What a difference a mower makes!

When we moved here 5 years ago we had a small electric weedwacker and a shovel. That was it. And 3 acres of weeds, grass taller than I am and bramble and poison oak patches that covered about 1 acre of it. We burned the motor out on that poor little weed eater and used a borrowed scyth for the rest of the first year! Then we managed to get a self propelled lawn mower and a few more hand tools. It was amazing how much easier life became.

Well, last month DH broke his right foot and I was struggling to get anything done on my own. So I scraped every penny I could lay hands on and went shopping. Came home with a Craftsman 21.5 horsepower riding lawn tractor with double grass catchers. You should have seen the how proud he looked sitting on it today as he mowed all 3 acres in just under 3 hours!

We may eat beans for the next couple of months but it is worth it! Now to get together a bit more for the trailer...

Good for you Zany!! I'm sure it will make life much easier. Just think of all those wonderful grass clippings you can use for compost & mulch!

Oh Zany that's terrific!! We too need one but I've been looking at prices....yuk!! What's a good deal then???

A good deal for us was 1,900 but we bought the rollsroyce to handle DH's weight and the extremely tall and thick grass that grows here. There were others that would serve well for hundreds less. Our criteria was it had to have a solid cast front end and not a welded frame. I needed some serious horsepower to handle weight and hills. It had to be assembled and delivered to the houseand it had to have an automatic so this braindead gal could drive it.We shopped around for several days and Sears had the best deal for us. Look around and ask a lot of questions before you buy. All mowers are not equal! Decide what your actual needs are and focus your search on those features. Most homeowners do not need such a powerful motor and buy much more machine than they need.

Zany... this is probably no news to you, but don't use the grass clippings in your compost if you use any broadleaf weedkiller on your lawn.

Zany - on second thoughts I think I will dig up the whole acreage!! lol!!

I had to laugh today because a guy was mowing his lawn in town on a homemade riding lawn mower. It was really quite clever. He used bicycle parts and 3 reels from old push mowers and pedaled it all around his lawn! it looke like a wierd tricycle with lawnmower parts. And it looked like it worked great! Sure wish I had my camera with me!

Now that's the type of guy I would love to meet!! There's no accounting for a vivid imagination and putting it to good use!! Great stuff!! :-)

I really think this guy is onto something! I bet if he marked them they would sell like hotcakes. Instead of how much horsepower does it have we would be asking if it is a 10 speed or what? It would also make lawnmower racing into a true sport!

And what's more, exercising to boot!! We could even breathe fresh air and whistle at the same time :-)

I really wish I had a picture of him on that contraption! He looked tall and leggy with a graying red beard and a plaid shirt. Very country for a guy in town. Kind of reminded me of the post of Shoe before the trim. In fact now that I think of it I wonder if they are related cause this sure sounds like something Shoe would come up with!

Are you sure it's not Shoe!! Maybe you can go back and catch him at it again and take that photo!! Or better still, go knock on his door and tell him how much you admired his invention and could you take his picture on it!!! Dare ya!!! lol!!

I actually plan to do just that next trip into town! :P
I think it was the neatest thing I have seen in years!

Well I guess I knew you would!!! - I can hardly wait!! Who knows, we may all resort to riding bikes again :-)

While you're there, get me his phone number so I can try to get him out to Texas to build me one!

That's right Aimee - you're only a hop, skip and a jump away!! :-)

Well, I stopped by there today and talked to him! He is still working some bugs out of it and hwd it hidden away in the garage. Vary nice man with a great sense of humor, he had me in stitches for over an hour. But he wouldn't let me see it close up or take a photo because he is in the middle of patenting it and already has a buyer lined up! I really think he may end up rich with this thing! I'll be watching for them to hit the markets.

That is amazing!!! I bet you had a right old chin-wag!!! Maybe a friend for life there Zany, especially a rich one with a good sense of humour!! Well spotted in the first place - but how could you miss it!!

What a great idea! I'll be watching for it to be available to the general public. My DH loves to laugh when I aerate our lawn. I used an old pair of sneakers & a pair of matching length 2X4s, one for each sneaker. I then hammered long nails through the bottom of my sneakers & through the 2 by 4. Then, I just put on my sneakers, tie them snug & walk around our lawn to get more air to the roots :)

lol Morph - I can just see you now!! Tried something similar once but kept getting stuck and falling over!!

Zany, I have to admire you! Only a weedwacker and a shovel for 3 acres? Enjoy your new lawn tractor - you definitely deserve it! I'm just glad the one you described wasn't on the market last year - sounds like something DH would have bought for me! lol

Louisa, if you are not in a hurry, consider looking for one that has been returned - just ask the department manager to show them to you. You can save money by going this route and in most cases you can still get an extended warranty. The one we bought had been delivered to a customer and they returned it only because it had a dent the size of a quarter! They hadn't even turned the engine over once! It was then considered used, plus we got a discount for the ding in it, as well as the fact that it happened to be on sale that week! We managed to save over 1/3 off of the regular price, so we used the savings to buy a tiller.

Well now isn't that something Carol!! You're a minefield of info my friend!!! I'll certainly keep it in mind but I'm hoping it might not be necessary!! Why do you suppose I'm doing the lasagna beds all over the place?? The less grass the better!! The large bottom portion of the back garden will become a wildflower meadow!! I'm not daft... :-)

OH MY!!! Louisa, I feel so silly now for weed wacking all 3 acres! I could have just left it and said it was a wild life habitat!

You silly billy you!!! I bet it was really beautiful but you could let it grow again - or some of it and grow wildflowers :-)

What and let that lovely new mower go to waste! I think not!!!

I knew exactly what your next post was going to be and I was right. And you are right too!!!! :-)

OH DEAR! I have become predictable! :~P

No, I wouldn't say that!! It just made sense for you to post as you did, given the circumstances!! :-)

When my father moved us out of Gary, Indiana, and out to a farm about 30 miles away, my mother faced 38 acres of weeds and briars. She began mowing whatever stood in her way, and within a few years we had about two acres of lawn. One of my mother's pearls of wisdom was, "Honey, if you mow anything long enough, it becomes lawn." When you think about it, it speaks of life as well as landscaping. Have fun with the new mower, Zany!