I just ordered a new weeding tool about a month ago, and I just love how well it works for my gardening needs; so I wanted to share it with everyone. Then, I was thinking that probably more of us have some kind of gardening tool or gadget that we really like and it is easy for a senior to use and gets the job done; so I thought I would just start a new thread for us to share about our favorite (or unfavorite?) gardening tools. This handy little tool is great for pulling out weeds in my flower beds. They come with different size handles (on Amazon), and I wanted one that was long enough for me to use from my gardening chair, but not one of the really long ones, and this one is perfect for me. One part of it angles back and has sharp little teeth, to it hook right onto the weed and I can pull it out. If it does not come out easy, the sharp teeth will spike into the ground deeper (used like a hammer) and then grab the roots. If it is something that is just too deep a root to pull out, it allows me to dig around it and then cut it off below ground with my pruning shears. The sharp edge will go underneath the weed and cut the root , too. Mine is about a foot long, and that is about right for me to use when sitting in the gardening chair. The gardening chair is a wonderful invention as well. I got the idea when @Beth Gallagher mentioned that her MIL used one for gardening, so I went to Walmart and bought one of the plastic lawn chairs, and that is perfect for me. It has the arm rests, which makes it easier for me to get in and out of the chair, as opposed to the little benches you can sit on to garden. Since crawling around or being on my knees does not work for me, I had to just bend over to garden when weeding the flowerbed or planting something. With the chair, I still have to bend over, but it is much easier on my knees.
No weeds in my small tomato patch with landscaping paper. It blocks sunlight but lets water pass through. I am at peace with dandelions and other weeds in the grass. There was a man down the street who was fastidious when it came to keeping his lawn weed free. He died and his wife doesn't bother and the yard now looks like mine. Weeds always win in the end.
Our next door neighbor has a huge crepe myrtle tree that has spread out enough to rub/scrape our roof and the side of our 2nd floor when the wind blows. When I first heard it I thought there was a critter in the attic! It appears that the neighbor is oblivious to his encroaching vegetation, so we need to either buy a new pole saw (chain saw??) or hire a pro to trim the damn thing. My husband used to have a small "chainsaw on a pole" but it finally wore out, so now we'll need to buy a new one. Does anyone have any suggestions as to brand to buy? Or any other suggestions for something to trim small branches on a TALL tree?
This might be what you have, but some of these come in sections to get a farther reach to perhaps 15 ft. It is a combination saw and branch lopper. The longer it is makes it more unwieldy. Lowes has them among other places. Don't get a metal one or you could get electrocuted if you contact a live wire inadvertently https://www.lowes.com/pd/Fiskars-Po...455815-_-local-_-0-_-0&gad_source=1&gclsrc=ds.
Actually, I was out on the driveway a few minutes ago, surveying the situation. My neighbor saw me out there and came over to say that he plans to take care of it. He was apologetic about letting it get overgrown, but he recently fell off a ladder and has been recuperating. So hopefully that problem is solved.
So today the neighbor had a tree trimming service come and trim the branches away from our property. I hope that will put a crimp in the squirrel's super highway across our roof.
We are having fewer squirrels this year than before, partially because we have been feeding the stray and feral cats since last winter, and the squirrels do not want to be where the cats might catch them. Between that and the plastic netting over the blueberry bushes, we actually have had blueberries to eat for the first time this year. I did see one brave squirrel in the blueberry bush, but he was the only one I have seen out there, and I have been picking a few berries to eat each day. We have been hoping to have some of the peaches and figs this year, but the other day, i saw a squirrel leaping out of my fig tree and into another tree and then disappearing. To get there, he had to have come across our roof (most likely), or run across the back yard, where there might be dogs or cats nearby. So, I just ordered a 2-pack of the fake owls with swivel heads to put on the roof (a honey-do for @Bobby Cole ) once they arrive, and hopefully, the squirrels will see the owls and stay off of the roof and out of the fig tree and peach trees.
Since we have actual predators in the form of the cats and a few hawks, the squirrels have been adapted to this life for a while now, and it is their choice whether to leap into our trees and on the roof with the owls. The old “Barretta” (TV show) saying applies here, “if you do the crime, then you do the time”. Stay out of our yard and our fruit trees, and life is happy for the squirrels.