The First Mow

Mowing. As in the lawn. Man's work? Perhaps some might think to be, but in our family mowing the lawn has always been an equal opportunity employer...an equal opportunity employer in which child labor laws were certainly never enforced. At the age of ten, long before I even considered or dreamed of driving a car, I sat atop the relatively newly purchased red snapper zero turn lawn mower. My parents yard has a large open area that we have deemed the "ball field" as this large open area has held many a softball games, opportunities to play catch, football, and the occasional driving range. For my first attempt, the mower was turned on for me in the middle of this field and off I went. It had no steering wheel, but two levers that one pulled and pushed together or independently of one another. At first shot, my coordination was greatly lacking and the path I left behind me was wavey, haphazard, and at one point I recall my brother diving for his life as I veered directly towards him. I was too light to mow the ditches as a certain weight was required to keep the mower going and any slight movement from the seat resulted in the engine turning off as a safety precaution should the mowee fall off. As the years passed and my skills grew more proficient with each passing summer I was able to smoothly and gracefully mow slickly around trees, poles, gardens, and the like leaving various patterns and designs behind me with ease and confidence. And off to college and new places I went. Occasionally I would return home in the summer and get a quick mow in, it had become a favorite chore of mine as through the years I realized the lack of labor and optimal tanning potential of this particular chore. The old, red, zero-turn, two levered mower had long seen its glory days and had been replaced by a new model that left one free to wave at passerby's as only one hand was necessary to drive this joy-stick controlled, piece of mowing mastery. I was a bit apprehensive as I learned this joy-stick method of mowing and enjoyed not having the two levers shadow my legs as I worked on my tan and though it backed a little slower and less efficiently, it would do. We became friends.
As my work day became long today and I longed to be outside, I decided that I would indeed get home in time for the first mow of 2010. I called home in anticipation, to be certain that I had, indeed, seen the mower out the other day and it was ready to go! My anticipation turned quickly into mowing lethargy as my mom told me it wasn't running properly and I would need to use the "yellow" lawn mower. You see, though the zero-turn mower is an amazing machine in so many ways, its easily maneuvered wheels do so a little too easily as one attempts to mow long straight paths while angled mid-way up the ditch along the ditches. Simply said, it won't stay on the angle and slips down leaving an unsightly path of disheveled clipped grass. The solution to this problem was to purchase an old, small yellow lawn tractor. Be it old as dirt, its new to me and I've never had to learn its ways. As I drove the half-hour home from my last work destination of the evening I convinced myself that I was too tired to mow tonight. I didn't want to learn to drive the yellow mower...and as I turned into my driveway I noticed the ditch leading up to my house was neatly trimmed and sitting at its end, in front of my house, the yellow mower. It was as if it was saying "don't hate me because I have a steering wheel and I'm yellow". I quickly changed into my jeans designated for yard work and headed to my parents and rang the door bell.
My Dad answered.
Me: How do you turn it on?
Dad: With the key.
Me: But there's a clutch, what do I do with a clutch? (and a steering wheel...what?!)
Dad: I'll get my shoes.

(Sometimes I think its possible my Dad may actually feel physical and mental pain at my lack of knowledge in oh so many areas)

He finished his tutorial in roughly 10 seconds as he quickly pointed out the turtle vs bunny lever, blade height options, blade on/off, fwd/reverse (not needed with the snapper!). I was off and running, quickly. Straight ahead. I tugged hard on the steering wheel to make my first pass and found out fast that 1. it took more strength than I anticipated and 2. it did not quite whip a corner as tight as I would want it to and quickly ended up with my face in a pine tree. once, twice, three times a charm. At which point I began the mental dissertation of this blog. I didn't let the tree stop me, I've been slapped with many a pine tree in my mowing career. Not a problem. I continued with confidence...straightaways: good, tight turns: not possible, slowing up: not easy, backing up: with a vengeance! At one point I just tugged the wheel slightly and mowed in a spiral circle to cover a large area with as minimal turns as possible and to prevent from the need to actually take a corner. Large areas where backing up was necessary were left undone as well as getting close to...anything. Olive feared for her life several times as she watched me speed off with little chance of slowing. She sat in the bushes and watched with quivering legs until I was "finished" and the mower was safely put away. No one was harmed in the mowing of my yard. I will continue to love mowing.

Flowers, Fun and....Files.

