Time to Get Back to Work

Some of the folks at the party gathered for an impromptu group shot

You might have noticed that the blog has gone uncharacteristically quiet in the past few days. To celebrate both my 50th birthday and the fifth anniversary of the SafeLawns Foundation, a few hundred people gathered in Portland, Maine, on Friday, March 4. Some folks began arriving on Thursday and some didn’t leave until yesterday and I, in the process, have been out of touch with my daily routine of following the comings and goings in the organic lawn care movement.

We’re back at it today, catching up with hundreds of emails, requests for the film, A Chemical Reaction, and scheduling speaking engagements for the upcoming spring.

I wanted to take this final pause, though, to thank everyone for a tremendous weekend, and for all the great wishes in the past week from people from all over the world. We enter this week incredibly tired, but hugely energized all at the same time. A special thanks goes out to my family and close friends, as well as the musicians, Dan Merrill, Jamie Lee Thurston (www.jamieleethurston.com) who donated their time and incredible talents to make the night so special and fun for everyone.

Enjoy these shots. We’ll be back on-line shortly with more serious posts!

Cameron Bonsey, the marketing director for Coast of Maine Organics (www.coastofmaineorganics.com) proved that compost sales people can sing, too!

Nashville star Jamie Lee Thurston (www.jamieleethurston.com) earned a lifelong fan of my daughter, Aimee, who was proud to wear his cowboy hat.

Lisa & Jeff Skillin of Skillins Greenhouses (www.skillins.com) took a break from some impressive dancing.

Recognize anyone? More than 15 states and a couple of Canadian provinces were represented at the party.

Rick Campbell, the founder of Gnome Landscaping, and Jeff O’Donal, the owner of O’Donal’s Nurseries (www.odonalsnurseries.com) shared a laugh.