I hate cutting the grass

I used to have a reel mower, and sorta miss it. The problem was that mine absolutely refused to cut round things, like weeds. It cut flat, leafy things like grass, but weeds would be pushed down by the reel, and would then bounce up behind the mower.

Now I have a Honda-powered walk-behind, but I'm thinking about going to the next step. Sears has a rear-engined rider that stands on its back end when not in use. It has a tiny deck, and should fit through my narrow gate.

So, the reel mower made me push, but didn't make a lot of noise and heat. The rider will make a lot of noise and heat, but it has a cup holder for my Fancy Lawnmower and I don't have to push.

Hated mowing with push mower, love mowing with the riding mower. if I plan my route strategically I can get it mowed in under 45 minutes, not including trimming.So I can knock it out on a weekday after work, then walk around for 15-20 minutes trimming the following evening. Not too bad.

It was a strenuous 3 hour job with the little push mower. (lots of grade changes..more than an acre to mow..)

Exercise is all well and good, but 3 hours of it, plus then being so beat from the sun and heat that I wouldn't want to do anything the rest of the day.....kind of a waste of time...

I have more concrete than grass. I'd like to continue to add more concrete. My neighbors getting jealous...

Not my favorite chore. However, it can be an opportunity! In 2003, I bought a Hustler Fastrak and continue to maintain 2 or 3 lawn service customers in my neighborhood (no windshield time). This pays for my racing. Easy work with the right equipment. The Fastrak is a ZTR with a 52" deck AND powered by a Honda 20 HP V-Twin.

I am with the guys who figure it is free exercise. Well, not just free, it is saving me money.

I am not arrogant enough to think I can improve on the good Lord's landscaping plan.

This is why I have let my backyard "return to nature". The dog loves it!

If my neighbors complain, they can take it up with the man upstairs......it's his doing!

and no......we don't have a HOA in my neighborhood!

buy a goat

I'd enjoy it more if I had a riding mower, but our lawn really doesn't work for a ride on, even though it is big enough. Takes about an hour on a good day. Lots of little ditches and gotcha's that make it a pain in the arse.

This is my mower. Stiga Park. My company makes the transaxle for them. I got it for free. The only downside is not being a US importer everything is in metric (found out the hard way on the first mowing, here's my sign) Has a 22 HP V-twin and a muffler the diameter of the wheel and as long as the mower is wide. It is quite and very small to have that much power (those are 8" wheels for scaling and that seat is smaller than anything I have seen at Home Depot in a while) The really neat thing is it bends in the middle (articulated.)

Totally cool!

Mows my yard like a golf course!

That's cool man. Searchtempest, here I come!!

To announce that one is not fond of cutting grass is tantamount to saying that one is not fond of getting out of bed in the morning, or that one is not fond of wiping one's own butt. Whether or not it is a source of satisfaction is very much irrelevant--it is an inescapable facet of life.

I mow my grass when it needs mowing--much as I vote on election day. It is nothing less than a civic duty. And a freshly mowed lawn is its own reward from which a man should take a certain amount of pride.

It's not the mowing that kills me, it's the watering. Damn, what a waste.

I too was bored with cutting the grass. So I decided to spruce up the performance of my mower by making some select, well thought out mods to the suspension. Well after not even completing one lap I went into an off camber turn too hot, late apexed and spun out. I think the tires weren't up to temp yet.

mazdeuce wrote: I'm so pissed that the drought in Texas ended. Well, I'm glad the fires stopped and that the lakes have water in them again, but I'm not happy that my lawn turned from a barren brown desert back into lust lush tropical jungle. I'm starting to lose cars out back again.

• Eleventy Billion!!!

The drought killed off everything and now we have our house built. I've already mowed more this year than I did all of last year. I think I mowed twice last year and I've done it every weekend since the beginning of March this year. Lawn looks damn good though after we cut it. Bad thing is I have to cut 7 acres every time I mow. The weeds and clover are coming in nicely though...

bravenrace wrote: I too was bored with cutting the grass. So I decided to spruce up the performance of my mower by making some select, well thought out mods to the suspension. Well after not even completing one lap I went into an off camber turn too hot, late apexed and spun out. I think the tires weren't up to temp yet.

that should buff out

1988RedT2 wrote: To announce that one is not fond of cutting grass is tantamount to saying that one is not fond of getting out of bed in the morning, or that one is not fond of wiping one's own butt. Whether or not it is a source of satisfaction is very much irrelevant--it is an inescapable facet of life. I mow my grass when it needs mowing--much as I vote on election day. It is nothing less than a civic duty. And a freshly mowed lawn is its own reward from which a man should take a certain amount of pride.

Well said - though there was a time when it was actually a "zen" thing for me...come to think of it, copius amounts of "yard clippings" may have had something to do with that...so just like...nevermind.

The0retical wrote:

DrBoost wrote:

The0retical wrote: If you own under a half acre of grass.... Works great, I'm sure, until one of the neighborhood kids walks off with it for fun. I don't miss grass.

Holy crap! A few grand!

Hey, didn't say it came cheap Could always do it the grassroots way and tie a penny-saver self propelled mower to a stake then move it every few minutes.

That would be turned into a very expensive dog toy very quickly in my backyard. Then again, the goat wouldn't last long either.

Spider Mower

If you want truly cool get yourself a spider mower, designed for remote control operation on 40 degree slopes.

Frickin' awesome!!!

In reply to poopshovel:

Are these the sort of "yard clippings" that might get you into trouble with the authorities? If so, then I think I understand what you're saying.

Lazy answer:

We used to call them girlfriends back in Montana.

wbjones wrote:

bravenrace wrote: I too was bored with cutting the grass. So I decided to spruce up the performance of my mower by making some select, well thought out mods to the suspension. Well after not even completing one lap I went into an off camber turn too hot, late apexed and spun out. I think the tires weren't up to temp yet.

that should buff out

You are correct...but I didn't bother.

Joe Gearin wrote: If my neighbors complain, they can take it up with the man upstairs......it's his doing! and no......we don't have a HOA in my neighborhood!

When I was living out in Washington state, a couple of neighbors complained to me about the quality of my landscaping. I told them I was just trying to keep housing affordable in our neighborhood.

They never spoke to me about it again.

I don't mind it. With the riding mower it takes about 90 minutes. I grab a couple beverages and the iPod and off I go.

Hank Hill said: My lawn is my flag. It tells the world, Here lives a competent, trustworthy, salesman of propane and propane accessories.

If you hate cutting the grass, perhaps you should start embracing [artificial canoeing].

wow, nice canoe