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No to disparage the OP post, but one the joys of living in the mountains of eastern CA we don’t have lawns! Just natural vegetation. It was such a joy to leave our lawn mower at our house in western CA when we sold it and moved.
I always mowed my lawn in Florida. But when we moved to Tennessee last year, I decided that it was time to let someone else do it. I pay $30 to have it mowed, edged and blown. Well worth it to me
In some ways, I approach lawn care as a kind of tribute to my dad. It was important to him, a child of the Depression, to have a nice yard, just as it was a point of pride for my mother to keep our home cheerful and clean. Long before the "sexual revolution", they worked as a team and we kids (my sister and I) had chores according to our abilities. Nearly all of our friends and neighbors lived similar lives. I try to make these points on the P and C board, but always get snarled down by the younger crowd with posts about racism, etc., which seem so strange to me coming from young white people who have rarely interacted with members of other races, while my home town, even in my earliest memories, was thoroughly mixed. It was just not a big deal to us, white or black. We were too busy working to involve ourselves in social issues on behalf of others who lived far away, I guess.
But patiently caring for a lawn, maintaining a (16-year-old Lawnboy!) mower, raking leaves, etc., helps to validate me as my father's son. He was a good, steady man and a good provider. It doesn't bother me a bit to follow in his footsteps when it comes to taking care of our yard and lawn. He always advised me to do what I can as long as I can, just as he did. Good advice so far.
I never have had any joy in mowing grass. In fact I don't particularly like grass and now have a yard that is primarily forested with almost no grass. Anything that grows is welcome.
I have been mowing my yard in Atlanta myself and generally spending about 45 minutes to an hour each mow, ever since my divorce in 1997. I have had my retirement home in TN since last year and, since I couldn't be in two places, I have had to hire a lawn service. $30 a week to mow/edge in growing season. I have made the decision to give away my lawnmower and edger in Atlanta before I move at the end of the month and get out of the mowing business. I will still do yard work, but I am done with the mowing! I have to admit, I carry a bit of guilt about it. The yard in TN is smaller and I COULD do it myself. I just don't want to! How does everyone else handle the decision to hire out work that you used to do yourself...and still could. Do you feel guilt at spending the money? BTW, I am in my second week of retirement and spending my time in TN while the Atlanta house is on the market. I have to say that walks by the lake with the dogs in the middle of the day are fabulous! I even took in a movie matinee. Still hard to wrap my head around the fact that this is now my life!
I’ve always mowed my own lawn and will continue to do so until I am physically unable to do it. I’m particular about my lawn and don’t trust anyone else to care about my lawn like I do.
I would rethink getting rid of any equipment for awhile. I did that when I retired and moved to Florida and have had to buy new equipment. Not that having new equipment is a bad thing, but still I could have saved money by bringing a lot of my old stuff with me.
The one thing I’m seriously considering hiring out is trimming the palm trees. I’m not so good on ladders anymore and using a chain saw from a ladder causes me quite a bit of anxiety. Last year I hired part of the job out and did the others myself. This year I’m going to try and do it all myself to save money. My wife is all about me hiring it out, but I still think I can handle it for a little while longer.
I have a 1/4 acre area I have to mow. I decided to make it as hard on myself as possible. I use a 21" push mower that is hard to start, and runs pretty rough when I do get it started. My wife loves a landscape feature known as Hugel culture. What it amounts to is raised beds, but no 3" or 6" borders delineating the edge. Mowing is truly an adventure.
When we moved we dumped the lawnmower and snowblower. Of course we moved to Las Vegas....
And we hire out the yard work. I'm not up to figuring out all the odd plants in the yard and certainly not when it's 110 - 120 degrees out. For other things it has to be pretty major before I pay someone. Like crawling in the attic to do some electrical.
I have a 1/4 acre area I have to mow. I decided to make it as hard on myself as possible. I use a 21" push mower that is hard to start, and runs pretty rough when I do get it started. My wife loves a landscape feature known as Hugel culture. What it amounts to is raised beds, but no 3" or 6" borders delineating the edge. Mowing is truly an adventure.
Can't wait to get started!
Pretend there is one. See if she notices.
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