At The Green House. . .

This strip was based on reality. . . and an old Lawn Boy two stroke machine that was handed down to me by my wife’s grandfather.

“Best lawnmower in the world,” he said. . . “just make sure you get the oil-to-gas mixture right.”

“No problem!, ” said I, then I went out to my local lawn mower repair shop to ask what the heck Grandpa Lewis was talking about. Until that day, I thought all lawn mowers had a place to put gas and a place to put oil, but to my surprise, there are some machines that run on a mix, just like string trimmers and chain saws. I was careful about the mixture, but that lawnmower still smoked. . . and smoked. .  and eventually got traded in for a regular gas Snapper push mower. I had that Snapper for about 20 years and now I have a variety of grass care equipment . . . from a battery operated reel mower, that just doesn’t have enough power to cut any grass over 2 inches. . . to a swap shack Craftsman plug-in electric machine with a broken handle that keeps folding while I use it. . . to a regular push reel mower and a regular gas mower my sister gave me when when she moved into a condo. I have too many mowers and very little grass, except for a small field that I mow about 4 times a year.

(That’s not me. . . but the collection is close to mine. . .)

So, what’s the big deal? Well, in a perfect green world, I’d just have one battery-operated electric mower and an electric string trimmer. . . but I can’t seem to justify spending $400 on the type of mower I’d like to have, when I have all this equipment that works (in some capacity. . . like me).  I spend a couple hours each year checking out the new equipment that’s available and ultimately decide that there are things I need more than the new super green mower. . . and I resolve just to mow with whichever machine is calling to me that day. I know how much gas mowers pollute, but I don’t use it very often and only for a short time, unless I’m doing the field, which is about 8 hours total over the summer. Does that call for spending $400? Probably, but I’m not ready to make that big green leap yet. I need to top dress the grass, plant new seed,  fertilize and make the lawn look good. . . not “Scott’s ” perfect- I do it all with green company materials, compost, Garden’s Alive Grass seed and Jonathon Green’s fertilizer and I don’t mind “weeds.” Clover, crab grass, whatever as long as it’s green. And if I get that all done, I’ll have to mow again. . . and rethink that $400 purchase. . .   wait. . .  what about a goat?