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April 27, 2010

The First Mow Of The Year

Yesterday was the first mow. Hubby found the lawn rake out in the mess he calls the garage and raked the leaves that had been hiding under all the snow for months. Then he serviced the lawn mower. This is a guy thing I think.

There is a shop a few blocks from here on a fairly busy street that looks like a car repair shop. Only it is for lawn mowers and snow blowers. That place is always busy. Hubby stopped there last week to ask about servicing our lawn mower. When he came home he had a bottle of oil for the lawn mower and he was ready to perform surgery, er I mean a check up.

With a big smile on his face, hubby pulled the cord and the lawn mower roared. It worked great. One tiny little oopsy though. Hubby had neglected to adjust the level. So on the far end of the back yard he mowed and pulled and mowed and pulled, up and down the slope, worked up a sweat. The lawn mower frame was sitting on the ground so he was pulling more weight. Oh well, he noticed the low sitting frame when he brought the lawn mower up to the main yard, adjusted the mower level and things were smooth from there. Front and back yards had their first hair cut, grass cut, whatever. The back yard looks pretty good after so many months under so much snow. The picture tells it all.

Each house in the neighborhood has taken a turn with the sounds of lawn mowers and leaf blowers this past week. Yes, spring has sprung and the guys are in lawn heaven!

60 comments:

Gappy said...

My favourite smell in the whole world - fresh cut grass. It's a happy time isn't it when Spring rolls around and the mowers come out. Your garden looks lovely.

Rock Chef said...

I don't enjoy gardening, but luckily my wife loves it! The only thing I have to do is trim trees, which makes me feel like a lumberjack so I am happy with that!

LL Cool Joe said...

I don't think that grass cutting is specific to any gender myself, but there is nothing more satisfying than cutting the grass.

Nice garden. :)

Brian Miller said...

i have to mow today...this will be the third mow of the year....once i get started i wil be fine...its the getting started that kills me every time....

Dave King said...

There are so many kinds of heaven - and then there's lawn heaven!

Anonymous said...

It's weird but the two things I miss the most about the UK are grass and carpets!!! Nothing better than feeling something under your feet other than marble!!

Great job Hubby has done :0)

Shanel said...

Love the pic.... beautiful green... I luv cutting the grass... I don't do it often but I do enjoy it... I always feel so strong... and like I'm doing a man's job or something even though I know that's not true...

Hubby said...

I beg your pardon? Had you been able to look beyond "the mess" in the garage, you would have seen the many burning candles (one for each winter day I couldn't mow) and the shrine to the full-size poster of the riding mower I'll never own.

Now since I'm letting the lawn grow to a dandelion-choking three inches (sob!) I'll be compensating with the weed-whacker. I mean something has to be making noise in the yard!

Gary's third pottery blog said...

Your place looks great. I am the last neighbor here to mow, still have not this year, because I feel stubborn about April 25th--no cutting until after then. But then its totally rainy this week...boy, its long now....

Jeanie said...

This post is like an ode to Spring. "With a big smile on his face, hubby pulled the cord and the lawn mower roared"....I love the imagery in that sentence. Your lawn does look great. Happy spring.

Anonymous said...

it's so lovely to drive through our neighborhood in the spring and see freshly cut lush green grass framed with colorful azaleas!

great photo!

DJan said...

Yes, spring is definitely here when you hear the loud roar of the lawn mowers all over the neighborhood. Your lawn looks great, and I see "Hubby" has made a comment here!

Betty W said...

I love the way a freshly cut lawn looks and smells. I think it´s not just a man thing though. I like to do it myself. :)

Unknown said...

.... used to mow our lawn. Then dad had the entire lawn cemented :)

Sassy Pants Freckle Face said...

I cannot wait till the hub mows,.. the grass is strating to grab my ankles to trip me :)

Beautiful pic btw!

Anonymous said...

Two weeks ago my husband serviced our mower and cut the grass, edged, weed eated (?), etc for the first time since winter. It looked great.

