Got a new employee, as the last p/t-er went amicably on to other ambitions.
He's a friend of Amy's from back in the day who has recently become un-engaged, and moved out of Oklahoma to Oregon. Had trouble finding any work in Eugene or Portland (Where the dream of the 90's is alive-Portland', 'where young people go to retire-Portland'). We ran into him in Eugene on our way south to California recently. He is our house guest for a few weeks, with his year old dog. Its gonna be a little tight in our small house (3 br, 1200 sq ft). A little rearranging-the home office the Amy was working out of, while the nanny cares for Dahlia is also our guest room, so now our bedroom is also our home office). Griswald, an australian mix looking dog and Rupert have already become friends, though Rupert is hesitant to turn his back on him in the house for fear that G will take a toy that Rupert hasn't shown interest in for a year or more. Rupert is also suspicious of the 2 cats stealing his bones. Fair enough, the older cat is still wary of Rupert after 5 years, so I don't think he'll be hanging with G, either.
Ross will be our gardener one day a week, and work with Erik during the week, and the two of us on weekends. That means I'm back off helping on chipping duties when I get out of the tree.
Its good when you can help a person get back on their feet, sorta like Erik, after he moved back to Ohio after his divorce. Convinced him to come back out, as he was even less happy there, gave him a place to stay for a bit, loaned him $1000 to get his apartment and some dental insurance to get a cracked tooth pulled. He's a loyal and appreciative dude that definitely goes above and beyond with his job.
Looked at 11 pull trees yesterday a mile from home, put on ground only. I'm going to go with my friend, the log hauler, today. First time I'll negotiate a price for money and Flower Bulbs for Amy.