First Mow

Ah, spring in full swing. It's warm now, and for good, I think. The daffodils are beginning to fade, and the fruit blossoms are not yet out. Dandelions are popping open everywhere. It seems like every single maple seed that fell has germinated this time around, and the mossy ground beneath our sugar maple was beginning to look like a tiny forest as every one of them opened their second leaves and tried to grow.

Well, as much as I like our big grand maple tree, I don't want them taking over the lawn! So I finally started up the riding mower- this would be the (lame) Craftsman mower we bought from the previous owners of the house. Last year, late in the summer, we had a service guy sharpen the blade and change the oil in it, and a month later it was running hot, smelled like it was burning, then finally started smoking. That's the point at which (being 9 months pregnant) I decided to put it in the barn for the winter and deal with it in spring. This week, I pulled it out and drove it up to the house. It smelled nasty, so I left it by the second driveway for the service man to pick up when he gets a chance. Meanwhile, my neighbors are out of town and Dayton (knowing the state of my mower, because we often talk about these sorts of issues) offered to let me use his (old but great) Toro while they're gone. It's a long and complicated story, I know, with very little point at the end. That point is this: I got to mow my lawn today for the first time this season!

Ask my family- I've always liked to mow the lawn. We had a (lame) Craftsman mower growing up, and it was my "car" long before I could drive. I enjoy the time alone outside (especially since I bought some soundproof ear covers). I really like the smell of cut grass; it brings back good memories of the best seasons from the places I've lived. I get real satisfaction out of looking over the yard when I'm done and seeing the mowing tracks and the sweeping beauty of it all. I'm not a total weed-n-feed/round-up competitive grass nut, but I do like the sense of order a good mowing imposes on my acre. Someday I would like to aerate, dethatch, overseed and fertilize the backyard just to make the grass itself happier. I enjoy taking good care of the plants that are important to me. For now, though, I'm grateful to be able to borrow a mower and get the upper hand before my yard turns into a sugar bush.