. . . the Aquascape Band began to play."

(With apologies to the Beatles.)

Well, this entry in my series of thoughts and musings is long overdue.  To be honest, while I enjoy putting down my thoughts in digital mode, I am not a writer by nature.  My interest in outdoor activities seems to take me down the road of adventure rather than sitting at a computer. As Popeye says, “I yam what I yam,” but I'm still trying to get better.

As of this date, we are dead center in the middle of winter and so far old man winter has proven to be quite formidable.  The other day, it was warmer in Juneau, Alaska than in these parts of the Georgia.  Go figure.  The cold weather has turned our lakes and ponds into frozen slicks for weeks. Unfortunately, this is not an annual condition around these parts and most folks, including pet owners, are unaware of the dangers associated with walking on ice.  An old farmer once told me a tale that involved a blind bull that turned up missing one day during a hard winter. He looked high and low for the animal but came to realize that the hole of in the ice on his pond told the story of the bull’s fate. So please make sure that leave you the ice skating on the rink . . . and that’s no bull!

Several years ago, my wife and I became the happy owners of a 1957 mobile home trailer that measures 80’ by 10’ and serves as our family gathering point on Lake Allatoona. Lake Allatoona is a 12,010-acre reservoir that was built by the US Army Corps of Engineer back in the late 1940s. Its primary function was flood control, but now recreation is king; in fact, Allatoona is the most-visited lake managed by the Corps. While I enjoy very much the warm season activities that the lake provides, I also equally enjoy the solitude of the lake during the winter. I go there often to seek refuge from the “daily grind,” while enjoying the sights and sounds that the lake has to offer. This may include the spectacle of the migrating Sand Hill Cranes seeking bed for the night, or the laughing chatter of ducks, but also I go to hear nothing at all- except the howling wind and the lapping waves. 

Thanks for listening and until next time, 

Jim

Jim Lanier (right) accepts the Going Green award.Aquascape Environmental received a 2009 Going Green Award from the Georgia Chapter of the Community Associations Institute (CAI). The award was presented to company President, Jim Lanier, at a CAI luncheon in Atlanta, Ga., on October 9. 

The Going Green Award is given to CAI member companies that have demonstrated adoption of the “4 R’s” (Reduce, Recycle, Re-Use, Re-Buy). Award recipients are selected by the CAI Georgia Chapter Green Committee.

Our mission is to promote sound stewardship of land and water resources, so "going green" is a natural part of living up to that mission. All of our Going Green initiatives help minimize our corporate footprint on the environment, as well as keeping thousands of pounds of trash out of our watersheds, and several thousand more pounds out of landfills. We recycle office materials and product containers used in our operations; schedule conscientiously by grouping treatment visits geographically; transmit reports and invoices to our clients electronically; and maintain an ongoing sports equipment recycling program through which balls retrieved from client lakes are donated to youth sports organizations.

More than a week after the record-breaking rains and flooding in Georgia, we're still doing clean-up and repair at client properties all over Metro Atlanta. Photos of some of the damage are in our Photo Gallery.