- Joined
- Jan 27, 2007
- Messages
- 6,518
The good news, for us: we bought a house!
Back in June, we were lucky and blessed enough to be able to buy a house in a great neighborhood here in Concord. It's really become a neat little home for us, and we don't really have any complaints. We're loving it here.
One itty-bitty little problem: vicious, man-eating cactus. Three of them. And they hate us.
The previous owner had planted a lot of cactus decades ago, and as she grew older, she was able to do less & less to maintain them. So, these things grew, and GREW, and GREW, unchecked, for the last 20-25 years or more. Well, unfortunately, the owner died, and the house foreclosed. It was bought & remodeled, and then we were lucky enough to have our offer excepted when it went back on the market. The guys that had it before us completely rebuilt the inside, and did a lot of landscaping, but they left the various cactus plants in place. They did a huge amount of landscaping, so I'm not complaining, but man, it's positively dangerous to walk around outside sometimes. And no way can we let the kids run around out there.
So, I've been putting it off, but after a nasty jab a week ago - literally a gusher that almost prompted an ER visit - these cactus simply can't be ignored any longer. Add to that the fact that some of these spikes are at eye level with a four-foot-tall kid, and the liability is a nightmare, not to mention I can't stand the thought of our son or one of our friends' kids getting hurt.
The biggest problem was our 6-foot Agave Americana (commonly mistaken for a Century Plant), with it's two 'pups', as it's little offshoots are called. Right beside it stood a cholla, a vicious, 5' spikey thing with a rather nasty outlook on life. I have to dig those !#@!#!%!@! barbs out of my hands every time I take the garbage out; they hurt going in, and they hurt almost as bad getting pulled out. Part of the cholla had split off and was buried in the A. Americana, and that's what made the job so miserable:
Here are a few of the spines from the cholla, buried in the A. Americana. (They're everywhere: in the leaves, in the fence, in the ground, in my hands, imbedded in the garbage can wheels, etc.):
One of the spikes that caused the 'gusher' of a week ago:
Not for the faint-of-heart:
The solution: Ethan's all-time greatest invention, the BK-7.
The bigger problem is that, while some cactus plants are somewhat soft (though spikey, of course), they are extremely dense. I mean, like wet-rolled-up-newspaper dense. So, while I can run a machete through a 1" tree branch fairly easily in one swing, these cactus stopped it cold. And they dulled it, too.
So, I needed something that the cactus couldn't 'grab' as it cut through it, but that had enough weight to build up momentum and allow me to make some headway while cutting. After several attempts with various knives [machete, HI CAK, S&W survival beater], hatchets, and saws, the BK7 turned out to be almost perfect for the job - even better than a serrated Spyderco blade. I think the blade grind is what did it, being able to get into close quarters, and still being able to push apart the dense material as it cut; much better than anything hollow-ground.
The cholla became 'cactizombie' after it split and fell; even barely connected to it's parent root, it still sprouted appendages. "Zombie cactus wants your braaaaaaiiiiiins!"
The A. Americana impaled itself as the leaves fell:
The center spire; each leaf peels off from here. This is the reason the whole plant had to go.
The best tool for the job, after all:
Our Becker collection (me & my son) along with some 'souvenir spikes' form the A. Americana, after all all the trimming & hacking:
What's left for now; the rest comes out next weekend. At least it's safer back there now.
So, there it is. My Bk7 has accompanied me on several campouts and hikes, has cut at least half a cord of fire wood, and has done tons of other odd jobs, big & small, for the last five years. But this job was one of the most important, and thankfully the BK7 helped me avoid having to spend money & call in the pros to remove the plant. (I'd rather pay the pros to help me move the others to safer locations later.)
I'm glad the job is done. This obviously isn't a 'survival story', but I have to say, the BK7 has been one of the best investments in working steel I've ever made. Thanks, Ethan. :thumbup:
As for the other cactus plants, I'm hoping to salvage and move the others, out of respect for the previous owner, but we'll see how it goes.
Anybody want some aloe plants? At last count, we have more than 190 aloe plants in our backyard alone.
