First mowing of the year....

I know.  It seems like a dumb blog post.  But really, I do look forward to the first mowing of the year.  When you live in what I call "winter country" where winter can stretch from October through April or May, then you understand why I look forward to getting the mower out.  When the mower comes out of hibernation, it means there are green things growing, and that makes me very happy.

I was so relieved to find that I had actually drained the old gas last fall and so all I had to do was to drain the old oil, add new, add new gas, jiggle the spark plug, give the cord a pull and zoom, it was running!  Sure, I should have had my son sharpen the blade and put in a new spark plug and a carburetor filter and all that before I began my first mowing, but he is really swamped with mechanic work in the shop and I just wanted to mow.  So I did.  And it all worked just as I had planned it.

I mowed our yard and the side banks and then I mowed Grandpa's yard, and today I mowed around the buildings and out by the fence where we sometimes park.  I fired up the weed whacker today too with hopes that I might be able to "mow" the tree patch near our house.  It's too thick and jungley for the mower.  I really am not fond of the weed whacker.  It hurts my arms and shoulders, but I needed to do the job.  So I did.  It was a big job, but I was so thrilled to accomplish it that I continued on and trimmed around the shop, the barn, the fence, and everywhere else that had tall barnyard grass growing alongside it.  Why the mowing and whacking frenzy?  Well, it is supposed to rain tonight and then rain and snow for the next few days.  I don't think we are going to get "measurable snow" like we sometimes do in the spring (look here and here to see what I mean) but we are supposed to have a couple of inches or so.  Snow and rain on already-green-grass means that it will grow, grow, grow and I didn't want to be cutting two foot high grass instead of six inch grass. 

I picked a big handful of daffodils and a few tulips to bring inside, just in case the snow ends up being more than we thought.  Besides, I love bringing a little outdoor beauty indoors.

My outdoor work is done (whew!), the clouds are moving in, the sun is hidden behind them, and I'm having my afternoon cup of coffee and some fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.  No, I didn't make a batch of dough.  I have frozen cookie balls!  This is the life!

The men are gone tonight to the Big City to hear Coach K, championship basketball coach of Duke, speak.  I'm staying home, eating left-overs and might watch a movie.  I'm thinking a Jane Austen movie, Sense and Sensibility, my favorite.  I watched a movie last night which I loved called Return to Me.  It's a love story about a man who falls in love with the woman who received his wife's heart.  He must decide which woman it is who holds his heart.  Add it to your Netflix queue.