With only nine days remaining in the month of January, it looks like Mother Nature is going to make sure we’re fully enveloped in snow before we’re able to lay down our welcome mats for February. I shoveled outside my office three times today, and before leaving, it looked like it needed it again, but that’ll be my first chore of the morning.
Just this past week I’ve been collecting snow in several pails and bringing them in the back to thaw, just so I could use the “melt” to nourish my plants. I had just about a full five gallon pail before it was time to water all of them, and then start my snow collecting all over again. I hope you all know that tap water is not beneficial for plants because of the chemicals in it, so it’s best to take the extra time and effort to keep them satisfied over winter with melted snow.
I’m actually surprised they’re doing as well as they are considering how many I’m trying to keep alive until Spring arrives. I made a big mistake last year by not getting the Geraniums planted outdoors early enough so they could get re-establish, which delayed their blooming until much later. I’m really going to work hard at getting them placed where they need to be much earlier this season.
One of my appointments was to meet a plumber over at a rental to fix that leaking drain, and luckily it wasn’t as big an issue as I’d suspected. With it now fixed, I think that home is now fully up to speed for its new occupants.
I bristled a little this morning after finding an individual having not even called to say he wouldn’t be stopping by to pick up an application for another rental unit that’s available. When I called him, his cell phone tripped over to his voicemail, which reaffirmed my belief that since the first of this year, all the more rudeness is being exhibited in people. There’ve been enough instances where I’ve attempted to make contact, and still not a text or return phone call. It’s definitely a sign of the times, but what I’m finding all the more concerning, is that it’s also being done by those knowing all better who’re in semi-professional jobs who work with the general public on a daily basis. If I were their employers, I’d be questioning their on-the-job integrities. I think not long ago, I mentioned something about how a person’s character is revealed when looking at what they say and do in their personal lives.
An investor stopped by my office this afternoon asking about available commercial spots. He happens to be one of those who digs all the deeper when considering where he wants to invest, and in what locations. He said some of the comments he’s been getting from the general public, haven’t been the most positive as far as the direction our City is moving, and now leaning all the more towards Clear Lake. As much as he doesn’t want to pay extra for locating there, he believes he’s got a better chance of making a go of it in what I’m starting to refer to as, “The Cedar Falls of Cerro Gordo”. Heaven help us if one of our State’s universities opens a satellite campus over there.
Every available building and commercial spot I spoke about, he’d already looked at and nixed because it either had poor visibility, non-conducive zoning, or a blighted area which immediately turned him off. The only spot he’d not looked at, was the Lady Bug property I have listed over in Clear Lake. He brightened right up when I told him it was already zoned “Highway Commercial”. I gave him all the information on it so he could run his own numbers and see if it would work for his business model. I personally believe it would work, but his land acquisition and subsequent demolition costs would be all the greater. We’ll see what he comes up with.
I read a little news today, and when seeing China is now having another outbreak of a deadly flu virus, I’m going to hope and pray our Country doesn’t get hit with it because it’ll be taking many lives. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve got far more infected than they want to report for fear of creating all the many more alarms with the World Health Organization. It’s very creepy when remembering that nearly all of those past nasty viruses, originated in the Orient. I can freely say, I’ve never had even the slightest desire to visit the Far East.
Oh did I ever get an ear-full from one of my clients today about the deer problem we have in Mason City and North Iowa. She just discovered her beautiful hedge of Arborvitaes are being stripped bare by those varmints. I shared with her my recent sightings where people have wrapped their Arborvitaies in burlap, just so they couldn’t be grazing on them.
I had to bring her up to speed on how rapidly they procreate which made her all the more angry with our State for not placing an open season on them. Little did she know that if a mother deer has a female in the Spring, that female will be matured enough to be bred by the time Fall arrives, and almost always their first one is only one fawn, but thereafter, that doe will normally have two, and in more rare cases, three. Now do the math and see how a herd that has few if any predators in North Iowa, can grow in size year-over-year.
I’ve estimated that this problem started about 15 years ago, and now the nightmare of them is growing all the more scary. The ones I feel the most empathy for, are those in our community who enjoy flower and vegetable gardening, along with those doing everything they can to beautify their landscapes. There’s no question the DNR and our State bodies need to re-write our deer hunting laws so that this exponential deer procreating can be reduced to manageable levels. Because they’re becoming all the more bold inside our City, I don’t even want to consider what the outcry will be if one of our residents ends up getting charged and gored by a territorial old buck. And don’t even make me go there when talking about those “Dominant Males” I’ve had to deal with over these long years. I’m now wondering if Clear Lake is having the same problem our City is with those devils. I’ll have to ask.
Tonight’s one-liner is: If fortune favors you, do not be elated; if she frowns, do not despond.
