Trail running, The Laurel Highlands

One of the red efts I find regularly on the LHHT - Route 31 shelters

My blogging has been slow since February of this year, actually nonexistent. Here's a little to fill in my gap... Ice season was pretty much a bust, but ski season was unbelievable. The Laurel Highlands got dumped on with an abundance of natural snow this past winter. Laura and I spent a great deal of time skiing at Seven Springs in their award winning, Terrain Parks. This type of skiing is well known for producing an abundance of injuries to its participants. Here's a couple of skiing pics...

Railslide - The Streets @ Seven Springs

Light pole bonk over the gap - The Streets @ Seven Springs

My injuries included (but weren't limited to) a broken thumb, Injured (most likely broken) ribs. A bruised hip (which prohibited any running until about 5 weeks ago) and a second injured shoulder that has severely restricted my climbing. Unlike last season, I'm slowly trying to rehab it back to health. For now, I can barely dead hang on it. On a positive note, my injured shoulder from last season can now support free hanging body weight. The path back to stronger climbing might be slow and long, but climbing less challenging routes will produce an abundance of fun in the meantime. Throughout the spring Laura and I spent a fair number of days at various local crags climbing, doing trail work, etc. Bouldering has seemed to be our most focused style this year.




With my hip feeling better, I've recently been working my legs back into running condition. For the first couple weeks, I'd been testing my hip and seeing if limitations existed. I started with short, slow, road runs not much longer than 4 miles. Usually a rest day or two between runs. I felt good, with a only a couple days where my hip showed any signs of discontent. After two weeks back, the hip pain seemed to disappear completely. I quickly started stacking on the miles and feeling positive that longer pain free miles in the woods lay ahead.

Trusty footwear, Altra Lone Peaks and Powersox get my thumbs up!

This past week I managed to log 83 miles of running. All of them on the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. For those unfamiliar with this trail it's a 70 mile hiking trail that starts in Ohiopyle State Park and follows the crest of Laurel Ridge north to Seward. It's a unique trail due to the fact that it has numbered, concrete markers at each mile along its entirety (a great feature for pacing and location). Built as a backpacking trail in the 70's it was designed to be covered over a week long period. Adirondack style camp shelters with additional tent camping areas are located approximately 10 miles apart along the trail. This distance makes for easy hikes between shelters. Note: (reservations must be made in advance to stay in the shelter areas overnight). While designed as a backpacking trail, the LHHT is an amazing trail for runners. The whole trail is completely runnable single track that flows over the mountains through amazing scenery. Hardwood forests, rock outcrops, streams, lakes, and wildlife are the normal backdrop along this trail. I feel quite lucky to live and have grown up a short distance from the Rt. 31 trailhead (middle) of the trail. Starting from home allows easy access to either end of the trail. I must admit that I do spend the majority of my time on the southern half of the trail enjoying the larger elevation changes. Along with the LHHT, there's plenty of other great trails in our neck of the woods. Roaring Run Natural Area, Ohiopyle State Park and The North Woods are some of my other favorite trails to run.

Typical mile marker along the LHHT

Yesterday I completed my first half trail run since last year. Laura dropped me off at 31 parking lot and I went south passing a record (for me) 106 trail users along the way. Outside of the Laurel Ultra race day, I've never seen that many trail users on those sections. I stopped to chat with some of them. Here's just a few that I recall... I got a "nice beard" shout-out from a group of resting backpackers while crossing county line road. I met three trail runners from the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club enjoying an out and back run from the route 31 trailhead to Grindle Ridge Shelters. They were up for "Stills in the Hills" whiskey and music event at Seven Springs and decided to run a bit before the festivities. I met a nice younger couple that had their chocolate lab with them near route 653. They were heading in to Grindle Ridge shelters for the night. He was an experienced packer, but this was her first trip. She was smiling as she explained of her new pack and gear required to make the trip. Her excitement was quite infectious as I recalled how much I enjoy new "toys" as well.

