The Garage: Tools of the Trade

So, If I'm going to be showing you what it is I do in my yard, I might as well take some time to introduce you to my tools that I use to do the stuff I do to my yard. Make sense?

Okay, good. So, let us start with the big, sexy tools first:

Lawn Mower

This is my Lawn Boy something or other. I have no idea what model it is, but I got it at Home Depot in 2009 for ~$150. 20" deck and it starts on the first pull every time. Never ran it with the bag on it, though I still have the bag. I always use the mulching abilities of this mower since I have the crazy idea that returning the nutrients back into the soil I took them out of. It helps in more than just not adding unnecessarily to landfills or giving my municipality "free" composting material. We'll get into it later, but, yeah. I mulch mow. Its the only way to live.

String Trimmer

Troy-Bilt whatcha callit. I don't know the model on this either, but I got it at Home Depot in 2011. I had previously owned a Weed Eater branded whisper lite string trimmer that I bought refurbished from Northern Tool & Supply (LOVE that place, by the way) for $40. Turns out though that it sucked and I needed something with a lot more horsepower to get through those tough Memphis zoysias, crab grass, and red fescues. So after that "home owner" version of trimmer bit it in the summer of 2011(I'll tell the story later), I ran out and got this bad boy. Works great, though I'm in need of replacing the trimmer head since the replacement trimmer head I have on it now just ate it last week. Which reminds me, I need to finish trimming the yard. Crap. Okay. Well, I'll put that on the list. I was also gifted with the edger attachment for this particular model (you can see it there at the top of the picture. Yes. That thing with the wheel).

Blower

Husqavarna. Got this at Northern Tool & Supply as well for $30 or so. Uhh, not much to say here. It blows great? Not sure what that means, but when I need to move leaves and grass clippings from one location to another this definitely helps to avoid the rake, gloves, and blisters from eschewing the gloves out of either pride or forgetfulness. Most usually the latter.

Chainsaw

This Blue Max beauty is an import from my father-in-law. I keep trying to give it back to him, but he keeps not taking it. I'm not sure if its intended or not, but I keep it well oiled and gassed up so I can use it when I need to. It turns out that I need to use it fairly often, actually. Then again, as a forester, I usually find needs for it instead of just wishing I had a chainsaw or watching it rust on the shelf. I have no idea why these things have such a bad rap on the interwebs. I have never had a problem with this one. There's even a YouTube video of one sucking at its primary function (It is NOT me in the video. I DO NOT know the guy in the video, but if I did I'd school him on proper safety gear). I have not had these experiences with this one. The chain is sharp and it cuts through everything I've thrown at it with ease and *much* quicker than the one in the video. 

The rest of it...

 Then there are all the little guys that help to make every detail job come out right: the loppers, pruners, clippers, shovels, spades, hand saws, axes, mauls, wedges, screw drivers, pliers, spreaders, rakes, rags, ear muffs, safety glasses, and yes, even gloves. 

There are other things in this big ol' car cavern. And, before you say anything about it: Yes, I have a wheel barrow, it's just not in the garage at the moment, but it is in the back. Maybe one day I'll write more about the other miscellany that's stashed away in here. I know some of the things that are missing that I would use quite frequently (read that as: things I borrow from my neighbor a lot) like a ladder. Actually, that's really the only thing I borrow from my neighbor. And I've really only borrowed it the 2 times. Soon to be 3 after this weekend when I get the Halloween lights up. I should get one of those things. Hm. Well, Christmas IS coming up.

What about you? Do you have all the proper tools you need to do the work you do? See anything that you don't know what it is? Think I'm missing something? Leave me a message in the comments and I'll be happy to help you find what you need or tell you more about something that may not have gotten a lot of attention in this quick breakdown of the garage.

Until next time be sure to get your hands dirty,

-E

A Little About The 'Ard Guy

I am a Purdue graduate with a degree in Forestry. One particular area of forestry that I enjoyed was the Urban Forestry program run by some very smart and talented people. After college I went to work for the USDA Forest Service - Forest Inventory Program measuring trees throughout Wisconsin and the upper Midwest. A few years later I met my wife in Madison and, once she was finished with her medical degree, we moved to Memphis, TN for her residency in Pediatrics through the University of Tennessee at Lebonheur Children's Hospital.

