VHA

VHA - Benefits the island and makes it more appealing.

VHA - Health benefits for me

VHA - Monotonous

VHA - Vegetation Height Adjustment - Weed Wacking - Weedeating - NOT trimming!

Writing about weedeating?  Glorifying it by wasting time coming up with witty names? While not the primary responsibility for the Keeper of Broad Key, it is a definite need and takes much time to accomplish.


The above is how I like to keep things. But specially now it is hard to keep up. There has been some rain and the humidity is higher.  The growing season is starting. So my time is more occupied by VHA than ever.  I dare not let it get ahead of me.

When I got here the weeds were taking over. The sidewalk was trimmed a bit. But no more than 10 feet away the weeds were really healthy. During the winter I tried to "push the jungle back". Basically, I now look at the task in three levels. Trimming - the sidewalk and visitor viewing areas. Secondary (I have not thought of a catchy name yet) - areas that I need to keep under control once I did the work of reclaiming. Pushing the jungle back (PJB) - reclaiming overgrown areas that, years ago, were maintained. PJB will now have to be put off until next fall.



As you might have guessed all of this has to be done by weedeater. The surface is too rough to be maintained by mowing. The owner of the island has a brush hog but I don't think it is the tool to make things "nice". So I use the Stihl with a string head and a saw blade for the heavy stuff.

Today I took the right side of the walk area from the right side of the picture to the left side. I did about a 1000 feet of VHA. The need to do VHA is not just for looks. There are so many vines and tree sprouts. To let them go would allow them to start climbing anything that will support them.  Down they must come!


Okay...   So this was not one of the most interesting posts.  But it is life on Broad Key.

Thanks for following the blog.

cz, 1845 5/23/20015