Trench Digging Continues – Weeds Weary Steve – Steve Fights Back with Weed Killer – No – I’m Not an Environmentalist – But I’m Sympathetic to the Cause – I’m Not Against All Herbicides – But I Can’t Think of Any I Like – We Have Reduced the Use of Weed Killers this Year –

Here is my trenching project for today. I finished it except for a small portion behind the plant hidden from the camera lens. Steve began spraying for weeds and I could smell it. He sprays directly on the root of the weed, but somehow the odor reached my nose, and I was out of there.

Steve and I do not argue over this issue. I listen to his reasoning and understand entirely where he is coming from. I’m on his side, and as we understand it…

1) The weeds are relentless, and the alternative to weed killer in certain cases (i.e. weeds that spread out over a bed of stones) would be much back-breaking labor.

2) Our drinking water comes from the mountains, not the water table beneath the yard. (We are not experts. If you are an expert or have better knowledge than we, feel free to contribute your comments.)

3) The harm done to the environment is minimal. Steve only zaps the weeds that defy the pulling-out method.

I have always been in favor of minimizing the use of herbicides and pesticides for obvious reasons. I don’t like mosquito spray, but I don’t like mosquito. I don’t like herbicides, but I like fruits and vegetables and want all people to be able to have them. These are only a few of the factors that make this issue difficult to remedy.

I solved my own desire to avoid inhaling any herbicide by leaving my project not quite finished. Spraying was Steve’s last job in the front yard. He was more willing to finish my job afterward than to quit his before its completion. I thought the front yard was finished yesterday, but I was wrong.