Zen and the art of the decespugliatore…

19th June 2008

 In London, when I used to hear a faint buzzing hum on a hot Summer’s day, it was more than likely a hovering helicopter, checking the congestion or searching for an escapee from the local prison.

When we thought of moving to Italy, one of the overriding sounds that I always imagined and hoped for was a similar faint, distant hum of Summer, but this time caused by crickets, bees, or simply the hazy heat rising.
Unfortunately I was wrong.

That sound here (especially at this time of year) is nothing to do with nature, it is the buzz of the ubiquitous ‘decespugliatore’. Americans know it as the ‘weed-whacker’ and, in England, it is simply called a ‘strimmer’.

To memorise and then to be able to pronounce this inexplicable word makes you an honorary Italian in my eyes and, despite the rising heat in Italy, my decespugliatore was hard at work today, along with so many thousands of others across the country.

Yes, grown men in orange boiler suits, you know the ones, spend hours each day strimming Italy’s countryside.

Some say Italians are a little obsessed with this method of weed control, I say no.
Once you’ve strapped on one of these beautiful machines with the correct mix of petrol and oil (‘miscela’ it’s called, available from country petrol stations on request) you can see why the hours seem to fly by.

You go into a kind of hypnotic trance, strimming away at anything that has the temerity to raise its head above about an inch off the ground. It’s mesmerising.

In England I used to feel quite sorry for anyone with that job, I just couldn’t see the attraction. Now I know that they are the lucky ones, not those fancy uniformed and sunglassed helicopter pilots.

The stupidest thing I did today;

Just got a bit carried away with my decespugliatore…now I have a little explaining to do.

Comments

[Antonina]

Ah another one has given and been assimilated in to the vortex of the SUPER WEED WHACKER as we say in CANADA, my marito also on Friday nights gets his gear on Safety glasses and steel toe construction boots white socks , Bermuda shorts old t shirt and straps on his weed whacker that his dutiful son got for fathers day a few years ago. He has been known to weed whack tops off plants such as peonies and daisy's and an entire row of lavender. Then had the nerve to tell me someone is growing a smelly plant near by.I'd like to give him a little trim sometimes with that thing but my arms are not long enough to pull out that starter cord,so he's safe for now.

[nyc/carribean ragazza]

belle foto.

I hope it's cooler where you are. Rome is crazy hot!

[Scintilla]

Superb photo of the countryside.

We used to 'strim' the lawn at Positano, then we bought a mini 'tosa erba' - makes the weeds look more acceptable.

[Ice Tea For Me]

What lovely pictures, you should post more, they're beautiful.

I hate to 'weed whack' my lawn, it takes longer then the actual mowing part. I do love to mow though, my slave labor (son) moved out several years ago so I'm now back to doing it myself. Argh!

[erin :: the olive notes]

beautiful photos...love the one in the grass! I'm still a little stumped on how to say "decespugliatore" :)