Does this happen to anyone but me? I come up with great ideas and noble intentions all the time, but being an inveterate procrastinator, my great plans often fall by the wayside, unrealized. In spite of myself, every once in a while, I actually get my act together long enough to follow through on one of my brainstorms, only to have my effort thwarted by some unforeseen roadblock. At times, it feels like the story of my life.We have a pretty small in-town suburban lot and only a fraction of that is in lawn. I often ponder the wasteful folly of big suburban lawns with the inputs of energy, water and chemicals they demand. Wanting my actions to be more consistent with my beliefs, if I have to have a lawn at all, I thought it would be appropriate and sensible to get a manual push mower.
I used a $100 gift certificate to a garden supply catalog store from my generous sister to buy a Ginge Comfort 38 mower. To be blunt, it's a piece of crap. It simply would not neatly cut the grass. Even after three or four passes, the lawn looked ragged and unkempt. Now, I'm pretty handy and not afraid of a little physical effort, but no amount of tinkering with blade settings or vigorous pushing would cut the grass neatly and efficiently.
The mower sat unused in my shed for a couple of years, a constant reminder of yet another personal failure. Last week, I took it out for one last try, only to find two different plastic parts on the mower broken. I unceremoniously tossed it on my pile of scrap metal. At least it felt good to bring closure to another failed enterprise.
I'd love to hear from a reader that can recommend a quality, satisfying push mower.
On the bright side, one of my little plans is literally bearing fruit. I had an interest in gardening years ago, but the yield never seemed worth the investment. This year, I dipped my toe back in. I filled four 5-gallon buckets with compost, planted Sweet 100 tomato seedlings and put the buckets on the deck. Now, in mid-August, we have a nice cupful of ripe, sweet, cherry tomatoes for every salad.Every once in a while, even a blind hog finds an acorn.
1 comment:
Hey your blog came up because i'm searching for parts (rubber tire) for the same model mower. Yes it does a terrible job of cutting grass, but maybe that's just our need for perfection?
We also have an electric cordless mower, and had to replace the recgargeable battery $99 after only two seasons.
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