a cool new toy

at least new to me. It was my dad's that my mom saved for me when she moved into her condo and didn't need anymore. It's called a Hound Dog Weed Hound and is a nice addition to tackling the thistle in my lawn. While the weather is cool and wet I can't use the vinegar treatment, so this will give me an early start. It has cool tines at the end that push down and grab the weed and hangs on while you lift the knob and pull up:

One thing I love is I can pretty much use it one handed as I can't putter about the lawn and stand for too long unaided. It does make for a very nice 2nd cane and lawn aerator since I push it in as I walk along LOL!

 There is a size limit on what you can pull up. Didn't work very well on some bigger clumps of grass that was growing where I didn't want it.

I don't think they make this one anymore, I've only seen them on eBay. Amazon has one that is really close, called the Worth Garden Stand-Up Weeder and Root Removal Tool .