Maintenance of Simple Tools

Or, “It’s your hoe, don’t be afraid to take a file to it.”

So this morning after our walkie but before it got too hot I went out to hoe some weeds from the driveway and the drainage ditch that has cut itself into what used to be the driveway…

…and I finished what I had wanted to get done but it seemed as though I was working too hard. These particular weeds spread out from a central root that’s usually pretty easy to sever once you get to it, but I was really having to pound some of these things into submission. Finally it occurred to me to have a look at my hoe…

…and yeah. It’s just a cheap hardware store hoe, I’ve had it around for several years, and have gradually pounded it sharp as a pipe. So – once the job was done, of course, because why do these things in logical order – I locked it in the vice and rooted around in the tool chest for a file.

I must say: After so many years of improvising and making due and muddling through, it’s very nice to finally have accumulated the tools I need to actually do a job properly when I have to.