Mower Movement

For the past month we've been nursing our geriatric lawn mower along, hoping to make it to the end of the grass cutting season.  However, two weeks ago it bit the dust with almost a month of grass growing left.  Its timing couldn't have been worse.  The big box stores had gotten rid of most of their stock for the year, and we weren't inclined to spend the extra money to get one at a specialty store (even though the merchandise was probably better quality).

In the middle of the 'finding a new mower' project Hubby Tony coincidentally got a call from Son Tony.  After they'd chatted about this and that, Son Tony mentioned a friend of his who owns a lawn mowing business might have a used mower he'd be willing to sell us.  Son Tony was right.  Two days and one hundred dollars later we were the proud owners of a refurbished John Deere.

The mower has some quirks.  It has the equipment for an electric start, but a bum battery that would need to be replaced.  There's a weird side discharge chute that makes it hard to get close to things on the right-hand side. The biggest difference between it and our old mower, though, is the fact the new one is self-propelled.

The new system  took some getting used to.  This new mower has two levers- one on he right hand side that controls the drive mechanism, and one on the left that controls the speed (which ranges from 'rabbit' to 'tortoise'). It took me a while to figure out how fast I wanted to mow.  You also have to remember to release the forward lever when you turn a corner.  The first time I cut the grass I left a few divots in the yard until I got the hang of it.  The new mower is quite a bit heavier then the old mower, so the couple of spots in the yard that require backing up require more strength.

At the rate I'm going I suspect I'll have the mower's idiosyncrasies figured out right about the time grass season is finished for the year.

Five years ago today: Movie Night(s)