At the altar of the lawn God

[rayinpenn]

I've got an acre of property, a good portion of which is lawn and trees. This morning. I'm sitting and cooling off in a shady spot on my driveway up close to the garage door. My hound is wandering around nearby in sight an wanders over every now and then to push her nose under my hand. Yeah this is the good life. I've just mowed, weed whacked and blew the lawn. DW just mowed the hill on the side. This morning it was a very comfortable 69 when the walked the pooch. Still after mowing and all I'm a sweaty mess. Yet It occurs to me that I'll miss this if I decide to go to a turn key condo. I've been mowing on and off for 50 years. Leaf season is the killer here ..my John deer is a mulcher and there just too too many dam leaves... DW helps, my god does she help. My buddies are shocked when I tell tell them when I was at work she would pick up 30 Lowes stacking cement wall bricks for me to keep the retaining wall building moving along. (Apparently some women don't do 'man tasks'. I ask you was I born with a cement gene?) Big houses on a big lawns with large trees have a majesty all their own. I never see landscaping other then to cut down dead trees.

Unlike LI here in SE Pennsylvania most people have lawns that they don't water and other than mow generally don't fuss over too much.. There is the crazy mulch season that last a couple of weeks but it isn't a big deal. No on LI there were automatic sprinklers, sod lawns grub treatments and anti fungicides ...you name it. The local nursery/lawn place was a shrine that we all visited on Saturdays. In fact mine made it into a Nelson DeMille book. I readily admit I danced the Scotts 4 step fertilizer boogie and I dropped to my knees when the Grubbs attacked. Yes I worshiped at the alter of the lawn good. Was I nuts? yeah we all were and so many still are. I've changed I see the insanity of it all...

The leaves, roof, snow, mowing and the pool all add up to a lot of work. Seems like it's time to simplify.

Maybe my daughter will buy a place and I can get my mow on over there?


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forumh

 

[aja8888]

I've got an acre of property, a good portion of which is lawn and trees. This morning. I'm sitting and cooling off in a shady spot on my driveway up close to the garage door. My hound is wandering around nearby in sight an wanders over every now and then to push her nose under my hand. Yeah this is the good life. I've just mowed, weed whacked and blew the lawn. DW just mowed the hill on the side. This morning it was a very comfortable 69 when the walked the pooch. Still after mowing and all I'm a sweaty mess. Yet It occurs to me that I'll miss this if I decide to go to a turn key condo. I've been mowing on and off for 50 years. Leaf season is the killer here ..my John deer is a mulcher and there just too too many dam leaves... DW helps, my god does she help. My buddies are shocked when I tell tell them when I was at work she would pick up 30 Lowes stacking cement wall bricks for me to keep the retaining wall building moving along. (Apparently some women don't do 'man tasks'. I ask you was I born with a cement gene?) Big houses on a big lawns with large trees have a majesty all their own. I never see landscaping other then to cut down dead trees.

Unlike LI here in SE Pennsylvania most people have lawns that they don't water and other than mow generally don't fuss over too much.. There is the crazy mulch season that last a couple of weeks but it isn't a big deal. No on LI there were automatic sprinklers, sod lawns grub treatments and anti fungicides ...you name it. The local nursery/lawn place was a shrine that we all visited on Saturdays. In fact mine made it into a Nelson DeMille book. I readily admit I danced the Scotts 4 step fertilizer boogie and I dropped to my knees when the Grubbs attacked. Yes I worshiped at the alter of the lawn good. Was I nuts? yeah we all were and so many still are. I've changed I see the insanity of it all...

The leaves, roof, snow, mowing and the pool all add up to a lot of work. Seems like it's time to simplify.

Maybe my daughter will buy a place and I can get my mow on over there?


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forumh

We had a house on 3 acres in CT in the 1970's through some of the 1980's. It was in the "country" and had mature tress, old perimeter stone walls and lots of grass. I did the cutting/yard work and then moved to California then Texas. While we don't "condo" it yet, my yard work is minimal these days.

I really don't miss the 4 - 6 hours of cutting, leaf harvesting each weekend like the CT house demanded. Actually, I only cut the back yard here as the HOA cuts the front. Being a slave to a yard is not what I have in mind for a retirement pastime.

Once you are weaned off the mower, you will be saved!

 

[Ronstar]

This should solve your leaf problem. I have one and it is amazing. Picks leaves, grass clippings, and small sticks.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I have an acre and I mow it with a walk-behind AWD mower. When the leaves fall I hire someone to do a cleanup. It's really good exercise.

 

[RockyMtn]

Living in Az all you need is a good blower to take care of the landscaping. That, and of course, a good drip water system on a timer. Probably did the whole lawn/landscaping thing for 30+ years. Don't really miss it at all. I would rather be on the golf course where someone else is responsible for keeping things green!

 

[Texas Proud]

I hire someone to do all the yard work...

DW does most of the bush trimming as I 'do not know how to do it'.... but I will help if needed... however, she is starting to ask our yard guy to cut some of the stuff and is saying he should do more...


I have a friend who does his own lawn work and there are weekends where he cannot do anything else as the heat and work just took it all of out him...

Nope, I am not a slave... but my DW likes a nice lawn and it does cost me some money to make her happy...

 

[Big_Hitter]

I would rather be on the golf course where someone else is responsible for keeping things green!

no doubt but I just can't see paying someone a buck fiddy to mow my yard - guess I'm cheap that way

in houston I had a yard service but it was only $30 a week

 

[HFWR]

I hate yardwork of all types, though I do some bush trimming and such. I get a 10% discount on mowing for paying for the full year upfront, which works out to $18/wk., plus, they take a cc, so cash back!

 

[Dawg52]

Living in Az all you need is a good blower to take care of the landscaping. That, and of course, a good drip water system on a timer. Probably did the whole lawn/landscaping thing for 30+ years. Don't really miss it at all. I would rather be on the golf course where someone else is responsible for keeping things green!

I'm with you Bubba. And that's what I have.....a patio home on the golf course. Just a little grass for me to maintain, but a big beautiful backyard.

When I was a teenage I helped my Dad maintain our lawn, lawns of my grandparents and a seven acre weekend place out in the country that my family owned. Hell....all I did was mow grass in the summer. Don't want that now.

 

[MRG]

One lady forgot to stop on I70 in June of 2010 while everyone else did. She was right behind me, poor thing totaled her car. I understand as she was too busy with her cell phone, but that's legal in this state. I've been recovering ever since, last year lifting weights made a big difference.

I haven't mowed our three acres since then. We own a Scag and I have a guy who runs it for me. Fifty bucks a week and he mows, trims, and blows.

Our next home won't have any green stuff around it.

 

[Music Lover]

I have 1.7 acres...it takes about an hour and a half on the rider, and another hour with the trimmer. I only use the trimmer every 2nd or 3rd time I cut.

While I wouldn't mind less yard work, but I have total privacy in my yard which makes it worth the work.

 

[Just_Steve]

I pray to the lawn alter every year that the grass would go dormant, no luck so far.

 

[Walt34]

I used to do all the yard work myself but after my "almost heart attack" last year I started hiring the mowing out. Found out that I really like not having to do that task so I'm happy to write the check to the guy when he does it.

Ironically, it was mowing the lawn that alerted me that something was seriously wrong with my body. I'd had to stop to rest three or four times on one steep hill and I had not had to do that the last time I mowed. Called my doctor...to make a long story short I had a heart artery (known as the "widowmaker") that was 90% blocked. Almost every nurse commented that I'd come in the hospital before the heart attack, usually the guy is on the floor before calling. If they live long enough.