Really Melissa? You have never mowed the lawn?! - the answer is simple, no i have not!
As kids we lived on a mini, non functional, farm. Meaning, we had about an acre of land that we used for play, we had various sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits, and the occasional pig - oh, and Huggybear which was a species all in his own. We didn't need to mow the lawns with goats/sheep on the property, they ARE lawn mowers! We had a front lawn but I really don't have a memory of my parents mowing it, though I am sure they did. Our backyard on the other hand was not part of the pastured area and I think Jeff Foxworthy said it best when he said "If you mow the lawn and find a car, you might be a redneck!". While we never found a car I do remember one summer when the grass was so tall we couldn't see our blue healer/border collie mix named Karma running in the chest high blades, only the tall grass dancing with her movement. How my parents mowed that I will never know, but they did it.
Did you know that the first ever lawn mower was invented in 1827 by Edwin Budding of Thrupp, a small village outside Stroud, in Gloucestershire? After 184 years the fundamentals of the machine have not changed much, don’t fix it if it ain’t broken right?!
Left: Cylinder mower from 1888
Right: Reel mower from 2011 (sears)
The difference in name is solely based on location, in the UK its called a cylinder mower and in the US we call it a reel mower but in the end, its the exact same thing and not even 184 years of production and consumer use has changed that. So next time you're out sweating in the sun cursing your slow moving manual reel (or cylinder depending on where your lawn is) mower just think of your great great great grandparent once doing the exact same thing with essentially the exact same machine! Pretty cool right?!?
We recently bought a gas powered push mower. The first lawn mower either of us have ever owned in our adult lives because this is the first lawn we have owned having just recently bought our first house. The day was beautiful and I really just wanted to be outside but stay home so I decided to add "mow the lawn" to my list. Recently when telling people of some of my adventures whenever I say "I mowed the lawn" I get mixed reactions, men seem to look at me like "really? you have never mowed a lawn before?!" and women react more with a "wow really?! I have never mowed a lawn either!!!". When telling my sister about it and I mentioned that I did a great job, making the lawn look baseball field ready, she quickly shushed me telling me not to brag or I might get stuck with the chore in the future! Funny, mowing a lawn is still very much a man's job and women seem to let woman's equality shoot out the window when it comes to this backyard task!
Doc gave me a quick tutorial, forgetting to tell me to hold the gas bar while trying to start it - needless to say I could not pull the cord hard enough to get it to start. After laughing at me for my inability to start a simple mower he realized this forgotten - important - step and gave me a new tutorial and I am proud to say....... nope, I still couldn't start the mower! Doc had to start it for me and off I went, humming "Its a man's world" in my head. I got about 1/3 of the way through the lawn when I realized we have a pretty large yard! Looking at it and mowing it really reflect two different sizes! Later I was able to start the mower on my own and got the entire yard done in a little under an hour.
Like an idiot I worked out earlier in the afternoon so after the mowing I was pretty much dead. Then Doc unloaded the truck which contained a box weighing in at probably 300lbs! In it, all the parts to put together a huge wooden swing. I rolled up my grass stained sleeves and reached deep within my soul for a second burst of energy and we got to assembling. Together it took us about 2 hours to put the swing together and it was worth every moment! At the end of the day I took a step back to admire our new swing under a blooming lilac tree and thought of the similar swing my dad had built in the backyard of our childhood home. Swinging on it with Ana as the sun faded on our freshly manicured backyard brought back memories of wonderful summer afternoons as a child. I am very excited about the future and the memories I will make as an adult with Ana that she will carry with her throughout her entire life, making great impressions on her life as my parents did on mine.
Before Doc gave me CORRECT instructions!
Finally off and going
The "supervisor"
The end result - pretty great right?!?
The box!
Done! Ana and I enjoying our new swing
She loves the swing
Daddy daughter swing time
CLICK HERE TO GO TO DAY 13
2 comments:
What is that NOISE in the video at the very beginning?? Is that the sound of you FAILING at LIFE?!
HILARIOUS!!!
noise? the honk like sound? that was the stupid mower!! But in my defense, the video was BEFORE Doc told me I had to hold down the gas bar! But the video of me trying to start it after he told me to hold it down is just as bad! LOL
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