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Sunday, April 29, 2012

# 255 - Power Tool CrAzY - POW!

The garden is growing beautifully! Tomatoes, jalapenos, bell peppers, onions, sweet basil, squash, lettuce, and more! This year, we won't let the chickens destroy our crops.

Our first year of having a small backyard flock of chickens has taught us a few valuable lessons in conjunction with gardening:

1. Chickens will tear your garden to pieces!

2. Don't think the chickens will only eat the bugs and magically be glorious garden do-gooders for your growing vegetables! Ha!

3. Chickens are opportunistic and constantly hungry. They spend their day pecking and scratching for food. They have even devoured my jalapeno peppers, and these little stinkers are HOT.

4. For some reason, the chickens don't really crave herbs. I guess "weeds" are unappealing to them.

5. Don't garden barefoot while wearing red toenail polish with chickens nearby. If your toe looks similar to a juicy tomato, beware. Don't say I didn't warn you.

To protect our vegetable garden and to call a truce with the chickens, we decided to make it easy on everyone to simply put up a low fence around the garden, made of trellis. Boundaries are a glorious thing sometimes for everyone involved! I love healthy boundaries!

Today, I got to help Deputy Dave build the fence around our little veggie garden and this was very exciting for me because I was entrusted to use the pneumatic staple gun. And the noise was scary, at first, but then I got accustomed to the "POW" sound or the WHOSH of air, if I pulled the trigger too slow.

However, I have a head-full of long, curly hair and didn't know that my first POW of the staple gun would create a massive burst of air, upward to my head, a burst of air so powerful that it caused my hair to blow straight up in the air. Was I startled? Slightly.


I quickly learned to turn the staple gun sideways to let the compressed air release to my side instead of directly in my face.

Once I began to get the hang of this power tool, I confess, I became a little too obsessed. I found myself leaning over the trellis edge that needed to be stapled into the ground post and I decided to staple every little criss-cross of trellis touching the corner post. POW, POW, POW, POW x 3 more POW's!

 It's good to be secure and over-stapled, or so I thought.

Deputy Dave kindly informs me, after refilling the staple gun for the second time within a span of approximately 15 minutes, "You only need about four to five staples per end of trellis for it to be secure, not twelve plus."

I look down at the power tool in my hand; it ached to be used --- POW --- but I partially surrender. I agreed to hold back the urge to pop every single piece of wood in sight.


Later that afternoon I begin to think about all the tasks we will have to confront while building our cabin in the woods, so I ask, "Does a nail gun work the same way?"

Deputy Dave looks up at me with narrowed eyes, "Yes it does, but with nails, of course."

I feel all giddy inside. Pneumatic nail gun lessons will surely be next. However, I can sense this tiny bit of dread within Deputy Dave, as if he might possibly think we won't be able to afford the number of nails I'll be wanting to utilize --- POW, POW, POW.

Then, I spy the circular saw laying nearby and come up with another brilliant plan. Tomorrow, I think I want to use the circular saw. I told him that I saw a few cuts on some left over trellis that I'd like to make on my own.

He answered, "Hmmmphhh."

I don't think a grunt is a proper reply. Actually, I think he had hit the point to where he was tuning me out and responding with nonsensical sounds instead of words. I've been married over 25 years and have learned that these sound effects keep a man free from commiting to anything or to obligating themselves to any statements. Men are like that.

But that's okay because we women are what you might call, "relentless."

Maybe I should tame the inner-construction madwoman within. However, I'm hooked. I finally have caught a glimpse into the world of WORKING WITH power tools, and I don't think I can ever make it back to my previous reality. I've stepped into the realm of Man's-Power-Tool-Land and it's pretty cool; I don't want to go back to plain vacuum cleaners and blenders and dishwashers...I'm ready to use tools that MAKE THINGS!

Most definitely, I'm ready for more POW moments!







10 comments:

Karen said...

