This has to be one of the strangest Winters that we have experienced. We are seeing Facebook memories of snow on the ground, our bodies are twitching with muscle memory of shoveling and cold -- and yet, we are plugging away at Fall clean ups and counting rain days.

Mind you, we are not complaining, it is just a bit confusing to our systems. 

We have our snow client lists complete (and full), our trucks are oil sprayed, the plows repaired, and the shop bay has a mountain of salt at the ready! However, it is nice to be able to sleep through the night and not wake every couple hours to check the forecast and perhaps jump into our snow pants to madly clear a sudden squall.

But time is flying! We cannot believe that the count down to Christmas and Hannukah is on, deadlines for year end are approaching, and... we certainly feel unprepared. With all our concern over the weather and being ready to clear roads, parking lots, driveways and sidewalks, it feels as though we have forgotten about the life outside of work. As we have previously mentioned, Jody himself is very focused on his customers and meeting their needs - he is just lucky to have his wonderful wife Celia to help provide a bit of balance and reminder of his other joys (including their two children). Thanks to Celia, Jody is not as behind on being prepared for the holiday season as he perhaps would be if left to his own devices. Phew. 

Not sure what we can say about the rest of our staff... 

Katie certainly feels unprepared. There is a test for her pesticide license on the horizon and she is still madly trying to get through the second manual - the sand is running out of the hourglass! All the holidays can wait until after this is off the docket.

Donna seems fairly ready, plans have been made with her family members. The schedules for the  kids are known and accounted for. She's got this.

Chris is looking forward to the time with his adorable daughter, and already has plans for spoiling her rotten - he is prepped.

Jeremy is super chill about the whole affair. He knows the routine, knows where he has to be when, has already started prepping for the family shindigs. Surprisingly (sorry Jerm) he seems to be on target.

We know the rest of the team are looking forward to a break from the madness. Time to recoup, recharge, and get ready for the next season. We are grateful to our customers who rely on us to look after their properties - and we know they understand how much energy goes into our services.

So for now... we stand at the ready and wait. See what Winter throws at us next.

Although the Fall Equinox does not occur until September 22 this year, we can already feel the change in season. The nights are cool (we were able to see our breath on the weekend!), the bees are drunkenly buzzing around, and for those of us with long-coated pets – the fur is flying!

Although our general growing season is coming to an end, there are still things you can be doing in the garden and on your property.

Those with gourds are already beginning to reap the fruits of their labour – roadside stands have pie pumpkins, decorative gourds, and squashes available. Be sure to shop local and enjoy the Fall delicacies.

For those with a more flowery thumb, Fall Mums are available in your local garden centres. These large bloomed perennials are a great investment for Fall décor, surviving for years if well Wintered and cared for. Be sure to dead head them to extend their blooming period.

Your lawn would appreciate a little prepping for next year too. We are currently applying grub suppression nematodes to help break the cycle of Japanese Beetles. If you want to learn more about grubs and how to tell if they are a concern for your lawn, check out this website White Grub life cycle and how to control them – wonderful, thorough information. Our nematode product is a living bacterium, and as such requires water to stay alive. We try to ensure that our customers are aware of their applications and keep their properties moist for the following 7-10 days give these little creatures the best chance. Remembering to water the lawn can be tricky, but we know the investment pans out.

You can also take advantage of the cooler temperatures to clean up garden beds, raking out dead plants/stalks and putting them into your composter to start great soil for next year. Rucking up the soil also allows more air and moisture to get in, encouraging the mineral and nutrient content for root systems.

Soon we will begin planning our overseeding program, utilizing the more dormant period to start seed and reduce area availability for weeds in the coming year. Although the growth of grass is slower in the Fall, we can utilize the soil availability due to the thinning grass for the seeds to get a good start.

‘The still-warm earth and natural rainfall that tends to arrive in September will help to nourish and stimulate the newly sown seed, as well as reduce the time you’ll have to spend watering or trying to beat any hosepipe bans,’ says Guy Jenkins consumer manager for Johnson’s Lawn Seed. ‘By waiting until later in the year you will avoid the summer droughts which spell death for tender young seedlings that haven’t managed to reach deeper groundwater.’

Contact us now if you want to incorporate overseeding into your lawn’s Fall plans!

Normally this time of year we are in a panic to gear up for spring.  We might have spent our winter plowing snow or enjoying some seasonal down time with fewer hours in the office. But when spring hits, we find ourselves overwhelmed with phone calls, taking orders and running around quoting properties, barely keeping up with spring.   This year we're completely prepared and very excited about what is happening at JLC.   In between some ice storms and snowy weather we've been busy prepping for spring. Long hours in the office and shop where we have been servicing all our machines and vehicles, and working on advertising and promoting our company.   Our electronic quoting system and dispatching program is now familiar and we have become faster and more technologically advanced with the software.  So getting out those early bird specials are only click of a button away!

But most of all we are excited about our NEW LOGO and NEW WEBSITE.  Thanks to REM web solutions we've had a great team behind us helping to brand our company into some new, fresh, clean, and smart.  As many of you know, we expanded our Norfolk County division a few  years ago into one that includes the Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo.  This new look is giving us a cutting edge and helping us to attract and fit into this new culture.  But at the same time, it shows our long appreciated clientele of Norfolk that we are always growing and improving our company to better serve the community.  

The website allows you to contact us directly from your phone or computer. You can request a quote, and accept a proposal electronically.  You can see some of our recent works and let us know how we are doing.  Check it out- stay a while on the site! We are proud of it and excited about the new look of JLC.