Post date: Jul 18, 2015 10:44:26 PM
Once a month our community has a Saturday work day. Today was no exception.
I went to my house-under-construction shortly after 7am and cleaned up a bit, then went to the Common House where we typically gather for these events. Kristin, our weed expert, suggested a couple of weed-killing activities so I went to the barn for tools.
Many of the offending weeds are more than an extension-cord-distance from electric power, so I first lifted the gasoline trimmer off its hook. No. Too heavy. I took the electric trimmer and went home to fetch my 100’ power cord.
I have already trimmed the weeds near where I live, so I went to the neighbors, who have an electric outlet by the electric meter. The first one had a wasp nest inside, so I looked at the adjacent outlet. (Our meters are paired on the property line.) Also had a wasp nest inside, this one with three, not two, wasps.
So I gently pushed the plug into the one socket not covered with paper nest. But when I tested the trimmer — no power. So I moved the cord to the other outlet, which (fortunately) also had one socket uncovered by wasp nest. This one worked. I was able to mow about 60’ along the fence line.
I proceeded to move about six lots down the road, past my house, where I investigated yet another power outlet. This one was more active, with both sockets covered and about half-dozen wasps busy inside. (I didn’t take the time to count them accurately.)
Moving right along to the next power meter with an outlet, but, since this was an older house, the wasps had been active years past, had completely filled the waterproof cover with nest, and the nest was abandoned. When I opened the cover, the nest fell out — and no wasps. I was able to trim the weeds along another 50’ of road. This area had never been cut, so the thistles were big. I also managed to tangle the trimmer in the barbed-wire fence, which put a temporary pause in my activity. I had to rewind the trimmer spool with the nylon cord, but finished as much as my extension cord would allow.
By then I was tired, my arm was tired from supporting and swinging the string trimmer, and I was covered with fragments of green. So I coiled the power cords, hung the trimmer in the barn, and walked toward home. About this time two neighbors were also quitting, and, as we walked near my house, wanted a tour.
After the guided tour (see video), and a short cleanup, four of us went to lunch together. Great way to spend a Saturday morning. In the afternoon I visited the Taos Plaza for Fiestas de Taos, an annual event hosted and emphasizing the active hispanic community. Lots of music and dancing.