Thursday, June 25, 2009

Those Summer Nights

I don't mind the summer nights so much. It's the days that have me sweating me face off. And for those of you who know me, you know that I despise sweating. And, of course, summer also brings a profusion of bugs, an affront that I have bemoaned previously. I encountered both of these annoyances last night while push mowing (most of) our front lawn. It was my first-ever foray into push mowing, and we did not get along well. I'm used to helping mow my parents' yard (which consists of a front yard, orchard, and barn lot) that requires a minimum of two riding lawnmowers and takes about five hours. I always appreciated the adorable little townies with their push mowers and tiny, manicured plots of grass, and Husband and I toyed with the idea of purchasing an eco-friendly Reel Mower (no gas or electricity...just powered by pure human endurance and self-hatred). But now I'm having second thoughts. I will confess, we are not good homeowners. We have too much going on inside the house to worry about the outside right now. So, our yard gets neglected. Luckily, my in-laws own a fleet of lawnmowers and love putting them to use, usually tackling our long grass before we get the chance. I think they assume we're just not going to do it. And they're probably right. At least until I abandon the idea of a push mower and purchase some kind of tractor that can mow down my lawn in a single pass (trees included...because they're stupid). They make those, right?

In spite of the sweat and the humidity and the bugs and the grass, you still can't beat the Summer Lovin'.

2 comments:

John said...

avoid a reel mower, they're a royal pain in the butt.

I first got a reel mower. I got one foot into mowing and decided it wasn't going to work. at all.

I then decided to get a cheap push mower... that lasted one year.

This year I got a more expensive (but totally worth every penny) push mower. I now enjoy mowing my lawn.

Self propelled push mowers are lovely.

whiskey9cjo said...

My first mower was a reel mower. I loved watching the grass fly as I would run down the yard. Then I would hit a (clump,rock,dirt clod,stick,etc) and come to an immediate stop.

I skipped the whole push mower idea and bought a rider.

If you want to be eco-friendly, fence it in and buy some goats.