~Chris
Back in June, we were lucky and blessed enough to be able to buy a house in a great neighborhood here in Concord. It's really become a neat little home for us, and we don't really have any complaints. We're loving it here.
One itty-bitty little problem: vicious, man-eating cactus. Three of them. And they hate us.
The previous owner had planted a lot of cactus decades ago, and as she grew older, she was able to do less & less to maintain them. So, these things grew, and GREW, and GREW, unchecked, for the last 20-25 years or more. Well, unfortunately, the owner died, and the house foreclosed. It was bought & remodeled, and then we were lucky enough to have our offer excepted when it went back on the market. The guys that had it before us completely rebuilt the inside, and did a lot of landscaping, but they left the various cactus plants in place. They did a huge amount of landscaping, so I'm not complaining, but man, it's positively dangerous to walk around outside sometimes. And no way can we let the kids run around out there.
So, I've been putting it off, but after a nasty jab a week ago - literally a gusher that almost prompted an ER visit - these cactus simply can't be ignored any longer. Add to that the fact that some of these spikes are at eye level with a four-foot-tall kid, and the liability is a nightmare, not to mention I can't stand the thought of our son or one of our friends' kids getting hurt.
The biggest problem was our 6-foot Agave Americana (commonly mistaken for a Century Plant), with it's two 'pups', as it's little offshoots are called. Right beside it stood a cholla, a vicious, 5' spikey thing with a rather nasty outlook on life. I have to dig those !#@!#!%!@! barbs out of my hands every time I take the garbage out; they hurt going in, and they hurt almost as bad getting pulled out. Part of the cholla had split off and was buried in the A. Americana, and that's what made the job so miserable:
Here are a few of the spines from the cholla, buried in the A. Americana. (They're everywhere: in the leaves, in the fence, in the ground, in my hands, imbedded in the garbage can wheels, etc.):
One of the spikes that caused the 'gusher' of a week ago:
Not for the faint-of-heart:
The solution: Ethan's all-time greatest invention, the BK-7.
The bigger problem is that, while some cactus plants are somewhat soft (though spikey, of course), they are extremely dense. I mean, like wet-rolled-up-newspaper dense. So, while I can run a machete through a 1" tree branch fairly easily in one swing, these cactus stopped it cold. And they dulled it, too.
So, I needed something that the cactus couldn't 'grab' as it cut through it, but that had enough weight to build up momentum and allow me to make some headway while cutting. After several attempts with various knives [machete, HI CAK, S&W survival beater], hatchets, and saws, the BK7 turned out to be almost perfect for the job - even better than a serrated Spyderco blade. I think the blade grind is what did it, being able to get into close quarters, and still being able to push apart the dense material as it cut; much better than anything hollow-ground.
The cholla became 'cactizombie' after it split and fell; even barely connected to it's parent root, it still sprouted appendages. "Zombie cactus wants your braaaaaaiiiiiins!"
The A. Americana impaled itself as the leaves fell:
The center spire; each leaf peels off from here. This is the reason the whole plant had to go.
The best tool for the job, after all:
Our Becker collection (me & my son) along with some 'souvenir spikes' form the A. Americana, after all all the trimming & hacking:
What's left for now; the rest comes out next weekend. At least it's safer back there now.
So, there it is. My Bk7 has accompanied me on several campouts and hikes, has cut at least half a cord of fire wood, and has done tons of other odd jobs, big & small, for the last five years. But this job was one of the most important, and thankfully the BK7 helped me avoid having to spend money & call in the pros to remove the plant. (I'd rather pay the pros to help me move the others to safer locations later.)
I'm glad the job is done. This obviously isn't a 'survival story', but I have to say, the BK7 has been one of the best investments in working steel I've ever made. Thanks, Ethan. :thumbup:
As for the other cactus plants, I'm hoping to salvage and move the others, out of respect for the previous owner, but we'll see how it goes.
Anybody want some aloe plants? At last count, we have more than 190 aloe plants in our backyard alone.
~Chris
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