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Pete’s Toys at Château Destinée
Peter was born in the inner-west suburbs of Sydney, a city boy through and through. Linda, by contrast, grew up on a cattle property in central Queensland - very much a country girl, who had enjoyed city life but was more than ready to return to the country.
Tractor or ride-on mower?
When we moved to the château and found ourselves responsible for three hectares of parkland - essentially one very large lawn - it suddenly occurred to Peter that he had never actually owned a lawnmower before. It was quite a leap to go from none at all to deciding between a serious ride-on mower or a tractor with attachments.
Linda, unsurprisingly, was firmly in favour of the tractor with attachments - the country girl option. Peter, equally unsurprisingly, chose the big ride-on mower - definitely the city boy selection.
From strimmers to a drop saw
Since then, he has had enormous fun building up his collection of garden tools. In addition to the ride-on mower and an electric mower, he now owns fuel and electric strimmers (or whipper snippers, for the Australians), three chainsaws in both fuel and electric versions, multiple rakes and hand tools, fuel and electric blowers, hedge trimmers, and more pruning tools than I can easily count.
Peter used to renovate old cars, so he was no novice when it came to angle grinders and sanders - which has been fortunate, because sanding is a constant job here. His woodworking tools, however, were completely new territory. He has since mastered his drop saw, although I must admit it terrified me when he first bought it.
Happy husband, happy life
Pete and his toys have been a constant source of amusement and enjoyment. There is always a particular smile when a new box arrives, followed by an even bigger one when the tool helps him finish the job it was bought for.
And I can say with confidence: happy husband, happy life. Pete with his tools is Pete at his very best.
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