Well, it’s great to be back from annual leave, although it was very difficult to get away and allow myself some time off this winter, especially due to the large volume of garden related inquiries prior to my departure, but I feel blessed that I could manage some well-earned time off indeed. Unfortunately though, I soon contracted the dreaded flu upon my return from my break and the workload that needed my undue immediate attention, had taken a further setback due to the severity and sudden onset of my flu symptoms. But alas, this too has now passed, and my spirit is back and growing stronger by the day and we are finally back on track once again servicing our important customer base. Yahoo! This whole experience really got me thinking about the self-employed contractors out there like myself who may not be in a position to take a simple holiday due to their ongoing commitments or expenses from running their business venture, and also, I think that a lot of people don’t realise that if self-employed people do manage to take holidays, they don’t get holiday pay or loading or sick pay, and as a result, one has to be diligent and sock all their profits away and plan well in advance to enable such a luxury. It’s hard enough balancing your BAS-statement, employee taxation and super obligations and preparing your own business taxation affairs while simultaneously balancing your own household budget and expenses, never mind quoting and converting leads to actual bookings to enable your business to function accordingly, so take care and schedule yourself some well-earned time off -if this sounds like you?
It seems we certainly had some rain when I was away, and the lawns look pretty good as a result and after finally getting the time to inspect and cut my own front lawn this week my neighbour soon alerted me that he found evidence of lawn grub egg sacks on the eaves of his property, so, in almost disbelief, I began inspecting ours also, and sure enough, I was amazed at finding a dozen or so egg sacks too. It seems that the unusual winter rainfall we received this year had prolonged the presence of this pest before the cold spell finally kicked in, which is unusual for this time of year. Although long periods of cold weather tend to discourage the moth, you can try applying some molasses to your lawn via a hose on apparatus, which will annoy the grubs (as does soapy water) and they should begin to surface and perhaps the local birds may soon have a feast indeed (grubs with sugar on top). Due to the thickness of molasses its best to dissolve in warm water to make it more soluble and spreadable before applying, but a little goes a long way though, as it tends to froth under pressure, and if this is the case, perhaps the lawn may need another hosing to dissolve any residue to be sure. Well, that’s enough sweet talking this issue. Take care and stay warm!
