Some of my happiest memories are mowing our yard and keeping the grass trimmed during the good old summer time.

I was watching my young neighbor mow his yard.  He was riding a really nice large riding mower that he drives very fast. I’m told it has zero turning making it easy to mow around trees..  Some even have 48-inch width blades that makes cutting more area therefore shortening the length of time of working.

I was just thinking about when I was a young girl and helping my brother mow our yard, we e had a walk behind mower that had blades turning  as the two wheels rolled in the grass.  When the blades got dull, Daddy would take a metal file and sharpen them.

My best friend in school was Barbara Raabe.  We spent a lot of time at her grandparents home.  They also had a walk behind push mower with a wooden handle, similar to the onet we had.  Barbara and I would take turns pushing it.  We thought it was fun.

This month is July and I can’t help but think of Barbara as her birthday is July 11.  We met in the first grade at Eastview Elementary school.  It was good to have a best buddy all the way from first grade thru the 12th grade when we graduated in 1963.

She went off to college in Commerce, and I stayed at home attending our town’s Junior college.  Our lives were never the same.

Back to memories of the lawnmower. Later Daddy bought a gas powered push behind mower.  I always checked the oil and the gas levels prior to starting it.

When I lived in Ponce, Puerto Rico, I did not have a lawnmower.  That was okay as the yard was mostly filled with Mango trees.  The limbs stretched over most of the yard.  The leaves shielded the sun light.  What grass there was, I was able to keep trimmed by use of a machette.

After I returned to the states, I bought an electric lawnmower that had a long cord.  I was always a little frightened that I might accidentally cut the electrical cord with the sharp blades.

Later, we  purchases A  gas-driven mower that “pulled” itself.  I had to be careful keep it from pulling me along  too quickly.

I loved mowing my yard.

My parents lived here in the same town.  Usually Daddy mowed his yard, but it became really difficult for him because he had breathing issues and also crippling arthritis.  Since I loved to mow,, I would take care of my yard and then mow my parents’ lawn.  Their yard was quite large, but I did not mind.  Mother would want to pay me…but I never accepted.  I loved my parents and I felt proud of myself when I could be of help to them

After our sons moved away, I continued to mow our yard.  Jimmy did not purchase a riding lawnmower for us until it reached the point where I was having foot problems and it became necessary for him to take over this duty. With the new riding lawnmower, it seemed he enjoyed doing the mowing…like a new grown up boy toy!

Even though he liked riding it, the vibrations caused back and knee pains. After a few years, he was no longer able to mow. Itt was just too painful.

The history and the evolution of going from a scythe to cut the grass with today’s high powered zero radius mowers with light weight motors using gas or electricity keeps our lawns picture perfect

.Sometimes I see some of the old walk behind two-wheeled lawnmowers with a wooden handle advertised for sale for $100-$250.  I just cannot believe the inflation of  the price of one, as I wuz jus thinking.