Harlan and I had been talking about a few weeds rearing their ugly heads through the fairly new pavers recently installed around the pool. We've watched throughout the summer as one little patch would develop and we would pull it out by hand. Then a few days later another little patch would start totally unrelated to the other. So my husband and I were sitting outside the other evening enjoying our cocktails along with the wonderfully cooler breezes of autumn. (Yes, as of 9/22 we entered the autumnal equinox.) As we glanced down to admire the pool and deck sure enough there was another little batch of weeds starting to push through. My immediate thought was to put the Roundup to it when I got the chance. We dismissed it as a task for the weekend and went on to talk about other things including the new dog in town, but that's another story.

We came in as the sun was setting and had our dinner. In the meantime, my mind kept going back to those dang weeds. I know you are thinking how can I be that goofy or single-minded, but it was one of those things. The reason it kept coming back to me was the fact that I just didn't want to use any chemicals around the pond. I'm not sure what's in Roundup and I know it has done a good job in the past eradicating weeds in our driveway at our other home, but I just didn't want to do anything to jeopardize the fish, crabs, or birds in this yard. I kept at it until there was a little thought just out of reach - you know, sort of like having the word on the tip of your tongue and it just won't come to you? And then it hit me like a bolt of lightning. Vinegar!

I remembered I had written an article about the many uses of vinegar and guess what one of them was? Yep. Killing weeds. One of the initial tips was to heat the vinegar and pour it on the weeds although as I read more there was another tip from someone who took plain white vinegar right out of the bottle and used it with the same results. So there you are or I should say there am I. I'll bet if I would go back and read some of my entries once in awhile I might learn something. Happy Gardening.