His and Hers

We splurged again this weekend.

New shovels.

I don't remember the last time I used a shovel with a good point.  These also have a larger "step" to put your foot on when digging.

I broke the handle on our older shovel last week while trying to pry bamboo roots out of the ground. I should have got the digging bar. I could feel the handle getting weaker, and finally it snapped.

It looked so sad and pathetic. 

When we were at the home improvement store this weekend, I was looking at the selection of shovels.  Walt Kowalski and I were debating the pros and cons of wooden handles versus fiberglass handles. 

An older gentleman walked by as we were "testing" the shovels and said 'Make sure you buy the one she can use! har har har.' I replied to him 'You are right! I broke the last one.'

He thought he was making fun of woman who would use a shovel. har har har.

My only complaint of so many tools is that the handles are not sized small enough for my hands. The hammer manufacturers have changed and made smaller grips, but the shovels are too large for comfort. (I'm sure it has to do with stability.) 

In the end we bought two new shovels, one with a wooden handle and one with a fiberglass handle, and a new handle for the old shovel.  

At the Cat Ranch, you can never have enough shovels and spades. We just don't have many diamonds. 

Both new shovels worked extremely well attacking the bamboo.

We dug up this entire field of bamboo by the roots and gathered a nice pile of rocks to add to the path by the shed. I'm certain we will have to do this process many times over the course of the summer and years to come, but it's a good start in this battle. 

Walt Kowalski didn't need that jacket for very long. 

P.S. Shovel and spade are used interchangeably, but a shovel has a pointed tip and is most often used for digging large holes.  Whereas a spade has a flat tip and used for cutting, edging, and scraping.