'lectric Love.

we bought one of these today--a black & decker 18" electric LAWNHOG™ mulching mower.

for our first three and a half years of homeownership, we used a scotts classic reel mower. i loved the sound the reel mower made--a very therapeutic "snick, snick, snick." it was a quiet and non-smelly mower. but it really, really struggled with pine cones, twigs, anything non-grass that got caught in the blades inevitably jammed. it was incredibly frustrating to stop every other minute (so it seemed) to unjam the mower. and forget shredding pine needles or leaves. granted, the reel mower never claimed to do those things, but i sure was envious of mulching mowers.

so with a new mowing season upon us, we have a new mower. it (the mower) and i both got a thorough workout today mowing the front and back yards. it was louder than i expected, but everything else was just as advertised. a little bit of practice and i was quite adept at keeping the extension cord out of the way. it handled the as-yet unmown lawn just fine. and no nasty fumes.

now that all the weeds are chopped down, perhaps the poor st. augustine has a chance for sunlight.