Time for the autumn cut-back in the garden, starting at the top end trimming back bay and oregano, hawthorn hedge and the long grass around the pond.
It’s tough on my thumb joints but also on the Fiskar’s hedge shears that I’m using. They have a gear mechanism but – especially when I’m cutting thicker stems – it springs out of gear, with the result that one of the blades flaps about uselessly.
It doesn’t taken long to loosen the bolts amd put it back togetheer but I’m evidently not there yet with judging how much I should tighten the three bolts: too much and the shears are too stiff to use, too slack and they pop out of gear again.
The long-handled shears, without any gearing, are proving most reliable.