Leaf Blower
It’s not very often that I follow my own advice. I recently purchased the Sunjoe model SPX3000 power washer and it seems to work perfectly. Yesterday I burned out (literally) my leaf blower. If you place a plugged in leaf blower on a flat surface, lubricate the power switch with silicone, and let it sit while you do some weeding, chances are that the machine will turn on by itself when the switch short circuits. Since no air can be sucked in from below, the motor cannot be cooled, and it will catch fire. I was really attached to that tool, too. So today I went down to the Davis Ace and purchased a new Toro 51618 model. Its first test was to “detail” the back end of the Yukon. You know, whenever you transport a potted plant that has to be placed on its side, there is going to be a mess no matter how carefully you drive. So the new leaf blower passed with flying colors . . or flying debris. Oh yes, I did follow my own advice and actually handled the tool in the store before making my selection. I tried the gas powered models, but they were too heavy for me to use in a vertical position, which I often have to do.
Oh no! Flowers! This was my thought when I spotted a patch of oxalis in the lawn. So I lay on the lawn for 45 minutes teasing the oxalis from among the grass blades. Did you ever do a biology dissection where you teased the different tissues apart? I still remember finding the tiny brain of an earthworm and the five pairs of aortic arches. Anyway . . . I find that I have to weed almost every day. One would think if I torch every weed I find so that the plant and its seeds are destroyed, that there would be no more weeds. I have this rule in the garden: No weeds allowed. Mother Nature apparently didn’t get the word because the battle wages on daily. I have a suggestion: Weed at different times of the day. I think the angle of the sun may be one of the reasons that some weeds go undetected one day only to easily appear on the next. One thing I forgot to tell you about weeding with a torch– If there is no breeze, smoke will rise from the conflagration and engulf you. Yesterday I smelled of both burned weeds and burned plastic (leaf blower cremation).
Stan, The Blog Man