Little Engine That Could

Here is my trusty mower ... like a lot of us, "not very beautiful, but always cheerful and willing to work". (Apologies to Jan Brett: FRITZ AND THE BEAUTIFUL HORSES was one of Erin's favorite books... I think I know all the words by heart, she chose it so often as her bedtime story).

I didn't want Henry to bring the tractor and the Brush Hog into the yard because the grass, in addition to being really long, is still quite wet underneath on the slope by the burn barrel. The big Ford (which has the BH attached) doesn't have a very close turning radius and it's giant Ag Tires really make a mess when they slide. The orchard is a bit worse for wear from the big machines...and I didn't want a repeat performance in the yard. At least the orchard grass is cut, and that's something I couldn't have done "by hand". Thank you, Henry.

I'm rather proud of myself for starting the engine with the pull-cord every time. I'm not the world's most robust person, and I have a bad shoulder (the right one, the one I use for most everything), so having a mower that starts on the second or third pull every time is terrific! It is embarrassing to have to get Henry to stop what he's doing just to help me to start the chain saw, the weed-eather, the pole saw: I can't start any of them! What a wuss! The High Weed Mower and I finished the job in OK shape... I did have a bit of trouble with the "bumpy parts" where the dogs were looking for whoever lives underground in the yard. The mower would drop one of the big tires into a hole, tip off level, and I would hit the ground with the spinning blade - raising LOTS of dust. How can there be dust and slippery mud at the same time in the same yard??? Now I have to get Henry to add sharpening the mower blade to his list of not-so-urgent jobs to do. He and I have decided that there is no such thing as a "5 minute job" on this farm, everything takes longer than we anticipated... everything has many more steps than the same job back in Santa Rosa! But I wouldn't trade... I love it up here at the farm.