Thursday, May 16, 2013

My New Toy

Yesterday I bought a brushcutter (translation of Motokoca), a heavy grass and brush cutter run by a 2 cycle motor, complete with harness to help lug it around.

The shoulder harness snaps on halfway between motor and handles
It comes with the 10" blade shown for heavy grass, weeds and small brush; a 10" carbide tip blade for larger trees, up to 4"; and a fishline grass cutter.  All for less than $200.  We had been needing one for a few years now and finally made the plunge.

We planted grass seed about five years ago under the trees all across the back of our yard.  The package showed a nice green lawn but the seed was actually wheatgrass, both slender and intermediate.  These are bunch grasses, not creeping rooted.  The grass grows 2 feet tall which is fine if we are cutting hay but if just left to go to seed, it looks like no one cares.

So a month too late to try to turn it into anything resembling lawn, we are mowing it down.  The hay will go for the dogs to sleep on this winter.  I cut under the walnut trees across the street from us and half the back yard on 3/4 litre of gas.  The brushcutter and I ran out of gas at the same time.

Tomorrow at 6:00 am I will finish the back yard and start on the abandoned garden behind Babushka's old cottage.  If I cut it back about 2 or 3 meters along Tanya's kitchen garden it will keep weeds from spreading into the garden...we hope.  Our neighbour's two goats can keep the rest of it down. Then I will do Babushka's yard, to keep it from looking like a jungle again.

Next spring I want to get a lawn mower.  Between mower and brush cutter we should be able to make our grass look like something other than a hay field.

Looks like something the goat chewed.
Uncut.  Tomorrow morning's chores.

13 comments:

  1. Your toy looks like it can get some serious yard work done. It seems like a pretty reasonable price for a versatile machine for what you need.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really knocks the grass and brush down. I was cutting volunteer sour cherry trees this morning up to 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick.

      Delete
  2. You should have bought a mower first.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Billy, I agree totally IF I'd had it a month ago and could have kept the grass to a decent height. Now I am just swinging a motorized scythe through stuff 2 and 3 feet tall. Next year I want a mower by mid April.

      Delete
  3. I got a new riding mower last year cuz Sears had them on sale with a years free interest so I made 100 bucks a month payments and got it interest free.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have a mower, but I had rather have a goat. It would keep the grass down and you can eat it at the end of the season.
    the Ol'Buzzard

    ReplyDelete
  5. Goats don't much like grass, better off with sheep to keep grass down, and a goat to eat the brush.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would need a couple sheep and a couple goats. A friend on Vancouver Island is using goats to mow his lawn and they end up in the freezer. Hmmm.

      Delete
  6. Perfect toy for a natural cut-up!

    Blessings and Bear hugs!
    Bears Noting
    Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)

    ReplyDelete
  7. My dad used to use a well sharpened sickle for such jobs. Wasn't sure if he was trying to perfect a golf swing or underhand tennis shot.

    Goats work well. My sisters goats cleared about two acres of her property. All worked well until they got to the siding on the house.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are a lot of scythes still in use here. I am not good at sharpening stuff and for a scythe to work you need to be able to shave with it.
      There are quite a number of goats around here kept for milk. Maybe, I will think about it.

      Delete
  8. When I was a kid I'd hike into the mountains to a old Greeks place that raised goats and he'd serve up some goat meat, it was good but I didn't like his goat cheese.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are encouraged. But if you include a commercial link, it will be deleted. If you comment anonymously, please use a name or something to identify yourself. Trolls will be deleted