My favorite tool is a pair of clippers. They fit into my hand, they provide an opportunity to exercise my fingers and thumb, and help me clear trails. I love to cut multiflora rose canes. Whenever I do though, multiiflora rose retaliates with vengeance. It has the worst thorns of any vine. Each thorn is curved like a cats’ claw. It rips if you move when attached to clothing or skin. It tears off my cap, the ultimate torture. My technique is to cut the vines in small sections, handle them with gloves and get rid of them.

Once I start clipping, I can’t stop. This is my way of controlling nature. I love grooming overgrown trails. I trim branches to open old paths. Another vine that is nasty is Greenbriar. The stem of this vine is like a Brillo pad with sturdy thorns it seems to guard all the paths I want to take. It is with great satisfaction that I clip my way through them and proceed.

Part of my fascination with clippers is the satisfying sound I hear when the blades slice and cut. I also admire the “haircut” effect, seeing nature groomed and looking civilized.

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Keeping nature  means carrying a good pair of clippers on sojourns into the woods.  I figure I’m helping my fellow hikers.I will not allow nature to roadblock me from coming through.

This behavior started three decades ago when I joined a crew of the Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference. We blazed and clipped trails. I developed an addiction that is still with me. When I misplace my clippers, I have a major panic attack. Now I belong to a clipper addiction support group. “Hello, my name is Tom and I have a clipping addiction.”