8 May 2013 - It is all Amy's fault

I have been talking with Jack about dethatching the lawn. He is not convinced. Then the next time I was talking with Amy, she mentioned that Dutch had just put the fingers on the tractor and was dethatching the lawn.

Turns out there are some inexpensive generic models that will fit most yard tractors. Well! Jack and I sat in front of the computer and looked at options and ordered one.  Ha!  Jack thought that if he got the dethatcher for me, the least I could do was was get a cart for him. Life is all about compromise, so naturally we ordered both. 

The cart showed up in a couple of days, and of course it came completely disassembled. 

The instructions were challenging. Not a single typed word of description. Nothing but pictures. Forty screws that we had to put in piles based on pictures. Okaay. 

You wouldn't think it would be a big deal to put it all together...but it did take a certain amount of head scratching. The instructions were for a slightly different model than the one we got.  But we did get it all figured out.   He is busy contemplating all the things he can use it for.  And he is even happier because it has a dumping function. Good grief! But, check out this happy camper!

A couple of days later the dethatcher arrived--also in many many little pieces. We got it all together to discover it was missing the last operating piece.  Humph!  A phone call later, and the missing piece was on its way to us. 

And speaking of tools,  I found the perfect tool for me!  I bought one, and it was so great I went back and got another one. We tend to have full sets of tools here-- his and hers. Some tools we have three or four duplicates.  One can never have too many tools. 

This great new tool is a dandelion digger. For years, I have been wishing someone would invent a better digger. And someone finally did.  Check this out. The curved piece acts as a fulcrum and makes it really easy to use. I just love it. I also love that the garbage can is full of dandelions. 

In the bird world, I had another great sighting in my own yard. This time it was a Western Tanager. I haven't seen one of these in years.