Today’s guest blogger: Foster

Hi, I’m Foster, today’s guest blogger and groundskeeper here at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Besides myself, I have 6 more people helping me with the grounds maintenance (5 are seasonal help). We have had a cool wet spring; bad for me, but great for anything green and growing.

We just finished up planting flowers, trees and re-seeded bare spots in the turf.  We are busy keeping up with mowing, trimming, weeding and watering.  On rainy days, we are helping with the remodel of the Stevens and Mathias home, tearing out walls and pulling up carpet.  I guess you could say we are helping with the destruction, not the construction!

I look forward to this time of year since our peonies are just coming into bloom and our linden trees will soon follow.  I get lots of inquiries from visitors on our linden trees, their sweet fragrance is noticed all over campus!

The irrigation system for our turf is taking some time in getting it up and running.  We didn’t turn it on at all last year, as we had so much rain.  We pump water from the river to irrigate our turf.  It is quite a feat to place the pump in the river each spring.  Due to the high water level of the Missouri River, and the possibility of it going even higher, our pump house could be flooded.  What a contradiction, we might not be able to irrigate due to flooding!

In addition to those duties, we are also responsible for street and parking lot maintenance.  Crack filling and seal coating of our asphalt areas will be a big job later this summer.  I hope those of you reading this will get a chance to stop by our campus and checking us out.  Take care and have a great summer!

Author: St. Joseph's Indian School

At St. Joseph's Indian School, our privately-funded programs for Lakota (Sioux) children in need have evolved over 90 years of family partnership, experience and education. Because of generous friends who share tax-deductible donations, Native American youth receive a safe, stable home life; individual counseling and guidance; carefully planned curriculum based on Lakota culture and individual student needs and tools to help build confidence, boost self-esteem and improve cultural awareness. All of this helps children to live a bright, productive, possibility-filled future. View all posts by St. Joseph's Indian School