And so began.......

......the frenzied wild-goose chase of trying too keep up with our gigantic lawn.


Off we go! (Photo by BobbaLew.)

(4.7 acres; I mow about 2.5.)
I had to do the first mowing yesterday, Tuesday, March 27, 2012.
Usually I don’t have to start mowing until April, but we had a long warm-spell in March, temperatures well into the 60s, 70s, and even 80s.
I could see our grass was growing, some over seven inches high.
I had to suddenly get out our 48-inch zero-turn lawnmower, and remove its three blades for sharpening.
A “zero-turn” is a riding-mower; “zero-turn” because it’s a special design with separate drives to each drive-wheel, so it can be spun on a dime. “Zero-turns” are becoming the norm, because they cut mowing time in half compared to a lawn-tractor, which has to be set up for each mowing-pass.
I had to suddenly turn over the blades to my mower-man, and usually it takes him a week or two to sharpen them.
But he cracked the whip, and had the blades ready in a couple days.
I would need those blades quickly.
Back on they went; ready-to-mow. But it was raining. Our lawn was boomin’-and-zoomin’.
Our lawn is comprised of four segments, actually five if you include the immediate backyard which has to be mowed with a small push-mower.
I’ve tried it with the zero-turn, but it’s kind of abusive.
It’s big and heavy and leaves turning-divots.
The other four segments are large, and can be mowed with the zero-turn. They are -1) our immediate front-yard, about a half-hour; -2) the south wing, about an hour; -3) the north wing, almost an hour, and -4) our gigantic Back-40, almost two hours.
The front grows fastest.
I don’t mow the entire lawn unless I need to; I can usually only mow a segment or two.
The south wing needed mowing; our front-lawn was perhaps a day behind.
The north wing and the Back-40 were perhaps a week behind, although the north wing grows slowest.
Our immediate backyard, the small mower, would need mowing first. It was perhaps two days behind the south wing.
I mowed both the south wing and the front yard yesterday, about two-and-a-half hours.
Our zero-turn has a habit of throwing its blade drive belt on engagement. I was expecting to have to rethread it.
But it didn’t.
Off we went! Boomin’-and-zoomin’.
May is usually the cruelest month, the lawn growing like gangbusters.
I might have to mow twice per week, lest our grass get too high and stall the mower. (It’s happened.)
I’ll be mowing through October, which compromises motorcycle-riding.
I managed to stay ahead of it last year, although I’m always factoring in rain.
Do I dare? Check the weather-radar on this computer, and outside do I see a shower coming?
Plus I get the usual madness keeping the zero-turn going.
Last year I had to replace the blade drive belt, a gigantic thingy that set me back 70 buckaroos!
Plus I got it stuck in mud a couple times.
One time a friend had to pull it out with his four-wheeler.