Life Is Good: Mr. Farmer's Rust-Colored Wheelbarrow

I bought Mr. Farmer a rust-colored wheelbarow for his 50th birthday this year. While women don't usually care for gifts that could be construed as "work" (blenders, vacuum cleaners, etc.), men love getting tools as gifts. Mr. Farmer specifically asked for a wheelbarrow for his birthday, and I knew that it really would make the spring easier. So I somehow managed to buy it, keep it concealed, and present it to him on the afternoon of his birthday - in the hands of a snowman that I made just for him. He was very pleased.

I don't understand why they bother to put pretty paintjobs on functional, hardworking pieces of equipment like wheelbarrows. Our old dirt-hauler has not a speck of paint left on it. I couldn't guess what color it was when it was shiny and new. The birthday 'barrow was a shiny orange-rust color. I felt bad about loading it up with rocks and dirt. I hate to be the one to mess up his new tool. So far the paint is holding up, aside for some scratches and such.

Mr. Farmer scoffs at the idea that I use his wheelbarrow more than he does, but it surely feels like it to me. I have relocated rocks with it. I have cleaned up woodchips with it. I have hauled endless loads of soil. But, from what he tells me, this gift is one that he uses every single day.

Personally, I like the gift I use every single day (my remote car starter) an awful lot better. But to each his own, right?

Busy Day in the Herb Garden