Born Again

"There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza. . ."

Baptism by fire can be part of it.  But once that part's done, I'm left to come up with a use for the damaged object. When there's a hole in the water can, at the very bottom, it cannot  carry water again. Plastic could probably be "welded" and repaired in some way, but Things I get to do today yielded another idea.

Jigsaw modified for a new life

A past post applauded a mulch scoop made from a milk jug.  I called it the perfect scoop.  A more careful review would have noted that it was flimsy and collapsed with pressure. So another scoop was creating itself shortly after.

Born again to a new and useful purpose

Now in it's new form, the previously holey water can is a most sturdy sort of scoop for mulch and soil amendment distribution.  A new life, rising not from ashes but from melted plastic, is ready to be of service.

It's OK to Drool

51" handle and an 18" handle hoe

These guys nearly run themselves!  Remember the broom that swept the floor all by itself?  Well, here you go--two tools for the yard and garden that will hoe your socks off, weed with such ease it makes your eyes water, dig holes, chop out shrub suckers, work around step stones and rocks, slide with ease through hard packed earth in a hen yard,  and remove a dandelion along with its roots.  And that's just the beginning of Things I get to do today with these babies.

While helping a friend remedy a state of back-yard, where-do-I-begin overwhelm not long ago, I had the great fortune of using this long-handled hoe.  Had to have one.  Being the brand-new owner of a long-handle and a short-handle hoe hauls me out to the yard to put these to the test.  Stunned and amazed I was by how easily they did the job.  The hoe part is very heavy metal.  You move the handle, and the weight of the hoe head just slices right through everything.

You will never wear this out!

Sorry to say you can't rush out to your local garden retailing Giant and buy one for yourself.  These are individually hand made by Hinh T. Pham in Sherwood, Oregon. They are sold by word of mouth, and Pham can hardly keep up with the demand.  Blue Heron Garden Tools, their business,  will have its website up and available soon.  I'll keep you posted.  Until then you can reach them at 503-625-5597. They ship!

I'm Guilty, Too

Keep your tools clean!  And keep them sharp if that is one of their features.  That's the ideal, and many of the Things I get to do today are about the ideal.   The ideal is great, but then there's real life.

Ugly and not fit to use

A blog follower admitted with embarrassment in response to a post last fall:  I don't take care of my tools.  Just so you know, blog follower,  I don't take very good care of mine either.

All better.  Now it just needs to be activated
by a good strong arm and some determination.

I found this pathetic weed sickle in the shed the other day.  An hour or so later, it was pulled back from the brink of hideous and can now be used again.  Nobody's perfect.  I'm guilty, too.