New Lawn Toy

The way we take care of our lawn has been evolving.  First we gave up the professional lawn mowing -- I mean, they used a big gas guzzling monster mower and had to drive a big truck to get it here.  Not very environmentally friendly.  After that we canceled the lawn service -- no more chemical herbicides, pesticides and fossil fuel fertilizers.  And finally. . . we got a new mower.  Not gas, not electric, just good old fashioned human power. 

We purchased it last night and today Maddie was very excited to see it in action, so even though there isn't much grass to cut yet, I took it out and gave it a spin around the back yard.  It is a good work out and I think I'll be able to give up the elliptical machine on the days I mow.  I also like that I can mow the lawn -- at my leisure -- without a lot of fuss.  There isn't any gas or oil that has to be added, there isn't any cord that I have to pull (I've never been able to start a gas mower!)  Oh -- and a reel mower is quite inexpensive.  We got the wider model (20 in.) because we have almost a 1/2 acre lot and it was just over $100 -- the smaller model was under $100 (and no gas or annual service charge!)

Comments

[Dani]

I have one too, and let me tell you if you have any hills on your yard, you will have wicked calves in short order! It's a great workout.

A piece of advice though - mow often. I need to do mine at least twice a week. Otherwise it gets too hard to push or it misses a lot of the blades of grass and you end up going over the lawn multiple times. Which is not fun in the heat of August.

[Pete]

Please note that the brown spots in the photo are stepping stones, not dead patches. The dead patches are elsewhere.

[Tracey]

Those are great. I always used one when I had my apartment. My daughter liked the novelty of it too and so it was easy to get her to mow the lawn. You're right too, it is a fantastic workout, especially if you let the grass get too long. ;)

[allena]

i've been pondering buying a mower like that. mainly for the work out and the no gas thing.
i'm glad to hear that i'm not the only one thinking that.

[chris]

We bought the same mower last year, and I love it! I too have never been able to start a gas mower, and with the manual one, we can mow at 6am in the middle of summer and not worry about waking the neighbors up.

Hub's not thrilled sometimes with how it leaves long blades here and there, but I've made my peace with not having a perfectly manicured lawn. A "neat lawn" is good enough for me.

I'll second what Dani said . . . if you let the lawn get too long before you mow, the mower will just roll right over the long bits and not cut them.

[Jo]

I hope yours lasts longer than ours did. We had a different brand, but ours lasted about 2 months last summer before breaking. It worked wonderfully before that, though. DH lost the reciept so we were not able to get it fixed under warranty (dork!) Oops. Did I say that out loud?

[Joanna]

We bought one, too,last summer, in response to environmental issues/lessening our carbon footprint. We love it! We have just over a half-acre yard & as long as you mow often, you'll be in good shape (both physically and lawn-wise!). Our neighbors think we're a bit nuts, but then they still drive SUVs and have forgotten how to walk down the street to the local market...