Mowing The Lions

The sun is shining bright, Easter bunnies are running amok and my lawn is overgrown with onions and dandylions. And the ground is soggy - Hang up the mower in mud and muck soggy. Still, the Farmer says it's time to knock the grass back down to a modest level.

I like to wait until the ground is more solid before mowing for the first time in spring. All sorts of foreign matter can find it's way into a yard surrounded on three sides by fields of winter wheat. Raising our mower deck to the highest setting is imperative; especially when cruising over green clumps of grass made thicker from dog deposits. Not to mention twigs and branches left over from our Ice Storm of the Century!

But the Farmer has serviced my mower (changed oil, checked ???, etc.) and says I'm ready to go. "Why the big rush?" I ask. "Well" says Farmer, "I have to jump start it with my truck, and I'm leaving right after lunch." Hmmm. My mower isn't totally ready for the new season after all.

I mow for two hours straight. After all, if I lift my rear end off the seat, the mower stops and I am done for the day.

Grass gets cut, dandylions and onions are mowed down. But the lawn is not a showpiece. Evidently, the mower blades are not sharpened. Again. Oh, well. That shouldn't surprise me. What does surprise me is the true reason Farmer wants me to mow our lawn: He likes to see his wheat crop against a trim lawn. It's all about the crop/farm.

As Farmer looked out the bathroom window this morning, he said "Isn't it beautiful?"

Thinking he was bragging on my mowing job I answered "Yes, but it is very uneven".

"Well, kiss me honey" Farmer sputtered.

"The grass. I'm talking about the grass, not your wheat!"

I remain, The Good Farm Wife