Lawn-Mowing Contractors

True Story:-

The fellow who has the contract for mowing public spaces in Bonavista has been dropping trailer-loads of grass clippings off for two years now; this is his third year.

Early in the week he told me “I passed on your name to a couple of guys who mow lawns”; I thanked him for that. Grass clippings arrive as a bulky input but quickly reduce to about one-fiftieth (a guess; I haven’t measured) of their original size. Composting devours a lot of grass clippings and I need all the clippings I can get.

Thursday last week the couple of guys rolled up. Graduated from High School, decided to earn money cutting lawns. The pickup truck has decals on the cab windows “Lawn Mowing and Snow Removal” or similar, with a phone number. They dropped off a dozen bags of clippings, we chatted. I asked “How do you earn money when it is raining?”. We have had six consecutive weeks of fog, mist, drizzle and rain since May 1st. It seemed that they don’t earn money.

“Next time it rains, drop by; I have an indoor job for you” I said. Saturday morning a phone call, “Sure come on by”. I sat them at the dining-room table with paper and pencil and left them to make an estimate, not a quotation, of how much they would charge to knock up compost bin panels from the 150+ 36” planks in my shed. I suggested that they think about it, and that the next time it rains they come around a try their hands at nailing bits of wood together.

Saturday 10 a.m. a knock at my door. “Where do we start”. Of course! Rain was falling. But I had not anticipated such a fast, and so eager a response. In my shed they set to work and by around 3 p.m. they had assembled twenty panels, enough for seven bins (in a line of bins you need only three panels to append each bin) and six “panel kits” of boards in store. I paid them what they asked – less than I thought reasonable – and off they went.

My fears of running out of time to assemble panels as two contractors dropped of loads of clippings were gone. I was happy.

Yesterday Dennis dropped off clippings from his yard, I showed him the array of bins and he was impressed. I have hired the two lads to mow his lawn while he is away for three months. It will encourage their business and I will get the grass clippings.

Bruce dropped by and he too was impressed with my story of the bins that will occupy 90 feet of my houselot’s perimeter. Bruce is maintenance man for seven Bed And Breakfast sites here; the owner needs lawns mowed. Last night the lads arrived with more clippings and I passed on the news that I had a lead on eight (seven B&B plus Dennis) more domestic lots. I hope that they land the B&B work.

We chatted briefly about them taking on a third worker. That is their business, not mine. But I know that they can fit an extra lawn-mower in the trailer, and they can fit three men in the cab.

I had learned that in between lawn-mowing season (May-August) and snow-ploughing season (December-March) they repair small engines such as are used in snowmobiles and lawn mowers, so we loaded the old mower I inherited when I bought the place four years ago with a limit of $50 to improving its performance.

If it will cost more than $50 to repair my mower, I shall buy one of their mowers (with a bag AND levers to change the height of the wheels) second-hand, and they can buy themselves a new mower suitable for their commercial business.

I remain optimistic about Business Development in Bonavista and in Newfoundland.

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