Seven Springs Mountain Resort, the highest point on the LHHT

I was met by Laura sporting the mobile aid station at Maple summit parking lot. She provided some love and a water fill before the last stretch into Ohiopyle. Our plan was for her to park in Ohiopyle and start hiking north until we met. That way we'd get to enjoy a little trail time together. Ohiopyle was packed due to the beer and gear festival being held Saturday night. Please note this was the second booze and bluegrass festival along the trail... All kinds of partying going on in the Laurel Highlands! Laura decided to park up at King Mountain trail head and avoid the congestion. Laura was sore from previous runs this week and decided to carry a large backpack to remove the temptation of running. While she hiked north, I managed to float the flatter miles from Maple Summit down to milepost 8 to begin the "hilly" section of the LHHT. As I ran by the 8 mile marker, missing paint on the number 8 had me do a double take out of confusion. This quick glance over my shoulder was enough for me to snag a toe and go airborne, I tried to recover, but my efforts were futile. Head first into the woods Ughhh, I landed with a thud! Quickly I sprung back up and moving again checking for any blood or pains. Slightly dazed, but unscathed. Yep, got my attention and milepost 8 was still 8, not an imaginary 9?!?!? I proceeded to bomb down "heart attack hill" more alert to my footing as a stumble like minutes earlier would surely produce a less funny story.

The view after ascending from Bidwell

I cruised along finally meeting my sweetie just before milepost 3 I was heading uphill and she was coming down. I slowed to a hike at this point and we enjoyed the last several miles hiking back to the car together. We stopped at the 2.5 mile overlook for a few minutes enjoying what we usually pass by at a brisk pace. The additional 1400' of elevation gain at the end hiking up to the trail head produced more heavy breathing and I officially stopped my watch at 6:26:55. Quite a bit slower than my personal best for this run, but still a respectable time given my "casual" approach. I'll wait a little while and do this run again and see how much I can improve on this time.



Upon reaching the car we unpacked the mobile aid station and set up our chairs. Laura had packed a primo after trail picnic for us. We proceeded to kick back, eat turkey sammies, and drink chocolate milk while listening to the sweet sound of live bluegrass music coming from the festival below. What a great end to another day on the LHHT.

Laura and the mobile aid station setup at the end of the day

Exit The Gun Show ..

Steve and I were not feeling up to the rematch with Dreamer. (Two days earlier I had the long damp hike to Thompson, and on Sunday he was crashing, I mean jumping BMX bikes. So we canceled. I called Adam to see if he was still available and we made a plan to head to Exit 38, the Gun Show area. (Perhaps named for the numerous steep routes there?) We were heading there to climb a slab route and get on some other routes that perhaps we could.

First stop was Endless Bliss. When Steve led this and I followed it earlier this year, I knew I wanted to come back and lead it. I was hoping to do so on Thursday night with Sammy and crew, but things have been falling apart for Thursdays and this was an opportunity to do it in the afternoon, and surprisingly with no one else on route. (I have said it, and it is close to true, but it is the best route at Exit 38.) We geared up at the base and I was off. The climb can be done in two pitches, but we opted for the single long pitch. I led off and everything was going well until around the crux. I went to clip a bolt with a Yosemite draw and the biner came off with the rope. This sketched me out pretty good and I ended up placing another draw rather than attempt to reconnect the biner. The next few clips were high drama (in my head at least.) The second half of the climb is easier. And with my more settled head, I finished up the route.

Adam passed the crux on Endless Bliss

I brought Adam up and he fell and hung around the crux with his calves burning. (Just before the short fall, I could see him trying to shake his legs out.) One you get to this difficulty of slab climbing, usually it is better to move through the cruxes fast and get your rest later (or before.) I think that is what sketched me out when I had the draw mishap. After Adam reached the top, I lowered him off and proceeded to complete the two raps to the base. I looked at the next route left of Bliss and decided I really wasn't interested in leading it today.

So we walked over another route to the left. This is a two pitch route, that is rated 5.10-. The first bit is steep and blocky but appears to ease off after the first three bolts. (Generously placed in the first 15'.) Adam said if I lead it, he'll follow. So I started up. Two clips up I couldn't seem to find an adequate hold and hung a bit. I lowered off and tried again. Same issue. I hung a bit more until I figured out the moves and I was off to slightly less steep ground and a few feet to the next bolt. This lower angle (read 89°) section was the easiest of the pitch, and I should have relished that. However, I cruised up higher through steep moves before hanging again at a point where the route went right. Once again, I couldn't seem to find a hand hold. I hung a bunch of times, I tried to go straight up, but I couldn't seem to make the move. I finally tried moving a little right before up and right but my feet weren't right. I hung again, and the next attempt the feet seemed right and for some reason, I was an inch higher and was able to grab a nice hold that I didn't know existed earlier. After that I sailed through the next few bolts to the anchor.

