Why Don’t You Go Mow Yourself?

Now that we’ve finally put away the snow shovels, it was only a matter of time before we rolled out the lawnmowers, Modern Philosophers.

That annual right of Spring happened tonight at The House on the Hill.  I managed to weasel out of yard work over the weekend, but the grass on the Great Lawn was simply too high to ignore any longer.

And so, I dusted off the lawn mower, said a silent prayer, and yanked its chain.

Miraculously, that bad boy roared to life on the first try.

Guess someone was hungry after a long Winter’s slumber, and wanted to munch on the green, green grass of home.

It was a gorgeous night to be outside doing a little landscaping.  It was in the mid-sixties, the sun was shining, and I needed a way to sweat off the stress of my work day.

Monday is a rest day from running, so I was eager to find a new way to collect some steps.  Pushing a lawnmower up and down the Great Lawn was the perfect solution.

As you can see, the lawn was in desperate need of a haircut…

My neighbor Janine, who was also outside raking her lawn, said she was jealous of how well my lawn had grown in this year.

To be honest, I was a little worried if the grass was going to be greener on my side of the street.  When the snow finally vanished, it revealed large brown patches all over the lawn.

Thankfully, a little sunlight and warm weather turned everything green again.

Ironically, green is the color associated with jealousy, but I told Janine not to worry.  If it was a luscious green lawn she desired, then she was free to mow mine anytime.

Surprisingly, she did not take me up on my offer tonight.

Maybe next week…

Before I knew it, I had worked up quite a sweat.  I foolishly tried to push the mower with only my left arm, so that my right arm was free to swing and register steps on my FitBit.

That was a horrible plan.

It’s called The House on the Hill for a reason, and the lawnmower needed more than a one armed shove to get it up that hill.

Despite what my tee shirt might lead you to believe, I did not unleash my inner Flash this evening.

Like I told you earlier, Monday is my day off from running, so I had to take it nice and slow.

Plus, the grass was long, my legs were sore, and I kept having to stop the mower to clear away all the sliced grass that was jamming the blades.

Once I finished enjoying my mow job, it was time to switch over to rake duty.

It really ended up being a great workout, and I found the change of pace to be enjoyable.  Not that I’m looking to mow lawns every night, but it was fun to do something different to get in my exercise.

While the finished product looked nothing at all like the infield of Yankee Stadium, I was satisfied with the results…

Now that the lawnmower has been used, I can officially say that Spring has arrived.

I definitely prefer mowing the lawn to shoveling the driveway, but perhaps next week, I will make the interns cut the grass.

After all, those kids have got to learn that there’s more to life than writing a blog.

Have you mowed your lawn yet?  Did the mower spring to life on the first try?