Community Chat

[KKJ]

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

[qvcfreak]

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.  

[Financialgrl]

---

@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.

[hckynut]

@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 🏒

[Snoopp]

@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.

[Sooner]

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!   

[noodleann]

@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. 

[hckynut]

@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 🏒

[Sooner]

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!  

[hckynut]

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 🏒