The Sharpest Crew in Town

Being new to this land stewardship thing has been so hard, fun, satisfying, frustrating, ridiculous and most importantly, filled with entirely unexpected camaraderie.

We get lots of offers to mow our meadow for cheap, cheaper than the last guy, cheapest in town. We won’t have it. We are committed to soil health. Clean energy. Not compacting the ground where we want things to grow. Not grinding up the critters who live there. Protecting saplings that can’t be seen from ride-on mowers. Caring for our property without loud motors and gassy fumes.

We had lots of conversations with friends about how to manage our meadow with our land stewardship ideals, one which led us to Gabe Brown, a local guy who uses a scythe to cut grass and trim yards for free, because he loves nature and making friends locally. We were intrigued. 

Fast forward to today - with Gabe as our leader, we are completely sold on the idea of scything in community. We found our “unexpected camaraderie” in what is now the loosely organized Deviled Eggery Scything Club, where we appear at workshops, parades, festivals, and on neighbors property in the middle of the night because we just can’t get enough of those tall weeds. (Not so much that last part.) We are the proud owners of multiple snaths, blades, sharpening stones, and peening jigs.

And, well, we found our people.

There are no fees, no dues, no meals, no expectations, no requirements, and no stress. We just just talk and cut grass. Reach out if you’d like to join the sharpest crew in town!

To learn more about scything, check out Gabe’s op-ed in the Press Democrat: Close to Home: Consider the scythe.