like them both individually, but together?  I don't know...), National Grilling Month, National Horseradish Month, and Eggplant and Lettuce Month.  What a celebration!

So fire up that grill, crank up the AC, irrigate the lawn, call your best girl and get her to bike on over to share the sunset while eating hot dogs with horseradish.  It's almost July!

Happy 4th of July week everybody!

With the 2012 season in full swing, I often find myself running in about six different directions at once.  Managing my current project, ironing out details on pending projects, ordering supplies, picking up materials, managing labor, meeting with new prospects, and working on estimates.  All in an honest day’s work.

And sometimes in the heat of all that chaos its easy to forget why I got into this line of work in the first place – Because I really like working outdoors and creating fun, comfortable, interesting outdoor spaces.

And to be honest, I sometimes have to stop and remind myself of that.

Landscaping should be fun.

When I was kid I used to spend countless hours in our local creeks.  Building dams, catching salamanders and frogs, following the small runs through neighborhoods and discovering what creeks connected to larger creeks and where these creeks led.  It was fun, provided an imaginary escape, and was a backdrop to my youth.

I get home from work now in the evenings, and my kids are spending their free time exploring our yard and neighborhood.  Catching insects, playing in the sandbox, and digging in the dirt.

Playing with the earth, in one form or another, is a timeless rite of passage.  And as a landscape contractor I am privileged enough to have a job where I get paid to play in the dirt.  OK, it’s a bit more than just playing, there’s certainly some skill and some know-how that’s involved.  But I’m outside working with nature.  I can’t imagine a better workplace.

I hear people complain sometimes, “oh, these weeds, my back, this manual labor, the dirt, etc.”  To which I think to myself, I thought the whole point of working out in your garden was supposed to be an escape, a fun hobby, or a personal interest.

And to be honest, if you were to happen to catch me on the computer late one night as I finalize an estimate or work on my bookkeeping, you might hear a choice complaint or two come out of my mouth.  And when I catch myself doing that, I stop for a second and remind myself of those glorious 80-degree days, when we’re working in the mottled sunlight as commuters get up and drive to their office and fix themselves at their cubicles.

And the complaining stops pretty quickly.

Landscaping should be fun.

I’m fortunate to have a job that allows me to spend my days outside, working with the earth.  Amen to that.

With Fathers Day scheduled for this weekend, I've decided to take it kind of easy from my blogging responsibilities this week.  That and the fact that I am WAAAAAAY too swamped with projects to mess around with my usual wordy posts.

So in honor of dads everywhere, (and grand-dads too), I thought I'd share a few of my favorite fatherly quotes from my favorite of fatherly cartoon characters, Homer Simpson.  (Not that I advocate his parenting techniques...)

"Kids, this is the holiest night of the year, tomorrow is Father's Day, and that makes tonight, Father's Day Eve"

"Son, if you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet! They're about to announce the lottery numbers."

"Well, it's 1 a.m. Better go home and spend some quality time with the kids."

"Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose: it's how drunk you get."

"Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try."

Happy Fathers Day to all of the fathers out there, especially my own dad Dick Linderman.

I’m typically not one to bash other people’s taste or other contractors’ work.  Live and let live, to each their own, mind your own business. But when it comes to inferior products, or manufacturers that are over charging for an inferior product, sometimes I feel as though I owe it to my clients to point it out.  And vinyl fencing is one of the products out there that really gets under my skin.

Let’s get this out of the way first.  As an installer of custom-built wood fencing, it is fair to say that I might be a bit biased. I’m not going to argue with you. But business practices aside, I just don’t like the stuff.  If I thought vinyl fencing was a good product that clients could benefit from I would install it, thus eliminating the bias.  But I don’t feel that way, oh let me count the ways.

First, the appearance. Maybe it’s just because I have a trained eye and I pick up things that other people don’t, but I’ve heard a fair amount of feedback from a wide range of people who also seem to find it unsightly. There’s something just not right about the way they look.  Whether it’s the consistency of color from picket to picket, the shiny glare across the entire fence surface, or the awkward connections at the posts, it just doesn’t look natural.  That’s because it’s not.  You may call it vinyl, it’s basically just plastic.  Do you really want a plastic fence?  And don’t even get me started on the faux wood grain finishes.  If you want it to look like wood, then why not go with, oh I don’t know, how about wood!

And there’s the cost, something that is of the utmost importance to the majority of clients. On the front-end install costs, most vinyl fencing tends to run about one-and-a-half to two times as expensive as wood fencing of comparable styles.  Now the vinyl salesmen will sell this is as a front end cost trade-off to lower maintenance costs down the road.  To be honest, I’ve never known anyone to spend thousands of dollars on maintaining a wood fence.  So even if the vinyl fencing was truly maintenance-free as they claim, the cost savings still don’t add up to me.

And contrary to what the vinyl reps may tell you, vinyl fencing is not maintenance-free.  They are just as prone to algae and mildew build-up as the wood fences.  And because of the uniformity of color and typically white color, those green stains show up quite well.  And look quite unsightly.  I’d much rather have a naturally weathered wood fence than a green-hued plastic eyesore.

And if your vinyl fence breaks?  Single replacement pickets are not easy to find, as vinyl fencing is typically sold as complete fence panels.  And even if you are lucky enough to find single replacement pieces, the color may be slightly off, the size and/or pre-fabbed connection points may not line up and the cost is much higher than purchasing a single wood board or picket. The maintenance-saving argument just doesn’t fly with me.

Design options. Because most vinyl fencing is sold as pre-fabbed sections and kits, the designs are limited to what the manufacturers offer.  While some manufacturers do offer a full range of styles to choose from, your choice as a homeowner is limited to what the dealer is offering.  With wood, the sky is the limit when it comes to design options.  Not the case with vinyl.  And color options are usually limited to three or four colors at the most. Due to the nature of the material, vinyl isn’t easily paintable without regular upkeep of the paint job.  Another notch against the maintenance-free argument.

And lastly, and perhaps most importantly depending on your point of view, vinyl fencing is just not good for the environment.  Vinyl fencing is made from PVC, or polyvinyl chloride.  The key ingredients are chlorine, carbon, and oil/gas by-products. The harvesting of these materials can often have a huge negative impact on the environment.  They are fossil fuels after all.  PVC is not bio-degradable, not easily recycled, and can be harmful to our waterways and wildlife.  According to the site greenlivingtips.com, “No other plastic presents such a direct human health threat as PVC does throughout its lifecycle, from manufacture, to use to disposal, yet our demand is only increasing.” We don’t need to add to the problem simply because you had an expensive inferior fence installed, do we?

I will say this.  Just like any other products out there, some vinyl fencing is better than others.  If you are insistent upon going with vinyl for whatever reason, be sure to look into what you’re purchasing.  Make sure your supplier has an adequate supply of replacement parts and pieces available if you should ever need them down the road.  Make sure its UV-resistant (believe it or not, some of the products out there aren’t, leading to yellowing and splitting).  Make sure the vinyl is of a strong enough gauge that it will resist sagging or bending.  And make sure it’s workable enough that it can be customized for those end-of-the run smaller sections or inevitable trouble spots around roots and trees.

But honestly, why?  There are so many advantages to wood, that in my humble opinion it just doesn’t make any sense to even consider vinyl.