Scythe, Gabriola!
I love the quiet of Gabriola, and interrupting that tranquility with a lawnmower seems just…. wrong. Evil, even. So we ordered a scythe over the internet, and found a book about scything, too. We assembled our scythe, and went to work early one morning.
The first surprise is that scything is insanely fun. When I’m done my arms pretty much shake from the exercise — that’s because my technique isn’t very good yet. But when I’m actually scything… oh, it’s some kind of bliss. I can’t get enough of it. Swish sweeep, swish sweep… and the grass is cut. It makes me wish there were more grass to cut. If I didn’t have so much other stuff to do, I’d go looking for a big Gabriola field to scythe, just for fun.
Here’s how it’s done:
Filed in Gabriola Island 5 Comments so far
5 Responses to “Scythe, Gabriola!”
anon on 15 Jun 2010 at 6:34 am #
The sound of a power mower is a trivial, but nonetheless annoying assault on the peace and quiet of our little bit of paradise. For those of us who are a little less adventurous the latest iteration of the reel mower (http://www2.fiskars.com/Products/Yard-and-Garden/Reel-Mowers) for about $200 is another option, with the whisper of the click-click of a reel mower. And think of all the gas/electricity to be saved and exercise to be had!
Gabriolan on 15 Jun 2010 at 8:33 am #
Good point, anon. Interesting mower you found!
specialk on 15 Jun 2010 at 9:13 am #
I wanted to add that I would very much appreciate a neighbour who took into consideration even the trivial sound of a lawn mower. It does matter to me… and everything in moderation… though it makes me one notch happier knowing that someone else at least considers the noise they put out into the neighbourhood.
But scything, come on…! That MUST be bad for you. Even from the video it looks like someone could get *some* exercise doing something like *that*. Gasp.
Andrea on 15 Jun 2010 at 3:51 pm #
I also have a scythe but have to admit I’m not very good at it. However, your post is inspiring me to get out there and improve my technique. Especially since the lawn mower is broken (and I could use the exercise)… :)
Rick on 15 Jun 2010 at 11:11 pm #
I got a beauty from Lee Valley a few years ago. I love using it too!