Machete Day

Surely, a woman's life must be divided into two distinct time periods - the days prior to the purchase of a MACHETE and all the days that follow after. I am now the proud owner of an orange plastic-handled machete. I would have liked something a little more wooden and old-school, but I guess I'll have to search the second hand stores for that? Maybe machetes are like stationary bicycles and I can find one at a Mexican garage sale? I of course got a sharpening tool. What is a machete if it's not sharp?

Yesterday, David and I went up to the Casa de Campanita and I got to swing my machete firsthand. Well, let me say - I got gypped. They sold me a short, tiny girl sized machete and a tiny little girl sized sharpener to go with it. It didn't take long out on the land to realize that the size of your machete does matter. Strength and precision of swing are helpful too. I didn't have any of these skills to offer. But I was great at picking up hacked off limbs and hauling them to the side of the road. In the span of just a few hours, we were able to get started on a short driveway and clear out a camp site. It was perfectly overcast and David was a burly, manly man chopping the hell out of the desert growth. I need to return and hack away at it myself for another few days. We walked around and decided how we wanted a car to drive in - and curved a little path down and into the land for The Van. David has graciously loaned me his machete and it's manly sharpener. In the meantime, I am scouring Mexican garage sales for a better machete of my own.