What is that beautiful pink tree/shrub in the back of this photo? It is stunning.

Your husband did a lovely job.

Everyday Goddess said...

So green! So fresh! Ah, spring!

Ms Scarlet said...

Spring is very noisy. I'm thinking of buying a goat.
Sx

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Here is Southern California the lawns are mowed every week, maybe every other in the winter. I totally forgot about those first mows of the year. I use to love the smell of fresh cut grass. Now I just take it for granted. Thank you for sharing this.

beth said...

yes.....here too!
hearing the lawn mower makes me SO happy....until it's replaced with the snow blower.....

Ina in Alaska said...

I have a hugely irrational fear of lawnmowers! I am always worried that a rock will spit out from underneath it while mowing. BUT I have the most adorable lawn maintenance team.... 2 twin men that are so identical I can not tell who is who... one of these days I will post their picture. Last summer one of them got married.

We do have a lawn mower which sits idled because these two come every week. But before I hired these guys I would load up the mower and take it to a similar shop here in town. It was owned and operated by a crusty old geezer and his equally old wife. They were adorable, the shop was a huge mess, but I loved the smell of it, oily, etc. And they did great work.

Suldog said...

There's something somewhat comforting about the sound of lawnmowers on a sunny Saturday. It's the sound of prosperity, really; of comfort and nice places to live :-)

Kazzy said...

I actually like to mow the lawn while my husband prunes or weeds or edges or whatever. It has to do with cleaning... it feels like vacuuming outside!

Kristina P. said...

I have mowed the lawn only once in my life. Because I broke my wrist doing it. Yeah, I am lame.

jozien said...

The pink! i love the pink bush.
nice lawn too, mine is still very yellow (as in the color of hay).

Kathy M. said...

Lovely. I love the smell of fresh cut grass and the sight of a newly mowed lawn.

Unknown said...

lush lawns make my husband gush with pride. I don't mind cutting , but he swears I can't get the criss cross patterns just so.

and we are lucky, having these bits of our own .

Maude Lynn said...

Ours got its first hair cut about a month ago, but it's still not as green as yours!

Bill Lisleman said...

"guys are in lawn heaven"
not so quick - would you agree if I wrote
girls are in kitchen heaven??
Maybe hubby likes lawn maintenance but noticed a few of the commenters don't and neither do I. It's nice when it's done but if there's an excuse to put it off, I'll find it.

Robert the Skeptic said...

Here in Oregon we need to time our mowing precisely. The tepid temperatures and the (over) abundance of rain are ideal for the lawn. I sometimes swear I can actually "hear" the grass growing at night. Anyway, the ground is so soaked that the mower sinks into the turf, so adjusting the height is practically useless.

My father-in-law is a lawn purist; he will only use a push mower. This requires him to mow his lawn every other day. But a lot of rain kept him indoors as of late... he is hinting that he might like me to drop by with my power mower!!

Deidra said...

It always seems to be a bit like a domino effect in our neighborhood. One brave soul breaks out their lawnmower and before you know it, everyone is clipping and bagging and raking and fertilizing. I love it! Your yard looks great!

Momma Fargo said...

Looks great! I'm still waiting on spring...winter here....still...and still waiting on spring...still.

Cindy said...

I love the smell of fresh cut grass, as I was reading this the neighbor next door was cutting his...I just have one of those push mowers. I like it except when I get twigs or the dog caught in it....ok kidding about the dog. And you are right, it is a man thing....I will be so glad when hockey season comes to an end....all else falls by the wayside. lol. have a great day.

Liz Mays said...

I love the sound of lawns being mowed and the smell...that's heaven!

I also know that small motor repair shop very well. This year we're using a mowing service though. Boy, is that nice!

Ronda Laveen said...

Looks good to me despite the different levels. One thing is for sure, it won't be long before he has to mow again and all will be rectified.

Opaque said...

The smell of freshly cut grass is really addictive. Spring has begun!

Cheryl said...

