The Simple Pleasure of Yardwork

[Waxman]

When I'm mowing my lawn, no one can really talk to me. Mowing the lawn is like a suit of armor around me, protecting me from all else.

Mowing the lawn isn't something I should really stop in the middle of and continue another day, because the grass will look funny and uneven. Therefore, I need to devote a decent block of time on a fairly regular basis to keep up with the growth.

Mowing isn't a brainless task by any means (just ask a greenskeeper or cemetery worker), but I can still spend some of my time pushing the mower and daydreaming.


Back in my younger days, my Dad assigned me the task of mowing our yard and I loathed it because I always put it off until I had to do it. And he would remind me of my responsibility before I headed out to do something fun with friends.

Now in my married -with -kids -lifestyle, mowing has a new meaning for me. That meaning is Peace!

 

[pitzerwm]

The 12 miles that I drove each way to my wash were the most productive miles in my life. That is one reason car pooling will never work.

 

[CleanStreak]

This is much deeper than most threads...

 

[MEP001]

I'm almost the same way with my daily routine at the wash. I even have to rinse the bays in a certain way so that the apron outside the bays is wet down the same all the way across.

 

[Waxman]

Cleanstreak:

Maybe it is deep, maybe it's just simple.

Here's what this thread is NOT; political, doom and gloom, complaining, quoting a ton of facts, or negative in any way.

That's why I started it. There are plenty of threads on here that DO contain plenty of the above and it's my job to inject my own thoughts here and there. Otherwise I'd get fed up, disillusioned with this message board and leave it with 2 miles of thick, black skidmarks and billowing white smoke in my wake.

 

[pcb]

Waxman, I couldn't agree more. I'm almost scared to even say anything on here with the beating I would probally get from it. Why can't we all just get along.

 

[pitzerwm]

PCB, what beating are you talking about and who is not getting along. We do have the political stuff that might be considered open season, but normal posts doesn't usually bring contention. And it shouldn't. I didn't think Cleanstreak was negative appeared just an observation.

 

[Fatboy769]

I'm almost the same way with my daily routine at the wash. I even have to rinse the bays in a certain way so that the apron outside the bays is wet down the same all the way across.

MEP001, I'm exactly the same way! Every wand hose has to be hung a certain way, as well as the vac hoses. I'm sure some would call this being anal, but going by revenue, I must be doing something right. Doing things around the car wash is a great stress relief for me.

 

[pcb]

Hey Bill, I wasn't referring to cleanstreak, I was just going with waxman saying this was a non political, gloom and doom, and so on. Glad to see someone not getting worked up over nothing. You know some of our car wash politicians get fairly serious.

 

[pitzerwm]

Ok, just wanted to check that you really weren't intimidated by anyone here.

 

[CleanStreak]

Well... I didn't mean to trigger defensive shields and all that. My (short) comment was intended as a compliment. I just thought the whole thing started out with a concept that really made me think about the underlying meaning of what was said.

That's a great thing about this forum, we have facts, opinions, humor, and some thought provoking ideas. This is precisely why I check it every day.

 

[Waxman]

Cleanstreak

That's the tough thing about emails etc; it's hard to discern the intent behind a comment sometimes. I dunno why I jumped to defend myself; sorry.

I agree that it's a great place (The ACF) to share ideas.

 

[mac]

I remember in my youth while driving to the airport for a dy of skydiving (1,000 plus jumps, D9134) looking at the old farts mowing the lawn and trimming till it was dark. What morons thought I. I now find myself looking forward to the weekend when I can mow, trim, and landscape. A neighbor once asked why I didn't get a riding mower, and my wife came back immediately with "If he got one of those, he would be mowing the entire neighborhood." How things change.

 

[MEP001]

I actually hadn't mowed mowed at all in the last 10 years until recently. Someone just gave me an unneeded cordless electric lawn mower, which I wanted to use along a section at the rear of the wash to vacuum bits of paper and trash that collects in the grass. Other than the mower throwing a rock that barely missed a customer's car, it was a pleasant task, plus the area looks much better than it has in a while. Darn landscapers just mulch the garbage and blow more debris from the lot into the grass when they clean up after trimming.

 

[jcedwards]

The Zen of a perfectly mowed lawn is wonderful. I often try to change the direction of the mowing path to see how it affects the look. If I do a certain diagonal my yard looks more spacious vs the side to side. I sometimes think about the old Japanese Zen garden masters and their raking of white sand into the perfect patterns. (Sorry about injecting religion)

 

[Waxman]

Cool replies.


I'm lovin this thread!

 

[rph9168]

I bought my first riding lawnmower when I moved into our new house 11 years ago. I bought a ZTR for two features. It had a front deck that my 4 year old grandson could ride on while I cut the grass and a cup holder for my beer. Now I can sit on the front porch and watch my 15 year old grandson cut the grass on that mower while I drink a beer.

 

[mac]

For all the evils out there, life is still good.