I have just come up from working in my raised bed garden. Some pesky weeds would not come up when I tried to hand pull them. I had a hoe outside the fenced garden but I did not want to make a big project of this weed pulling. So, I postponed the weed pulling until another day.
Thus began my thinking process. Gardening has become so much easier in recent times. I do not recall home owners having earth tillers when I was growing up. You plowed with a mule pulling the plow or your neighbor did it for you. Around 1920 the first mechanical earth turner came into existence, but was not in common use among home gardeners. They cost money and serious gardeners are about saving money, not spending it.
Growing up we always had a garden, and my mother canned the produce from her garden. It was a necessity as she had eight children to feed. As years passed and she no longer had to feed a large family, gardening fell by the wayside. But old habits die hard and she still liked to have her hand in the process. My mother lived in a small apartment attached to her oldest daughter's home. Her husband had a garden and my mother in her 80th year took her footstool and went to the garden with a hoe to do her part. I have a picture of my mother sitting on that stool
wearing a straw hat and stopping for a moment to have her picture taken.
Central air conditioning was another appliance which was not seen in many homes. However my father had something which ran a close second to air conditioning in a room. It was a footstool, of sorts. It was round, with a motor and blades underneath the seat. On each side of the seat were curved handles for ease of carrying from one room to the other. When turned on the air came up and out from all sides through a heavy mesh covering. Adults were not inclined to sit on this stool, but it was an enticing pastime for youngsters. The fan had one speed, "on" and that was all that was needed. With that in the middle of your room you were plenty cool enough to enjoy the hottest day.
I have always been intrigued with footstools. They are small and handy. If I see them in a store I feel compelled to stop and examine them. I have one on my back deck which doubles as a small low table. When you pick it up by the two inside slats it folds upward and can be carried easily. A very functional little piece of furniture. I found a small footstool made of plastic which folds inward to make it easy to store. It fits nicely between my washer and dryer and is there if I cannot reach something on a top shelf. There are footstools to fit every occasion it seems. And I say "Hooray" for footstools and any invention which makes work easier.
Thus began my thinking process. Gardening has become so much easier in recent times. I do not recall home owners having earth tillers when I was growing up. You plowed with a mule pulling the plow or your neighbor did it for you. Around 1920 the first mechanical earth turner came into existence, but was not in common use among home gardeners. They cost money and serious gardeners are about saving money, not spending it.
Growing up we always had a garden, and my mother canned the produce from her garden. It was a necessity as she had eight children to feed. As years passed and she no longer had to feed a large family, gardening fell by the wayside. But old habits die hard and she still liked to have her hand in the process. My mother lived in a small apartment attached to her oldest daughter's home. Her husband had a garden and my mother in her 80th year took her footstool and went to the garden with a hoe to do her part. I have a picture of my mother sitting on that stool
wearing a straw hat and stopping for a moment to have her picture taken.Central air conditioning was another appliance which was not seen in many homes. However my father had something which ran a close second to air conditioning in a room. It was a footstool, of sorts. It was round, with a motor and blades underneath the seat. On each side of the seat were curved handles for ease of carrying from one room to the other. When turned on the air came up and out from all sides through a heavy mesh covering. Adults were not inclined to sit on this stool, but it was an enticing pastime for youngsters. The fan had one speed, "on" and that was all that was needed. With that in the middle of your room you were plenty cool enough to enjoy the hottest day.
I have always been intrigued with footstools. They are small and handy. If I see them in a store I feel compelled to stop and examine them. I have one on my back deck which doubles as a small low table. When you pick it up by the two inside slats it folds upward and can be carried easily. A very functional little piece of furniture. I found a small footstool made of plastic which folds inward to make it easy to store. It fits nicely between my washer and dryer and is there if I cannot reach something on a top shelf. There are footstools to fit every occasion it seems. And I say "Hooray" for footstools and any invention which makes work easier.
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