Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Zen and the Art of Mowing the Lawn

Sam's ScarecrowWhen I got the lawnmower out for the first time this year I had to spend half an hour cleaning the grass that was firmly glued to every surface. Last year was a horrible washout and we eventually had to mow the lawn when it was wet, because it never dried out at all and it would have been knee-high if we hadn't mowed it sometime. The wheels of the mower ground up the spongy, waterlogged soil, damaging the lawn. The wet grass didn't cut very well, especially the tough stalks which had developed in the long period between mowing. The soggy grass cuttings stuck to all parts of the lawnmower and were difficult to clean off; eventually we gave up trying. Mowing the lawn in 2007 was a miserable experience.

But last Saturday, ah, that's a different story. I had forgotten the simple pleasure of cutting the lawn with a properly functioning mower on a warm dry day. The hum of the mower, the delicious sharp smell of the cut grass, the birdsong in the distance, the heat of the sun on my back. I felt as though I could have mowed forever. Then sitting down with a cold glass of beer afterwards and surveying a job well done. Heaven must be just like this.

It was during this "surveying" period that I noticed various nasty holes and patches in the lawn. Sam helped me fork out the weeds and moss, prepare the soil surface, and sow some new grass seed to fill the gaps. On Monday he brought home a small scarecrow he had made at school. There was really only one place to put it. Sam's scarecrow stands in the middle of the front lawn, deterring any birds who might want to eat our grass seed before it grows.

11 comments:

Ted Marshall said...

I too love that smell of cut grass, nothing like it.
But I don't like mowing, and a couple of years back I had my (very small) garden laid out to planting beds with gravel in between.
Little did I realise that to three cats, gravel looks just like cat litter...

Anonymous said...

The scarecrow seems to have allot of bird feathers around it's base. Has it been eating birds? I'm sure it is a very effective scarecrow if it has.

Melanie Rimmer said...

There's a tree above the scarecrow shedding blossom!

Simon Sherlock said...

Get yourself a Brill push mower from Wiggly Wigglers - http://wigglywigglers.blogspot.com/2008/04/customer-review-brill-razorcut-mower.html and the satisfaction of looking at a job well done will be multiplied by the fact you've used no petrol and no electricity getting that look!

Simon Sherlock said...

That link got well and truly killed by Blogger. This takes you to the same place:
http://tinyurl.com/3gje8k

Melanie Rimmer said...

I had a push lawnmower. It sucked. I sold it on Ebay (describing it accurately and fairly) and it fetched slightly more than I paid for it, five or six years previously. That made me feel guilty, but Ebay doesn't allow you to set a maximum price you'll sell for, only a minimum one.

The one you linked to, Simon, looks better quality than the one I had. Maybe when it's time to replace my current electric job, I'll research push mowers again.

Anonymous said...

I love Sam's scarecrow! Is it working?

I'm slightly baffled by the concept of mowing the lawn though... ;)

Fran

Neza S.G. said...

I love that scarecrow...it's perfect !

The Rock and Roll Gardener in Minnesota

Anonymous said...

Just love Sam's scarecrow. Would he make me one?

Aunt Debbi/kurts mom said...

The scarecrow is precious. I also love the smell of fresh mown grass.

Anonymous said...

Years ago when our garden was only lawn, I bought OH a large petrol mower for a present. Slowly we have turned the garden over to plants both to eat, to look at and for the wildlife. Now when we get the mower out it ust about fits on the lawn. A matter of zip up one side and down the other but as it's still going strong after twenty four years we can't justify buying a smaller one yet, much as OH has tried.

Pippa in Cornwall