With the demise of the janitorial company, I was once again reinvented to become Seagull Landscape Design...Blending Art, Nature and Man. I enjoyed this switch as I had discovered by this time I loved designing things and nature is a cool thing to design.
This business had some success as people seemed to like the designs and quite a few were sold over a couple of years. They ranged from small city lots to acreages, from level ground to hillsides and houses built into hillsides. It was a wonderful challenge.
During the buildout of the designs, it was also interesting working with the contractors on a couple of the design projects. It seems that some angles are a pain in the ........ to build, no matter how good they look on paper. But knowing that makes you a better designer and I would not have missed that part of the educational process.
I should point out that it was also discovered at this point to really succeed in this business, you need basic knowledge of engineering which would mean going back to school. You also need a good understanding of all the basic trades, such as plumbing and electrical which wasn't a problem.
Landscape designing had to be relegated to a part-time activity regardless of enjoyment. And with the latest Network Marketing endeavors again failing, it was time for a fresh start. So in 1987, I was shoved into a car along with as much other stuff that could fit and taken on a cross country trip to Connecticut. I had no idea what to expect.
During the three years in Connecticut, I was only used once more for a landscape design. I got to rest for a few years after that until another path was taken.