Mother's Day and the backbreakers

I love dirt. Good clean dirt. It looks deliciously enticing in a run-your-fingers-through-my-hair sort of way. Soft, crumbly and moist. So, naturally, I pull weeds. I don't love it, but I do it for the end result. I know very well that they will come back and I will have to do it again (next year..heeheehee) but for a brief moment I can see the lovely brownness and place desirable seeds in a good clean spot. That's why I kept the backbreakers.

This is my backbreaker. One of them. I have two. You push it into the dirt and turn and presto! the weed comes up. I'm sure this is one of the lines they use on their infomercials, and it is true, that is just exactly how it works. What they don't say is that after 4 or 5 turns, the twisting motion begins to take it's toll on your back. I do admit that it is a bit faster than doing it completely by hand, but it deserves some complaints, too. So why do I have two of them? How I acquired the first one: it was left in the garage of the first home we bought. How I acquired the second one: it was left in the garage of the second home we bought. I think I am seeing a pattern here. Someone must have discovered before me that these tools aren't all they cracked up to be.

And now for my Mother's Day gift: a tiller attachment for the weed whacker. WOOHOO!