i hate yardwork

I truly despise doing yard work. Gardening? Love it. But cutting grass, raking it, weed-whacking? Cannot stand doing it.

It does not help that lawn tractors, mowers, and weed-eaters all conspire against me to get the job done.

When we first moved to where we are now, we had a mower given to us. I know why. It was messed up. I fixed it and got it running like a top. Even though it was a straight gas mower, it ran better on mixed fuel. Like a chainsaw. Oh well. Then, eventually, it would not run without the carb jammed fully open with a screwdriver. Gave it away for scrap.

We then got a lawn tractor. It was the bottom of the range, but we got a really great deal. It ran well for two seasons. Then it needed a tune up. Then an overhaul. And another.... It went on. I gave it away for scrap at the beginning of the season last year.

What I learnt about tractors? No matter what you do to maintain them and what range of quality it is, unless you are on top of it and truly very handy with them, get rid of them by the end of the third season. This thing in the end tried to kill me more than once. The brakes failed several times. At the end of the last season I used it, it made some really weird clunking and clanking noises, then it would not go in forward. My last cut with it was in reverse. ¾ of an acre cut in reverse. It was fun, but crazy.

After that I resolved to get a quality mower. A Craftsman. It ran really well. The bagger was tiny though and I stopped using it. I had to empty it every 1 & ½ lengths of the back garden. Not worth the hassle. By the end of the season, it was misbehaving. Oddly though, after the winter it is running fine for the most part.

What did I learn about mowers? Buy at the bottom of the price range and dump it when it starts to act up. Now I need to keep this "quality" mower for at least two more seasons after this one to get my money's worth.

Weed-whackers are all wacky. I buy the Weedeater brand, but I only use it a couple or few times a year. Those coil dispensers are all evil. I bought an adaptor from Lee Valley Tools. It is so much better. I bought a loose spool of the hardiest cable and cut my own lengths. No headaches banging that stupid thing on the ground to get it to feed. I recommend getting one if you hate those "self-feeding" spools.

That all being said. I hate raking grass the most of all. Raking leaves? I do not mind and I usually pile them up on something being left over the winter in the veggie garden for insulation. No worries. Grass though? Man-o-man! Madness. Our grass grows really quickly. It needs to be cut two to three times a week. Otherwise, It gets super tall and cuts badly. So, In the end I do a lot more raking than I would have ever imagined.

This year. Well, every year, I get started later than usual. So, the first couple of cuts are horrible. Lots of uneven grass and lots and lots of raking. 

Back to this year. This year has been the worst. Up until a couple of weeks ago, most of the yard in the back was waterlogged, parts were even submerged. Then, we had a couple of hot days and everything started to dry out. The grass was over a foot-and-a-half in places. I knew I was not going to like it.

The wife suggested hiring someone to do the first cut. We know someone that does great work. We discussed it, came to the conclusion that we were going to be busier than usual this spring and summer, especially with the boy and I gone for a couple of weeks at the Scout Jamboree.

I finally spoke with the guy last Friday to come in and cut the yards, front and back, for the season. Great price too. He said he would come by this past Monday to do the first cut. He did not come by. No call, no text, no email, no sticky on the front door. I figured he was not interested in the end. Regardless, the grass needed cutting. It needed cutting right away if I did not know if he would ever come.

I wrestled the mower out of the shed already, but I dreaded trying to start it. It only took a couple of pulls in the end. As I said earlier, it ran pretty well after its winter vacation. No problems with the mower really. I did however think that the grass may kill the mower. It did not, but it kept stalling because the grass was so tall it was clogging the cutting deck. It was stopping every half minute or so.

I did something that you will hear people say, "Now, don't try this at home!" I lifted the chute for the bagger and jammed it open with a stick. Not truly bright, but I was wearing long pants and safety boots. I always wear safety boots when using devices that can maim me. Now the grass was shooting out, in addition to the side, out the back. At me. On me. All over me. Fortunately, I was not hit by more than a few pieces of bark and lots and lots of grass. Do not do this. Really. I could have hurt myself, but I am stubborn and wanted to get it done before I would have to check for tigers and snakes before cutting.

It took me three-and-a-half hours. Just cutting. I did not rake, I was done in. I usually do not rake the same day I cut anyway. I let it dry out some before bagging it. It is lighter and takes up less space in yard waste bags.

Today, I raked. Two-and-a-half hours. Not happy about it. Part of the problem, other than not liking doing it, is that no matter what, when I use long-handled tools like rakes, shovels, etc., my hands are raw when I am done. Gloves, no gloves, it does not matter. My hands are sore, I often end up with blisters. I am not a dainty guy. I worked for a farmer in my youth, bailing hay and cleaning out chicken coops. I have worked in factories; the best, I worked in an iron foundry. The crappiest job to do, which was always tasked to the lowest on the pole, me, was shovelling hot iron filings that fell off the conveyor system and slinging them in to a giant bucket for a crane to lift away and put it back in to the system for some of it to spill off again. Awesome.

I have also worked in home building and in geothermal heating/cooling installation. Plus, I was in the army. And, and, I was actually the lead-hand for a landscaping crew at a cemetery. It is just the way my hands are. I will eventually build up calluses, but I need to work the shovel, rake, what have you, daily. It takes weeks for my hands to harden. Then, if I take more than one day off, I pretty much have to start over.

Anyway, my hands are sore and I have a blister. The wife is not here to kiss my boo-boo either. In those two-and-a-half hours, I filled up four yard waste bags, right up to the top. I had to borrow one from the neighbour, yet again. I also filled up two paper horse feed bags, to the top. And, our green bins now have no room left either.

When I cut again tomorrow or the day after, I will have to rake again. You can see why I wanted to hire someone for at least the first cut. Let me tell you though. I am not mad, upset, disappointed, or have any ill-will to the fellow. He is a friend of mine in fact. He has actually done me a favour. I now get to work my upper body mowing and raking. I am saving money. And when we are away at the Jamboree, the neighbour's the boy, does yard work too. He did a couple cuts for us last year, and a fine job he did too.

For once, everything has worked out in the end. I still hate raking though. blbbl