Of course I have my favorite gardening tools like my clippers and "short person" gardening fork but right up there is this reciprocating saw which has made my garden chores so much easier over the years.. I use it to loosen soil for planting something new, for cutting something loose to transplant it and for pruning and heavy cutting of anything. You can put a 12" blade in it and stick it right into the ground to rout out a stubborn tap-rooted weed or loosen soil around a fence post you want to pull up. Most men just don't realize all the potential of this tool. They just use it for building and cutting wood.
I have a grove of sapling bird cherry trees that the birds have planted and they have suckered and thrived because they are over the drain field and I need to get them out. They have a trunk about 3-4" and would take forever with pruning saw by hand. There are about 40 of these trees and I figure it will only take me a couple mornings to clear them. I will cut them off at ground level and spray any new growth as it appears.... a technique I recently saw on BBC's Monty Don getting rid of Japanese knotweed. I swear this tool was invented for women and should be sold as such. Think of it as a electric knife on steroids and we all have used electric knives in the kitchen... .right? Same principal just a bit larger... Plug it in and go - go - go....
I realized today I should not only be teaching granddaughters how to bake sour cream rolls, I should be teaching them to use power tools as well. I was my dad's only child and he was never quite sure how to entertain me when I visited him... finally he would take me fishing which I hated or take me out to his shop and let me play with power tools. I loved that and have been eternally grateful.
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4 comments:
You are so right about teaching the kids to use tools!! I have never even thought about using that tool in the garden. I'm going to mention it to Terry.
xx, Carol
Teach the little children how to do everything! regardless of gender. My mom was the teacher of power and other tools. She taught me how to strip and refinish furniture, how to re wire a lamp and encouraged me to read at an early age, take ballet, gymnastics & shop in H.S. She also taught me how to use her sewing machine, how to navigate the CTA on my own, how to cook and how to be independent. she wasn't the greatest mom but she did her best And I am a well rounded for her teaching me to "go look it up!"
You've just inspired me to use this saw. There are a couple of them in my late husband's workshop. He did use them for trimming trees etc. I always let him do it and am somewhat intimidated to use the thing, but it would make my life easier that's for sure. Thanks for the inspiration.
FlowerLady
Playing with power tools - always fun! Even more so when the men are peering suspiciously at us wondering what we're up to - or if we're going to hurt ourselves. I've never had the joy of playing with one of these though - and no use for it now of course.
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