MAY 2017 NEWSLETTER

In our efforts to find free places to dump clean gravel and soil from our various jobs, we often resort to spreading it on the road right here at our corporation yard on 8^TH St E. Each year, as you might have already guessed, the road gains a couple of inches in elevation. We’ve been looking at the problem and searching for long term solutions. Right now we’re thinking of continuing to build up the property and as the sea levels rise over the next couple of centuries,  give the future owners of Waldron Landscape the opportunity to create a resort on what might be called “Schellville Keys”. Since Glen Ellen will have a deep water port by then, our resort will cater to the thousands of tourists tendered from the cruise ships that will dock there. We’ll expect to sell lots of wine from the local wineries who were smart enough to plant their vines high up on the mountain sides.  There should be some great scuba diving on the artificial reefs created by all the warehouses that now surround our yard. Of course we’re only in the planning stages: No EIR reports yet. None of the guys seem eager to start working on their scuba certification though.

Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin” is very relevant in today’s world. Interesting times to say the least, and we’re not talking about globally, nationally or statewide but right here in Sonoma and more precisely, the tight  local labor market. Here in Sonoma it seems like every store has a sign in the window that says “We’re Hiring.” All the Tradesmen are looking for workers too. In the last couple of years there has been fewer and fewer people coming out to our corporation yard asking for work. The group of men on the corner of Boyes Blvd and Sonoma Hwy doing the same also has vanished. There is a shortage of employees for us and other local trades. Yes, you can guess where this is going, our prices must go up. We here at Waldron Landscape pride ourselves in treating our employees with respect and paying them a fair wage along with vacation days, sick leave, paid holidays, 401-K, Kaiser Health and a yearend bonus. We have given  everyone a substantial raise to keep them happy. The raise might also help them with their bills and from jumping ship and joining another firm. As of June 1^st we will be raising our prices to $46 per hour. We hope you understand, but without you, we can’t make the lives of all of our employees better.

Our prayers for rain were finally answered, and now we’re praying again. This time for the ability to keep up with the growth of weeds, high grasses, lawns and ornamental shrubs which are calling for either shaping, shearing or removal. It’s irrigation time too. The temperature is pushing 90 and that means it’s time to get the timers, valves and sprinklers back in action. Our concentration will still be on efficiency and water conservation. We can help out with getting this year’s annual color and vegetable seedlings planted as well. Call as soon as possible.

MARCH 2017 NEWSLETTER

Did you think you’d ever look back with nostalgia at the drought? It’s a relief for those of us whose business relies so heavily on water to see the heavy rains finally fill the lakes, but there are times even we are ready to beg for a little sunshine.  Vagabunda, our resident corporation yard cat, thick winter coat notwithstanding, is tired of dodging raindrops. Her favorite sunny spot on the wooden pallet by the office just hasn’t been seeing enough use.

Now that better weather is upon us, the phones are already ablaze. Lots of work has been delayed, weeds are growing with a bionic mania, and five of our regular gardeners are spending their last precious days of winter break in Mexico. They’ll be back soon to join the gardeners’ version of “March Madness” played with mowers and rakes instead of basketballs. We’re ready to charge into the next busy eight month season. Call as early as you can for any late winter pruning or early irrigation checkups. Also plan ahead this year if you are considering any landscape projects around your house.

By the end of March you’ll notice new signs on all of our trucks. The governing powers put the pinch on us for not having legal signage. Our signs now show “WALDRON LANDSCAPE  996-5868”. Our upgraded and legalized signs will show “WALDRON LANDSCAPING INC. 996-5868 LIC #346260” I should back-charge the previous owner (big brother Dave) for selling me a company with illegal signs, but I’ll probably let it pass, since the trucks that came with the company are so old and rickety that the signs might keep their doors from falling off.  

DECEMBER 2016 NEWSLETTER

We here at Waldron Landscape once again wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a great 2017. We have a lot to look forward to and expect the best for everyone here in our beautiful Valley of the Moon.  

The crew pushed through 2016 with only a few minor bumps and bruises. Now, after the company Christmas party and bonus checks, they’re gearing up for another successful year. A few are heading south for a couple of weeks to be with their families in sunny Mexico. It’s good we slow down in December and January to allow well deserved paid vacations and don’t need to worry about being short handed. Our men are the backbone of the company, all hardworking, and just as important, happy to be with the company. Their high spirits, when the work day begins, is infectious. It is heard almost every day someone saying “ Otro dia en el paraiso”. And if you think about it, Sonoma is almost paradise! Even the dour managers catch the fever and end up smiling and joking. Now’s there’s a Christmas miracle for you.

