So, we're having guests over this Saturday, a rare event these days. I look at the front yard and see the overgrown and debris-strewn mess that exists. I decide to at least trim the hedges. As they grow up all spiky and tall they make it hard to see the street which makes pulling out of the driveway more adventurous than it needs to be.
I start on the hedges along the street. These are the critical ones for seeing the on coming traffic. Being completely out of shape I have to stop and take frequent rests. Fortunately, my hedgehog makes quick work of the branches I'm trimming. Unfortunately I have a lot of hedges to trim. My front yard is completely lined by hedges. The only gaps are at the driveway and front steps. Some of the hedges are so tall I cannot even reach the top of them to trim them except with a ladder. Then I get an idea.
I've seen folks using trimmers which are mounted on long poles for trimming large foliage, like this one. I'm unwilling to go out and buy a new trimmer, but maybe I can improvise.
Using some giant twist ties I attached my hedgetimmer to the end of a wooden staff (remnant of a small tree I cut down), attached a small sledge hammer to the other end of the staff to act as a counter weight, and wrapped the electric cord around the staff so that it trails from the rear instead of hanging off the front tip. I then tied a rope to the staff at two points forming an impromptu shoulder strap.
Voila! I had a hedgetrimmer which was generally carried by my shoulder instead of my arms which also had an extra long reach. Using this I could trim along the sides of the hedges using a see-saw motion which took very little effort. The tops of the hedges were more accessible so that I didn't have to work with my arms extended high over my head except for the largest bushes. By the end of the afternoon I'd trimmed the hedges on three sides of the yard (I didn't get to those directly in front of the house) whereas I've usually only mangaged to get one side trimmed in a day before I'd be totally exhausted.
Of course, now I've got a lot of clippings that I need to pick up before the county comes by to pick up yard waste tomorrow. I've put it off for as long as I can by writing this, so I guess I'd better get busy.
Posted by JoKeR at August 18, 2005 02:26 PM | TrackBack