Connie's Corner

A couple blips....

I had a blip with my grass cutting yesterday...although I did get it finished. When I turned the key on the riding mower, it went click, click....dead battery. Since it was around four years old, I wasn't upset that it died, even expecting it every time I turned the key. It's easy to remove, just disconnect the leads and lift out the little container it sits in. I settled it on a towel on the truck floor and anchored it in place with a little trash can so it wouldn't turn over on my journey to Tractor Supply. Once there, I wheeled it into the store on a shopping cart, and the man at customer service quickly matched it to a new one, commending me for bringing the old core. What else would I do with it? I had no trouble installing the new one at home, and as soon as I turned the key, instant success. I didn't realize how the old one had been grinding all along, telling me it was time to replace.

After grass cutting, I trim and edge. I have a string trimmer and a push-type edger. Thinking the string trimmer would edge faster (since I had lost time with the battery), I decided to try it, and it actually worked great even if it was a little less straight. Edging with a string trimmer is sort of like free writing, all the direction lies with the user. But I was satisfied with it...until the line disappeared. I can follow directions, but reading the line replacement information baffled me. And obviously, I did not do it right because it disappeared again almost as soon as I edged an inch. I gave it three good tries, redoing the insertion of the string, leaving around six inches hanging out on each side, but none worked any better than the first time. I finished up with the "real" edger and left the trimmer for a later project. Does anyone have any useful tips for me when I get back to it?

until next time...c