One business note: The clients living in the city of Sonoma will not be hearing the sound of gas blowers after mid December. The ban won by 19 votes. Electric and battery powered blowers are still allowed, but they come with safety and cost issues and still make noise and blow dust and pollen. We’ve been doing research on both alternatives, but for now we are going to be following the spirit of the law, using only brooms and rakes. Our goal is to serve you as cost effectively as possible. As we see where this new wrinkle takes us, we’ll have that goal in mind.

Once again, from all of us here at Waldron Landscape, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year. If you get down to Mexico for a little winter vacation and see one of our employees in a Waldron Landscape shirt, say hi. You’d be surprised how many of those shirts end up in Ciudad Guzman or La Union de Guadalupe!

OCTOBER 2016 NEWSLETTER

 The leaves are coming down and being  whisked away in our trucks to the recycler. The timers are being set for fewer watering days. Perennials are being trimmed and all this activity, and more, is done by our faithful crews, known to me at least as ‘los jardineros guapos’, the best gardeners in town. Without their hard work and good attitude, I’d be cutting out paper dolls while mumbling to myself in some dark corner. As it is, they not only make my job here at Waldron Landscape a pleasure, but they’re fun to be around before and after work as well.

Among themselves, the guys do a lot of joking and kidding. One form of kidding is in their use of nicknames for each other. For instance, if you like to sing while you work, as does Cesario Contreras, you’ll be called ‘el canario’, the canary. If you have green eyes like Miguel Gutierrez, your nickname will be ‘el tigre’ , the tiger. Don’t brag too much about how many cows you have back in Mexico or ‘mil vacas’ (a thousand cows) will end up as your moniker. Luis Rangel spent his youth selling his mother’s donuts door to door and for his efforts is now known as ‘Maza’ (dough). Jesus Gutierrez, being the youngest and shortest of his brothers is called ‘molcate’ (little ear of corn).

One of my goals as owner of Waldron Landscape is to keep the camaraderie alive and well. It’s important to provide vacations, holidays, medical and 401-K plans but our enjoyment here is just as critical. I think this is even true for you, our clients. I’ve been told many times by you, how much you enjoy the attitude of our men.

We’ll be using our leaf blowers this fall to help speed up the cleanup. A placard in our office reads ‘no levante polvo’, a nice way to say keep your machines at the absolute lowest volume to do the job. If you want us to continue using the blower, on November 8^th , vote no on measure V. If you want to ban the blower, vote yes.

The new rain year began on October 1^st with the first measurable rainfall. We’ll always be trying to conserve water whether it rains or not, so don’t hesitate to call us if you need help setting your timer or fixing any leaks

JULY 2016 NEWSLETTER

YIKES!

It’s time to put our dump fee policy to bed. In our November 2015 newsletter we explained the somewhat complicated details of our dump fees. At that time the green waste dump fee for leaves, branches, and lawn clippings had risen from $33.00 to $77.00 a ton. We asked that you make plans to minimize our part in removing yard waste during our regular maintenance by giving you the city of Sonoma’s garbage service phone number (996-7555) and the county’s garbage service (800-243-0291). These services are very cheap. The city of Sonoma’s garbage service will give you 1 yard waste can for an additional $1.00 per month. The county’s garbage service will give you 2 yard waste cans for no additional charge. We must hand unload your yard waste each day onto  larger diesel  trucks at our corporation yard  and then drive them to the dumps daily. This is very labor intensive. In order to just cover our costs we must charge $3.50 a can starting August  1st. Obviously, we’d prefer you to use the cheaper and much more efficient regular garbage collectors. Mulching on site is also a potential option. We will continue to remove yard waste if necessary and will work with you to find more economical options.

When we began our business as Waldron Brothers’ Landscaping in 1974, our fleet,  (one truck) had a catch all sign painted on the sideboards “hauling, pruning, treework, cleanups” .  After falling a few trees onto fences we misjudged, the treework was painted over and we began to wisely refer that to Anderson Tree Service. Cleanups continued to be a big part of the business though and we made many  trips to the dumps. We even did some light demolition. If you sport a little grey hair and lived in the valley back then, you may recall that the dump site on Stage Gulch Rd was a valley. We backed up to a vertical ledge and threw everything down where a tractor pushed it out of the way. No fuss and it was free! Eventually the valley filled up and the county decided to create a mountain. Pushing the garbage got harder and Prop 13 didn’t help either. That’s when prices started to creep up and recycling became more common. So here we are. We’ve gone from burning our garbage in the backyard incinerators and our leaves in the gutter, to filling up valleys, to hauling everything far away. I think our Dad had it right.  The first thing he did when he bought the house at 365 W. Spain St in 1962 (he paid $17,000!) was to remove the concrete incinerator and built a simple mulch bin in the back corner of the property which turned his yard waste into the valuable soil he badly needed to amend his rock hard adobe soil and grow tomatoes and zucchini.  Now that was a win-win situation before its time!