topic Re: Yard Work in Community Chat

Yard Work

Anonymous032819 — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 02:00:13 GMT

You would think that with as much as I pay in rent, lawn care would be included, but it isn't.

It's up to me to keep the front and back yard, and plant trimmed.

So today I decided to tackle my small front yard.

I don't have a lawnmower, just a push reel mower and a weedwhacker.

As I said, my front yard is tiny, so I decided to go at it with my weedwhacker.

Then there is a big shrub, and its branches was protruding on to the sidewalk, so I attacked that with my pruning sheers, and removed about a good 1/3 of the plant.

But at least now the front of my house looks nice, and there is nothing obstructing people when they walk in the sidewalk.

Even small yards are a lot of work!😄

Re: Yard Work

Mom2Dogs — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 02:06:59 GMT

@Anonymous032819 Yep....we have a 'standard size' yard, what ever that means...there is ALWAYS something to do. I am able to do the yard work, trimming, planting, weeding.....dh mows and trims. I am not sure what will happen as I get older.

Re: Yard Work

esmerelda — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 05:24:11 GMT

I was thinking just today how nice it would be if all I had to worry about as far as my residence is concerned was writing a rent check.

Re: Yard Work

SunSprite — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 10:52:52 GMT

I did move to a place where I just write a check and never do any yardwork or landscaping; only now I go to my parents and help them with theirs . I spent yesterday working their garden for a couple of hours and hauling some small limbs and branches out to the road (came down during a thunderstorm).

Of course this morning walking completely upright is not comfortable

I know I'm an oddball but I actually enjoy it and miss doing it at my own home. It's a form of exercise that never seems like exercise to me.

Re: Yard Work

CalminHeart — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 11:32:14 GMT

I am retired and over 66. I have an average sized front yard and a huge back yard with 4 very large trees. I find yard work to be like therapy. I go into a totally peaceful and serene mode when working outside.

In the last week, I had 2 tree stumps ground out. I hauled all the wood mulch to put around plants and trees. I filled the holes with good soil and planted grass seed. I've transplanted perennials and annuals. I do all the mowing, trimming bushes, etc. I have a list a mile long of other outside projects.

The down side is that I'm not getting to the inside projects. I plan on painting the bathroom, LR, DR and K this summer...if I can bring myself inside long enough. I have everything to paint the BR so hopefully I can get that done soon. The others may become winter projects when I'm stuck inside.

Re: Yard Work

panda1234 — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 12:30:48 GMT

@CalminHeart wrote:
I am retired and over 66. I have an average sized front yard and a huge back yard with 4 very large trees. I find yard work to be like therapy. I go into a totally peaceful and serene mode when working outside.

In the last week, I had 2 tree stumps ground out. I hauled all the wood mulch to put around plants and trees. I filled the holes with good soil and planted grass seed. I've transplanted perennials and annuals. I do all the mowing, trimming bushes, etc. I have a list a mile long of other outside projects.

The down side is that I'm not getting to the inside projects. I plan on painting the bathroom, LR, DR and K this summer...if I can bring myself inside long enough. I have everything to paint the BR so hopefully I can get that done soon. The others may become winter projects when I'm stuck inside.

@CalminHeart You are a very busy lady with lots of energy. I was feeling tired reading all that you do and are going to do. Good for you. It is wonderful that you are able to do so many things.

Re: Yard Work

AngelPuppy1 — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 12:52:07 GMT

Congrats on all your hard work! It does make you feel good when you sit and look at it though. I have so much trimming and weeding to do, which I did a few days ago, but I was really happy when I got done. Unfortunately, it needs a touch up already! I sort of enjoy it but it is a never ending job!

Re: Yard Work

Laura14 — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 13:30:53 GMT

@esmerelda I have that same dream but then @SunSprite and I have the same parents.

Congrats on getting it done @Anonymous032819 ! Especially when it's so hot. It's the chore I dread the most. So happy when it's done until the grass and bushes laugh in the face of your hard work and grow again.

Re: Yard Work

LindaSal — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 13:40:46 GMT

When we downsized to a townhouse from a home with 10 acres of land, it was an adjustment for us. I have to say though, I love writing the check for the fees that cover all the outside landscaping/snow removal. Myself, I don't miss working in the yard at all, my hubby though was one of those as mentioned that found it therapeutic. Now he goes to our sons home and works in his yard now and then. So at least he can still putter about when the feeling strikes. And it helps them out as they have been essential workers through the whole virus thing.

Re: Yard Work

esmerelda — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 14:34:49 GMT

Don't misunderstand...I enjoy yard work...when I have the time and when the weather cooperates. And like someone said, inside work waits. Some of the outside work won't. One of my favorite summer things is mowing and that's 3 or 4 hours every two weeks or less. Then there's catching up following the previously disagreeable weather.

But my thought wasn't only about outside work. It was about the odd sound and aging systems and waiting for the shoe to drop.

Re: Yard Work

KKJ — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 14:00:28 GMT

I have a huge yard (front AND back) and I hate yard work. Plus have the kind of thick grass that needs mowed often.

Re: Yard Work

qvcfreak — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 15:18:01 GMT

I love yard work, all of it. I do it often so it doesn’t get out of hand. Today I plan to remove a bush that got out of hand. I’m just leaving the 3 palm trees.

The bush is by the 2nd palm tree. Will then add bricks and mulch around each palm tree.

