There's a reason I wear a hat while mowing the lawn

Three reasons, really. A hat with a bill will keep the sunlight off my head and my burn-prone nose and out of my eyes. The bill will also keep gnats and other nuisance bugs away from my face - they tend to congregate at the tip of the bill, but no closer.

And thirdly, the hat will deflect low-hanging branches and keep me from poking my eyes out.

I mowed the entire lawn today, not just the usual half. The weather was cooler today, so I got an earlier start as the sun was settling into the wispy afternoon clouds of the outer bands of what used to be Tropical Storm Fay. Also, a lack of rain in the past week, except for a brief but intense downpour on Monday, kept the grass at a manageable level. So I was able to do the entire lawn and still have sunlight to take out the garbage.

I didn't wear a hat today.

I managed to avoid poking out my left eye, but only just. Had the branch been half an inch from where it was, I would be sitting in the waiting room of an Emergency Room with a bloody towel held up to my face rather than sitting here blogging. As it is, I just sustained a broad scratch along my left cheekbone, just below my eye socket. It will fade in a day or two, but until then it will serve as a reminder to be more careful.

And wear a hat.

This public service message brought to you by the American Hats Council.
America needs more hats.