Starting the lawn mower
That would not be me. I grew weary of that years ago, husband who could occasionally do that died, and I sent both off to recycle heaven.
But I heard that trial again today from my responsible homebuyer daughter who complained that their (couple) lawn was the Last Yard Mowed, again. She did not acquire that peer pressure in her natal home, I am off-road, out-of-view of neighbors. But the lawn mower, still pull-cord, without choke, will.not.start.
Day off for her, he's at work, just like yesterday. He wrote her a honey-do note this morning including lawn mowing. She told him yesterday she tried, and the mower would not start. He did not start it for her when he got home from work yesterday. That would have made things worse.
I feel guilt at enabling. She is open enough with me to discuss some friction points in her partnership. I am there saying "YES!!!!, you see it now??? Those jerks"
How can one feel validated and guilty at the same time? I am just doing what I think that mothers of daughters do. I missed that with my mother.
Comments
Weed whacker?
My mom could never start our mower, and so she would use a weed whacker instead. It motivated my step-dad.
Maybe she could draw a crop circle?
prog - weirdo | dog - woof
Been there, riverlover.
As you know, my daughter is also married. As with any relationship, things can be just plain stressful, between jobs, differing personality styles, etc. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but I try to be supportive of her without being unsupportive of him. Some ideas for applying that in this situation... explore options -- is lawn service feasible, or is there a local teen looking for a job? Or perhaps the lawn mower needs service. Another is to encourage communication -- he can't know what she is feeling unless she tells him. Suggest she explain to him how she feels being told to mow the lawn on her day off (she works, too, if I remember correctly) and how frustrated she feels in not being able to get the lawn mower running. And sometimes I bite my tongue.
~ Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. ~
electric mower
depending on the size of the yard it is manageable. the mower starts every time and no strain on my elderly back. the mower is also lighter to maneuver. i can cover my whole backyard with a 100 foot extension cord. there is a process when mowing with electric to minimize the effort of continually moving the cord. i start closest to the power outlet and the cord is dragged over the part already mowed.
i got the electric when the old gasoline mower died. you don't have to worry about storing oil or gasoline. the mower is quieter and no fumes.
Electric battery mower
I got this last year (Linky) - I LOOOOOOVE it. The battery takes about 20-30 minutes to recharge, meaning I'm forced to take a water break, and I can do my 3/4 acre on two charges. It runs for about 45 minutes each charge.
It also did a great job getting my leaves up this fall.
So easy to start and stop, so stopping it to dump out the bagged leaves is no big deal, just push a button. And no emissions.
My husband says it looks like a transformer, but its one of the better investments I've made.
I purchased
one of those two years ago - best thing I ever bought. A one hour slog is now reduced to a twenty minute stroll in the garden so to speak. I haven't had to replace the battery yet and I hear that they are expensive though.
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire
that's why i didn't buy battery powered
i figured the battery has a limited lifetime. beside that, it was double the price of the corded electric mower.
Yep, we have an electric mower
Once you navigate using the cable, it's a breeze to use, and a lot less smelly and noisy than a petrol driven machine.
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
And then there is always....
one of these...
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First Nations News
lol, when sharpened those work great.
And their back lawn is level. Slopey lawns it gets scary fast, at least with pushing. They are also more expensive than the base gas models, a long view. Plus, this mower was a housewarming gift from his mother.
I am restoring woodland around my house. Battery-powered weed-whacker, and now me-powered hand whacker to top off weeds, but not goldenrod. I encourage ground covers. I get older.
Feed the soil, not the idea(l) of green expanse.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
I have a reel-type mower
Haven't used it in years, because there's nothing much in my Arizona yard to mow. But for years, I mowed my quarter-acre in Florida. It took three days to do it all, and the grass grew 2"/week, so had to be done every week. It's great exercise, and kids would stop to watch and ask about it on their way home from school, heh.
Apparently, one of my neighbors thought I was using that because I was poor. (It actually was because I'm against using fossil fuels for such things.) Anyway, when they got a new power mower (guessing there), they gifted me their old one. Anonymously. As in: somebody left a gas-powered mower on my front walk in the middle of the night.
I was a little overwhelmed by the kindness of that gift. And then I felt bad, because somebody was going to continue to see me mowing with my reel mower...
And no, there's no way a reel mower is more expensive in the long run, given the gas & oil you don't have to feed it with. Plus, you get sunshine & exercise, and can drop that gym membership
“We may not be able to change the system, but we can make the system irrelevant in our lives and in the lives of those around us.”—John Beckett
When I was working the Parks
Dept. for my city I was mowing 40 hr/week all summer long. The front yard got mowed as it was small and easy to get to. The back was largeish and the gate was a nuisance. When the grass and weeds were nearing my armpits, I'd borrow my FIL's two horses. I'd get the grass down and he'd save a weeks feed.
Maybe someone in your area has a sheep or goat you can stake in the yard.
There is no such thing as TMI. It can always be held in reserve for extortion.
There is a business here,
rent-a-sheep-flock. People with pastures and no tractors use them. Sheep-handler brings moveable low fencing avec sheep. Mini-sheep, and now mini-lambs. Friggin bucolic and makes sense for all.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Sometimes I do a bit
Where I'll make spear chucking motions with my arm saying in cave man days women wanted to breed with men who had that motion down in order to provide meat for their families. Nowadays women want to breed with men (doing the pulling of the starting cord motion) who can start all the gasoline small engines.
My tip of the day is that putting in a new spark plug has been the cure for the vast majority of of small gasoline engines not starting in my experience.
“The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us”
― Voltaire
Not sure
what to think of a guy that expects his wife to start a pull cord mower, I think my wife cut our grass 1 or 2 times in over 30yrs and I started it for her ,also we raised 2 girls who never cut the grass and that was fine by me. if their husbands expected them to cut the grass I haven't heard of it.Anyway electric is the way to go and its better for the climate.
My 96 y/o mother and elderly neighbor (now dead)
co-owned a lawn mower. It would take the 2 of them to pull-start. Even my daughter learned to mow on a riding mower (Ford). That pull-start could dislocate shoulders. Sold to a neighbor.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.