Adam hangdoggin' on Elation...

I brought Adam up who struggled on the first three bolt section and then seemed to cruise the rest of the pitch. Unlike Endless Bliss, this pitch was a real arm burner. However, things were about to change. The second pitch is a slab, not unlike Endless Bliss. I handed the lead over to Adam who led up hanging on a few bolts, and grabbing a couple more. I followed and found the crux of the second pitch to be a touch harder than Endless Bliss. After this calf burner we rapped off.
Adam rapping the first pitch of Elation...

Once at the bottom we figured we were a little spent to keep climbing the harder routes there and moved on to Squishy Bell to finish up the day.

After the hike up, Adam led the 5.6 on the left side, and then the 5.8 next to it. I followed both routes climbing in my new approach shoes. The shoes climb better than I may have hoped. Although they will take a little getting used to and trusting before I lead climb something hard in them. While I had no issues on the 5.6, the 5.8 required some smaller footholds that I was thinking the shoes would blow off of. Each time I told Adam to watch me as I thought my foot would blow off, he said before he could take up any slack, I was already above the move. So it may just be a trust issue, but they sure are comfy to climb in. Hurrah for light comfy approach shoes I can climb in. I can't wait to see how they feel with a crampon on a glacier!

Overall a nice half day out. It was fun to lead Endless Bliss. However, Elation at the End of Eternity was an equally nice climb with the added bonus of having a completely different character from one pitch to the next. Although it doesn't have the same wonderful position of Endless Bliss. It was nice to get to work out my new approach shoes as well on some easier stuff. Most of all, it made me glad Steve and I didn't attempt Dreamer, as I wasn't in top form, and Dreamer is probably going to require that of me.

A New Season

The trees were just starting to bud a few days before I made this image and I was hoping, as I have for the past few years, that I would be able to find an image that would convey the beginning of green-up in the northwoods. The tree is a Mountain Maple, also sometimes referred to as Moose Maple. I found this composition while spending the morning watching a Ruffed Grouse perform his spring drumming ritual. In between drumming sessions the Grouse had walked off into the woods and while waiting for him to return I was looking around at the surroundings for possible images when I spotted this new little leaf poking out from the notch in the Maple. I trained my 100-400mm lens on the leaf and made this image.

Brilliant Orange Colored Poppies

By a consensus of opinion of my readers, it has been determined that these are a variety of Poppies! As are these and these. Thanks to everyone for their input... and that's all of the flowers!! No more, at least until the next time ;-)









The "pod" after the bloom is done.



The dappled coloring comes from the bright mid-day sun. A cloudy day would have been much better for taking these pictures. In reality, they were the darker orange color all over, as in the first photo. Temple Square Gardens – Tuesday, June 7th.

Sunset at Cobscook Bay

Wednesday, September 19th - - A stormy day sometimes brings a beautiful sunset. After driving around looking for a 'better' spot to view the setting of the sun, and not finding one, I returned to my campsite just in time...





Sometimes I am, quite simply, amazed by the beauty of Mother Nature. The south-eastern sky was filled with a soft, muted pink...






While the western sky was ablaze with fiery streaks of orange.





It was a beautiful sight! Yes indeed.

Jonas Joslin :: 1818 Ohio Land Purchase

The first record we have of Jonas Joslin (under the name of Jonas Joshin) in Delaware County, Ohio is his purchase of lot #16 in the third township on October 20, 1818. The lot consisted of 100 acres and was purchased for $1,050 which seems like a lot to me for the time period. The transaction was recorded in Deed Book 4, pages 403 and 404.

