Grass-cutting machines
July 8, 2009 (Wednesday)
It rained at the Timbergrove Baptist Church yesterday, and it was nice. I suppose the rain will make things grow now. Set me to thinking about mowing the grass, which I don’t have to do these days, because Dwight takes care of the yard in Rockport and my neighbor Teresa and her landscape company employees maintain the church grounds here in Houston, including our residences next door, which are church-owned.
I got to thinking about mowing through the years. I started out with an old-style push mower that worked like a pair of scissors as curved blades on an axle turned against a metal knife at ground level. It did a good job and was good exercise. It is called a “reel mower,” and is still available.
Then someone came up with the idea of a “power mower.” Under the motor was a blade about two feet in diameter more or less. As you pushed it, the cut grass spewed out through a chute on the side of the mower. Worked great. and most people soon found a way to get one.
I recall getting a power mower billed as a “mulching mower.” That was great, because the grass blades were cut, then chewed into a fine mulch and dropped to the ground under the mower. It was in such small pieces that it filtered down through the lawn and virtually disappeared. Nothing to rake. Very good.
The next mower we got was a self-propelled mower. Looked like a power mower that would be pushed, but the motor pulled it and all I had to do was gently guide it. Boy howdy, very good indeed.
Finally, the last mower I used before I retired from mowing was a riding mower tractor that cut a wide swath through the lawn and took about a third as much time as I sat on a comfortable padded seat without walking or pushing. Now, that was the life. If I ever return to my life of mowing, you can be sure that’s the one I’ll use.
There you have it, friends, 67 years of mower history in my life. Aren’t you glad you read this blog today? Ain’t progress beautiful?