Thursday, October 3, 2013

Is Scything Addictive?



h/t: Cody Jarrett at Trooper York



The combination of scythe and grindstone used to keep the grass mowed.

The Tuft of Flowers (1913)

I went to turn the grass once after one
Who mowed it in the dew before the sun.  
The dew was gone that made his blade so keen
Before I came to view the levelled scene.  
I looked for him behind an isle of trees;
I listened for his whetstone on the breeze.  
But he had gone his way, the grass all mown,
And I must be, as he had been,--alone,  
`As all must be,' I said within my heart,
`Whether they work together or apart.'  
But as I said it, swift there passed me by
On noiseless wing a 'wildered butterfly,  
Seeking with memories grown dim o'er night
Some resting flower of yesterday's delight. 
And once I marked his flight go round and round,
As where some flower lay withering on the ground.  
And then he flew as far as eye could see,
And then on tremulous wing came back to me.  
I thought of questions that have no reply,
And would have turned to toss the grass to dry; 
But he turned first, and led my eye to look
At a tall tuft of flowers beside a brook,  
A leaping tongue of bloom the scythe had spared
Beside a reedy brook the scythe had bared.  
I left my place to know them by their name,
Finding them butterfly weed when I came.  
The mower in the dew had loved them thus,
By leaving them to flourish, not for us,  
Nor yet to draw one thought of ours to him.
But from sheer morning gladness at the brim,  
The butterfly and I had lit upon,
Nevertheless, a message from the dawn,  
That made me hear the wakening birds around,
And hear his long scythe whispering to the ground,  
And feel a spirit kindred to my own;
So that henceforth I worked no more alone;  
But glad with him, I worked as with his aid,
And weary, sought at noon with him the shade;  
And dreaming, as it were, held brotherly speech
With one whose thought I had not hoped to reach.  
`Men work together,' I told him from the heart,
`Whether they work together or apart.'  
~Robert Frost (1913) 

25 comments:

rhhardin said...

I have no trouble stopping after a couple of swaths across the lawn each day.

I get my stuff at Scythe Supply . com , run by a nice lady in Maine.

Buy the "outfit" with a straight snath. They bend the bent ones too much these days.

A 26" grass blade is good for starters in lawn work. Longer blades require a little skill and deftness. Move up to them.

Calypso Facto said...

I think scything is by definition reductive.

rhhardin said...

American blades are hard steel, and need a grindstone.

European blades, like mine and the lady in the video, are soft steel and take constant occasional whetstone sharpening.

But you wanted that ten second break anyway.

Every so often (days), you also peen the blade to move new metal down to the newly thinned edge so that sharpening works again.

The peening hardens the blade to a good compromise hardness.

rhhardin said...

My photos with tag scythe.

chickelit said...

Calypso Facto said...
I think scything is by definition reductive

Leading back to what?

bagoh20 said...

Hardin is in love, and thinking about all the tinkering he could get done with a woman like that.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

[R]hhardin's flickr stream is pretty fucking amazing.

Calypso Facto said...

Leading back to what?

Using scythes results in reduced grass.

Conversely, using grass results in reduced size!

Methadras said...

If she put on a black robe and a skull mask... well you get the idea. Besides, this looks like it might be crack bait too, but dare I say, lawnboy to the white courtesy phone. Lawnboy to the white courtesy phone.

Aridog said...

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

[R]hhardin's flickr stream is pretty fucking amazing.

It absolutely is amazing. I love the dog, I mean I really really adore that Doberman. Beautiful dog in appearance and heart. Amazing patience in the dog, she brings toys to play with, even barks in pleading, but no go. Otherwise, too many tools and miscellany laying about ion that yard. Dog could get hurt. Sheesh.

deborah said...

It has to be superb exercise for your core.

deborah said...

Siesta by van Gogh

chickelit said...

@deborah: technically, isn't that two sickles and not scythes in that photo? Here's an enlargement.

deborah said...

Yes, dear. I was going with the flow :)

chickelit said...

I appreciate the comment all the same, deborah. Van Gogh rules.

deborah said...

What's the latest on Trooper?

chickelit said...

Scheduled to have a pacemaker implanted today. Still waiting on outcome news.

deborah said...

Okay, thanks. I guess you would have let us know immediately.

Methadras said...

deborah said...

It has to be superb exercise for your core.


I don't know, her core looks pretty big in that video. Maybe she hasn't been doing it for a long time for any benefits to kick in yet.

bagoh20 said...

So are they called "scyths" because that's the sound they make?

chickelit said...

Well, I for one like the Frost poem. But I'm afraid it's one of those people felt forced to read in HS or college.

chickelit said...

bagoh20 said...
So are they called "scyths" because that's the sound they make?

OED claims the "sc" spelling crept in by analogy to the "sc" in scissors.

MamaM said...

I for two like the Frost poem.

I hadn't seen it below the fold until I read El Pollo's comment. Even with a collection of Frost's books on the shelf, this one was new for me. Thank you.

My dad used to leave a patch of Daisies and Indian Paintbrush unmowed when they were in bloom by the side of the road at the end of our driveway. It drove my mom nuts, but I liked it, and remember his doing so with fondness.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

It has to be superb exercise for your core.

And everything else, I should think.

I rag on CrossFit pretty regularly but their website has done me a world of good.

They give away for free some great advice.

At the top of the list is probably: Think of every exercise as working your core.

If you're doing concentration curls or tricep extensions . . . you might want to re-think that.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Back in the 1970s and 80s, crunches were the thing. There was even a Nautilus machine for it.

No longer. Your mid-section's primary function is stabilization, not extension and flexion.

Crunches are out and they're never coming back.