Its that time of year again when the sun is shining, the lawn finally needs mowing, the garden needs planting, and my files for work are due for review. All I want is to be outside getting my hands dirty and a great start to a nice golden, summer tan. Instead, I've been stuck at my computer the entire month of April typing typing typing in order that my files for work can be reviewed and I NOT need to redo any of them. I'm so grateful for a flexible job with flexible hours, there are so many things I love about my work, but paperwork is NOT one of those things. And what other thing has gone by the wayside this month as my focus and time has been on my blasted files? Running. I must apologize to my cute, yellow asics that have felt so unloved lately...I mean, once or twice a week I adorn my feet with my loves and head out the door. Swimming has unfortunately also been sporadic and I'm not sure how many dollars I owe my swim buddy. But has all of April been a bummer? of course not! I'm quite dedicated to "no work" weekends and was able to spend the day raking last Saturday and indulged my mom in a game of croquet (My mom and her croquet abilities is a whole blog in itself) and invited the neighbors out for the first bonfire of the year. Who doesn't love a bonfire with its warmness and color and...s'mores?!

^brother and my dad enjoying the fire....what a great flame...
and it diminished, oh well...cousin Erin, my mom, and myself.

So as April come to a close next week and my files are turned in and no longer in my hands, a ginormous weight will be lifted from my shoulders. I look forward to May and jumping in with two feet into spring and all its happenings!

Garden Surprises

Last fall, on a particularly chilly and windy day I carefully opened the tulip bulbs that I had gleefully purchased at Mills Fleet Farm...well the "glee" came after the clerk stared at me blankly as I asked for the tulip bulb whereabouts and she inquired if I thought they would be near the regular light bulbs. It was slim pickens and I was semi-disappointed in the color selection and the left-over dejected bulbs, but as I have watched my green-thumbed mother purchase otherwise disregarded, sadly neglected, and lethargic plants throughout the years, I took a deep breath in hopes that perhaps, just maybe, I too, could love a plant into bloom! So to work I went meticulously placing each bulb 4 inches deep and 6 inches apart as indicated on the package. Secretly, I was leery, and very glad they were on sale so that when they didn't bloom I wouldn't feel too horrible about the money I wasted. I properly covered my newly planted bulbs with leaves a plenty and as the first green stem poked through a few weeks ago my excitement for the event was perhaps a bit above average :) My excitement grew even more so when I discovered that hiding in front of my growing tulips was...not a tulip...I had no idea...and it wasn't in the row. My curiosity drove me to inspect my mother's already blooming garden (of course) and found that someone had planted a hyacinth in my garden!
Hyacinth are one of my most favorite flowers as they have the smell of lilacs and add a deep purple color that adds to the sea of red and yellow tulips. I questioned my mother, "did you plant a...? She denied it. My dad? no. Brother? na...how...would??? I began to pull away the leaves to find another and another...3 total, neatly planted in unison with the tulips...a bit embarrassed I have to confess that I indeed must have planted them and had forgotten. I believe there was probably more planted, but three survived the cold winter. So every day I must now carefully inspect my pathetically small flowerbed for progress of blooms, height, and growth patterns. So though my thumb may not be as green as my mothers I have hope that with time and practice it might become at least a lovely aquamarine.

Rainy Tuesday

At least it looks like its gonna rain...I don't mind a rainy day once in a while, especially when I look at the forecast and see that the rest of the week is sunny and beautiful. Easter weekend was wonderful and I was able to spend time with my absolutely adorable nephew, Micah and the rest of my family and some wonderful friends. I forgot my camera at my parents and though it be only a short walk up the driveway it still requires getting my shoes on and going outside. So here's the pic that my sister emailed from the ride home of Micah enjoying his loot from his egg hunt:
My training is continuing to go forward. I didn't do an update last week as I feel like I may as well write "bla bla bla run, bla bla bla swam, bla bla bla" :) I've been biking a little more in place of swimming and I think once I finish the lap swim punch card I'm on now I'll make the switch all together. I had the crazy crazy idea last week that these three activities that I'm involved in would nicely flow into training for a triathlon...a short one (in triathlon terms, none would actually qualify as something "short" or "quick")...that being said, I looked up a few and the previous winner's times combined with the requirement of specific bike helmet brand and a wetsuit for the swim caused me to believe I may be slightly out of my league in my walmart bike helmet, second hand (though quite nice) bike, and 9yr old swimsuit that has thinned to the point at which one is required to wear layers underneath in order to not cause a scene at the pool. So a triathlete I will not be, at least for now and will simply continue on in my one goal of a half-marathon...uffduh.

Happy Easter!