=+==+==+=

Page 403

Merrit Foote by his Atty Benjamin Bartholomew
To } Deed
Jonas Joshin

This Indenture made and concluded this twentieth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighteen by and between Benjamin Bartholomew of Delaware County in the state of Ohio as attorney in fact for Merrit Foote of the County of Newhaven in the State of Connecticut of the [other is crossed out] first part and Jonas Joshin of said Delaware County in the state of Ohio of the other part. Witneseth that the said Benjamin Bartholomew for and in consideration of the sum of one thousand & fifty dollars and to him in had paid or secured to be paid the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged hath given granted bargained sold released conveyed and confirmed and by these presents give grant bargain sell release convey and confirm unto the said Jonas Joshin and unto his heirs and assigns forever a Lot of land viz lot number sixteen in the east tier of lots in the fourth section of the third township in the nineteenth range of the united States military lands and within the said county of Delaware and being a log of land purchased by the said Merrit Foots of Ralph Richardson & Dorcas his wife by a deed dated 6 day of October 1817 and supposed to contain one hundred acres more or less To have and to hold the above described premises with all the privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining unto him the said Jonas Joshin for and unto his heirs and assigns forever And the said Benjamin as S P atty

Page 404

as attorney as aforesaid for the said Merrit his heirs executors and administrators does convenant and promise to word with the said Jonas Joshin his heirs and assigns that he is lawfully seized of the premises aforesaid that he has foresight and full authority to sell and convey the same in manner aforesaid and that the said premises are free and clear from all incumbrances And further that he the said Benjamin as attorney afforesaid of the said Merrit Foote his heirs executors and administrators will well warrant and truly defend the premises aforesaid unto the said Jonas Joshin and unto his heirs and assigns forever against the lawful claims of any person or persons whomsoever. In testimony whereof the party [of crossed out] to the first part has hereunto set his hand and seal this day and year above written

Signed sealed and delivered in presence of

Benjamin Bartholomew attorney in fact for the said Merrit Foote

{The word convey between the 7th & 8th line from top and the word his between the 11th, 12th and between the 14th and 15th lines were inserted before the signing}

Noah Spalding
Ebenezer Goodrich

The State of Ohio Delaware County
On this day of October 1818 personally came before me the [word illegible] one of the Justus of the peace of said County Benjamin Bartholomew and acknowledged that he signed the within deed for the purposes therein mentioned Given under my hand & seal
John Roberts {seal}
a Justice of the Peace

Received & recorded this deed April 1st 1819
J. L. Hughs. [?] Recorder D. Cty

Velo Vision

About a year ago, I started to notice that I couldn't see things in the distance as well as I used to. I could read and see up close just the same as before, but things far away were losing their clarity. I noticed this most of all while cycling.The landscape was not as sharp as it once was, far-away roadsigns were more difficult to read, faces of people riding toward me were harder to recognise. As someone who's always had perfect eyesight, I had no prior experience with vision loss and it took me a while to acknowledge what was happening. But finally I went to have an eye exam and the loss of "perfect" status in the eyesight department was confirmed. I was given a prescription for glasses that the doctor said I would need mostly "for driving."






I expected shopping for glasses to be a nightmare, for the same reason finding a decent pair of cycling sunglasses had been a nightmare. But I underestimated modern technology and our neightbourhood's offering of optical shops.Picking up friends' glasses in the past, I remember them being heavy. But apparently eyeglasses today can be made extremely lightweight - with high-tech plastic and titanium frames. There is also enormous variety in shapes and sizes. I had no problem finding some that fit my face and weighed next to nothing.






With cycling in mind, I got a pair with plastic frames and photochromic lenses. They cover a good part of my face, and the lenses turn dark in the sun, but clear at night. I have already worn them on a couple of rides and the fit is very comfortable.But wearing corrective lenses will take some getting used to!Everything in the distance now looks unnaturally sharp, or hyper-3-D. My feel for how close or far away objects are is a little disturbed by this, but I am assuming my brain will adjust eventually.






Another thing that's happening, is that whilethe glasses correct my far-away vision, they do so at the expense of making things blurry up close. On the bike, this means that I can't really see anything that's directly in front of me or at handlebar level (i.e. the cycling computer on my roadbike) unless I take them off or look underneath the lenses. I am still working out how to adapt to this. Meanwhile, it's a relief to see clearly at a distance again.

Smorgasbord of upcoming trips to the Middle and Far East

Next weekend I will be flying to the FAR EAST to visit family. This will be a grand time spending precious time with my loved ones and travelling with them as well. My parents are getting old—my dad turns 70 and the family will be holding a big feast for him, hence this trip. My mom cannot travel long distance as well to visit me because of her health, so we recently made a pact that we’ll just travel locally, within the Asian region, as long as it’s not a flight of more than 4 hours.



Family is important and when you live across the globe, those few moments every year when visiting should be well spent.



