I bought a lawn mower over the weekend, but it was really too wet outside to mow.  So I decided to mow tonight.  The yard wasn’t too bad, because my landlord had been mowing it for me, but his mower died last week so the back yard had not been mowed in a couple of weeks.  That wouldn’t have been bad either if it hadn’t been raining so much.

 I was a bit nervous checking the mower over and preparing to use it for the first time.  I really didn’t want to blow the thing up the first time I used it or something.  My neighbor (a retired military man) watched me for a few minutes then came over and helped me read the hieroglyphics they call an instruction manual.  Then he started it for me. 

 Our back yard is not that big, but the front yard is huge!  I didn’t realize how big it really was until I was mowing it last night.  It’s a brand new lawn mower with an owner that doesn’t know much about mowers.  I was almost done with the front yard when I remembered that I’d gotten a self-propelled mower and what the other bar on the mower was for.  I pulled that thing back and almost had to run to keep up with the mower!  It would’ve been nice if I’d have remembered that earlier. 

 I know my neighbor got a kick out of watching me mow, especially when I finally discovered the self-propelled bar and suddenly started taking really long steps.  I had just started toward the back yard when my neighbors two black labs got out and both came to get a closer look at me. 

 The started running around me barking and wagging her tail, while my neighbor also ran around me trying to get his hands on the dog.  The boy lab was relieving his self by the end of the driveway and kind of watching the girl making their master run in circles.  I stopped moving.  The neighbor finally got a hold of the girl lab and went to put her in the yard. 

 Meanwhile, Rex, (the boy lab) waited until he was behind the wooden fence and took off running in wide circles around and around our house.  So then neighbor and his wife are chasing Rex around our house.  I felt like I was in a cowboys and Indians episode.  I didn’t know whether to keep mowing, join in the chase, or stand still. 

 The neighbors wife finally nabbed Rex and the chase was over.  Whew!  So then I went in our back yard and started mowing, but it was getting dark pretty fast and the grass was already feeling a bit damper because the air was cooling off for the night.  I got about ¼ of the yard mowed and the bag got too full, popped off the mower, I was suddenly covered in grass and the mower choked.  I got it restarted and mowed another strip, the mower choked again.  It was really too dark to see and I was itchy by  then so I stopped.  My backyard has a mow-hawk.  Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.

 Cherry Coley ©