Environmental Insights

What do you get when you take a massive building, surround it with pavement, then squeeze it onto just enough dirt to fit? Answer: steep slopes.

We had a new alarm system put in our little cabin the other day. It was cool. The guy came and installed it, and compared with the old style alarm systems it was super easy: he just screwed in a few wireless sensors, plugged it in and we’re set to go. It’s great—now we can control our alarm system right on our iPhones. It is uber simple compared to the old way.

They say variety is the spice of life. If that is true, then for someone who has held the same job for 20 years, it would be safe to say that Bob Johnson is a well-seasoned guy.

As we move into fall, we’re entering a new season in the landscape. Things start to slow down after the crazy summer season, and people are showing their civil sides again after the heat of the dog days has lifted. It’s a really good time to sit down and plan what’s next, not only for the rest of the year but for the season to follow. And as with most planning endeavors, it’s often helpful to look at trends.

Dog days are upon us. From the time I was old enough to understand conversation I understood at the core of my being what the term “dog days” meant: it was those days in late summer when the temp hit 95˚ or better, the humidity went over 95% and the gnats came out in droves. The dogs would just lie  under the porch in the shade and pant, not even moving their tails until long after dark.

While outside temperatures in Georgia may still be sweltering at the end of summer 2018, before long most business owners’ thoughts will turn to planning and budgeting for 2019. As a commercial property owner or manager, you’re concerned with making every budget dollar count.

It's inevitable. Every summer, the central Georgia heat and humidity promote out-of-control grass (and weed) growth. It really seems like an impossible task to keep your property looking well-maintained during the summer months. Even if you do manage to keep up with the growth, you still have to deal with the mountains of clippings that pile up and drift across your sidewalks and driveways. Plus, you often feel guilty about inflating your carbon footprint with all the constant mowing.

Unless you think your customers and employees would enjoy the sight of a barren expanse of asphalt with nothing to shade or cool it when it heats up hotter than blazes in the summer sun, trees are a must for parking lots in the South.

However, not all trees are equal for this purpose. In fact, there are definite do’s and don’ts when comes to trees for paved areas and parking lot islands here in central and southern Georgia.

Humor me and let’s start with the don’ts. Even though we see it done all the time, I will go so far as to say that it is an egregious crime to plant any of these trees where they will be surrounded by hot asphalt:

Whether it’s to do right by the environment or to protect the health of people and pets, more and more people in Georgia and elsewhere are becoming interested in living a less toxic lifestyle. It’s a choice that can impact just about every aspect of life—including lawn care.  

Here at T.Lake, we get it.  We’re outside people.  We like to go barefoot with the children and roll around in the grass with the dog. Their health, and ours, matters to us—a lot. So we certainly want to avoid unnecessary chemical use. But “Can you do organic lawn care?” is not a simple question for us to answer.

Of course, the easy reply is, “of course we can.” But the truth is, a 100% organic approach may not make you 100% happy. Here’s why.

Since T. Lake’s inception in 1990, we’ve had a lot of employees come and go. Many of them didn’t last too long; we have a habit of weeding out the ones that don’t have enough grit or have too many vices. But we also attract our share of hardy souls who thrive on hard work, good old fashioned horse sense, and a job well done. These are the people who tend to stick around, and we appreciate them more than we could ever express in words.

That said, a few words of appreciation are always in order. So I thought it would be nice to spotlight a few of these individuals here, to recognize them for their excellence and the value they bring not only to T. Lake and the customers we serve, but to each of us as people and to the greater communities to which we belong.

And the very first person to spring to mind as a deserving recipient of this kind of recognition is our longest tenured employee, John Truman Berryhill II.