Now that I've gotten through my big projects, I can take some time to breathe, and took an honest-to-God break in Maine to hang out with a friend and her husband in their log home. She loves to cook, so much time was spent eating and discussing operational logistics with the husband. Oh, and watching Jaws, because Shark Week.
God, I love that movie. Robert Shaw gives me what Owen Meany would call THE SHIVERS.
About a month ago, once the invoices had been going out and the checks coming in for awhile, I ran a P&L out of curiosity.
What the..??!!??
I forwarded it to my CPA. "Should we re-evaluate my estimated quarterly tax payment?"
"Hey, that's great!" he responded. "Send me another one at the end of August and we'll figure it out."
I'd netted six times what I'd netted the same time last year. On one hand, I could see making a LOT of money; on the other, without good help, I'd kill myself.
The blessings and the curse of COVID.
I'd recently worked a more than 8-hour day in 90+ degree heat, trying to make up for a ton of rainy days, anxious that it was already July and I had clients whose yards were neglected. I didn't think I was all that affected, but mid-weed I suddenly felt lightheaded and my vision got a little patchy. I sat down on some stepping stones. I was in an enclosed side-yard entrance, invisible to the outside world.
"Is this how they'll find me?" I mused. Not wanting to lose time, I tried feebly to use my scuttle hoe from my sitting position.
I'd already taken the SEO off my web site and stopped marketing myself. There were just too many frantic homeowners begging me to save them from being on intimate terms with their own property. I worried that my regular maintenance clients wouldn't be enough, but with the wet weather it's all I can do to keep up, and there are projects that can be done for them.
I like most of my maintenance clients - I show up, do some work, they pay me.
Recently a retired woman I'd done some minor work for got in touch to help with the "mess" her garden had become. I met her and we looked things over. She told me what she wanted done.
"It all seems fine," I said. "Do you have any questions for me?"
"Yes. Cost."
I told her it would be straight time and materials, and gave her my rate.
She hesitated. "Maybe to start I'll just have you come for three hours."
I looked past her at the platform they'd had built for their new hot tub, and beyond that to the private boat dock.
"That's fine; we can start with three hours and take it from there."
Here's what will happen: I'll show up, do my three hours, she'll see how nice things are starting to look, and will want me to stay. But I won't be able to, because I'll have other things scheduled.
Another periodic client is a retired litigation attorney who is hilarious. She sends me pictures of containers she's done with comments like, "When you come by to weed, see what you can do with these. With all the rain, the petunias look like shit."
Today was satisfying. I worked over 8 hours and got on track. I'd so far attempted The Yard of Lightheadedness twice and had had to curtail the visits due to thunderstorms, but today I got it all looking good. There is something very satisfying about having the time to do something right.
I don't wear headphones while I work; I find them too distracting. Instead, I just ride the stream of consciousness. Today's Greatest Hits were:
How do people stay married without hating each other?
Should I try a cross-country trip in the van?
Why can't Margaret Atwood end a story well?
We the people, in order to form a more perfect union..
Maybe Iiiiii didn't love you, quite as often as I should have...
What's this...oh. Poison ivy. Did I see jewel weed back there?
Am I lazy or just jaded?
Tomorrow I have another roster of clients with rain-soaked weeds to pull. For now, I need to address the stabbing pains in my legs, and find the bug spray.