So here’s my a lil bit crazy travel itinerary:



DUBAI, United Arab Emirates







I have never been to Dubai so I am very excited for this stop over. I will be staying a night and a whole day in Dubai and have already mapped out my agenda. I even booked an afternoon tea at the Skyview Bar of the only 7-star luxury hotel in the world (I know there is no such thing), Burj Al Arab! I cannot wait!



Also, I am quite relieved that the Dutchman is not travelling with me this time because in Dubai you can get in prison for giving a peck on the cheek to your other half or even just by mere holding hands! And its Ramadan so they are uber strict. You know, I cannot get off my hands from the Dutchman.



SINGAPORE







Will be staying a few days with the sister who lives in sunny Singapore. I will do the rounds while she works during the day. In the evening we’ll paint the town red. Wait, I think I am too old for that.



This is going to be 2 trips to Singapore and I'm crafting my agenda to cover many things to see and do, stuff that I have missed since my last visit several years ago.



CEBU, Philippines!







Ah, my home (is)land. Daddy’s big party -- he turns 70! This is going to be a massive family reunion as well. I am really curious about my relatives from both sides of extended families. How they look like now, how they are now, their kids, what they are busy with now, etcetera. I do have good relationship with a few of my cousins but for the rest, I haven’t seen them for a very long time. I was 21 years old when I left Cebu (I am 43 now), thus I rarely joined extended family gatherings.



I just realised that I have lived more than half of my life on earth outside Cebu. That is a milestone.



HONGKONG SAR







A week (well 5 days) in this busy metropolis with mom, dad and my sister. Brother and his family will not be joining because someone needs to run the business at home and pay for this trip, haha. The last time I was in this city was 11 years ago. That long.



MACAU SAR







The perfect side trip from Hongkong, but what I am really thrilled is the Portuguese Pastel de Nata (egg tart) and the bakeries in Macau are selling them. They are sooooooooo good.



Macau was once a Portuguese colony.



MALACCA, KUALA LUMPUR & CAMERON HIGHLANDS in Malaysia







A road trip with my mom! And oh, driving right hand on the left hand side of the road is going to be a bit of a challenge I am sure! Not panicking =)



We will see a little bit of culture and history in Malacca. I read that this used to be under Dutch territory so I am quite curious to see some Dutch architecture and influence in this city. KL for a quick stop over to admire the Petronas Towers, then we head off to the Cameron Highlands for some nature tripping and a lovely cup of tea in the middle of the luscious tea plantation. I heard they have a strawberry farm there as well.



So much to look forward to with the family.



July-August

Asia Travel

Ohio Covered Bridge Number Two

We are all surprised at how much our pickleball game has slipped since we left Chesapeake. So we are working at getting back into the game and playing with Rene and Mira. The internet is really strange here. It is a very strong signal at times and then we will completely lose the signal. We have never quite had this situation before so we aren't sure what that is about. The weather is just fabulous here and this park is beautiful. I can feel myself relaxing and breathing easier already. Here are some shots of another covered bridge.

Coma butterfly

Coma butterfly...

Brookgreen Gardens~Animal Show

I've already shared so many of the neat parts of Brookgreen Gardens, but I didn't want to forget this part before I move on because we enjoyed it so much. While we were sitting and eating our lunch, we heard this neat woman doing a Meet the Animals show.



We headed over there after we were done eating so we could catch the rest of the show. I'm glad we did because we got there in time for Nathan to make friends with a snake.



Not to be outdone by a grown man, this cutie pie followed suit:



His sister was thinking thanks but no thanks. Same as me! We also got to meet an eastern screech owl.





She/He was a real beauty. Completely calm during the whole show like she'd been a stage star her whole life.





We had a great time learning lots of neat facts and being a bit more up close and personal with the animals!

So, What was in that Box?

Well, it's been nearly 5 weeks since Denise Levenick issued a Treasure Hunt! A Challenge for Genea Bloggers so I should have had plenty of time to open and explore the contents of the box! But, as always it seems, time has gotten away from me and the box was still sitting in the same spot, unopened. Until last night.

I didn't really expect to find any valuable treasures within, but I'll admit I was a little surprised. It's been a little over two years since the box was packed up, and memory can be a funny thing. Just get my mother and her four siblings together telling family stories and you'll get five different versions of the same event! But I digress. Back to the box.

