The Last Cut of the Season

Throughout my career mowing lawns, I have run over many things with various types of lawnmower. I must say however that I tend to kill more things with a power mower than with an old fashioned push mower.

Here is a nice picture of the non-lethal type of lawn mower. If one uses this, you will kill fewer things, it's quieter so that you'll disturb neighbours less AND it's more environmentally friendly. Sadly however it takes ages to cut the lawn with this device and you can 't let the grass get too long or the job will be murderously difficult.

Thankfully, I've been lucky enough to use a lawnmower with an internal combustion engine. No, I've not got a ride-on lawnmower. That is just a dream that may never come true

I've got a regular, 4.5 horsepower push it yourself lawnmower. The same sort of machine I've been using my entire adult life to cut grass.

As mentioned before, I've run over a few things in my lifetime with the said lawnmower. Here is a partial list:

Garter snake - They smell terrible when you hit them with a lawnmower. There is a sort of musk stink gland thing going on with these snakes. Plus, they don't run away from a lawnmower. I wonder if the vibrations that the machine gives off attracts them.

Assorted beetles, frogs and toads (no photographs due to the sensitivity of readers who may already be freaked out by the picture of the snake)

Dog poo - I usually go around and pick the stuff up first, but there is ALWAYS a lump hiding in the grass somewhere. The hidden lump will only be found by my foot or the wheels or blades of the mower.

Frisbees, tennis balls and other toys -The blades of the mower are pretty unforgiving to these items. I don't just run over them on purpose. It is always an accident and my first reaction is to feel bad. Then, it dawns on me that the person who left the toy out on the lawn is really at fault, it is never the person stuck doing the mowing that left stuff out on the grass.

Today, I ran over an egg. I never thought that there would be an egg in the grass but one of the hens must have laid it there at some point on a day when I had let them out for a bit. I think this is indicative of how desperately I needed to cut the grass.

At the end of the job today, I decided I'd tidy up a tiny bit in the back garden that I had missed yesterday. It was then that I had some neighbours take an interest in what I was doing. They crowded around by the back fence. I bet you didn't know this, but cows are nosey! It looks to me like they're asking if I've got any cookies for them.