Exactly, Tom. It isn't up to the company doing the job, but the standards they need to adhere to. It's a thankless job and a dangerous one and what they deal with are problems they didn't initially create. It's not their responsibility to do remedial work for any issue not related to protecting the lines. In my case, however, the hollow tree was still leaning over their lines and sooner or later would have taken them out, had we not remediated the problem. What I noticed in that photograph was the 'half-tree' behind the tree in question. If it remains healthy enough to continue growing it shall become a continuing issue for power line clearance. What is more cost effective for them. To have to address repeatedly, or to have just removed it the first time and been done with it? I know this has to be a touchy issue between utilities and land owners......but maintenance and its cost is a secondary issue. Power outages from downed limbs and emergency repairs are the primary ones and one trip in the dead of winter or storm situations don't come cheap.

Laurie, I took this definition of hoes for your information. This perhaps explains why the hula hoe didn't perform the function you had hoped for. I've also included information on other hoes. "There are many types of blade of quite different appearance and purpose. Some can perform multiple functions. Others are intended for a specific use (e.g. the collinear hoe has a narrow, razor-sharp blade which is used to slice weeds by skimming it just above the surface of the soil with a sweeping motion; it is unsuitable for tasks like soil moving and chopping). The typical farming and gardening hoe with a heavy, broad delta-shaped blade and a flat edge is the Dego hoe. The Dutch hoe (scuffle, action, oscillating, swivel, or Hula-Ho) is a design that is pushed or pulled through the soil to cut weeds just under the surface. Its tool-head is a loop of flat, sharpened strap metal. It is not as efficient as a chopping hoe for pulling or pushing soil." so, perhaps if your shoulder pain continues, hoes are not the tool for you. and since you described a soil structure that was tough, it seemed the a hula hoe was definitely unsuitable for that soil. In other words, a regular hoe was what you needed but this wouldn't work in respect to your shoulder problems. A simpler solution to deal with weeds in between plants? Cover them up with thick newspapers and mulch to kill them off.

Thanks for all your replies. I was originally thinking of the 10' beds would be subdivided into 3, 3' beds, but you've all made me think that's not wise. That would rule out using the tractor and tiller mid season. Given that my tractor is 7' wide and tiller is 5' wide, I think I'm stuck with making the width of bed + walkway equal a total of 7' at least. Jay has given me some ideas for how the bed itself can be varied a bit, but ultimately the "pitch" of my beds (from one front edge to another) should stay at 7 or 7.5'. I'm definitely going to look into getting a bed shaper. I see that a close by equipment dealer has one for sale for $950. Maybe I can find an old cultivator and just get the bed shaping discs made for it? Chris

Call me obsessive but I'd ask if the walls are sheet rock/dry wall/wall board or not. If not, the house could be old. Then - is it overbuilt? Then it's old. I had a vintage 1980 house that used all the modern methods, minimizing materials, etc. It was decently built but we sold it in '86. Then I moved to a 1972 house that was built to self destruct in 20 years and OMG it was trying so hard! By now even the supposedly permanently finished aluminum siding has been painted (so says google earth.) I still wonder if the 1980 one is holding up better than the '72 one - did it need as much work to keep it alive? (The vinyl siding hasn't been painted.) That would probably have to make a change to my "overbuilt" criterion. So now it's all back down to the plaster. The '72 is 42 years old now. In 8 years, by what people say here, it can be called "old." It still won't have any of the attributes for which we value old houses. As I work to restore my present 100 year old windows I can confidently say I wouldn't hesitate to replace the 42 year old ones. This all brings it back to the overbuilding, no matter how many crazy hipster kids are fascinated by the '70's. (Shiver.) I say it's the attributes, not the numbers.