Saturday, April 25, 2009

weed killer

As part of a course on pasture management I am currently taking (more about that some other time), we received this book:


weeds


After careful perusal, my LSH and I determined that we have significant populations of about 90% of the plants pictured in the book. Our property is a veritable weed haven, with healthy and vigorous populations that would have greatly simplified the job of the book's photographers: they could have come over here and knocked out the photos in a few short hours. My LSH proposed that the course managers pay us a small fee to have the attendees troop around and see the book's samples live and up close.

Our weed population has met its match, however. My LSH received a large and mysterious box via UPS on Wednesday. I am not sure how he restrained himself, but he managed to hold off on assembling it until last night.

The days of the weeds are officially numbered.


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And the boys are suitably impressed -- just look at those faces and eyes, equipment like this is what kicks testosterone into high gear -- though they do keep a respectful distance.


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They are also being kept busy maintaining the bucket and hose brigade, because my LSH is employing a take-no-prisoners approach.


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Maybe "scorched earth" would be a even more fitting description of his method.


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But he should be consulting the book a bit more often; those green shoots were not a weed! Not a weed!


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I don't think the following was a weed, but to tell the truth, I can't tell at this point.


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The best part, in my opinion, is the instruction manual. After cautioning the operator to always keep a fire extinguisher handy, it ends a long litany of various behaviors to be avoided by stating "If in doubt, don't do it."

Wise advice indeed. As a matter of fact, I have decided that this will be my mantra of advice for the boys' teenage years, as it is applicable to almost any situation a teenage boy might find himself in. I had my first opportunity to trot it out today when discussing some less-than-ideal behavior with Primo. Of course, the flaw is that the advice presumes that there will be doubt to begin with, but a mother has to have some sort of faith that her nagging and badgering all these years has made a dent in those egos. Let's hope it gets them through. I am starting to get a little worried, myself.

2 comments:

  1. The look on the boys faces is priceless. Whoa, fire and all that smoky stuff. The only thing better is if it made huge amounts of noise.

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