Whatsit Wednesday: Rake

This past weekend I was down at camp with some others cleaning up, getting camp ready for the winter. It was a brilliant, sunny Fall day, the colors glorious all around us. Much of the work we had to do had to do with all that glorious color falling to the ground. So we all had come prepared with a rake. 

In talking with Jef, who I picked up on the way to camp and who is a new brother in the congregation in Maastricht, he mentioned a different word for rake (in Dutch) that I had not yet heard. Jef is Flemish and has lots of different words. I learned my Dutch in the Netherlands so tend to have Dutch words for tools. This matters quite a bit, actually. Much like the differences in the US between Midwest, Southern or Eastern terms. (Do you use a spigot or a faucet?)

The thing is, there are all sorts of rakes. A “dissolute man in fashionable society” could be considered a rake, but that is not what I mean. There are rakes for loosening soil, rakes for gathering fallen leaves, rakes for gathering hay. Each of these could have its own name. I am used to calling the rake for soil (a firm straight head with teeth spaced evenly) a rake (“hark” in Dutch). 

But there is also a rake for leaves. This looks like a metal fan (or plastic these days) and is a bit springy. It is perfect for gathering leaves, whereas a rake for soil tends to get all bunched up with the wet leaves. In Dutch I would call this rake a “leaf rake” (“bladhark”). Jef called it a “gritsel” which sounds like the sound it makes as it scrapes along the dirt after gathering the leaves into a pile. 

If you live on a farm, you might even have various different rakes for the various tasks. A hay fork or rake might be a specific tool. In Dutch I would call this a hay rake (“hooihark”), although I have never used one. I only have a normal rake in my garage since the plastic leaf rake broke and I don’t really rake my leaves in the garden (I leave them for winter ground cover). 

I have at times in the past tried to comb my hair rakishly, trying to look cool (it didn’t work - my hair is pretty stiff) and I regularly rake my fingers through my hair when I am frustrated. And thankfully I have never had to experience gunfire raking the area. I am not quite sure which word would be used in Dutch. The word “rake” is an adjective meaning (more or less) “rough”. You can receive rough hits (“rake klappen”) from someone. I am simply glad that we could take care of all of the leaves at camp while still enjoying the glorious beauty around us.