The Lawn Mower Roller Coaster Ride
I try to do my homework before buying big ticket items, but emotions sometimes get in the way of being practical. For the last few weeks I have been looking at replacing my John Deere riding mower with a zero turn unit. The prices of riding mowers, whether the tractor type of the zero turn type have gone through the rough, up about $1000 or more in the past 5 years. I also had bought cordless mower that stopped being “self-propelled” after the warranty ran out. I then purchased a Honda “self-propelled” top of the line unit. I don’t know why I am obsessed with mowers, other than I do cut the grass two or three times a week.
Getting back to buying a new mower, I found myself wanting one, but thinking why? These mowers are big, hard to maintain and I have always felt that walking behind a mower to cut grass was good exercise. I explored possibilities of going with a new John Deere or Ariens Icon. Both were in the $3800 range, not cheap. The Ariens looked more solid, and had a better warranty. Still, it was a large mower, 50” cut and zero turn mowers have a tendency of flipping on hills. I have some pretty deep culverts for water runoff where I could see a mower flipping.
I finally decided that I was still physically strong enough to go with my Honda and count mowing the yard as a one mile walk. Bonus points, I guess. My John Deere is leaking a bit of oil, but I now put a pan under it so oil doesn’t end up on the garage floor. I will check oil levels before I use the machine for cutting. I save myself $3800, get some exercise and move on to other things now.
I try to do my homework before buying big ticket items, but emotions sometimes get in the way of being practical. For the last few weeks I have been looking at replacing my John Deere riding mower with a zero turn unit. The prices of riding mowers, whether the tractor type of the zero turn type have gone through the rough, up about $1000 or more in the past 5 years. I also had bought cordless mower that stopped being “self-propelled” after the warranty ran out. I then purchased a Honda “self-propelled” top of the line unit. I don’t know why I am obsessed with mowers, other than I do cut the grass two or three times a week.
Getting back to buying a new mower, I found myself wanting one, but thinking why? These mowers are big, hard to maintain and I have always felt that walking behind a mower to cut grass was good exercise. I explored possibilities of going with a new John Deere or Ariens Icon. Both were in the $3800 range, not cheap. The Ariens looked more solid, and had a better warranty. Still, it was a large mower, 50” cut and zero turn mowers have a tendency of flipping on hills. I have some pretty deep culverts for water runoff where I could see a mower flipping.
I finally decided that I was still physically strong enough to go with my Honda and count mowing the yard as a one mile walk. Bonus points, I guess. My John Deere is leaking a bit of oil, but I now put a pan under it so oil doesn’t end up on the garage floor. I will check oil levels before I use the machine for cutting. I save myself $3800, get some exercise and move on to other things now.
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Collection of tomatoes -
The raised bed is still producing -
Hidden tomatoes in the weed patch. -
Yikes look at those weeds -
Overgrown weeds in raspberry patch -
Overgrown weeds in blackberry patch -
Tomatoes gone wild! -
Find the strawberries! -
Overgrown Roma tomatoes
Click to see September Photos
More expensive toys
My little 1600 power washer decided to not work properly anymore. I think I paid $49 for it about 5 years ago, as I needed something to wash down the vinyl siding of our home on the north side. I bought a second one for $79 for use down in Florida, so neither one was very expensive.
This time, in anticipation of doing more cleanup work, I suppose, and the fact that to have someone come and wash down the house would cost at least $300, I decided to get a Simpson power washer with a Honda engine, same size at my Honda lawnmower.
Now, I am not a fan of using power washers, as the first one I ever used was up in Mansfield and I used the wrong head for the sprayer. I cut in some nice deep lines into the wood siding of the front of the house. Boy, was I dumb.
So, I will practice with this new one, that will come in early October, to make sure I don’t cut into the vinyl siding or smash windows.
All the homes down here in Delaware get mold and mildew on them, similar to what one sees in Florida and out in Washington state.
I am now doubly glad I didn’t buy that $3800 zero turn lawnmower. I don’t need more toys in my three car garage.
My little 1600 power washer decided to not work properly anymore. I think I paid $49 for it about 5 years ago, as I needed something to wash down the vinyl siding of our home on the north side. I bought a second one for $79 for use down in Florida, so neither one was very expensive.
This time, in anticipation of doing more cleanup work, I suppose, and the fact that to have someone come and wash down the house would cost at least $300, I decided to get a Simpson power washer with a Honda engine, same size at my Honda lawnmower.
Now, I am not a fan of using power washers, as the first one I ever used was up in Mansfield and I used the wrong head for the sprayer. I cut in some nice deep lines into the wood siding of the front of the house. Boy, was I dumb.
So, I will practice with this new one, that will come in early October, to make sure I don’t cut into the vinyl siding or smash windows.
All the homes down here in Delaware get mold and mildew on them, similar to what one sees in Florida and out in Washington state.
I am now doubly glad I didn’t buy that $3800 zero turn lawnmower. I don’t need more toys in my three car garage.
Lettuce and Pickles
September continues to be a productive month, although, things are slowing down a bit, due mainly to the weed takeover of he garden. Still, I have plenty of tomatoes to pick, the lettuce is growing well and the cucumbers and pickles I started in the middle of August are flowiering and starting to produce fruit.
The Weeds
No matter how hard I try, I can not keep up with the weeds in the garden. I manage to keep them at bay until early July and then “bam” the weeds multiply and grow faster than any of my veggies. One of the culprits is the heat, as July and August bring temperatures into the 90’s and at my age, I don’t want to be out on my knees pulling weeds. So, here are examples of what took place in a little more than 4 weeks of weed-a-rama.
