Perception is Reality…

It’s amazing  just how drastically your perception of the work you’re doing every day can affect how you actually feel about it. Sometimes things can get very hectic out on the course. You could be rushing around trying to work in between groups and worrying about all the other things you need to get done, but if you’re working with the right attitude and positive mindset the job becomes much less stressful. When summer changes into fall it seems as though all the stress that you would normally have just disappears. No more chasing wilt, no more long afternoons, no more worrying if you’ve watered too much or too little. Once fall comes around and the hoses get put away everything else is gravy. Or so you would be lead to believe.

While you may not be worrying about wilt or moisture levels anymore your days aren’t really getting any less stressful. There are still projects that need to be done and with a much smaller staff and mother nature interfering it gets harder and harder to finish projects. Frost delays immediately put your plans to a halt and push your mowing schedule back meaning that any projects you had planned for the afternoon are pushed back as well. Also when the colder weather comes so do the leaves. In the summer your chasing wilt throughout the day. In the fall your chasing leaves. Keeping the course clean throughout the day becomes and uphill battle and even with two tractor blowers, two tow-behind turbine blowers and an army or backpack blowers it seems like as soon as you get an area clean a gust of wind rips through and covers it again. All these factors can make it pretty hard to get extra jobs done throughout the day.

While all of this would normally make for a pretty stressful work atmosphere the fall season seems to have a sort of calming effect on everything. By keeping the right attitude and positive outlook those hectic days seem like a godsend compared to the stress of a mid-July afternoon. Combine that with a good experienced crew and the fall can be seemingly stress free, even when it probably shouldn’t be.

Always an uphill battle.