Oh yes indeed. My husband just changed the oil in the lawn mower, bought a new spark plug and blade as on his first mow of the season he must have run over a rock or stump. He maps out what portion of the lawn he will mow what night after work, what days he will mow, etc.,etc. I agree, its a "guy thing" for sure. He also says its great exercise. We have over two acres that he mows all by hand.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Green Grass!! It looks lovely! :)

Ms. A said...

As far as I'm concerned... it's definitely a guy thing.

Joanna Jenkins said...

Ahhhhh, the smell of fresh cit grass. I love it-- as long as someone else is going the cutting.

Your yard looks great Techno!

xo

The Urban Cowboy said...

I have been mowing for over a month now, and I'm already getting tired of it. But I do enjoy the green grass now.

Bernie said...

I love the smell of freshly mowed grass, it will be a while before we have to mow here, it is still cold and feels like snow but I think we will get rain...:-) Hugs

Dr. Heckle said...

Ah yes, "lawn heaven." The place that only exists to create more work for me...

Glad I found your blog. Following you now!

Shrinky said...

Mmmmm, I love the scent of freshly mown grass! Your place is all ready for that sun-lounger now (smile), let's hope the sun agrees to play.

Syd said...

I like the smell of freshly cut grass. Spring is here and this morning is delightfully cool.

Enchanted Oak said...

Lawn mowing is a guy thing around our house. Hubby will take one look at the perfectly good lawn and announce, "I need to mow the grass today." There's nothing wrong with it, I tell him. "It's too long," he says. Then he mows it down and it looks like a barber shaved it, and then he is happy. Hm.

Country Girl said...

Ah, that explains it. You're in Nebraska. We've had a couple of cuts here in Maryland and earlier this month it was warm enough to wear shorts and flip flops. Way too early for me. Ours was being cut as I came up the driveway to home yesterday afternoon and the scent took me back to my childhood.
Thanks for coming by my place today, TechBabe.

stinkypaw said...

My husband hated any of these chores... thus we're living in a condo now.

Saturday I smelled some fresh cut grass, and yesterday it snowed all day here... strange times we live in.

Big Dave T said...

You sure have a lot of blogging buddies here. And I don't believe I'm familiar with any of them.

Your lawn looks great. I just cut my lawn too for the first time. Now add some dandelions to your grass there, along with some moss, crabgrass and some inexplicably bare spots, and it'll look just like mine.

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

Love the smell of fresh cut grass...not a big fan of mowing it though!

Anne H said...

This area is all "abuzz" with lawn mowers, too!
TechnoBabe - you are one nice person.
And smart, and cool! All kinds of good things.

Sniffles and Smiles said...

What a beautiful garden! And the Azaleas are stunning, too! Haircuts...love that! You are very witty! ~Janine XO

Julie said...

Your yard is so pretty! Happy spring! He did a great job. I'm weird in that I love to push a lawn mower. It works up a nice sweat, and it clears my mind of all the worries for a while. Then when I'm finished, I can see the results. Of course, around here, grass grows back almost as soon as it gets cut.

Stacy Uncorked said...

Hubby mowed our grass in stages this week - since the rain interrupted good mowing times and the grass grew like crazy. He's at this very moment weed whacking because he finally fixed the weed whacker himself! :)

Love the smell of fresh cut grass - and you're right, with all the sounds and smells of the neighbors all mowing too, Spring has definitely arrived. Finally! :)

Claudya Martinez said...

The smell of cut grass really is refreshing.

Unknown said...

My Daddy likes to be the last person to mow : ) He is so funny. He did it tonight. We don't have to mow here because of the home owners association.

secret agent woman said...

I held out until April 1st. Even though all my neighbors had been mowing for a couple of weeks, I was NOT, by God, going to mow in March.

gayle said...

Hubby did our 2nd mow of the year but I really wish that he would have done something else. He loves riding our mower (I think). Your yard looks great!

Mrs4444 said...

We mowed ours for the first time, this week, too. And last night, we got snow! Crazy Wisconsin...

Aron said...

ah, summer