I hate Spring mowing!

[Blackhorse]

Spring weather here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Today it was clear and sunny with a high in the low 60’s F. Plus the relative humidity was quite low...so unfortunately the grass dried well enough to demand the second mowing of the season. I do not like mowing. But the front and back forty need it or critters get stuck in there and I have to wade out with the medium capture net to get ‘em out. Venomous bastiges try to either take my arm off or nip my legs. Ungrateful morons. Thank God I went over to a super powerful lithium ion electric mower a couple seasons back. Strong and very powerful but nice and light. Makes mowing ten times easier than those clunky gas guzzlers I used to use. The wife promised she’d do the front so I wouldn’t destroy my back stumbling around out there...but at 2p.m. she was still in her ‘corona virus inspired shelter in place pajamas’ so I went ahead and took care of it. Lucky I did. The mower scared up a couple of feral dogs and a little Dik Dik escaped from the local zoo. And the snakes! Do they NEVER leave you alone? It was like Jumanji out there. Wow. Did I mention that weed is legal here?

:drunken:

Well, whatever. Yeah...nice day.


(Um...is telling the truth actually mandatory here?)

 

[peanubutter]

Ah, mowing and having a cigar always produced interesting flavors. A hint of Kentucky bluegrass mingling with a Habano stogie. I wasn't able to mow and clench a pipe and keep it lit so I can't comment on those flavor combos. Maybe someone can regale us with terrible tales of taste while piping. Is that still considered lunting???

 

[Zeno Marx]

I do not like mowing.

! ! ! ! ! ! I'd rather order a pallet of bricks and once a week move them from one end of the property to the other end of the property by hand and foot. In my opinion, it's the same senseless activity. I hate the smell of a mower. I hate the sound of a mower. I hate mindlessly walking back and forth. I've always thought lawns are a waste of space, resources, and chemicals. I grew up in a neighborhood of people who treated their lawns like they were golf courses. Such an ugly sight to me.

 

[Brewdude]

I've always hated mowing the lawn and once lived in a house that had a full acre of it and it took at least 2 hrs. And this was in Wiz-gan-sin where the humidity was so thick you could hang your hat on it.

I no longer have that problem as I retired to sunny Arid-Zona where it's common to have "desert landscaping" instead of a lawn. That means crushed rock iffin ya didn't know.

Nyaa-nyaa..........

:bom:


Cheers,

RR

 

[user 2027]

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[Hermit]

This time of year there's more weeds than grass and the yard
is kinda mushy.  Have to wait for dry spells or make ruts.
This year I'm enjoying it more...I got AirPods Pro and can muffle the
noise and listen to music.  Two and a half acres...a two double corona job.

 

[Corncobcon]

Just got the fertilizer down in the front yard. The wife cut the back, but was a bit wet and mushy. Today it's raining so I can't mow. I don't mind mowing, but the allergies always kick in and knock me down the next day. At the last place we had, I cut three acres and had hay fever forever! Now it's just a front yard, but I still get the hay fever! I used to smoke up to three cigars while mowing, now, the yard is small enough that I don't even bother lighting up. Along with my Cub Cadet garden tractor, I have a Husqevarna and an old self propelled Toro mower. Having good equipment always helps with the job.

 

[D.L.Ruth]

It's not so much that I hate mowing the, I just always seem ti pt it off until it is way to long and thick so it becomes a pain. Because of that were normally just hire someone top so it. Don't even own a mower anymore lol

 

[Stick]

Got my first proper cut done too, but definitely no critters.

Scarified the front before cutting and then went on to edge the lawn too. I quite like mowing the grass and take a bit of pride in it. I noticed a bit more moss in it after this winter so have ordered some moss killer / lawn feed to try and get this under control. Quite enjoy admiring my work with a pipe after too!

 

[Blackhorse]

Got my first proper cut done too, but definitely no critters.

Scarified the front before cutting and then went on to edge the lawn too.  I quite like mowing the grass and take a bit of pride in it.  I noticed a bit more moss in it after this winter so have ordered some moss killer / lawn feed to try and get this under control.  Quite enjoy admiring my work with a pipe after too!  

