Some Favorite Items I Use All The Time

 This is a share post, of what I like in farming/gardening things.  I am not affiliated with any of the vendors.  Actually, if I may rant a bit, I am getting tired of my favorite bloggers getting sponsors and now all these pop up, flashing advertisers are showing up on their blogs.  I keep clicking them to close as I am reading their post, but they keep coming back.  It is very annoying.

I have a few products I just love.  I have a Gator that Frank bought me a few years ago, it is used, but boy, what a treat it is to use every day.  If you have property and need something to haul; to pick and transport to another location; to bring gardening items to a particular place, like fertilizers; rakes; straw, even people, these are fabulous.  

This is what is in the bed of my Gator-a farmer woman's tools.

We got our first Gator for mainly Frank in Grass Valley because we lived in a property manager's house where he worked and he needed to go back and forth to the owner's rentals and house (was on 2000 acres).  I used it occasionally, but it was mainly for Frank.

Then when we moved here to Gridley, it was used all the time to help plant trees; to use when irrigating with ditches; to pick up branches and leaves, the list goes on.  Frank's has a push button lift, like a dump truck which makes it wonderful to unload what you are hauling.  The only issue (at least for me because it happens to me more than Frank) is I leave my rake, or clippers, or gardening tools under the pile to be dumped.  I push the button and go on my merry way.  So a day or so later, I am always looking for those items and have to go back to the compost area and move branches or leaves looking for my stuff!!

We have a friend that sells new John Deere products and he called to tell Frank that someone was turning in a 6 year old Gator for a new one, but it was kept inside and well cared for, not abused and maybe he was interested in this one to replace his old one.  We went and looked at it and the price was right, so Frank bought it for me.  He said because he was tired of me using his all the time - a very special gift for me!!!

This is what is in the back of Frank's Gators-fixing irrigation problems.

I love mine, Frank's is a 4x4 so is a bit taller to get in and out.  Mine is a smaller engine, 2 wheel  just PERFECT for me.  Oh, only one thing, the dump part of the Gator is done by hand.  You pull on a lever in the back, the back dumps and then you have to push on it to get it back into place.  Only sometimes a minor inconvenience, but enough that if I ever got a new one, I would make sure the automatic dumper is part of the options.

If you look in that glovebox above, you will see some clippers, I use them every day.  

My favorites are:  ARS 7" light pruners, good for everything I need to cut, snip or prune in the garden. Come in colors, my favorite is teal but I just purchased these 2 new ones that are beige.  I like the colored ones better because I sometimes am cutting in the orchard or gardens and set them down.  It helps to located them among the pulled weeds or cut limbs if they have a bright color on them!! I think what I like most about them is how they fit in a woman's hands and very easy to open and close.

The 2nd clipper I love is the Joyce Chen Kitchen clippers. These are wonderful, lightweight, will cut wire, plastic, flower stems. I do have a pair in kitchen, but also have a couple in my flower/produce studio, they can cut something as fine as ribbon to a flower stem. (I am not a sponsor of either one of these products)

This is another product I use and love.  They are called magnetic parts holder, I call them magnetic dishes, but I use them wherever I need to keep metal objects from being lost or dropped.

I originally ordered them on-line to use for my sewing needles.  Believe me, the magnetic is very strong.  I have dropped this dish and nothing came out of it.  They come in 2 sizes, this one is the large one and I purchased another large one for Frank.  He keeps it on his workbench when he takes apart small machinery.  All the little screws and washers and nuts/bolts stay together instead of lost on the floor or with other stuff on his bench.  

We recently went to Harbor Freight and I found these there for $3.00.  They are smaller but still great and could be useful in offices, any crafty or handy person may need one of these!!!

We have had the worst heat this summer, unbelievable.  I love watching the short clips on Instagram and occasionally people show their locations and it might be raining or they have sweaters on from all over the world.  Well here, it has been in the 90-104 degree weather for almost 4 weeks now and we are just sick of it.  I had to even cancel a few classes because no matter the time of day, evening or morning, it was way to hot to teach canning lessons or whatever!! Hopefully, we can at least get 80 degree weather soon.  Come back soon to find out what is happening in my beautiful flower garden.  Things are finally blooming!