Happy Birthday!
Today is my brother’s birthday as all three of the family were born in September, six years apart. I still have fond memories of my dad running up the stairs of our Clifton house excited as can be, announcing to my sister and me the birth of my brother. Early on he had some breathing issues, turning blue, but was saved and now, 68 years later, he is still kicking, coaching young people to be productive, competitive and consistent in their pursuit of becoming good in the sport of track and field. Happy Birthday!
September continues to be a productive month, although, things are slowing down a bit, due mainly to the weed takeover of he garden. Still, I have plenty of tomatoes to pick, the lettuce is growing well and the cucumbers and pickles I started in the middle of August are flowiering and starting to produce fruit.
The Weeds
No matter how hard I try, I can not keep up with the weeds in the garden. I manage to keep them at bay until early July and then “bam” the weeds multiply and grow faster than any of my veggies. One of the culprits is the heat, as July and August bring temperatures into the 90’s and at my age, I don’t want to be out on my knees pulling weeds. So, here are examples of what took place in a little more than 4 weeks of weed-a-rama.
Happy Birthday!
Today is my brother’s birthday as all three of the family were born in September, six years apart. I still have fond memories of my dad running up the stairs of our Clifton house excited as can be, announcing to my sister and me the birth of my brother. Early on he had some breathing issues, turning blue, but was saved and now, 68 years later, he is still kicking, coaching young people to be productive, competitive and consistent in their pursuit of becoming good in the sport of track and field. Happy Birthday!
Still warm outside
Despite the return of some warmer weather, leading to a three t-shirt day, I was able to make some headway into closing off this year’s garden of weeds. Actually, food production was quite good as friends and neighbors shared in our bounty, with there being lots of it. However, as July became August and September finally came along, the weeds too over and I was only able to harvest enough tomatoes to enjoy for most meals.
I did finally transplant some Nevada lettuce, along with cucumbers and pickles and they are looking quite good. The lettuce seems to be better than what I harvested in June.
Cutting back the weeds, initially with a weed wicker and then using my Honda lawn mower, I was able to get down to the final 3 inches of “stubble”.. There is still lots of work ahead, but that will have to wait a few days until it gets a bit cooler again.
Despite the return of some warmer weather, leading to a three t-shirt day, I was able to make some headway into closing off this year’s garden of weeds. Actually, food production was quite good as friends and neighbors shared in our bounty, with there being lots of it. However, as July became August and September finally came along, the weeds too over and I was only able to harvest enough tomatoes to enjoy for most meals.
I did finally transplant some Nevada lettuce, along with cucumbers and pickles and they are looking quite good. The lettuce seems to be better than what I harvested in June.
Cutting back the weeds, initially with a weed wicker and then using my Honda lawn mower, I was able to get down to the final 3 inches of “stubble”.. There is still lots of work ahead, but that will have to wait a few days until it gets a bit cooler again.
Weeds, weeds and more weeds
What seemed like the start of fall a week ago, quickly turned around and temperatures in the mid 80’s, with high humidity came about once again. The garden remains a pretty good mess as cleanup will have to wait until it gets cooler. I am still getting lots of tomatoes, mostly Roma cooking tomatoes, but a few beefsteak as well. The lettuce crop in the raised bed is doing very well, as are the cukes and pickles next to the lettuce.
I am thinking seriously of building another raised bed made out of wood where I can attach some screening to keep out critters and bugs (mostly bugs). I had a number of such beds back up in Mansfield, MA, so this is nothing new to me. The question is how high and what kind of wood. I am leaning towards OSB plywood and 2x4 for support at 16 inch height. That allows me to add PVC hoops for the netting and will help with better weed control. I bought some black garden covering to put on the ground and help suppress the weeds. I know it won’t totally stop the “wire” grass (Bermuda grass), but it will provide enough of a barrier to control the grass from overtaking the raised bed.
There is plenty of other work that still has to be done, including washing down the house to get rid of mold and mildew, cut back overgrown plants and manicure the front lawn before we head back down to Florida. As usual, I won’t get everything done, but I suppose that is the challenge over the next two months.
What seemed like the start of fall a week ago, quickly turned around and temperatures in the mid 80’s, with high humidity came about once again. The garden remains a pretty good mess as cleanup will have to wait until it gets cooler. I am still getting lots of tomatoes, mostly Roma cooking tomatoes, but a few beefsteak as well. The lettuce crop in the raised bed is doing very well, as are the cukes and pickles next to the lettuce.
I am thinking seriously of building another raised bed made out of wood where I can attach some screening to keep out critters and bugs (mostly bugs). I had a number of such beds back up in Mansfield, MA, so this is nothing new to me. The question is how high and what kind of wood. I am leaning towards OSB plywood and 2x4 for support at 16 inch height. That allows me to add PVC hoops for the netting and will help with better weed control. I bought some black garden covering to put on the ground and help suppress the weeds. I know it won’t totally stop the “wire” grass (Bermuda grass), but it will provide enough of a barrier to control the grass from overtaking the raised bed.
There is plenty of other work that still has to be done, including washing down the house to get rid of mold and mildew, cut back overgrown plants and manicure the front lawn before we head back down to Florida. As usual, I won’t get everything done, but I suppose that is the challenge over the next two months.
I have a nice walking loop out behind our property, but old trees have a way of dropping branches, unannounced. I have been very fortunate in that no branch has come down to hit me, but I have heard some fall. Maybe I should wear my old construction hat from when the Boston University’s new track facility was being built.
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Look up! -
Head’s up!
Click to read Blog Posts for September