Josh and Todd's weekend

3 Days in the Life of Josh Durdle & Todd Neerhof

MTNC-1017-15F

            On Friday, October 9, 2015 Todd and Josh began their weekend duty at the A.M. Cuddy Gardens in Strathroy. To start their weekend of work they received instructions from the technician (Lucas Michelsen) about what to do and how to lock and unlock the house. After the list of weekend tasks was given out, the two young men got right to work! Josh was a summer student at the school and Todd had not yet driven the RTV so he was lucky to be partnered up with someone who had experience, someone who could show him how to execute a circle check and the proper procedures for operating the vehicle. They moved some perennials that were not hardy, from the outdoors into the safety of the pool room. When this was complete they worked together at weeding and cutting back the prairie garden. Using tools such as a backpack blower, weed whacker, and hedge trimmer they were able to transform the garden and accentuate the beauty that was shrouded beneath the vail of cold weather dieback and weeds. Both Todd and Josh were happy with the experiences they had gained on the first day of their weekend duty.

 

            When Josh and Todd rose on Saturday, October 10, 2015 the sun had not, yet. Bright and early they were, to start their next educational and exciting day at the A.M. Cuddy Gardens in Strathroy. Along with the sunrise rose their spirits as it was a bitter cold day. Right away Josh and Todd started to put the Cannas and Elephant Ears into crates so they could be sent back to the Fanshawe College main campus. This was an extremely important task because they had to be in the greenhouse on the Fanshawe main campus before the first frost. They skillfully, and with full PPE, used the line trimmer to tidy up borders of the plant beds and clean up the edges of grassed areas. In the afternoon Josh and Todd found more Cannas that needed to be put into crates so they too, could be sent to the main campus so they can survive the winter in the greenhouse. They also cleaned did some cutbacks, weeding, and lifting in the dry garden. They very carefully weeded the pathway in the dry garden and leveled it out with rakes. They were sure to let no soil into the pea stone path because they did not want weed to come back in the future. They spot watered the plants in the greenhouse to make sure everything was thriving and healthy. After the second day of work they left with similar feelings that they had after the first day of work. They felt like they learned valuable lessons regarding landscaping and landscape maintenance and felt much more prepared to enter the work force as soon as they receive their diplomas.

 

Sunday, October 11, 2015 was the final day of Todd and Josh’s weekend duty. The air was tainted with a bitter sweet feeling. Todd and Josh were both happy and unhappy that their time at the A.M. Cuddy Gardens in Strathroy, was coming to an end. They had both enjoyed their time doing the weekend duty that was required of them but, at the same time, they were both looking forward to be able to finally go home and be with their families for thanksgiving weekend. I digress! There is still a full day of challenges and work ahead! Josh and Todd started their day with driving around using the RTV and cutting back any branches or leaves that were hanging over walkways or onto paths. They then moved on to the Rose Garden to clean up the beds by taking out any weeds and raking out the soil, and trimming around the grass edges. They were instructed to leave the roses the way they are because it will be done as a class project in the near future. Once again they ended their day with a trip to the hoop houses to check the plants to see if any of them needed watering. This weekend was an extremely educational weekend for Josh and Todd. They both got chances to learn and practice new abilities and to strengthen old ones.