In Memphis, I was an ISA certified arborist and truly enjoyed answering questions and spreading the knowledge of trees and plants in the landscape to lay people. I was also a Tennessee Master Gardener while I lived in Memphis. The experiences of volunteering and helping to educate the public regarding trees, shrubs, and other plants was formative in my life because it is never just about the trees. Like most things in life, it is never just about the one thing that someone asks about. 

Rarely is it ever just that someone wants to prune their tree because they think it needs to be pruned. Likely, the homeowner (and therefore, tree owner) wants to prune a tree because the tree branches rub on the roof and are destroying the shingles. Or perhaps they have squirrels and want to keep them off of their house. Or it could be that the homeowner wants more grass and the tree's shade is killing the grass (trees and grass are a common struggle and there are a lot of reasons behind this that I will get to in a future post). All of the reasons behind the 'Why', and there are many, many more, shape the reasons behind the tree care. This is true for a lot of other items in the urban landscape as well. I intend to get into many of these.

I have missed these outlets for helping educate the public once we moved to St. Louis, MO in 2012. While I am sure that Missouri has a Master Gardener program (and they do!), I have not had the opportunity to join in with these rowdy rose garden and lawn jockeys....yet. Until then, and probably after then, I hope to be able to spread around some knowledge about plants and yard work through the use of this blog. 

I am happily married, have 2 wonderful children, another blog, and a full-time job so my life is fairly full. It seems, however, that I ALWAYS have yard work to do: grass to mow, leaves to rake, lights to fix, something needs to be done no matter how full my life is with all the other activities. 

If you have any questions about things in your 'ard please feel free to shoot me an email and I will be happy to address it in a reply. Who knows, it may become a future post. I look forward to all of your questions and comments below.

Get your hands dirty,

-E

Invasive Species

Here's some interesting new research discussing microbes and soil chemistry interactions and how they affect the ability for invasive species to persist and spread:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-09/ajob-mft092613.php

It is worth taking a look at as many of the plants we use for decoration and ornamentation around our yards have become invasive species in the wild forests and urban fringe that many of us live in.

I will have more to discuss about this in a future post, but for now, curl up on this rainy day and have a good read.

-E

Perspectives

This is my yard:

Not too much to speak of, really. I had just mowed the lawn in these pictures, but there is a distinct difference in them and I think it is worth talking about. The top picture is me standing on my feet looking down at the grass and shrubs and out onto the field of grass.

This picture is different:

I'm in essentially the same spot I was standing, but here I'm laying down and seeing the world from the same angle my grass sees it. Why? Mostly because I've lost my mind and am into making my neighbors think I'm a weirdo. Which is totally true, but also beside the point of the real reason I got down in my lawn.

I want to see the sky. I want to see what the insects and dirt "see". I want to feel what the grass beneath my work boots is like on my skin. There is a lot more sky in this picture than the first. I love that! This seems much more open that the previous image as well. I don't feel closed in. I also get to notice the look of the grass from a closer vantage. It looks pretty decent except I'm noticing some dead tips to my grass blades. This is probably because I need to sharpen my mower blades. I can see some decaying grass in there which is good. It means I'm putting nutrients back into the soil where they need to be. I don't want them coming out of my lawn and going into a plastic bag on my curb then ultimately into a landfill. I need that N-P-K back in my soil. 

One thing I did not notice was a lot of insect life. This sort of made me sad since I was hoping to find a little biodiversity at this level. To be fair, I did not look overly long for insect life, so I'm sure it's there, but just not in this sampling period. I'll have to work on that in the future. The other thing I noticed was the real firmness of the soil. I tried to dig into it with my finger but was thwarted. That stuff was as hard as a rock. That's not the best situation to have, honestly. I'll put that on my list of things to work on.

What about you? When was the last time you looked at your yard or lawn from this angle? Let me know in the comments and next time we'll discuss more about where I'm going with all of this.

WELCOME!!

Hey There! 

Welcome to my humble yard-work blog. 

I know it's a little bare around here right now, but Fall is coming and so is some great new content for you to enjoy. We do a lot here, outside and in. So grab a beer and get ready for some enjoyable tips, stories, and follow us on our projects as we do the same basic stuff around the house that you can do to. I expect just a little out of you in the way of feedback and comments. 

I will be posting on Tuesdays and Thursdays for awhile, so be sure to check back on those days for new posts. I may post one-offs in between, but there will always be something on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

So get your gloves, because there is work to be done. 

-E