I purchased a "sling blade," as hubby calls it, to accomplish my mission. I grabbed my camera and headed down to the pond. I took my "before" picture so that when my work was complete, I would be able to take my "after" picture and pride myself on how much I had accomplished. (Oh ye of lofty ambitions, LOL) I set my camera on the pier and got down to work.
Hmmmmm.....these weeds are REALLY tough....REALLY tall (taller than me) and I have about a 1/4 acre I want to tame.....I worked about 10 minutes before the sweatshirt I had worn (because the wind made me chilly) was just too warm. So, I threw it up on the pier and continued my sling-blading (don't I sound tough! LOL). Hmmmm....this was going MUCH slower than I had envisioned. I also was fairly convinced I would be Paul Bunyan by the time I finished....IF I ever finished.
I got a wild hair and thought, hmmm, this pond floor is nice and dry now and I bet I could use the riding mower to cut this stuff quickly....sadly, once an idea is in my head, no matter how inane, I am driven to give it a try. I hiked back up the path to the John Deere, fired him up and drove back to the pond. Once there, I took the very steep incline down onto the pond floor and engaged the blade. WOW this worked GREAT....for about 4 feet! Then, with a mighty choke, the mower shut down.
Great! I figured I'd hit a root or something, I got off the mower and tried to push it back...it did not budge....I tried to push it forward. It was equally stubborn in either direction. I tried lifting it and rolling it forward...hmmmm...Mr Atlas, I ain't....so no go there. I tried starting it up again but it did not want to start, and I didn't want to run the battery down....so, I decided I'd BEST go and get a second opinion, knowing full well, I would get the, "I told you so..." from hubby.
Still, I hopped off the mower and headed up the path. I didn't get 40 feet up the path before I met hubby heading down to the pond. "You get in trouble yet?" he asked (smug look on his face...) LOL Seems he had waited what he considered a sufficient time for me to get stuck and decided to come down to check on me (or to prove himself correct, which I PERSONALLY believe was his objective.)
Well, he looked at the Deere resting in the tall weeds. He suggested we would have to push it out....no, no, I reminded him...pushing was out of the question...he has a bad back and I had already convinced myself it wasn't budging under my power. So, I asked him just to try starting it again. This time it fired right up and I asked him to put it in reverse...that worked too,and I found the culprit that had impeded earlier movement....BIG root! LOL
Now, there was no way I would DARE continue with the DEERE, so I had to just get it out of the pond....hubby said we would have to have a tow truck come to get it out as the embankment was TOO STEEP...."no, no," I assured him, "I can do it!" LOL He just stood there shaking his head as I took several "runs' at the embankment....but I persevered and FINALLY, I hit pay dirt! Woohoo! Up the embankment I went, literally feeling like a champion rodeo rider in the process! I hooted with delight and drove the Deere back to safety. Hubby returned to the safety of the couch and I returned to the sling-blading....
I worked for about another hour, and by this time I was REALLY hot and the sweat pants had joined the sweatshirt on the pier. I was now tilting at windmills in shorts and tank top and having a blast! But I was growing a bit tired and the osprey were flying overhead (always an impressive sight) so I decided I would play Huck Finn, and just "play." I grabbed my camera and lay down in the tall weeds...I don't think I have down that since I was a kid! Why, as a grown up, am I too "responsible" to just lie down in the weeds and gaze at the sky? Well, today I was not and I have to say, I had a wonderful time
From the Pond Floor
The sky was so blue and from my vantage point, the weeds against the blue sky were gorgeous....freeing....and the osprey flying overhead, and Killian running through the weeds, and coming back periodically to check to make certain I had, indeed, only lost my mind, not died...all of this was just amazing to me....so MUCH life and so peaceful, all at once....
Killian checking on Judy
And when I had laid there a while, taking odd photos, of things I would normally never notice, and just really ENJOYING the gifts of a beautiful day, I got back up. Now cooled by the wind, I once again donned my sweats, grabbed my sling blade and headed back to the house. I did not accomplish 10% of what I wanted to accomplish and yet, I accomplished so much more. What a beautiful DAY!
Osprey on the Wing
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