Re: Yard Work

Financialgrl — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 15:24:38 GMT

@LindaSal wrote:
When we downsized to a townhouse from a home with 10 acres of land, it was an adjustment for us. I have to say though, I love writing the check for the fees that cover all the outside landscaping/snow removal. Myself, I don't miss working in the yard at all, my hubby though was one of those as mentioned that found it therapeutic. Now he goes to our sons home and works in his yard now and then. So at least he can still putter about when the feeling strikes. And it helps them out as they have been essential workers through the whole virus thing.

I moved from a home on acreage to a place where the yard work and shoveling of snow gets done for me. We have option of doing our own lawncare or paying the HOA extra for their landscapers to do it all. It's a rare sight to see anyone here do their own lawn care.

Re: Yard Work

hckynut — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 16:51:38 GMT

@Anonymous032819

Good for you. At times like this it can be good for some to get outside, even if it is to do some work. I did the same yesterday, but our yards are vastly different.

Getting out my Rider Zero Turn Mower/going through my pre-check list/Mowing our Acreage, and then cleaning my mower! A little over 4 hours later I drove around our yard and parked it in our shed. 🚜

Was 92 degrees, but there was a little breeze, and that always helps cooling. However, the downside is with a rear motor when going into the wind, all the dust blows right at me. Goggles and a face mask when necessary.

Went through a half gallon of water, and when finished a quart of powerade. Nice cool shower and then? AHHHH!

hckynut 🏒

Re: Yard Work

Snoopp — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 16:57:02 GMT

@hckynut zero turn mower sounds nice.

I putt putt along in on my John Deere. I don't mind, it's kind of fun but my grass seems to be growing very fast these days.

Re: Yard Work

Sooner — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 17:01:25 GMT

I am sure it is good for your health, but I retired from yard work at about 40 years old. My husband retired shortly thereafter. We both worked long hours, played catchup on weekends, visited relatives to check on them on weekends, and yard work took half of a Saturday.

A yard crew can come in and knock it out in 1/2 hour, everything is done! To me, it is one of the biggest bang for the buck deals you can find. And someone needs the job!

With weekend trips out of town frequently, church on Sunday, grocery shopping, other errands and chores, we had no time to relax, and this bought us valuable time.

Now we're old, so we never went back!

Re: Yard Work

noodleann — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 17:56:12 GMT

@Anonymous032819 , it sounds as if you have your equipment squared away, but if your weed whacker ever bites the dust, you might consider Black & Decker's mower/edger, MTC220. It's a battery-operated string trimmer with a detachable mowing deck, so you can trim and mow. I found it very effective at sprucing up the front area of a house I was selling last year between full mowinigs. The mower kit comes with the trimmer, deck, battery, and charger, so no gas and no cords. It's a good idea to get an extra battery, which are used by other B+D cordless equipment. I found the generic string refills worked perfectly. All on Amazon.

The prices of everything are higher than they were a year ago. I paid $118 for the MTC220, but it's now $150. The generic string refills were $15, now $19.

Re: Yard Work

hckynut — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 18:08:34 GMT

@Snoopp

I get what you are saying. The first mower I bought when we moved here was Craftsman steering wheel rider. With that mower it took me over 6 hours to do what I mentioned in my other post.

I have had arthritic fingers from even before I retired in 1991. That was caused by my job of close to 30 years. Lifting 60-80lb reels of telephone wire where you could use only the first 3 fingers on each hand.

Driving that type mower would effect my fingers for 2-4 days after mowing. On some mornings I couldn't open them until running hot water over them for 5-10 minutes and flexing each finger.

After several years I decided a zero turn mower might be the thing. With that type of mower you do not have to grip a wheel to turn it. The other plus was/is you can do a 180° turn, not have to grip a wheel, just to turn a tighter circle.

And much to my surprise my mowing time was cut in half. Less time/less gas, and easier on my fingers. Worth every penny I spent buying it.

Our grass is also growing pretty fast. Seems like we get a downpour of rain every 2-3 days, and you can almost see it growing.

Fun? Ehhh, I won't go quite that far, but if it is only once a week I am fine with that.

hckynut 🏒

Re: Yard Work

Sooner — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 18:47:23 GMT

I used to tell my husband he was spending half of what it cost to get the yard done on hoses, weed whackers, string for them, trimmers and so forth! Actually not that but the cost can be considerable if you add it all up.

The best thing we ever did was put in a sprinkler system. We live in town on a city lot and what a blesing that was. I have the feeling the neighbors were delighted because I was no longer in the yard in my pj's every morning dragging the hose and sprinklers around!

Re: Yard Work

hckynut — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 19:01:18 GMT

Hi @Sooner

When both my wife and I were incapacitated, only once at the same time, I got bids to mow our property. The cheapest one was $120! I talked my brother-in-law into just mowing the front yard.

I had my Craftsman then and he knows how to drive one of that type. He is far from an adventurous guy, and not the type that would even try to drive my zero turn.

He came over after I bought our zero turn and since him and my sister have over 5 acres, I thought he might want to see how much quicker he could mow. He wouldn't even get on my zero turn.

Anyways, when I was not physically able to mow, my wife did the best she could mowing. I told her "do not go down our hills, only uphill". I showed her the start procedure and how to drive it. It takes a while to get on to even starting it, and then getting used to no brakes, and so on.

Hiring it out? Not until we both are physically unable. It would "break the bank"! Glad it worked out for you two.

hckynut 🏒