My brother Zack was so excited when I bought my house because he then decided to build me a lawn mower. Yes, he built it! He is very talented. I asked him to paint it pink as I thought it would make me more excited to take it out and actually use it, but he refused.
One of the things I love about my new house is I have a nice big front yard and a two-tiered, fenced in back yard. Ohhh, it's so very pretty! Right away I began to imagine all the fancy yard parties I would have including yard games, maybe an outdoor tiki bar, a bbq going, and more. What I didn't think about is that I'd have to actually put work into keeping the yard in a condition which would be inviting to people.
When I moved into the house here is what I thought about yard work:
1. The grass only needed to be cut like once a month or once every three weeks.
2. Flowers would bloom beautifully in my yard.
3. Weeds.... they wouldn't grow in annoying places.
4. There are no bugs in the grass so I can walk around bare footed.
Here is what I quickly learned:
1. Grass grows very fast and if I cut my yard only once a month my neighbours would absolutely hate me.
2. Flowers are difficult and need attention. Ugh. Not only attention but they need to be watered, pruned, and positioned properly in accordance to their growing conditions. Too much water and/or sun will kill them.
3. Weeds grow everywhere may it be along my fence, in the cracks of my driveway, around my house, or on my stone patio. They are also impossible to kill!
4. Bugs live outside. They like grass. They will bite.
My mom and dad came into town the weekend after I moved in. They brought me the lawn mower and many other goodies (thank you parents)! My dad was determined to show me how to work the lawn mower so I could cut the grass for the first time... but we all agreed that it would be better if dad showed me how to start it but then proceeded to cut the lawn himself while Mom and I went to Target and Home Depot. It was a better decision because Dad did such a good job. I also knew that he really did want to cut the grass for me out of the kindness of his heart.
I also learned that I had to keep a jerry can of gas and some oil in my garage because my lawn mower would not continually work without attention. Gas I knew about, but I have a hard time pouring it in... it's heavy, ugh! Oil though, I guess I just assumed that only cars/trucks needed oil. Regardless, I have mastered keeping the lawn mower full. Usually, when I'm cutting the grass and my lawn mower putters out I know it needs gas. If it starts to smoke a little bit, I assume it needs oil. My system is flawless!
I have decided to put little latterns around my front steps and also around my backyard patio. They are very cute and they are solar powered which is fabulous because I don't have to worry about flipping a switch! Anyhoo, the only issue is when I cut the grass it's hard to go around them, so when I'm just trying to do it quickly I just go around them. I have posted a pic of my typical "going around the latterns" style. It leaves a nice little fringe as I like to call it.
Lastly, I learned just yesterday that you can't cut the grass when its wet. Now, before you go "oh katie..ugh", I'm going away on a work trip this weekend and will be gone for a week. The weather man told me that the rest of this week it was supposed to rain (he was wrong by the way), therefore I figured since my grass was already about 3 inches long (I've been busy) I had to do it yesterday so that it was fine while I'm in India. It hadn't rained all day, so I decided to cut my front yard (the back can wait). I started and right away the mower was heavier, it was chugging along, and it kept dying. I realized quickly that the part of the mower that spits out the cut grass kept getting clogged with large amounts of wet grass. Before you panic, I didn't reach in there while the mower was going, but I got my trusty rubber boots (that I wear when I cut the grass) and my gardening gloves and reched in there and cleaned it out. It wasn't hard. What I wasn't ready for was that every 2 mins I had to do this.
My front yard is big... this meant it took me like an hour to mow the front. Not only that, but it shaved my grass pretty short and left piles of ugly, dead, wet grass all over. My neighbours must be so thrilled to look at my lawn. I posted a pic of that as well although I don't think it really does it justice.
I did decide that I would use my new rake (I bought it at Home Depot for $5) and pick up this ugly grass, but it was SO humid out and I got sweaty so I stopped. I think I made the right choice. I know the wind and rain will wash away the rest of that ugly grass.
What I learned from Lesson #2:
- Mowers are high maintenance and don't like wet grass so I need to remember to wait until my lawn is dry.
- Flowers attract butterflies (which I forgot to mention) so I'm keeping them to a minimum as butterflies and I don't mix.
- Flowers are pretty but they are a little bit bitchy and require a lot of attention. Hmmmm that seems to resonate with me a bit.
- All in all, I think I'd be better off just hiring someone to do my yard. Someone like a neighbour boy who I can pay in popsicles and candy.
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