Reviews Of Lawn Sweepers

Tending to Thacher Island keeps 'keepers hopping

Tending to Thacher Island keeps 'keepers hopping

ROCKPORT, Aug 07, 2011 (Gloucester Daily Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The perception that lighthouse keepers pass their time laconically watching the tides change and the clouds float by cannot be confirmed by those who tend to twin lighthouses at Thacher Island.

John and Darlene Fulton of Smyrna, Ga., recently arrived at the island to look after it during the month of August.

They replaced Bill and Sylvia Carpenter, who left at the end of July to return to their home in Ennis, Montana.

Though August is vacation time for many Americans, at Thacher Island, there's a lot to do while looking after two structures, a busy dock, a hard-scrabble island and a steady stream of visitors.

"In my job, I'm a plumber, painter, floor-sweeper, amateur mechanic and, of course, a greeter," John Fulton says of his lighthouse keeping role. "It's a job where you can't really call to the mainland and complain that something is broken. If you're out here, you do it yourself."

Duties at Thacher Island included mowing lawns and clearing the three miles of walking trails. There is a 30-person campground to be supervised, and five guest moorings to be scheduled. The 'keepers also run a gift shop.

And there are the visitors. Thacher receives more than 3,000 visitors each summer, and those arrivals must be greeted.

"When we started here (nine years ago), we said we wanted to be active," said Darlene Fulton. "We certainly are.

"One of our most important duties is greeting the people who come out, and that is very rewarding. We like to talk about the history of the island, and what people are doing to keep it vital."

In Georgia, Darlene works as a registered nurse and sometimes is employed by lawyers to review cases that have medical components.

Agri-Fab 45-0331 38-Inch Tow Lawn Sweeper Review | Electrolux ...

I have a fairly large lot (1/2 acre) and cleaning up leaves in the fall used to take me all afternoon. This sweeper does a very good job. I finished my leaf sweeping in just over an hour. It took some experimenting with how fast to go at first, but after playing with it for a little while it worked great. I'm highly satisfied with it. It does take up a lot of space in my shed, but if you pull a couple of pins the bag detaches from the main housing and you can store it more compactly. The Agri-Fab 38-inch tow-behind lawn sweeper is ideal for picking up leaves, grass clippings, and other lawn debris. This unique design makes dumping of debris from the tractor seat easy. The rip-stop vinyl hopper bag holds up to 12 cubic feet of debris. The sweeper includes 4-to-10-inch diameter replaceable brushes and 10-by-1-3/4-inch semi-pneumatic tires. This tow-behind lawn sweeper provides infinite height adjustment. It measures 72-by-45-by-23-inches and comes with Agri-Fab's 1-year limited warranty.

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