1950s Throwback

Last Tuesday I kicked it old-school style and went to Sears Roebuck in search of a 1950s style grass cutter. We're not talking gas powered, self-propelled lawn mower with a bag. Oh no, we're talking old-school spinning blades on wheels. Much like this.

I don't have a white farm house or a dog, but I do have grass that needs to be cut. My neighbor, Handy Dan, has always mowed my lawn for free after he mows his own yard. I used to feel guilty about it, but then I realized it only took him 4 minutes, because my lawn is that tiny. That was last summer.

The second weekend in February was sunny, and I noticed my lawn was getting a bit tall. I didn't sweat it, then two more weekends passed and all my other neighbors were mowing their lawns. Conveniently, Handy Dan's grass hadn't gotten out of control, so he didn't.

All this to say it ended up being March 20th and my lawn was turning into a jungle. I am not going to walk over to Handy Dan's house and ask to borrow his lawn mower, nor am I going to wait around and expect him to do it. It's not his job, and I am fully capable. I just hadn't bought a lawn mower because he had done it all last summer, and like I said, it's a 4 minute lawn.

Because my lawn is so very miniscule, I decided the old-school grass cutter, hereafter known as a "push reel mower," might be ideal as it is small (better to fit in the garage), doesn't need gas (environmentally friendly), and is cheaper than a gas-powered mower.

I went to Sears with all this in mind, tried to talk to a sales associated but they were all a pain in the butt and were trying to convince me to buy a gas-mower, and finally ended up leaving with a push reel mower. Some assembly was required.

I'll spare you the details of that, but just know the instructions were not that helpful. In the end, my grass cutter was assembled, and I labored over my lawn for about three days. I had to cut it at the high setting because like I said, it was a jungle. Then I went to the medium setting. Yesterday I chopped it down at the low setting, so next time I cut it I only have to do it once. If you have a push reel mower, you can't let your green blades get out of control, or it will be very difficult to cut it the next time. The push reel mower is not for the lazy-I-cut-my-grass-once-a-month person (who I was before), and it is only good for people who have small, flat yards (which I do). So well, I'll let you know how it goes.

Now I am like this man, cutting my grass independently in an earth friendly way.