stubbed toes and mud pies

[flowerbug]

as expected the new toy is not something that Mom will be able to use reliably. we will try the string trimmer attachment next to see if Mom will use it (i bet not as long as i'm around to do it instead) and if so i will have to content myself with picking up bits of plastic string the rest of my life.

ok, not so gloomy after all, bio-degradeable trimmer line is available...

 

[flowerbug]

we do have peas/pea pods out there for picking but i've not been back that far in that garden enough to get many eaten or picked. the one pod i sampled was good.

 

[flowerbug]

some Beaver Dam peppers on the plants already (even if i did trim off the first flowers as i was planting them i may have missed some).

 

[flowerbug]

yesterday i was very happy to see some baby toads. they are so very cute!

today i saw a tiny baby snake - also very cute. not sure what kind of snake it was as i didn't get very close.

perfect day to be outside. it was actually somewhat cool (compared to yesterday) and a nice breeze. one garden almost weeded other than a few minutes now of scraping poplar seedlings. i'll get this garden done first thing tomorrow or perhaps i should get those peas and pea pods picked first. i keep forgetting about that.

 

[flowerbug]

when weeding yesterday (well now two days ago) i had some kind of bee or fly following me around (and i don't mean just for a few moments - but for about an hour and a half) and landing on my gardening gloves to get something (perhaps salt or moisture but the gloves weren't soaked wet it was just the bit of sweat i was giving off). i was trying to weed and not harm it. very interesting interaction. it was wandering around my hand even if i was moving and weeding and definitely getting something as i could see it's mouthparts moving.

rained a few moments ago. i'm not sure what i'm doing outside today - if anything i'm wearing different gloves...

 

[digitS']

ok, not so gloomy after all, bio-degradeable trimmer line is available

Well that is welcome news.

I find very few pieces of string in my yard and have used a string trimmer here for 20+ years. Yes, I have to refill the spool several times a year and have bricks, concrete bases of posts, walkways and what must be a very old sidewalk with weeds in cracks. These beat up the string alot.

@so lucky asked about a replacement trimmer several years ago — gas or electric. I said that I do a better job with the electric. I should have pointed out that I have to replace the string more often with electric because it is a smaller gauge than the gas trimmers I had.

One way that I cut down on string loss is by not trying for a maximum cut. I am trying to stay as close to edges as possible with a small mower, matching my small front and back lawns. The trimmer is just trimming an edge. The string looks rather frayed and I am not pushing out more to make wide cuts. Of course, excess will hit that blade and be immediately lost. Fraying means fragments and I don't see them. Of course, they are still there but it does seem rather strange to me that I can go through all that string and seldom find any evidence.

Steve