Grandchild at work.

            Getting the grandson to start working isn’t difficult but keeping him in the ditch working is more difficult.

               The day started out like many other days with some coffee and a review of my hectic daily schedule. On the list for this Sunday was;

1.     A trip to the mall to pick up my new glasses

2.     Lunch

3.     Nap

4.     Supper

5.      

Little did I know that my well planned and properly organized day would involve yard work, along with an attempt at keeping the grandson working? 

Dave had decided he would mow the ditch behind the house so he could run his remote controlled car. While he was mowing I decided that it would be a good idea to plant a new tree in the back yard. I picked the first spot which turned out to be too difficult to dig in due to some rocks. The second spot I hit roots almost immediately. I picked a third location and decided that I should have a younger person to dig the hole for the tree.

Alex and I began the negotiation over the wages and breaks. Since Alex is 1/3 the size of a teenager I felt that he should only receive 1/3 of minimum wage. I soon found that he was a tough negotiator. After several offers and counter offers we settled on an hourly wage with an agreement of non-disclosure.

I allowed him to use my tools to do this work. Alex seems to me to be an inspector more than a labor.   As you can see he is reviewing the work before continuing to dig.

Tejas (our guard dog) was carefully observing the work being performed from a secluded spot that is usually cool on his belly due to daily watering of the shrubs. There is a plastic water bottle that he had been chewing (a favorite toy, the sound that plastic bottles make under the vicious teeth).

You might know that Alex really gets in to his work…

The constant breaks started to get to me as I was paying for an hours work but not getting an hours work.

 Alex called it inspection and measuring but I believe it was taking a break. 

 Finally the hole was deep enough to plant a tree. Donna and I ventured fourth to find a tree but the nursery that is always open on Sunday now has different hours. Feeling dejected I returned home without a tree.

               I felt so bad that I had to take a Sunday afternoon nap.

               Later in the afternoon we decided to try a couple other nurseries for a tree. As we left the Ford Homestead I noticed the ominous looking clouds in the sky. Now we were in a battle to see if we could find a tree that would fit in the hole and get it planted prior to the looming rain.

At the second nursery we found a live oak and headed for home. Alex wasn’t much help in planting the tree because he was taking a nap (like grandpa like grandson). The nap was a smart move on Ales’ part as we did need to hurry to get the tree into the ground.  We had placed all the dirt from the hole in a wagon and if the rain were to fill the wagon before we emptied it we would have a muddy mess.

Mission accomplished, tree planted. Light rain showers began shortly after planting.

               Now everyone that has been telling me to plant replacement trees in the back yard can see, I have started.

From the Live Oak mind of          Don Ford

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