Does anyone know how to use a rake, anymore?
Nov 21, 2021 09:42:58 #
I spent yesterday working in my yard for about 6 hours and all I could hear for the entire time, was the irritating sound of one or more leaf blowers. Most sound like a cross between a jet engine and a wood chipper.
I was using one of the new, double-tined rakes (they work great) on my front lawn while my neighbor used a leaf blower on the same sized lawn. Guess who finished, first? Raking provides upper body exercise, it allows one to enjoy the sights & sounds of nature, it doesn't waste gasoline or create fumes and best of all, it doesn't blast the neighborhood with a relentless ear-splitting racket.
Telephone poles are inherently ugly but they're so ubiquitous we mentally eliminate them from our view. Have leaf blowers become the auditory equivalent of telephone poles? Have any of you Hoggers stopped and noticed how obnoxious they are or do you mentally block them out of your hearing?
I was using one of the new, double-tined rakes (they work great) on my front lawn while my neighbor used a leaf blower on the same sized lawn. Guess who finished, first? Raking provides upper body exercise, it allows one to enjoy the sights & sounds of nature, it doesn't waste gasoline or create fumes and best of all, it doesn't blast the neighborhood with a relentless ear-splitting racket.
Telephone poles are inherently ugly but they're so ubiquitous we mentally eliminate them from our view. Have leaf blowers become the auditory equivalent of telephone poles? Have any of you Hoggers stopped and noticed how obnoxious they are or do you mentally block them out of your hearing?
Nov 21, 2021 09:50:47 #
I block them out. Only happens a couple of times a year.
House is closed for the season so I only hear them when I go outside, if they're running.
P.S. - I use an electric blower or the lawn guy, who uses gas blowers.
House is closed for the season so I only hear them when I go outside, if they're running.
P.S. - I use an electric blower or the lawn guy, who uses gas blowers.
Nov 21, 2021 09:55:32 #
Blowers can be annoying but I can deal with it. It’s only a few days out of the year. Do you feel the same about snow blowers?
Nov 21, 2021 10:01:08 #
Dannj wrote:
Blowers can be annoying but I can deal with it. It’s only a few days out of the year. Do you feel the same about snow blowers?
Lawnmowers?
Nov 21, 2021 10:02:51 #
Nov 21, 2021 10:15:57 #
I use an electric leaf blower to rid my lawn of the neighbor's tree's leaves. I have two trees in my yard one is an evergreen and the other is relatively small but I end up with a yard full of large maple leaves from a neighbor's yard.
Nov 21, 2021 10:21:59 #
Use both, I blow the leaves into piles and my wife rakes them onto a tarp and we drag them off into the woods. Everybody has some irritant, mine is neighbors practicing with shotguns, etc. on nice quiet mornings. Unless something is really outrageous, we all have to allow others their thing or else none of us will be able to do anything before long.
Nov 21, 2021 10:24:12 #
There are no trees on our property yet there are trees on the neighbor's yards and across the street from us. "THEIR LEAVES" carpet our yard. We've lived here for 40-years and I finally gave up on picking up their leaves so I just let nature and the winds do with them as they want....including blowing them back where they came from.
Nov 21, 2021 10:37:33 #
tiphareth51
Loc: Somewhere near North Pole, Alaska
Oh the joy of fall leaves. A rake is a handy tool unless you have a Grandson being helpful: raking the leaves off your car. Such was the mind of a 3 year old. Yes, it really happened.
Nov 21, 2021 10:41:43 #
fourlocks wrote:
I spent yesterday working in my yard for about 6 h... (show quote)
Most folks here would agree with you BUT progress takes precidence. Do you still plow your garden with a stick? The stick was the original "farm tool." Picking the leaves up by hand would give you far more exercise. Noise and fumes are negated also. I have yet to meet a photographer who has eliminated telephone poles or the wires they carry. You seem to enjoy the fall ritual quite well. No need to give it up. As a suggestion I offer a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones and a good MP3 player. Then you could even sing like you're in your favorite shower. Try it, amuse your neighbor!
Nov 21, 2021 10:43:22 #
fourlocks wrote:
I spent yesterday working in my yard for about 6 h... (show quote)
Yes, they're very annoying - constantly heard in my neighbourhood where more well-off people employ landscaping firms to clear their yards. Our local council is considering banning the leaf blowers due to the excessive noise. I hope they can do it.
Nov 21, 2021 10:44:18 #
I quit using a rake a long time ago. Now I use my riding lawn mower to pick up the birch and cottonwood leaves. We have lots of trees around and I get lots on the back yard each fall, so it takes usually three sessions to get all the leaves. The fence keeps them in. The front yard is open, so that only takes one session. Both yards are big enough (half an acre) that manually raking would be an exhausting chore. I have a leaf blower, but rarely use it.
Nov 21, 2021 13:05:19 #
DebAnn wrote:
...
Our local council is considering banning the leaf blowers due to the excessive noise. I hope they can do it.
Our local council is considering banning the leaf blowers due to the excessive noise. I hope they can do it.
Lawn mowers next?
Nov 21, 2021 13:18:19 #
PhotogHobbyist wrote:
I use an electric leaf blower to rid my lawn of the neighbor's tree's leaves. I have two trees in my yard one is an evergreen and the other is relatively small but I end up with a yard full of large maple leaves from a neighbor's yard.
The concept is Windfall. If he had an Apple tree and apples dropped in your yard, those would be yours also.
Traditionally, my sons come and blow the leaves off our 500’ driveway the day before Thanksgiving dinner while the grandchildren play in the woods. I don’t have the heart to tell them that most of the leaves fall after Thanksgiving.
Nov 21, 2021 16:59:48 #
Longshadow wrote:
Lawn mowers next?
Lawn mowers next?
Electric are I'm sure are quitier, but I'd need at least 250 feet of cord and a lot of electrical tape for severed cords. I once used a hedge trimmer for clearing an area for planting trees, cut off my drill cord used for making holes, went up and bought new one, that cord lasted maybe 10 minutes, not good on cords.
I'd need multiple batteries or recharges per mow for battery operated ones.
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