After cutting the tape and pulling out the crumpled newspaper that was used as a filler, the discoveries began. On top, several magazines, from the 1960s and 70s, in very good condition by the way, especially considering that they would have traveled with me to every duty station while I was in the Navy.

• Kennedy And His Family in Pictures by the editors of Look. No date on the cover but one of the inside pages has a copyright date of 1963. It probably came out the week after his funeral. I was a sophomore in high school. Inside the pages was a "First Day Cover" envelope issued by the post office on May 29, 1964.
• Flying Saucers was another special edition by the editors of Look, copyright 1967.
• Apollo 11: On the Moon was a Look special edition that came out in late 1969. Sunday, July 20th, 1969 10:56:20 P.M. Neil Armstrong declared "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." My youngest brother was graduating from Navy Basic Training at Great Lakes that weekend. Mom, my sister and I were there to visit him and spent some time glued to the television screen in the motel room.
• There is life on the Moon. . . was a publication of Pace magazine in August 1969 and includes essays from Arthur C. Clarke, Wernher von Braun, Ray Bradbury and eight other scientists and science fiction writers. It was billed as a "down-to-earth" look at space.
• Prizewinning Pictures from Life's photography contest was published on December 25, 1970. I was stationed at Norfolk, Virginia and pilfered this copy from the station library, where I was working at the time. I was hoping to get into the Navy's photography school.

Next up was a mess of cards, letters, photographs, and travel pamphlets. Just tossed in the box haphazardly. Most of the cards and letters are still in their envelopes. Birthday cards (predominantly that 50th milestone), along with notes from cousins and aunts. I haven't sorted through them yet to determine whether I want or need to keep them. They will temporarily go into another box for sorting at a later date. With the travel pamphlets were post cards and souvenir brochures, all from our trip to Mississippi and Louisiana the end of June and into July of ... Pascagoula, New Orleans, Monroe, Shiloh Battlefield in Tennessee.

Beneath that mess was a sheet of cardboard. At first I thought I had reached the bottom of the box but then realized I'd only gotten halfway down. Lifting the cardboard revealed, what else, but another box! Measuring 9x12 and 4" deep.

I totally do not remember this box! It may have been packed up when we sold the farm house in 1997, but I'm thinking it may have been earlier, back when I quit my job in Fort Wayne in 1986 and put all my belongings in storage for a year. Regardless, these are my treasures, rediscovered!

• My birth certificate, issued in 1969 to prove my age for joining the Navy. Why is it a treasure? It includes my mother's maiden name. Current birth certificates issued by the state of Indiana no longer have that, they just have the mother's first name.
• Several "at a glance" calendars from 1972, 1978, 1979. With sparse notes but enough to jog the old memory about certain events.
• Letters. Letters that I thought had been lost. In a way, I guess they were. Being boxed up for 10 or maybe 20 years. Most appear to be from my time in Japan (May 1977-May 1979) and through school (Indiana State 1979-1982). From family, and from friends long relegated to the back recesses of my mind. I opened several, but they are all going back into the box for now. I'm just not sure I'm ready for the flood of emotions they are bringing back. Long lost, found again. These letters won't be making it into the pages of this blog!

Personal treasures partially revealed, to be put back for yet another day. I can only wonder what will happen to them after I'm gone. Who will be the one to re-discover them then and what will they think? The question becomes, for me, is this: Do I really want someone else to find some of the letters? Taken out of the context of my life their true meaning is lost. And, as with most discoveries more questions will arise than will be answered.

So, there you have it. Are my treasures valuable? Intrinsically, yes. Monetarily, no. But as a family researcher, where does their real value lie?

High Quality: The best trowel

Most garden trowels are worthless. They can dig a hole into a bag of potting soil, but that is about it.

Have you ever tried to dig into the actual earth with a trowel? I have. And it is about as discouraging as trying to water your garden with a hose full of kinks.

I have a trowel that works. It is the Wilcox All-Pro No. 100. This 10" fine-pointed trowel can cut through roots and soil. And the sharp edges can slice through a nursery pot if you have a root-bound plant. It is great for breaking up a root ball, opening a bag of potting soil or quickly cutting twine.

This tool is so sharp that when you purchase one ,the beveled sides of the stainless-steel trowel are covered with a piece of plastic so you won't hurt yourself. Love, love, love.

Hyam's Garden Center on James Island has this trowel for sale for only $12.95 each.