Do you have a garden chore you hate? For me, it's cutting the lawn. It doesn't help that we have never had a good, reliable lawn mover.
Late last summer, my husband peaked his head into the backyard where I was puttering away in the garden and called, "I bought something. Come see!"
I put my trowel down and followed him out to the driveway. The excitement in his voice made me nervous.
Even after twenty-odd years of marriage, my sweetheart of a husband still surprises me with bouquets of roses for no particular reason. But I am the one that gets excited about roses, not him! No, this had to be a guy sort-of-thing and was most probably a gadget of some kind.
He opened the back door of the car and that is when I saw Scott for the first time.
"I got it at the Goodwill for twenty dollars!", my husband said ever so proudly. He pulled Scott from the backseat of the car and placed him on the driveway for me to admire. "So what do you think?"
Hmm...Roses would have been nicer!
No, that is unkind! This was a surprise that was not entirely unwelcome. Our latest gas mover had been acting up for weeks and was now refusing to start. In the meantime, the lawn was beginning to look a bit like a hayfield.
So far, a Scott's Supreme 18" lawn mover is a pretty lean, mean grass cutting machine. Hey, at least the only thing required to get a hand mover going is a person to push it!
Scott does have his drawbacks though- he is a one-way sort of guy. The wheels don't pivot or turn. We'll get off on a good roll only to get boxed into a corner. I figure what Scott really needs is a good set of balls like one of those fancy Dyson vacuums!
Most embarrassing is the sound he makes: Gobble-gobble-gobble! Gobble-gobble-gobble!
I have been glad to have the Scott at my beck and call this summer. The endless rain has meant that the grass has been growing nonstop.
What about you? Do you have a gardening chore you dislike?
Have a wonderful weekend!
Oh yes I have Jennifer. I have a small path of grass what I don't like is to prune the borders of the graspath with the scissors eventhough it's a small path.
ReplyDeleteHave a beautiful weekend Jennifer.
Hahahahaha....I loved this....the bit about needing a set of balls and the gobblings sounds had me spitting my coffee out laughing! Brilliant stuff!
ReplyDeleteGlorious pics....as always.
I loath WEEDING, especially on the cracks in the path1xxxx
Me encantan tus fotografías, la primera y la última son una belleza!!
ReplyDeleteUn abrazo grande y feliz fin de semana.
I'm with you, I hate mowing the lawn. But I'm on a secret mission to eliminate as much of the lawn as I can and replace it with flowers and shrubs. I've already cut a half hour out of my mowing routine and hopefully within a year or two I'll have so little lawn space that weekly mowing will take less than an hour.
ReplyDeleteI also use a push mower. I much prefer its much quieter sound. For areas I can't get to with the mower, I go back with a weed whacker that has a rechargeable battery.
ReplyDeleteWow a "push mower" now that takes some real dedication. Of course I don't mow our yard (hubby handles that aspect) but I do the watering and weeding of all my flower beds and the yard. That's plenty of work if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteOh this was one of the funniest posts I have read in a long time. I have a dyson and it does have a good set of balls. My very first lawn mower was a brand new honda mower with all the bells and whistles. My husband was my boyfriend at the time and he couldn't believe I spent that much money on a mower. I told him a girl needs good power toys to get the job done.
ReplyDeleteI dislike dealing with animal presents and weeding little weeds. Big weeds are easy.
Jennifer, my mover is similar to your new toy, and its wheels turn and I love it! I don't love any noisy electric or gas machine. So I think you'll glad to mow with scotts.
ReplyDeleteHow big is your lawn, You mention that you had a petrol driven one so that must mean it is quite large? Just think, it beats going to the gym, all that exercise is good for you! Easy for me to say, my hubby does the lawn, but never the edges, I wonder why, that is what I don't like!
ReplyDeletePauline, the front yard is all flowers. The backyard lawn used to be 50ft wide by 150ft deep. Every year however, I eliminate a bit more lawn. (Is that any surprise since I hate cutting it?) Right now, the lawn is about half the original size. It takes me about an hour to cut the lawn including trimming. This summer's large rainfall has meant that I have been spending lots of hours cutting the lawn!
