You’d think that if I were home all the time, I’d be able to keep the grass mowed. Heck, I’d certainly think that. Well, it just hasn’t been the case.
It’s been a constant battle this spring to keep the lawn at its proper length. I don’t mind mowing — in fact, I find it therapeutic. (Some of my best blog posts have come to me while mowing the lawn.) But in order to get the job done:
- The grass must be dry.
- I must be home.
Again, I’m not away from home very often lately, but I have missed some key windows of opportunities due to other commitments (running, biking, hanging out with friends). Most of all, the weather hasn’t co-operated.
At the moment, the grass is taller than I’ve ever let it get before. Ever. Well, parts of it, anyhow.
I’ve been trying to mow when the weather looks right, but I never get a long enough spell to finish. The sun was out all Saturday (well, it was dry anyhow), but I spent six hours in the morning trimming the arborvitae hedge. I started mowing the lawn in the mid-afternoon, but then had to stop midway through in order to leave for dinner with Marcela and Pierre.
I was going to finish on Sunday, but the weather didn’t cooperate. On Tuesday, I thought I had another shot at the yard, but the grass was too wet. The mower couldn’t handle it. I only managed to trim a small patch. I considered mowing late yesterday evening, but the grass was still too wet (it had rained earlier in the day).
Finally this morning I deemed the grass dry enough to mow. I went outside and began to plow through the green waves. The mower jammed, but not too often. I was making good progress, except that I was frequently interrupted by the guys who were here to suck the insulation out of the attic. Then, after they left a few minutes ago, I went outside to finish the job only to find it had begun to rain again.
Argh!
I am so frustrated. My lawn is now four different heights: short, not-so-short, tall, and savannah. And the forecast doesn’t look good. It contains rain, rain, and more rain. There’s a chance we’ll get a dry spell on Sunday or Monday, I think, but by then I’ll need to re-mow the entire yard.
I’m too the point where I’ve actually contemplated calling a yard service to see how much they’d charge to mow our half acre. I can’t bring myself to do it, though. Maybe I should call my brother Jeff and see if he needs to make some extra cash — he loves to mow!
Maybe I should call my brother Jeff and see if he needs to make some extra cash — he loves to mow!
Excuse me???? I hate to mow… but what else are you going to do with 4 acres to maintain nothing but a riding lawn mower to do it with?
I would suggest either using the lawn service or getting a mower that works better with wet grass…
Hiring a lawn service is going to be expensive, and they are going mow your lawn on their schedule, not yours. It could be 95 degrees out or it could be 55 and pouring rain, they’re still going to mow to keep on their schedule. Mowing in extreme heat can be very hard on the grass, and mowing in the rain can leave you with a very sloppy yard.
Mowing wet grass would be possible if you had a good bagging mower, but then it would take twice as long to mow the grass.
I guess a third option would be to get a small riding mower.
Man, a pair of miniature sheep would do wonders!
I very much appreciate your mowing the way you do, Jeff. Especially since you won’t let me do it (and I’m getting too old to do such chores, since I tend to injure myself when I do too much strenuous stuff).