Shedd Speak

So, I moved in on Labor Day weekend (Friday, to be exact) this last year. It was also in September that I purchased a lawn mower. I even bought gas. BUT, I didn’t cut my grass.

The grass in the front yard wasn’t that bad. This is because most of it’s dead. No, I didn’t kill it. My yard is shaped in such a way that it collects water. So, with all the rain we had this year, you can imagine what my front yard looked like. Let’s just say it’s very mossy.

My backyard, on the other hand, is lush and tropical. So, it was quite tall.

Last Saturday, I decided it was time. I went out to my garage, walked over to the lawn mower and made up my mind to tackle the project. First on the list was getting the thing ready.

I began by pouring gasoline into it. That was easy enough. Then I had to add oil. I pulled out the little dip stick thing and saw that it was way below the line. So, I poured in the oil…waited a while…and measured again. Still not enough. So, I poured in the oil…waited a while…and measured again. Still not enough. This went on for a while, but I eventually managed to pour enough oil into the machine.

My next hurdle was choosing between bagging or mulching (I guess that’s the word). I was leaning toward the bagless option, but I couldn’t figure out how to put on the side shoot thing. So, I decided to bag it.

The mower was ready.

So, I opened my garage and wheeled the thing out. Now I was ready to start it. I remembered that there was a primer button on the thing (I had read the manual last September). So, I searched for it and found the button. It had a nice little sticker by it telling me what to do. I pushed it firmly for one second and released. I had to do this three times. I then went to pull the start cord.

The thing didn’t budge. I thought, oh great. I tried the primer button again. Then pulled the cord. No luck. That thing wasn’t moving.

So, I went inside to see if I could find the manual. I looked everywhere. Nope. Couldn’t find it.

I went back outside to again try to start the thing. No luck. By this point I wondered what my neighbors were thinking. I again went back inside, leaving my mower in the front lawn.

By this time I was upset. I decided to see if I could find the operator’s manual online. So, I went upstairs to my computer and started searching. I had to go back outside two more times to see if I could a. figure out the name of the model and b. find the model number. Thankfully, the mower had lots of stickers on it with all of the necessary information.

I was convinced the neighbors were laughing at me.

Finally, I found the correct manual for my machine. I went to the section on how to start the thing. Apparently, you have to engage the blade by pulling the lever when you go to start the thing. So, I did this and it started quite easily. Victory was mine!

The front yard was easy to mow. Once I finished the front, I moved on to the side yard. The side yard was a piece of cake. And I finished in no time. Then it was time for the back yard.

The grass in the back was so long, I could barely open the gate. But, I opened it and continued with my mowing. I had only mowed a small section of the back when my mower died. I realized what had happened right away. I killed my lawnmower after only 3/4 of a use.

Ok, I didn’t kill it. The grass was too tall and I had clogged the thing. So, I ended up raising it to its highest setting, shaking it violently to get out all the grass and was back to mowing in no time.

I ended up having to mow my back yard twice…once on a very high setting, then on a more normal setting. I filled up four garbage bags worth of grass. But, I finally finished the job.

I don’t think I’ll be mowing this weekend. However, I did read that it’s recommended that you cut your grass twice a week. Haha! No, no. This weekend I’ll be edging. Until next time…