DeleteCutting the grass is my dreaded task too. Hubby isn't much better at it either. So after much discussion, we decided to bite the bullet and get a professional to lawn the massive lawn. Believe me it is worth the $40 per visit to keep my marriage intact and the lawn looking good.
ReplyDeleteUsed to have a little push mower for my city lot and loved it -even loved cutting the lawn when I could get it done in 20 minutes. Now that it's 2 hours to cut and trim the grass, I'm glad someone else is doing it. Even if I have to pay for it to get done - lol.
Right now it is weeding in the tropical heat and humidity when i cannot even get a dent in it...I used to use a hand mower when I was a kid..it was wood and iron and I could barely push it.
ReplyDeleteI hate getting rid of the weed, it always seem to grow so fast! :-( Lovely flowers in this post!
ReplyDeletehttp://tinajoathome.com/
Hi Jennifer
ReplyDeleteYou will have a neat, trim husband after he pushes a lawnmower around at least once a week! But a push mower is probably worth it if you keep eliminating lawn all the time in the back.
Re: chores. I could do without the very heavy spring lifting: mulch bags, soil bags, getting heavy clay containers onto the deck. Now all I have is weeding and as long as it's not blistering hot or very buggy, I really don't mind.
Have a great weekend!
Your Scott is a handsome fella! :-)
ReplyDeleteI actually like to mow the lawn, and it's a good thing, because it takes me about 2-3 days and 4-6 hours.
What I hate (and that's not even a strong enough word!), is weeding.
I swear, by the time I get from the front to the back of the gardens, they've started growing again!
Have a great weekend, Jennifer!
Incredible photos!!! I actually enjoy mowing the lawn- maybe because I don't have to, but when I do I enjoy it. Chores I don't like- yes- getting gas and going to the grocery store. Two things many do not see as chores but I do and I can't stand to do either. I would mow the lawn any day over getting gas and or going to the grocery. HA.
ReplyDeleteI have a push mower - my husband. I don't like any garden housework. Your photos are particularly atmospheric today, well not the one of the mower obviously.
ReplyDeleteI loved the push mower back in the day. In fact, when our gas mower died a few years ago, I wanted to get a push mower to replace it, but was talked out of it. I think your husband did well!
ReplyDeleteI guess I would say that deadheading is not a chore that I enjoy. However, I do it gladly in order to see more blooms in the garden. I used to mow the grass and I didn't like this either. Watering is my daily job and it seems sort of serene that I do it methodically.
ReplyDeleteEileen
Oh, I have that very same Scott mower!!! Love it. Of course my lawn is small. I can cut the front and back in less than 30 minutes. Weed whacking is another story... I hope this mower works out for you. I enjoy knowing I can mow at any time and won't add pollution of any kind to the air or disturb my neighbors. Big pluses in my book!
ReplyDeleteJennifer girl you have made me laugh so much with this post ... the way men think and what they get excited about .. the balls missing from this mower .. the noise it makes ... all of it was just too funny !
ReplyDeleteI have seen push mowers being sold for over $200 !! now that is crazy ! .. so your hubby did do well .. but yes, I understand the drawbacks ..
We haven't had a good soaking of rain in ages .. I know I will be out with the water wand soon again .. not that I really water my astilbe heavily ... just here and there .. but they are a favourite in my garden .. I do love them!
Joy : )
Now that is a mower that I could use!!!! And it is good for the environment! I dislike cutting the lawn as well as keeping up with knocking the beetles off of my plants!!! Your photos are beautiful Jennifer!!!
ReplyDeleteJennifer bet the neighbours like the sound of Scott's gobble rather than the loud noise of my gas monster.... A gardening job I don't like would be having to cut things down in the fall when cleaning up the flower beds before the snow flies....
ReplyDeleteI really hate scooping dog poop. I need poopless dogs. I also don't like squishing beetles but do it anyway. I like my flowers more than I dislike beetle squishing. :o)
ReplyDeleteI am soooooo enjoying my stroll through your gardens.
ReplyDelete