This is the sorry tale of Phyllis's spade. It belonged to my mother-in-law and was rescued from her house in Portsmouth after she died several years ago.
It was fairly well worn and it's handle was slightly shoogly (that's means shakey if you don't speak the lingo). But the handle was smooth and it was easy to keep clean and to sharpen. And most importantly the spade was the right height for me to dig with.
Unfortunately Phyllis's spade had an accident today. There are a lot of large sycamore trees in the neighbouring church grounds and the roots grow under our vegetable plot. Apart from robbing the soil of nutrients and water most of the roots are too deep to worry about. Today as we were preparing the vegetable patch we discovered a root near the surface. My husband grabbed the nearest implement (Phyllis's spade) and tried to dig the root out......
Sadly the root didn't budge and the spade broke.
At some point the spade will get a new handle. The old handle will make a very superior dibber.
Moral of the tale: Get the right tool for the job.
With regards to Phyllis's spade, I think it would look good as a permanent sculpture in the garden. It could be used as a bird perch or what about a Phyllis spade scarecrow...
ReplyDeleteThank you for these suggestions
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