McCourt Real Estate Blog

Caren used to manage an apartment complex (many moons ago!).

Now, she supports a team of positive professionals who see the dawn of opportunity in 2009.

Like most of us in the McCourt Real Estate office, she already had a successful career.

But, felt that something was missing...like positive encouragement and family environment.

Truth is, people like Caren are usually successful at most anything they do.  So, it's no surprise that she's been successful in building her dream. 

On a limited basis, McCourt Real Estate Service is interviewing agents, who know how to manage their career. Call for a confidential interview!

I feel like it's summer in West Texas but it really is early spring.  Yet, I see people 'sporting their shorts' and we've already hit the upper 80s (which only makes me wonder what summer will be like for us).  Thank goodness we are blessed with all of this great sunshine! 

It's time to put your plans forth and draft your landscaping plan. If you're thinking about tress, I thought you would enjoy these helpful hints from Matt Grubisich, Regional Urban Forester, Texas Forest Service.  He's a great friend of KMB (Keep Midland Beautiful).  And the original article about this subject appears on the Keep Midland Beautiful website, http://www.keepmidlandbeautiful.org Enjoy!

Selecting, Planting & Pruning Tree
By Matt Grubisich, Regional Urban Forester, Texas Forest Service

Trees do wonderful things.

They shade your home or business, cutting your summer cooling bill and raising your property value. Trees and shrubs provide food and cover for songbirds and other wild creatures. Cool, green foliage creates a peaceful setting where you can deal with the stresses of daily life. Around your community, trees cleanse and cool the air, buffer wind and noise, protect water quality, prevent soil erosion, screen unsightly areas, and provide a setting for outdoor recreation.

For all the benefits trees provide, it's worth spending a little time getting them off to a good start.

Planting Time

Generally, late fall through early spring is the best time to plant a new tree. Most shade and ornamental trees sold in the nursery trade are either balled-and-burlaped (B&B) or container grown. B&B trees should be planted as early as possible, preferably before bud break. Container-grown trees can be planted later in the season because there is less disturbance of the plant's root system.

Selecting a Tree

Select a tree that is suited for your site. Native tree species are usually a good choice because they are adapted to local soil and rainfall conditions. Be careful! Just because a tree is native to Texas does not mean it will work in your yard. If you need advice, check with the county extension office, your city parks department, the Texas Forest Service, or a nursery professional.

Select a tree with a straight, dominant trunk and well-spaced lateral branches. Avoid "bargain" trees with a small root ball or deformed branch structure. Trees with low, slingshot crotches may require substantial pruning in order to develop a healthy crown. The root ball should be firm and moist, and the trunk and branches should be free of damage.

Planting The Tree

Loosen the soil in your planting site to a depth of 12 inches using a shovel, or tiger. Work an area 2 to 5 times the diameter of the root ball. This will provide hospitable conditions for the tree to send out roots. Do not add organic matter (compost or peat) to the loosened soil.

In the center of the planting site, dig a hole to the depth of the root ball. Set the tree in the hole so that the top of the root ball is level with the surrounding soil. When removing a tree from its container, take care to avoid breaking the root ball. Position the tree and backfill with a little soil to hold it in place. Twine, wire, and burlap should be cut and pulled down off the root ball of B&B trees.

Backfill with soil removed from the hole. Do not add organic matter to the backfill. As you fill the hole, use water to settle air pockets. Tamp the soil lightly, but do not compact the soil around the root ball.

Build a small dam around the base of the tree with soil from the hole. This will help hold water while it percolates into the soil. Spread 3 or 4 inches of mulch (compost, wood chips, etc.) over the entire planting site. Avoid piling mulch directly against the base of the tree.

If your tree seems to need additional support, use two or three 6-foot stakes pounded into the ground outside the root ball. Attach the tree to the stakes with wide nylon webbing. The traditional method of using rope or wire cushioned with a piece of garden hose may be effective, but it can cause damage to the tree. Whatever the method of attachment, the tree should have enough freedom to sway in the wind so it can develop strength. The stakes should be removed after the first growing season.

Fertilizer probably is not needed. If you want to fertilize, use a slow-release fertilizer that is high in nitrogen. Some nurseries carry packets of slow-release fertilizer for trees that can be tossed into the hole along with the backfill.

Pruning Young Shade Trees for Strength and Form

A new tree in your landscape holds the promise of great things to come: cool shade on a hot afternoon, branches for children (and adults) to climb, rustling leaves, and maybe a splash of color in the fall. Like any youngster, your tree will need some discipline in order to live a long, productive life. You can think of careful pruning as a way of training your young tree to grow strong and healthy.

Recently Planted Trees

Good branch structure actually starts in the nursery. When you select your tree, try to find one with a strong, dominant trunk and evenly spaced branches. Double leaders and low, "slingshot" crotches can create problems down the road.

When you plant a new tree, you shouldn't have to do any corrective pruning the first year. Plan to start your pruning regimen before the second growing season. Give your tree a little pruning help every year during the first five or six years after it has been planted. Then it will be well on its way to having a strong branch structure, and you can walk away from it for another five or ten years.

