Thanks to bluzebird and striver. You may not have given me the key to my weed eater but you were there psychologically. So I lied; my online friends can help, even with this sort of thing. Somehow having heard from you, I pursued the solution with more determination, so I could tell you of my success.
Even better, nobody was out and about today. Sometimes I don't mind someone coming by and saying, "It's looking good" or whatever, but often people don't look at me in a friendly fashion. They know I'm the bane of the neighborhood, that my yard tends to overgrow. I may have bothered some of the closer neighbors, and I can only hope so in some cases.