There's something zen about a freshly mowed lawn

Jstas

westmassguy

Very true, however the amount of lawn makes a difference. I have almost two acres, so the Zen wears off by the end.

Jstas

Well, I have this and I wish I had more land so I could drive it around longer.

westmassguy

Like the flames . I have an MTD 38" deck for getting in close and around obstacles, and a Toro 70" Reel Mower for the rest.

steveinaz

How I miss that smell.....*sigh*

smglbrth

If I had a couple acres of yard I'd bail it and make money in the process. I always figured if I had nothing better to do then I'd have a really nice yard...

boston1450

I love to mow-when i do it thank god its not that much compare to the 3+ acres & 45acres of trails i use to have. I had a old Craftsman that took a beating for 10 years then 1.5 ago before i sold that house i bought a new Cub Cadet & love it. Quicker with no gears to change. Easy foot controls & nicer cup holders for the drink yes i do need new chairs

voltz

I spent several years Landscaping after some Layoffs and found it to be so rewarding. You just can't help looking back at what you just done and think DANG! that looks good it was a rewarding job. I remember pulling up on the rider after I was done mowing and just sat there staring everything over with this great feeling inside I had done something.

Jstas

It's nice to come home to a nice lawn. Especially when your lawn is the nicest one on the block.

Mikey081057

Jstas wrote: »

It's nice to come home to a nice lawn. Especially when your lawn is the nicest one on the block.

+1 for sure

zane77

Very nice landscaping Mikey

mhardy6647

I concur.

The thing I like about cutting grass, washing a car, or painting is that one can tell, when one's finished, that one's actually done something.

While our new house was being finished and before we sold the old one, I somewhat regretfully paid a local landscape contractor to cut the grass (and they did an excellent job). But... now that we're in NH full time, I am enjoying cutting the grass around the house. It's basically field grass (weeds), but it is green and, sort of like me, when it's neatly trimmed, it doesn't look half bad.

Photos from a couple of weeks ago (trees not 100% leafed out):

DSC_9266 by mhardy6647, on Flickr
DSC_9348 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

I cut it on Wednesday, between deluges, for an early father's day BBQ tonight with our daughter and son-in-law & his parents (who live about 1/2 hour away). Beautiful afternoon in Northern New England today (Flag Day)!

Mike Reeter

Some very sharp lawns and landscaping! I'm also one those fools who enjoys green grass

Mikey081057

Reminds me of one of my favorite rock guitar duals of all time:

Green Grass and High Tides

In a place you only dream of, where your soul is always free
Silver stages, golden curtains, filled my head plain as could be
As a rainbow grew around the sun, all my stars above, who died
Came from somewhere beyond the scene you see
These lovely people played just for me

Now if I let you see this place where stories all ring true
Will you let me past your face to see what's really you
It's not for me I ask this question as though I were a king
For you have to love, believe and feel
Before the burst of tambourines take you there

Green grass and high tides forever
Castles of stone, soul and glory
Lost faces say we adore you
As kings and queens bow and play for you

Those who don't believe me, find your souls and set them free
Those who do, believe and know that time will be your key
Time and time again I've thanked them for a peace of mind
That helped me find myself amongst the music and the rhyme
That enchants you there

Green grass and high tides forever
Castles of stone, soul and glory
Lost faces say we adore you
As kings and queens bow and play for you
Yeah they play just for you

RIP Hughie and Billie

George Grand

If the lawn could manage a "Thank you" I might feel differently, but the best part of lawn-mowing is the nap afterward.

mhardy6647

Actually, the lawn'd probably be happier if you let it grow. Imagine you were buildin' a house, and once a week someone came along and leveled it to the foundation... and you just had to start buildin' it all over again!

So, I guess the corollary is -- skip the mowing and just go straight to the nap. Your lawn will thank you.

ViperZ

I think this is the most useless thing to do for the homeowner - cut the lawn, water it, etc etc. So much wasted time. And it's "only" 1.5 hours for me.

Toolfan66

Jstas wrote: »

Well, I have this and I wish I had more land so I could drive it around longer.

That is so awesome!! Love the white walls..

Toolfan66

I like taking care of my yard, I have it looking beautiful right now. I cut mine on the highest setting to leave the grass as long as possible, keeps the soil moist, and doesn't dry out as fast, plus you water less..

tonyb

Toolfan66 wrote: »

I like taking care of my yard, I have it looking beautiful right now. I cut mine on the highest setting to leave the grass as long as possible, keeps the soil moist, and doesn't dry out as fast, plus you water less..

Keep mine about one down from the highest. They say your only suppose to cut one third of the length at a crack, otherwise you put the lawn under stress. True or not, it has helped mine. Of course not having a big dog anymore to rip it up helps too.

cnh

No takers for my hybrid grass that NEVER needs to be mowed, I see!

What is more Zen than a rock garden with NO grass in sight? Now we're talking! Sorry boys but I don't like grass, what it does and that it has to be cut! That's not to say all your pics don't look fabulous. But after a lifetime of messing around with the cheapest possible machinery as well as being ALLERGIC to cut grass I can do without it.

I mow when it gets to the point where neighborhood property values could potentially drop and then I hack my way through the small jungle to the relief of my neighbors. many of whom are rabid Libertarians! lol Too much INDIVIDUALITY for them?

