Since last summer, The Pony has been asking for a lawnmower. Not a riding mower or a push mower, but an old-fashioned mower with a revolving cylinder of blades. Like from the 1950s, such as you might see on Leave it to Beaver, or The Andy Griffith Show, just before a housewife brings out a pitcher of lemonade for the kid mowing her yard. The Pony isn't wanting any lemonade. Just a silent mower that could be used any time of early morning or late evening, and not bother the neighbors.
Farmer H said he has several of those mowers. He's been meaning to get one to The Pony. But hasn't. Winter came and went. Now it's mowing season again. The Pony reminds me each week on Errand Day that Farmer H still hasn't provided such a mower.
We both emphasized this need when we were all together at Easter Dinner. On Tuesday, Farmer H said he was going down to his Creekside Cabin to get a mower for The Pony. I guess he has it with a bunch of his other junk collectibles down there. Yet he came back without a mower.
"It ain't good enough. The blades are too dull on the best one I have. You'd be wore out trying to mow with it, and the grass wouldn't be any shorter."
On Wednesday, Farmer H went to a local hardware store and ordered an old-fashioned push mower for The Pony. He picks it up on Tuesday. It cost $152.38, which was the price of $139.99, plus 12.39 tax. The Pony knows, and is okay with paying that.
It won't take too long for that new old mower to earn its keep. Farmer H charges The Pony $35 for lawnmowing. Sometimes it's $45, and a couple times it was $50. I don't know if that's because he's paying Old Buddy by the hour to do it, or if sometimes there's weed-eating as well. In the summer, Farmer H mows twice a week.
I hope that mower is everything The Pony hopes it will be.
6 comments:
My FIL had about 5 of those mowers. When he passed away, my husband had to clear out the house and garage and shed. His dad was a hoarder and a "collector" of big items. (100's of sewing machines and typewriters - more typewriters than sewing machines, many of the big old black style and also many portable ones that had to be removed.) So, it was no surprise to find the old-fashioned hand/push mowers in the shed. Two of them were in the original box and there were three others in poor condition. The sad part is the two in the box also had rusted blades, just from sitting in an old shed with moisture seeping in through the ground. I had wanted one but same situation as the one Hick found - too rusty and wouldn't have actually cut any grass. The novelty of mowing the lawn on a nice sunny day and then having a nice glass of lemonade while sitting on a lawn chair was not a reality for me and now, with dodgy knees and a body that kicks up an ache or pain here, there and everywhere, it wouldn't be happening anyway. Ranee
Rae,
Wow! That's quite a "collection!" Farmer H would be envious! I used to mow the yard at my $17,000 house with a push mower, but it was gasoline powered. It took an hour. It was actually quite pleasant, to get out and do something without thinking. Of course, back then I was also walking the 11-mile trail at the state park every couple of months, and doing a regular 4 mile walk daily. My knees won't let me forget!
I hope the mower works well and The Pony is satisfied with it. I remember those push mowers very well, I used to have one, metal parts, metal handle. I don't remember what happened to it. Eventually "no-one" bought a new push mower, but the modern ones have plastic parts and it came in two sections with the handle needing to be bolted to the base and halfway through mowing she found the bolts had loosened and one fell out and got lost in the grass... she pays someone now to mow once a month.
River,
Dang! I hope The Pony's mower is more sturdy than No-One's! I imagine Farmer H will put it together if it comes unassembled. Sometimes he can see issues right away, and use his own tactics to fix them before they become a problem.
I mowed with one as a child. I have always loved to do yardwork, and my family happily turned all those chores over to me when I was about 9. I thought about getting one at the campground but considering that I mowed a total of 9 miles every third day and needed to consider time and well as my own stamina decided I better have a self-propelled mower. This was after the IRS auditor said we could not claim mowing gas as a deduction. That auditor was fired during our audit and a new auditor also disagreed about the deduction.
Kathy,
Good for you, earning your keep with something you love. As for the lawnmower gas, that's ridiculous! I guess maybe it's too easy to cheat and deduct car gas while saying it's for upkeep of the property.
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