Deere John, Glad You're Back in Action

The third picture is of my neighbor's yard that I cut for the older couple that live there. Mr. (slow) Lee and his wife Claudette. He's a chain smoker who starts drinking Budweiser's around 9AM. Ahh... the retired life!

The other shots are of my back and front yard. My front yard was easy to cut, the back yard was like mowing crop circles in a rice field. With all the rain and three dogs fertilizing it daily it was almost a foot high in some places . I had to start with the blade on the highest level and gradually get it down short enough to see the bulldog when he goes to the back of the yard.

I'm pretty anal about my yard work. It's not complete until I cut it, mulch all the trimmings and edge it out totally with my good friend "Mr. Weed Eater." Being the first cut this Spring, the weed eater just about did me in. When I got through my hands were shaking worse than Mr (slow)Lee's before his 9AM Bud.

Nothing makes me feel better than to turn in the drive with a freshly mowed yard and it be all trimmed and neat...that means all driveways and walkways swept as well.

Tomorrow starts the hard part...weeding my flower beds by hand. No 'Round Up' for me, just some good old exercise for my legs and arms, getting rid of all those dandelions and weeds and making me even happier when I pull into my driveway when retuning home.

I wish I cared about housework the way I do about yard work. My house isn't a pig sty (that would be Massey's room) but I'm not a freak about a little dust or some dog hair on the carpet. My yard is another thing all together. At least my neighbors drive by and probably say "I bet her house is neat as a pin on the inside!" That being said, I keep my front door locked at all times and the garage door shut. At least the part THEY see is nice and neat. I keep the kitchen clean and faithfully scrub the toilets but don't really sweat the rest. I'm a LEO...a sun lover and a southern girl who loves the heat of Summer.

On Saturday I will head up to the front of the subdivision to mow and weed eat the entrance to our neighborhood. I did it for free for about a year before my sister told me to call the president of our homeowners "ASS"ociation. They pay me $40 a month now to keep it neat and trim and all trash picked up thrown out car windows as they fly by our street. There is more weed eating than actual mowing since there are two deep gulley's on either side of the street but I don't mind at all. Once I get started on yard work I can do it for five hours without blinking and the time flies by.

I come home covered with grass from the weed eater and blisters on my hands but I sleep like a baby after a day doing yard work. I wish I had a trailer where I could load up my honey, "John Deere" and go cut other people's yards. Last year I did go cut a friend's yard about a quarter of a mile away. I just gassed up my John Deere and putted down the road with cars whizzing by me going 50 MPH. My husband just shook his head when I told him I was going on a "Road Trip."

I've gotta remember sunscreen tomorrow. I got through today exactly one hour before work and when I jumped in the hot shower I thought I would cry like a baby...actually I think I did!

The kids came home from school and just bragged about how good the yards looked and Zach went out back to lay in the hammock for a while just because it looked so "Inviting."

I am so glad Spring has finally Sprung.

Til next time... Mrs. "John Deere"

PS Be sure to click on the pictures so you can see my handiwork up close (I'm a proud Mower)