If I could rid myself of grass completely and do an actual Zen garden in sand and stone that would be GREAT! All this talk about fresh cut grass is way too American for me.

Plus most of you guys cheat with those RIDERS! Scooting around on a rider is NOT mowing grass, it's more like a Sunday drive with the family! You know you've cut the lawn when you sneeze 50+ times, your clothes look like you've taken a dip in the local stream and you smell worse than your pets. Now that's a day! One you'd like to forget, ASAP!

cnh

SCompRacer

We only water trees/plants in drought. Cut high in high temp conditions.

tonyb

cnh wrote: »

No takers for my hybrid grass that NEVER needs to be mowed, I see!

What is more Zen than a rock garden with NO grass in sight? Now we're talking! Sorry boys but I don't like grass, what it does and that it has to be cut! That's not to say all your pics don't look fabulous. But after a lifetime of messing around with the cheapest possible machinery as well as being ALLERGIC to cut grass I can do without it.

I mow when it gets to the point where neighborhood property values could potentially drop and then I hack my way through the small jungle to the relief of my neighbors. many of whom are rabid Libertarians! lol Too much INDIVIDUALITY for them?

If I could rid myself of grass completely and do an actual Zen garden in sand and stone that would be GREAT! All this talk about fresh cut grass is way too American for me.

Plus most of you guys cheat with those RIDERS! Scooting around on a rider is NOT mowing grass, it's more like a Sunday drive with the family! You know you've cut the lawn when you sneeze 50+ times, your clothes look like you've taken a dip in the local stream and you smell worse than your pets. Now that's a day! One you'd like to forget, ASAP!

cnh

Man, talk about sounding like a grumpy old dude...lol.

I can see your distain if your allergic, maybe Arizona would be better suited for you, less grass...more sand. Or San Francisco, the whole city is concrete with the exception of a few small parks.

exalted512

Funny, I have the complete opposite experience mowing...there's nothing zen about it


-Cody

Mike Reeter

exalted512 wrote: »

Funny, I have the complete opposite experience mowing...there's nothing zen about it


-Cody

Humm, maybe a little shot of grease in that zerk every once in a while? :biggrin:

exalted512

Mike Reeter wrote: »

Humm, maybe a little shot of grease in that zerk every once in a while? :biggrin:

You get what you pay for. I got this setup for free...haha. It's a Rhino TW72, so it's a great shredder, but it's been abused. You can see in this picture that the yoke has widened a little exposing the bearings.



The cheap 'fix' is to try to 'vise it back together'. The next 'fix' is to buy a china PTO drive line assembly ($300), which might or might not last. The main problem with that is most of them are rated around 46HP. You hook up my 80HP tractor to it and it might last, but it probably won't. Around the same cost, maybe slightly cheaper, is to switch from a clutch-type to a shear pin type. This would be a 100% legit fix, but shear pins just aren't as good as their friction clutch counterparts. And lastly, the right way to fix it is to buy the new yoke, which has the clutch on it (one piece). It's looking like that'll cost about $5-600. Ouch. I can buy a used shredder, exactly like what I have now, for $1000. Or a 8' (compared to my 6) for $1500. I might even be able to get about $800 for mine as it sits. So really, that might be the best option - but then I have to worry about having the same issue with another one I may get.
-Cody

tonyb

LOL....that grease fitting looks like it hasn't seen a spot of grease since Moses was around.

exalted512

Mow about 500 acres and things tend to get less shiny
-Cody

jflail2

I've got a 1/4 acre to keep up, so it's not too much work. Maybe an hour and a half to 2 hours for push mowing, weed eating and cleaning up the flower beds.

That being said, allergies kick my butt too, so I've actually resorted to wearing a mask when I mow.

Mikey081057

This is a hybrid. This is a cross, ah, Bluegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia. The amazing stuff about this is, that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt that night on this stuff. Here, I've got pounds of this.

boston1450

cnh wrote: »

No takers for my hybrid grass that NEVER needs to be mowed, I see!

What is more Zen than a rock garden with NO grass in sight? Now we're talking! Sorry boys but I don't like grass, what it does and that it has to be cut! That's not to say all your pics don't look fabulous. But after a lifetime of messing around with the cheapest possible machinery as well as being ALLERGIC to cut grass I can do without it.

I mow when it gets to the point where neighborhood property values could potentially drop and then I hack my way through the small jungle to the relief of my neighbors. many of whom are rabid Libertarians! lol Too much INDIVIDUALITY for them?

If I could rid myself of grass completely and do an actual Zen garden in sand and stone that would be GREAT! All this talk about fresh cut grass is way too American for me.

Plus most of you guys cheat with those RIDERS! Scooting around on a rider is NOT mowing grass, it's more like a Sunday drive with the family! You know you've cut the lawn when you sneeze 50+ times, your clothes look like you've taken a dip in the local stream and you smell worse than your pets. Now that's a day! One you'd like to forget, ASAP!

cnh

LMAO that there is funny.. I mowed the lawn yesterday & about died. 80 stinking degrees. I think its funny. The neighbor mows his twice a week & i mow mine once maybe in week/week n half. Let it grow. Water the lawn LOL it better hope it rains not in Maine. Summer is only 2 months here. Ready for 60/70 tops degrees again. Not ready for 80+ degrees.