Busy, busy...

All of a sudden my schedule is bursting. I came the realization that I am working 3.5 part-time jobs and am involved in 3 volunteer activities. No wonder the house is a mess and fabric languishes on its way to becoming quilts. Here's the rundown:

Job One:
Heron & Crow Gardens. This is my gig. I have a few clients and am not yet marketing extensively (mainly thru WSNLA, networking and word of mouth). All of a sudden, via networking and friends, I have two design meetings with new people this month. One small and one large. An existing client and I are setting up a date to go the wholesale container place to choose pots for his pool deck and for my plant sale. The plant sale is another marketing op. The ball is starting to roll. Slowly. This is good. One has control, or the illusion of control!

Job Two:
I work part time (4-6 days a month) for a gal who runs an organic landscape maintenance company. To say it's organic really means she doesn't use pesticides at all. I don't think she's licensed to do so. It's a lot of hand work, which is important to certain homeowners. She has a knack for finding amazingly wonderful clients. Since September I've been taking care of her north end clients on my own. I've seen her 2-3 times since then. It works out. I'm able to schedule folks to fit my calendar (did I mention these clients are easy going too?) and they're all within a reasonable distance from home. June-August of last year, I worked for her far more and was commuting much further than I wanted to. It was a matter of time rather than distance. Her quarterly customers are asking for my time again. I can see this increasing to 7 days a month.

Job Three:
Garden Center-Snohomish, WA. I replied to an ad in January for a garden center position in Snohomish. They responded to me in March. I was hired on the spot and have been there for two weeks now. In 2010 I ran our local hardware store's garden center. I had a great time. The garden center in Snohomish is truly the size of a wee nursery vs. a small hardware store's garden center. The stock runs the gambit. The gal who is the lead, knows the in's and out's of the operations, stock, ordering, flow etc and I know plants, design and merchandising. She's no slouch but doesn't have the education, yet. I'm encouraging her interest in the Master Gardener program and Edmond's CC Horticulture department. She would dig it!
So far, this has been enjoyable. I'm working over 20 hours a week with more to come as the season gets going.

Job Three and a Half:
Dirty Old Man. Yup. The band. We now have a bass player back on board and are starting to book again. This ought to start taking up more of my time than Tuesday night practices! Fun show 3/30 at Jack's in Renton. Ping me if you want to know when we play!

Volunteer One:
Mukilteo Community Wildlife Habitat Team. Our community was certified as a Community Wildlife Habitat in 2011, with a celebration in March that included a dedication of a wildlife garden at our library. My involvement with this group is both administrative and as a horticultural resource.

Volunteer Two:
Mukilteo Community Garden. This endeavor started life with a WSU Snohomish County Master Gardener grant and has been going gang busters ever since. I take care of the rosters (again, administrative) and am now helping out with Saturday School where 'Bed Owners' can learn about specific and timely topics regarding eatable gardening. The garden dedicates a large number of raised beds for our local food bank.

Volunteer Three:
WSU Snohomish County Master Gardener.  There are about 350 of us in the county. We volunteer at public clinics held at nurseries, big box stores, public events, farmer's market's etc. We answer any questions brought forward from the public regarding a large range of topics and have vast resources. We also work in public demonstration gardens where the produce is donated to local food banks. The public is encouraged to interact with is as we tend the grounds. Teaching is a thru line in our program. I am the coordinator for the Mukilteo MG Farmer's Market, a delightful and delicious involvement!