What To Prune

1. Double Leaders: Try to maintain a dominant trunk for at least six to eight feet without a major fork. If the trunk divides into two or more relatively equal stems, favor one strong stem and remove the others. In some cases, you may need to do this gradually over several years. Cut one stem back to a lateral branch and let the other fill-out and become dominant. After a year or two, remove the less-dominant stem altogether. The rule of thumb is to prune-out no more than one third of the crown in a year, but on young trees you may be able to push the limit a little higher to remove a double leader.
   
   
2. Rubbing Branches: Eliminate branches that arc rubbing or will soon rub against another branch. Frequently, one branch will grow back toward the interior of the crown and cross several other branches. Removing this one branch may solve several problems.
   
   
3. Crowding: Give each branch room to grow with minimal competition for sunlight. Your goal is to have major lateral branches evenly spaced eight to ten inches apart along the trunk.
   
   
4. Narrow Branch Angles: Sometimes two branches will form a narrow, v-shaped crotch. As the two stems grow thicker each year, bark may be trapped between the two stems, preventing them from forming a strong union. This is called "included bark." Branches with included bark at the point of attachment are more susceptible to failure under load from wind or ice. Occasionally, otherwise healthy limbs on mature shade trees will fail on a clear calm day – with potentially tragic results – because of included bark. If you see bark becoming pinched between a branch and the trunk, remove the branch before it grows large enough to become a hazard.
   
   
5. Sprouts and Suckers: Fast-growing sprouts that shoot out of the trunk or main limbs have a weak point of attachment. If they are allowed to reach a large size, they may break during a storm and cause serious damage to the tree.
   
   
6. Temporary branches: While the tree is young, it may have small lateral branches along the main trunk. You can leave them on the tree for the first few years because they will help it develop a thicker trunk. Starting at the bottom, remove one or two of them each year until you reach the height you want the first permanent limb.

Here's the rest of the story and some great illustrations on how to properly prune a tree: http://www.keepmidlandbeautiful.org/information/treeinfo.html

Recently, I participated in a streaming online discussion using Twitter.  One of the participants, @davidsandusky, commented that he loved how I described our agency "The Positive Thought Agency".  And, that is really who we are.

Whatever you are experiencing now is the results of the thoughts you had six months ago. 

Think about that for a moment!

Here's a great local story about a Permian Basin family that changed their life through positive thought and faith.  How can you deny the power of that if it can make physical changes to cancer like this.  Here's the story of Josie Nunez, an 8 year old girl from Parker Elementary School - Midland, Texas.

http://www.bennunez.com/healingjosie/healingjosie/Josie.html

Here at McCourt Real Estate Services we are not participating in this 'recession' that everyone seems to be consumed wiith.  We will not be consumed.  Rather, we are captains of our own ships and create our own happiness and positive energy.

I came across this and am sharing it in hopes that it will help those of you who are bombarded daily and have no oasis to the unrelenting ferver of "doom and gloom".  If you're a realtor, we hope that you'll consider stopping by our Andrews Highway oasis and spend a moment away from all the negative speak and join a positive group of people each hoping, cheering and pulling for each other's positive energy and success.

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going"

Old sales training used to refer to ABC as “Always be closing”. What that meant is that you were constantly trying to close your clients, assuming the close or asking if they were ready to sign along the dotted line.

If you’ve bought anything in your lifetime, you’ve had some sage salesperson practice the ABC – Always be closing method. It feels horrible doesn’t it? Down right…insulting, too? It’s as if conversation didn’t matter but instead we are going to work down our checklist and get to the close…regardless of the other person.

I am more focused on the ABC that means Always Be Connecting. There is always someone who can be helped or blessed by someone else that you know! And, how much better is it if you are the link between the two of them, the three of them or even more. When you are the hub of great connections, people are joy-filled to speak with you. They look forward to your calls and they feel graced by you instead of chased by you.

For us, we are always looking for those opportunities to help our buyers and sellers experience more, better and greater from their connection to each other, the people that we know, the people that we associate with and those we care for.

Always Be Connecting…

• Look for opportunities to help someone achieve something that’s important to them.
• Have information readily available of people that you feel comfortable recommending and referring
• Listen always. Often they may start with one statement and quickly move to another, revealing the “root cause” of their question or pain. When you find the root cause, that’s where you can help.
• Stay positive. Just because someone seem down or aloof doesn’t mean it’s towards you. Life is traveling so fast for so many that we have no idea what conversation they just had before we saw them nor do we know the thought that is weighing heavy on their mind.

By now, everyone has thrown away their New Year's resolution and those who were actually going to take action on theirs - have.

Sometimes, it's more than just procrastination keeping us from completing those New Year's list of changes, adjustments and better behavior.  Sometimes, it's because we're not really "in the right place" or "in the right space" to make any of our 'want to's' and dream become reality.

It's often said that "even negative people repel other negativ people".  Is is that way for you? Are you in a place where the negativity drowns and attacks you the moment you walk in the door?  Do you dread going to the office? Do you look for excuses to do "something else"?

It's hard to get away from all of the discussion of "poor economies" and "recession" and it's easy for someone to get caught up in it that they feel helpless and hopeless.  Keep in mind that these are the moments when people of action - TAKE ACTION!  They make the necessary changes in their lives that will make the extra difference for them to reach success.