A Little Off The Top

I started this blog with the thought of documenting my experiences with a semi-pioneer living (I say semi-pioneer because I still have some standards: electricity, indoor plumbing, modern medical attention) and how I typically learn my lessons "the hard way." So, I understand that the following post doesn't really fit with this concept. But, then again, it's my blog and I can do what I want!

I have grown to enjoy making things from scratch-I'm not sure why. I certainly didn't grow up doing these types of activities, but it gives me satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. If given the option of making a pizza or calling Papa John's, I'd grab the flour, salt and tomatoes (no offense P.J.!). Instead of buying a new table, I'd head to Lowe's for a load of lumber (okay, so maybe I wouldn't make the table, but who can resist a trip to Lowe's??). So, it is will hesitance that I profess the deep love and wonderment I now have for our electric hedge trimmer!

Don't get me wrong; we have a pair of manual trimmers (basically giant-sized scissors for the outdoors) and enjoyed the fact that I could maintain my lawn without using electricity or fossil fuels...and, let's face it, manually clipping the hedges builds some mad upper body muscles! But, what was I to do when I couldn't locate the ginormous lawn shears?? Sure, I could have called a friend, my neighbor, or my brother. I could have paid for lawn service. I could have fenced in the property and gotten goats. I could not, however, let the hedges go one more day--this was an emergency hedging scenario! A few hedges were growing over the walkway, others were becoming summer homes for the neighborhood bunnies, and others had even sprouted arms and were nabbing passing children, birds, and small rodents! (Okay, that's an embellishment, but needed to illustrate desperation).

Thankfully, I remembered at some point in our early home ownership years we acquired an electric hedge trimmer. And, amazingly enough, I remembered where our 400,000 foot extension cord was stored (okay, more dramatic embellishment). So, needless to say, 15 minutes and 2 tired, shaky arms later--trimmed hedge bliss!

In conclusion, here are just a few things to keep in mind when using an electric hedge trimmer:

1. it is best to keep the extension cords behind you at all times.
2. if you have a tendency towards trimming hedges into geometric shapes, pick a shape before trimming (not halfway through).
3. Remember not only what geometrical shape you picked, but also what that shape is supposed to look like.
4. don't trim hedges at your own house if you're Type A or have perfectionist tendencies.
5. always know the safety features of the machine (as not knowing them could save you 10-20 minutes of frustration in turning the darned thing on!).