Your climate should be a bit like ours. I assume you put lime on your lawn. Do you de-thatch it as well? For us...annual spring fertilizer (high nitrogen) + lime...fall fertilizer (winterizer formula)...de-thatch every few years. That’s the ticket. Of course my dog runs in what I call my back forty (western slang for our little rear lawn). His use of the back as his privy cuts the need for heavy fertilizing. lol

 

[eggman]

When I turned 13 I got a couple yards to mow for spending cash. I did that until my late teens then my dad wanted to get a couple yards with me too. So we mowed yards together until he passed in 2015. At one time we had 30 yards and worked full time jobs averaging 45-54 hours a week. We mowed 7 days a week. It was very easy to bring home over $800 a month cash. The money is good but I have grown the hate mowing grass. I tried to quit cutting grass for other after my father passed but one of the elderly lady’s that we took care of made it very clear I was going to cut her yard til she passed or ended up in a nursing home. She turned 90 last month. My other paying yard is right across the street from my and she’s a youngster at 85. 

I bought a house in town purposely because it had a small yard. I do have to push mow it but my lot is 90x180 so it’s not too bad. Plus if I’m outside doing yard I’m not inside helping with housework. We’ve had over 12 inches of rain here this year. So it’s been almost impossible for me to get any mowing done here"

 

[Blackhorse]

I guess it’s all in the machine. We get 43” of rain a year and I see outfits out mowing pretty much all the time.

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

You boys must be doing it wrong. I love taking care of my lawn. Even treated myself to a brand new John Deere rider last mother's day.

 

[Carlos]

I have been slowly converting the John Deere X750 (diesel) from pushing snow to mowing.  New oil, filters.  Changed the front tires to turfs.  Put the new self-sharpening blades on the 60" deck.  I still need to get the snowblade off and the deck on.  Still have to change the rear tires and lube everything.  Later today, or tomorrow I can be mowing.

Grass is just starting to look a bit scruffy.  It will soon need it though.

I also picked up a roller striper kit for this deck.  Got to install it.

Besides our two lots, I do the two empty lots next door.  Sometimes the 4 lots across the alley.  4 lots down the street.  What amounts to a couple lots at the antique store.  A section of grassy area between the highway and the railroad tracks in front of the town that would be 4+ lots.  That would include an intersection and down the highway a bit to let people know they are approaching something.  Makes the town look better.  Then there is the township building area, for about 3 lots.  A lot of ditches.  The odd jobs, like a house that went up for sale with 3 lots.  Mowed and mulched leaves for a month last fall.  

Sometimes I get the bid on a couple township parks.  Old school grounds and a common area on the business district.  That about 2 3/4hr - 3hr of mowing, plus weed-wacking and trash removal.  And a bit behind the old store and post office that no one else does.

I often wear a 3M mask for the dust.

Here's the dirty beast.

 

[Blackhorse]

Okay. I will stop whining. :sunny:

 

[Stick]

Got my first proper cut done too, but definitely no critters.

Scarified the front before cutting and then went on to edge the lawn too.  I quite like mowing the grass and take a bit of pride in it.  I noticed a bit more moss in it after this winter so have ordered some moss killer / lawn feed to try and get this under control.  Quite enjoy admiring my work with a pipe after too!  

Your climate should be a bit like ours.  I assume you put lime on your lawn.  Do you de-thatch it as well?  For us...annual spring fertilizer (high nitrogen) + lime...fall fertilizer (winterizer formula)...de-thatch every few years.  That’s the ticket.  Of course my dog runs in what I call my back forty (western slang for our little rear lawn).  His use of the back as his privy cuts the need for heavy fertilizing.  lol

Yes, I'm guessing quite a temperate climate. Scarify = dethatch I think, essentially dragging out the dead stuff. In terms of lawn feed I only use a high nitrogen based fertiliser that includes moss and weed control. I do that once every 6 weeks or so. Can be tricky stuff though as I found to my peril when I first used it... I over did it in a few places, killing off the grass and it didn't grow back for several months. To prevent this from happening again I've got a hopper that should disperse the pellets more evenly. Yet to give it a run out but when I do I'll report my findings.

 

[Blackhorse]

Yeah, that sounds like home all right. I used to try and keep things green year round but now I never water it. The rhododendrons, yes...the bamboo, yes...etc. But the grass goes brown in July/August and pops back to green with the first Fall rains.

 

[Stick]

Yeah, that sounds like home all right.  I used to try and keep things green year round but now I never water it.  The rhododendrons, yes...the bamboo, yes...etc.  But the grass goes brown in July/August and pops back to green with the first Fall rains.

I have a black tarmac drive way butting up to my front lawn and at the height of summer this can effectively cook the outer 2 feet of the lawn leaving a yellow strip around the outside. Like you said though, BH, it always recovers in the first rains of the autumn.

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

Celebrating the first mow of the season with a big old bowl of Oriental Silk.

 

[Blackhorse]

Ahh.  O Silk.  What a classic.  One of my favorites.  Mmmmm...the Smyrna.  Easily one of the most under rated blends ever. Fantastic in a cob.