It’s February 2017 and outside it looks better than Christmas with record snowfall. At first you feel frustrated as your landscaping work gets delayed; and your pocket book gets hit. Then, a bit later you feel better because not all is lost. At least not for me.
Activities for snow related days off
a) I get to drop-off and pick-up my kids which is a default task normally performed by my wife. It’s nice to see the other parents and the principal knows my face. The uphill to my kids’ school is steep so I get to face my fears, although this year we have new all-weather tires. There is also time for snow play.
b) Blogging! Duh. Obviously there is more time for blogging which generates income that will somewhat compensate for lost work days. The same goes for e-book preparation. Soon I hope to release my landscape e-books. It will be announced on this blog.
c) Audible.com books. All of a sudden there is extra time for audio books. I have a backlog of new audio books to plough through. The last one I finished was “The Hidden Life of Trees”. Right now I’m listening to “10% Happier”.
d) Education seminars! Yay! I saved the best for last. Major tree companies treat their clients to free education seminars and my boss was kind enough to send me. It’s by invitation only and it goes all day from 8-3:30. Topics covered include soils 101, plant and shrub diseases, rain gardens and boxwoods. Plus question and answer period. Free lunch included.
Benefits
Let’s look at the benefits derived from this one event. It’s absolutely awesome.
- Free education from tree experts
- ISA Certified Arborist CEU credits available. 1 hour=1 credit. I still need another 17 to reach the required 30. My certification is good until June, 2019 but I hate waiting. I usually collect the 30 CEUs as soon as I can.
- Landscape credits for BCLNA Landscape Industry Certified Technicians. 24 CEUs required every two years and renewing on December 31. This event will most likely complete my 24 credit requirement.
- My work day is covered by my employer so there is no financial stress. Thank you to Lawn Care Plus Inc.!! I firmly believe all green companies should invest in their employees. I’m glad mine does.
- Enlarged network. Several speakers have doctorates and who knows who will sit next you at the table. I always collect business cards and mingle. One day I will pitch my landscape e-books to them.
- Blog post topics. I hope to repurpose what I learned into blog posts. There is always lots of interesting stuff popping up in seminars.
- Training my crews! I will share what I learned with the crews I supervise so the company gets some value out of the sponsorship.
We can’t do much about snow storms but we can control our reactions. Make the best of it and think about spring.
