It's all about the tools!

It is sometimes all about the right tool and learning to use them. My success with chopping down trees has to do with having multiple pruning tools. Also, the "Man" taught me how to use the hand saw. I went from  I can't deal with this thing to actually enjoying it. 

It is also about figuring lazier ways of doing things. Orginially, the "man" was using the mattock to break up and pull-up the ligustrum stumps. I built these make-shift compost bins around the ligustrum stumps and am putting rotted ligustrum limbs in it to attract the insects that break up dead ligustrum. Sadly, some of the ones I have seen the camera does not want to take a picture of. The stumps are mostly dead because I poured feathermeal which is a high concentrate nitrogen fertilizer on them and they look like I burned them. I figure I can do a long compost method and in three years I can plant asian pear and plum trees in this area after the ligustrum has totally returned to the earth. Probably dwarf varieties because I don't want anything here taller than 10 feet. I'll be making a rich nutrient area for them. 

I also thought I hated shoveling, but I got a trench shuffle and boy it is so much easier to dig holes. I've been planting perennials left and right with it. It is all about leverage and the ability to sink the shuffle in far enough. I was figuring I would have to wait for the "man" to deal with our rain problem. But now that I have my nifty trench shuffle I can start the first stages of dealing with all this water and the stuff coming from our gutters building up near our side door.

Here is a picture of the trench, I dug last night after dark.  I had to also use the hand saw to cut through 4 in crepe myrtle roots. I filled it with river rocks so it doesn't collapse in on itself.

It was raining when I got home today and there is no water by our side door. I need to extend it along the sidewalk though to the end of the house, since the ground is pretty saturated along the sidewalk, but not any more than normal.

Tools are so cool. I'm now trying to convince the "man" I need an Austrian Scythe to cut down my cover crop and for mowing. They look really cool and I am kind of afraid of the lawnmower. The scythe can also be used in a larger variety of ways. I can apparently cut perennials with it that need the tops lopped off. 

I am really enjoying the tools and discovering and using new ones. Though, I am old school. I want ones that don't require anything but sharpening now and again and if I could do without that it would be even better. I seem to be collecting a lot of more traditional methods.