KEN GRAHAM: FROM THE PUBLISHER

One of the great inventions of modern times is the string trimmer – better known as the weedeater. (Like kleenex and band-aid, I've stopped capitalizing it.)

For a long time, I owned two. One, which I bought more than 20 years ago, is powered by a two-stroke engine, which operates about three inches from my right ear. It requires me to mix oil with the gas before putting the gas in the engine. Then I have to pull the starting rope multiple times before it fires up. It used to start on the second or third pull, but, like many of us, it's become more cantankerous with age.

My second weedeater has an electric motor that starts instantly, doesn't smell and is relatively quiet. But to use it, you have to drag a thick 50-foot extension cord around. It does a great job cutting weeds within 50 feet of the house, as long as I don't trip and fall.

I live in the country, and one of our rules out here is that you can never own too many weedeaters. So last week I got a third one, which solves all of the above problems.

It's battery operated and weighs less than 10 pounds. It's quiet, starts instantly and goes anywhere. It came with a second battery, so I always have a charged one at the ready.

I'm sure you're thinking that it must be kind of wimpy. You're right, it's "light duty." It works great on grass and skimpy weeds, but weeds with stems more than about an eighth inch thick just laugh at it. But I have backups, even though they're more of a hassle. In the end I win, no matter what.

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It's been a banner year for humming birds out here on the South Touchet. They arrived about tax time and were swarming our feeders by mid-May.

The population has dwindled some and stabilized, but we still have a lot. I took this photo from the kitchen window Monday morning.

I'm not in charge of making the hummingbird food at my house (I'm the weed whacker), but I've been told that we've gone through nearly 50 pounds of sugar so far this year. And we'll likely continue to refill the feeders until mid-October or so. In case you're wondering, here's the recipe:

One part sugar to four parts water. That's it. No food coloring needed – they don't care. The best plan is to dissolve the sugar into boiling water one-to-one and then add three more parts cold water.

And when you drip it on the floor, it makes the floor very sticky. Just sayin'.