![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/pickup-and-trailer-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"pickup-and-trailer-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nToday you get bids instead of birds.<\/p>\n
For at least the last week I’ve been consumed by getting ready for a couple of large yard projects, so that, combined with bad shooting weather, has kept me from photographing birds. But I thought some readers might be interested in a lesson I learned about the importance of getting bids on projects like these.<\/p>\n
Both of the photos I’ve included below are older images but they represent almost exactly what my yard looks like today.<\/p>\n
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I have five Catalpa trees in my yard. Here we see one of them behind my camping trailer. This one, and another one just like it, are badly in need of serious trimming because they’re about to negatively impact my roof and they’re producing so much shade they’re killing my lawn. Another Catalpa tree is badly stunted from too much shade, so it needs to be completely removed.<\/p>\n
The first bid I got for the tree work was for $1300, which I thought was outrageous. So I got a second bid from Diamond Tree Experts and it came in at less than $600 for exactly the same work. Diamond is the outfit that removed my huge elm tree five years ago<\/a><\/span><\/span> and they did a great job so I’m very glad I contacted them. I almost didn’t.<\/p>\n Diamond will be here next week for the tree trimming and tree removal. I’m finally ready for them. To hell with the first bidder.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Later this morning I’m having 7 yards of compost dumped on my driveway and then, using a skid loader and\/or wheelbarrows, it will be moved to my back yard vegetable and flower garden. My garden is 1060 sq. ft. so that should give me just over 2″ of compost on top, which I’ll then work in with my large tiller.<\/p>\n My bad back prevents me from moving the compost from driveway to garden (I’ve hired it out) but I’ll be able to till it in. I’ve already tilled it twice in the last ten days so the third time should be a cinch. I know, famous last words…<\/p>\n I got bids on this project too but in this case I didn’t choose the compost supplier based on price disparity because there wasn’t much difference. I ended up making my choice based on their flexibility and willingness to move the compost from my driveway to my garden, which I can’t do. So I ended up choosing Rock n’ Yard<\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n Both projects are weather dependent and it’s raining lightly as I type this. This could get interesting…<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n PS – Good news. The compost didn’t have to be dumped on my driveway. It’s in the back of a large, low trailer that they parked on the street. It’s being shoveled directly from trailer to wheelbarrow and then taken to be dumped in my garden.\u00a0 And it’s the best-looking compost I’ve ever seen.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today you get bids instead of birds. (2 photos)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/garden-8928b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"garden-8928b-ron-dudley\\"")
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