Hi Lana, you had me laughing with this post! Men have the Coolest tools, why should we girls be limited to vacuum cleaners? Sheesh. I've used one of those nail guns and boy, howdy, they are fun. I could just see you out there pow-powing everything in sight.

Carl does the same thing with the 'hmmmm'....but our dear husbands should know by now, resistance is futile.


You are an amazing lady, I'm sure your husband is so proud of you!

I read your earlier post and OWW....I am keeping you in my prayers. The things we have to go through sometimes, it boggles the mind. I pray all will be well!

Rama's Mama said...

I was giggling when I read this, too! Loved it! POW! I wanna do it now! And the end result looks great!

Michelle said...

You go girl! Way to use those tools!

Charade said...

Oh, too funny!

Rain said...

Oh yes I love my staple gun!!
~~Rain

LindaG said...

Yup. My hubby is just the same way. The non-committal 'yeah? uh huh?'.

You are amazing, Lana. And I envy your green thumb!

Any word on a possible buyer?

Hope you all have a blessed week! ♥

Amy Dingmann said...

Ha! I would rather use a nail gun than a vaccum anyday. Women with power tools are unstoppable! Great post! Hope that fence stops those chickens...I remember the first year we had chickens and they demolished my tomato garden. I was NOT happy...and I don't even like tomatoes. I was growing them for hubby. Good luck!

www.FarmLifeLessons.blogspot.com said...

Karen --- I appreciate all of your encouragement! I'm sure you know your way around power tools because you seem to be very hands on with the extent of your property being so GORGEOUS! I also love doing stained glass projects, but haven't tackled a lamp yet. I can't wait until we have room on our land to build a workshop with a corner for stained glass projects. And yes, resistance is futile...you had me laughing on that one! The Deputy tells me he's proud of me all the time, he knows I've had a hard time of it with my body that keeps trying to sputter, but it doesn't hold me back. I'll keep going til I can't keep going no more! :-)

Rama's Mama --- I figured that I'd tackle more power tools. Trying to live more courageously with things that make noise! haha. It's been a lot of fun! I bet you'd love it too.

Michelle --- I'm learning to use the tools proficiently so maybe I can actually take a bit of the construction load off of him, even 10% would be beneficial. I figured I better start learning to do more right now, before we get moved to the country.

Charade --- Not as funny as your turtle releasing post! I still am cracking up the fact that you couldn't get your camera out fast enough to release the RUNNING turtle! Love it!

Rain --- I bet you do love it; I can see why people love those things! Awesome!

Linda --- If I spoke to my husband the way he "speaks" to me, he'd be calling paramedics. Ha Ha...I have to take a laugh break. Okay, I'm back. Yes, men are like that. As for buyers, we've had a couple of good showings this past week, but I didn't do showings this weekend. I'm not going to be able to sell unless I have showings, but I really didn't feel like putting myself through agony with the biopsies...I was not feeling so great. I'm actually thankful the house didn't sell as fast as our other homes because we'd probably be in very bad shape from the too-fast move. At least we're still making changes every week --- this week I've been going through my side of the closet to get rid of old clothes. Hard for me to do!

MamaTea - I agree. Give us the REAL power tools! Well, I still love my vaccum cleaner. I do believe that a woman with power tools is a woman to be reckoned with! As for tomatoes, for years, I actually grew them for my husband because he loved them, but I never ate them. Over time, I began to fall in love with the smell of a vine-ripened tomato and now can't get enough of their taste. I've been fully converted, but it did take a few years. So, you never know...

Lana

Vickie said...

Hey Lana - me too! I love power tools! I know what you mean about the nail gun's exhaust blowing you in the face. I can run a chop-saw, stapler, table saw, sawz-all, and a couple more items now. THey are so fun, and I can think of several more projects that I've been waiting on hubs or dad to help me with that I can do myself! These guys better buy stock in nails while we're around!

Have you heard from your tests, yet, Lana? Been thinking about you...

Anonymous said...

The fence looks really nice.
Chickens have wings.
That is all. :)
Beth