Monday 28 April 2014

My new toy




Having wrestled for many years with an electric lawnmower
which required very careful cable management 
and needed an unwieldy extension cord
in order to reach the end of the garden,
I was searching around for a cordless replacement.

Petrol mowers are smelly and noisy
and the new lithium battery cordless mowers
had conflicting claims as to their battery life 
and the length of time needed for re-charging.
They also cost a lot.
I nearly said an arm and a leg but this would have been
in very poor taste as my husband nearly lost a toe to our old one
and I had many an uneasy moment
as I fished around trying to unclog it when the grass stopped 
collecting in the box.

So it was, that I started looking for an old-fashioned
push along mower.


And here it is.
To be sure, the instruction leaflet for assembly
was very poorly, and minutely illustrated
and the adjustments for blade and roller adjustment
are of the fiddly old fashioned spanner, nut and bolt kind,
but once I'd got it set up
it fairly flew round the garden, slicing,rather than mashing the grass
and making a lovely whirring sound, redolent of childhood summers,
listening to my father pushing ours around the garden, 
well into his seventies.
It was lighter and therefore easier to push than our old one,
and because I don't have to keep stopping to unsnag
or rearrange the cable, much quicker to give a cut.
It even produced some faint stripes.
Best of all, it cost just under £50.
A snip.

7 comments:

  1. I've only ever mowed a lawn once - carefully tutored by The Gardener - and that was with a big whopper of a petrol mower that made stripes and threatened to run away with me now and then. Fun! I like the look of yours though, very retro.

    I'm sad that the virtual Japanese holiday has come to an end - it was absolutely enthralling seen through your eyes.

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  2. Division of labour applies in our house, and mowing our very large 'lawn' takes Himself over two hours. He enjoys it. Honestly!

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  3. You've brought back some childhood memories of lawnmowers, of the heavy manual and also the gas-fueled, noisy, smelly type.

    Now in my city life, I only view lawnmowers being used over the Central Park. I do like that fragrance of newly mown grass!

    xo

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  4. Sounds just what you need !
    Simple cotraptions are often best .... I sometimes wish I had a carpet sweeper for quick "repairs" after husband has been cracking open walnuts all evening , while watching football . So much less of a kerfuffle than the hoover

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  5. I want one of these, but am slightly worried the grass has already grown too long . . .

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  6. Far more satisfying to use that any other sort, giving you a lovely rhythm as you work.

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  7. My parents have never had any other kind of mower. My dad pushed it around the yard until quite recently when he developed his heart condition. I'm sure he would like to get back to it. We had one once, for a very small yard. As long as they are kept sharp they are great :)

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