Spring weeds

Well. The lawn was growing like a weed, or maybe more appropriately the weeds were growing where my lawn should be. I'm pretty lazy when it comes to yard work as readers will remember.

The first mowing of the year comes with a bit of suspense because of the silent collusion regarding early-season-lawn-care that everyone on the street takes part in. Nobody likes to mow, and there's really no peer pressure unless somebody else has already mowed. So you never want to be that first mower. The longer everybody puts off that first cutting - the better. Heck, with enough spine we could all probably get used to living in hay fields.

I've been proud of my street so far this spring. No "early mowers" to speak of. Live and let live I say. I'm actually a bit ashamed to say that I was one of the first mowers on the street this year. I feel like I need to apologize to my neighbors who were doing so good - but I had a serious case of shaggy weed going on in the front yard. Unfortunately I've probably set a chain of unfortunate events into motion. I can almost hear engines small engines whirring.

Todays mowing nearly didn't happen though. I got home from work around 6:30 and went out to get the push-mower ready. I had to clean the air filter (I use the mower to mulch leaves in the fall, and the air filter is always clogged at spring), and I rotated out the spark plug - which seems to help the thing start each spring. Put some gas in the tank. I was ready to go.

I pulled and pulled on the starter rope. Pump a little gas in there. Keep pulling.... OK 3 minutes of pulling the starter rope is enough. Take a break. Let it set. Stupid mower. Sometimes letting it sit a few minutes helps. Get some Diet Dew. Go back out. Pull for another minute. Still nothing. Wait a minute? Did I put the spark plug wire back on?

So I pop the spark plug wire on and pull again. By now the wife is watching me flail around trying to get the thing going. Pump a little bit of gas in. Pull again. Bingo! With a puff a black smoke we're off to the races.

The sun is going down before I can get done, but there's still a sense of accomplishment. Because after you've mowed, most people will confuse your mangy yard of weeds with a smooth green lawn. Especially your slacker neighbors who haven't mowed yet.

Here's my wife's take on it.