Aah, the smells and sounds of spring are in the air here in the Sierra foothills. We’re camped at one of our all-time favorite parks, Park Sierra SKP in Coarsegold CA. And at this time of year, the smells here are a luscious blend of flora and fresh air. And the sounds are all those you would want of a spring in the foothills: the chirp of the birds, the hammering of the woodpeckers, the buzz of the bees, the whirr of the swarm of golf carts going here-and-there, and an occasional hoot or howl from some form of wildlife. And then there are the weed whackers.

We arrived last Sunday and requested our favorite spot (#436 for those of you who might come to visit). It was available OK, but alas was scheduled for weed removal that was not yet complete. But wait! We can do that! What fun to have some real farming to do! So we happily accepted the overgrown site because it’s one of our very favorites, and promised like Boy Scouts to make our way to the utility shed to check out a couple of Stihl FSE 60’s, the tool of choice for the “occasional” weed trimmer.

The job was just a WEE bit larger than we imagined, but we rolled up our sleeves, stretched out the extension cords, and attacked. This particular site is about 100′ wide and about 90′ deep, with slopes on two sides that lead to the wonderful gully that anchors our privacy here. The weeds went from 24″ high to 3″ high in about 2 hours.

The Easy Part – Patio Edging