Scott Leaf Real Estate Marketing & Associates

I thought it was getting a little hot in the house towards the end of the work day in the Maple Ridge neighborhood of Albion what I did not know was my Air Conditioner/Heat-pump was failing fast and on the hottest day of the year! Today in Albion it was at least 35C atop our Thornhill perch, the humidity making it feel as if it was well into the 40's. The heatwave we have been experiencing has been reminiscent of what it feels like when you step off the airplane upon arrival in Hawaii or somewhere in the Caribbean but in little old Maple Ridge?

Rumors have been surfacing that a pent up excess of hot air from Maple Ridge Council may be the cause as the likes of Councilor Craig Spiers think up new ways to circumvent the Official Community Plan when it pleases them and stop desired progress in order to let Pitt Meadows and Langley reap the lion's share benefit of the new Golden Ears Bridge.

The only Maple Ridge business seeming to get any benefit is Maple Ridge Chrysler, at least I think they are after hearing General Manager Ian Speckman give it the college try with his new motto "We're closer then you think" in radio ads on CKNW. Other Maple Ridge businesses look like they have thrown in the towel early and have resigned to waving goodbye to shoppers as they flock to Pitt Meadows, Coquitlam and now to the new "Closer then you think" destination of Langley.

Why would anyone flock to Maple Ridge shopping when the Golden Ears bridge virtually dead-ends into the 2 lane Abernathy corridor with its 4-way stops every couple of blocks and the now jammed up 203rd st and Lougheed intersection. Keep in mind folks it's Summer time! Wait till September and the return to normality on our streets, ouch! It absolutely baffles me why Langley & even tiny little Pitt Meadows can get their act together but Maple Ridge with almost a decade's notice is woefully unprepared and lacks the vision to get it together.

Those 4-Way Stops don't only cause traffic jams, they stop commerical development. Yes it is really hot in Albion today and thinking about how this community is being managed is making many people a lot hotter.

Over the years I have been set upon many a time in yards of various homes of mine by the ubiquitous pesky mole. Over the years from childhood to adulthood I have tried almost all the methods, techniques and wives tales to rid myself of a mole.

There are so many fables about what to do to rid yourself of them it really is laughable when you realize the simple secret. I have tried drowning them, trapping them, crushing them, and smoking them out. The only method that was relatively successful was the ancient mole trap that was passed down to me from my grandmother via my father and dates back to either the 1920's or 1930's. I caught a few of the little buggers with that baby but this year I finally met my match.

We moved into a home on a 1/4 acre lot beside a beautiful hay field 2 years ago. I promptly brought in nice soil and finished the yard with some turf. Within 6 months I had my first mole, which I caught. Not long after I started seeing more holes. I caught another one, it seems moles are a solitary creature and only pair up for mating so another mole had moved in the network of tunnels.

The third time wasn't the charm, this latest mole has been a real challenge for me. He seems to be able to set off my trap with ease and not get caught. His extensive network of tunnels virtually underscores my entire back yard area. We had a party 2 weeks back with 30 people walking around the yard, apparently crushing his tunnels as the following morning I awoke to 6 new holes, followed by 5 more the next day.

Not long after I viewed an excellent documentary on Discovery Channel about the amazing mole and then I came to realize, "Enough is enough! This creature has got to go" I researched and found Bert the Moleman & Archie The Mole Guy. TM Mole Control Company services Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, their inexpensive service is guaranteed and reliable.

On the day of my first appointment Archie showed up with a huge container of traps, he dug up three of the freshest holes, one on either end of the tunnel system and one in the middle area. In each hole he carefully dug up the area around the hole and probed for many branches and offshoots each hole had leaving from it. I thought there were only one maybe two tunnels per hole but Archie showed me there can be much more than than. Some go down and some go off in all directions like some crazy old European City intersection. He placed a very tiny trap in each tunnel branch and then carefully covered the entire area with soil, then marked the spot with a small flag.

Archie will come back every week on the same day until he gets the little bugger, he claims that he usually gets them by the second visit but many times on the first. Rarely does he need to come more then 3 times. If after a period of dormancy another little pest moves in and you see fresh activity he will come back at no extra charge for 1 year! My 1 year contract for my 1/4 acre lot was $225.00, standard residential lots are much less. I think this is money well spent, he has as many traps as he needs and is practiced at it and I don't go crazy like Bill Murray in Caddy Shack!

(Yeah, I know it was a gopher! Funny stuff)

If you still want to go out and by a handful of traps and learn on the job while wrecking your lawn Bert's Web Site has do it yourself advice and information on how to buy the traps that they use and manufacture.

Contact TM Mole Control in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley of British Columbia at

604-820-7756

Bert the Moleman & Archie The Mole Guy

All careers and professions come with a downside and it should come as no surprise that being a REALTOR® is no exception.

We spend weeks, months or years cultivating leads, providing our clients with Real Estate information. We get to know the people closely, driving around discussing homes, their lives, dreams and aspirations. Becoming close with their children, enjoying a little play time with them while Mom & Dad check out the homes. All of this bonding culminates in a hectic crescendo of activity then.... its over.

Yes we pop by afterwards to say hi, we make the odd phonecall, we correspond but it's not really the same. It is sad for me, I never really feel confortable with the break. The last meeting is awkward, like saying goodbye to a friend that is moving to another country. I put on my brave face, the next time I see their 1 year old she will be 6 months older and not remember me or the hugs and kisses and silly play times we shared. She will look at me like a child looks at a stranger, burying her head in her father's shoulder when I say hi to her.

Yes, Mission Accomplished! A Job Well done! A payday around the corner but parting trully is such sweet sorrow.

It certainly has been a whirlwind for the last 4 months since we started Keller Williams Elite Realty in Port Coquitlam, BC. We knew we had something special but we didn't know just how special it was.

When our previous KW franchise converted to another well known franchise over 100 of us chose to leave and form a new and improved Keller Williams office, under our Operating Principle Terry Spillsbury & Team Leader Peter Talbot, strictly following the franchise systems that are proven to work and re-creating the culture we love to work in.

When a new office starts up it has a hurdle to jump called First Transmital, transmital is a monthly obligation to send all the sales & budget data to KWR International head office. First transmittal is a great barometer for how well an office is going to do.

I am ecstatic to say that out first Transmittal has exceeded our wildest expectations! Here is the raw data:

• 112 Agents
• $267,879,068 2009 Year to Date Written Volume 12th best against over 600 KW offices in North America, but we were 6th best in Closed Volume 2009 year to date!!!*
• Keller Williams Elite Realty did not exist until the second week of March 2009, so subtract 2 1/2 months from the the first 6 month period and extrapolate the numbers, we could have been number 1 or very close to it.

We kicked some serious butt, but it has only just begun. Our culture is incredible, we play as hard as we work, we share, we help each other, we learn from each other and our new office space hasn't even opened yet, but when it does WOW!

For more information on Keller Williams Elite Realty, or information on Buying or Selling a home in Greater Vancouver contact:

* Based on statistics provided by Keller Williams Realty International for the first 6 months of 2009, dollar value of volume of deals written and dollar value of volume of deals closed.