Monday, August 22, 2005
OK, so I'm sore in whole new ways this morning: I have roto-tilled.
Carolyn has always hated our yard's pocked surfaces and mangy grass, so we're finally re-doing our lawn. And man what a lot of work and pain are packed into those few words.
Saturday morning I went to the rental place and picked up one of their roto-tillers. Tilling an existing lawn is hard: you have to hold the tiller down and back so it cuts through the grass (instead of skittering off across the yard like a crab), but not so far down that it suddenly grabs the soft soil underneath and buries itself in a fountain of dirt. Then you have to pop it out and up and forward to a new spot, but still hold it back and down. And keep your hands locked on the lousy controls: a tight grip on the right handle keeps the "teeth" spinning and on the left handle (which is blocked by the throttle).
The tool rental place guy, Russ, warned me that the first trip across the yard it would move a lot. Russ was a little understated: my hands are sore up to my elbows, still today.
After the first trip across all the ground -- a couple hours, I'd say -- I went back across the yard again to stir things up even deeper. And then the tiller croaked. :7(
To my great surprise, Rental Russ drove over with a truck full of tools and tried to fix the tiller. He couldn't resuscitate it so I went back with him and got their other one. (He put on a new drive belt. The heavy-duty one wouldn't fit, he told me," but this lightweight one will be good for you." "Oh HO! Good enough for me, eh?" I laughed, and he looked up, smiling. Good thing he wasn't mad: he let me use the other tiller as long as I want, and I ended up saving about half my rental costs. Go, Russ, go!)
After church on Sunday, Carolyn raked all the clods and stones into rows. I went out to haul them into the forest inthe wheelbarrow, and discovered that neither shovel nor pitchfork would pick the stuff up. I ended up using my two hands to scoop the stuff into the wheelbarrow, and after about twenty trips I had to quit when it started to rain.
So now our yard is bare dirst with long rows of sratched-up rocks and grass tufts. I imagine today's mild sun and yesterday's brief, pounding rain will turn it all as hard as ceramic. I have to get it all cleared out this week, because we're ordering up a truck full of dirt for next weekend's fun!
Carolyn has always hated our yard's pocked surfaces and mangy grass, so we're finally re-doing our lawn. And man what a lot of work and pain are packed into those few words.
Saturday morning I went to the rental place and picked up one of their roto-tillers. Tilling an existing lawn is hard: you have to hold the tiller down and back so it cuts through the grass (instead of skittering off across the yard like a crab), but not so far down that it suddenly grabs the soft soil underneath and buries itself in a fountain of dirt. Then you have to pop it out and up and forward to a new spot, but still hold it back and down. And keep your hands locked on the lousy controls: a tight grip on the right handle keeps the "teeth" spinning and on the left handle (which is blocked by the throttle).
The tool rental place guy, Russ, warned me that the first trip across the yard it would move a lot. Russ was a little understated: my hands are sore up to my elbows, still today.
After the first trip across all the ground -- a couple hours, I'd say -- I went back across the yard again to stir things up even deeper. And then the tiller croaked. :7(
To my great surprise, Rental Russ drove over with a truck full of tools and tried to fix the tiller. He couldn't resuscitate it so I went back with him and got their other one. (He put on a new drive belt. The heavy-duty one wouldn't fit, he told me," but this lightweight one will be good for you." "Oh HO! Good enough for me, eh?" I laughed, and he looked up, smiling. Good thing he wasn't mad: he let me use the other tiller as long as I want, and I ended up saving about half my rental costs. Go, Russ, go!)
After church on Sunday, Carolyn raked all the clods and stones into rows. I went out to haul them into the forest inthe wheelbarrow, and discovered that neither shovel nor pitchfork would pick the stuff up. I ended up using my two hands to scoop the stuff into the wheelbarrow, and after about twenty trips I had to quit when it started to rain.
So now our yard is bare dirst with long rows of sratched-up rocks and grass tufts. I imagine today's mild sun and yesterday's brief, pounding rain will turn it all as hard as ceramic. I have to get it all cleared out this week, because we're ordering up a truck full of dirt for next weekend's fun!
