I wasn't sure what I was going to write about this week, until luck would have it the topic fell right into my lap: Frustration. Everything was going good on Tuesday when I normally write my column.

The weather turned nice, it was busy at the store, we received another truckload of flowers and wood pellets, as well as I could slip out a little early to go do some chores around the house. We have a long stretch of scrub brush along one side of our driveway that has never been used since we moved into our house twenty-five years ago.

So I wanted to start rehabilitating that area so that I could at least mow it. Right now it is rocky and full of brambles, sumac and honeysuckle, not to mention all the tree and shrub clippings from the past ten years or so. Cutting stuff down is not a problem, between a bow saw, chain saw and extendable pruners. But once it is cut down I need to mulch it up so that the chips will fill in most of the rocky areas.

No need to bring in a lot of dirt when the chips will fill the gaps and then I can just put a little dirt over top as the chips will decay down and just become soil over time. The frustration comes in when I go to start up my chipper/shredder.

To be fair, the chipper hasn't been used in about seven years, but I changed the oil in it and the gas was run dry all those years ago so as not to clog the lines. I had a problem twenty years ago with a roto-tiller that I got from my grandfather, I had left gas in it and didn't use it for another five years or so.

By that time the gas had solidified at the bottom of the tank clogging everything and the tank had to be replaced. That was no easy task since the company that made had gone out of business fifteen years prior. So now the chipper has new oil and gas. I checked the air filter and it was still clean as it hasn't been run much since it was last changed.

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring home some starting fluid and after pull, after pull, after pull, after pull, I finally gave up. I was frustrated and that one event changed the course of my evening. I'm not going to run out tonight to get starting fluid, when I can just bring some home tomorrow.

After all I have a column to write. And to be on the safe side, Vicki suggested I get a new spark plug too, even though the old one looks fine, you never know. Some people may curse or swear, have a drink, hit something or even worse when they get frustrated, but I have the perfect outlet.

I just write about it in my column as misery loves company, and I am sure many of you can relate to my frustration.