Winner: The Lawn
Reminder: I've sprayed the weeds as directed by the ever helpful Home Depot specialist and waited two days before mowing. I'm not really sure if my spraying technique was flawed or those weeds popped up after spraying. Either way, they aren't all dead. Boo!
The moment I've been dreading is finally here. It's time to tackle the backyard. Since I haven't pulled out the lawnmower since last year, there is always that moment of... is it going to start? I'm sure you'll find this hard to believe but I might not keep the best care of my lawnmower. It's not that I don't want to pamper my lawnmower, I'm just not fully aware of how to do it. In my hectic schedule, it hasn't been top priority for me to learn. Feel free to school me on mower pampering. After pulling the mower out, I remembered that I needed to go get 'new' gas. (Yes, I realize there are worse things then driving to the gas station to get some gas; however, if you don't want to do the activity, it seems like a mountain!)
Pulled out mower: Check!
Bought new gas: Check!
Checked the oil: A little low, but I'm going for it!
To my surprise, the lawn mower started right up. Let the mowing begin! It was a slow start to say the least. Why exactly are weeds just so wet again? It was a slow process of forward 12".. back 6".... Why you ask? Because the weeds were that high and that wet! I know. Perhaps I should have jumped on this lawn mowing thing before today. How was I suppose to know that it was going to rain all week and the weeds would shoot up ten feet?!? And realize in advance I would have almost every night booked the following week!? Either way, I'm now dealing with it. After mowing for over an hour, I came upon a hidden stick. You have to love the first mow of the season. There are all these little hidden surprises underneath. In fairness, I did go through the lawn and try to pick up the sticks, etc. Apparently a couple got away from me and found their way into the mower! After running over the third little surprise, the mower stopped and smoked a little. I do realize that smoke is never a good sign. I looked over the lawnmower and didn't see anything too huge; however, it didn't start back up. I guess my mowing is done for now! And only half of the backyard is finished. The lawn is the winner.
Ding! Ding! Round 3
Winner: Me!
After letting the mower sit all night, I added more gas and more oil. Strangely, I had some oil in my garage. Go me! The mower started right up. So I began again with the 12" forward... 6" back technique. That's what I get for waiting so long! Don't believe me? Take a look at what I was up against! (See picture to the left!)Please don't share this picture with my dad. I've had the lawn mowing lecture before!
In addition, Bella thought she would help me out with the mowing. She so nicely barked at the vicious lawnmower and save me from it. Ever try to move through too tall weeds and grass while a dog barks at you the entire time? It just makes a delightful task oh so much more fun! Here is a picture of Bella 'protecting' me: (See picture just above to the right!)Needless to say, after mowing another hour I have officially finished the backyard! Finally I'm the winner!
Ding! Ding! Round 4
Winner: The Lawn
Now that I have finished the backyard, I'm moving on to the front yard! After adding more gas, I started back up quickly finishing the little side strip next to the garage. I'm sure my neighbor fully appreciated me not bagging my clippings and my leaf mulching technique. The lady at home depot did tell me to mulch the clippings back on after spraying. I was just following orders!
Next I moved over to the main part of the yard. I like to play this game while mowing the yard called Pattern Making! I mow in different patterns trying to see what kind of fun effects I can produce. I started off with the shrinking square pattern. I made it around three sides before the mower began to smoke again! What is it? The front lawn isn't even that high! Of course, I took this as a clear sign that lawn mowing was done for Sunday. I pushed it back into the backyard and took the dogs for a walk instead. I hope my neighbors like the giant C I mowed into my lawn!
For those of you who haven't been keeping track, let me help you out. The Lawn: 3 Me: 1 It looks like the Odds are not ever in my favor on this issue!
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