04/29/04’s illustrious band:

Mowinfrau

Brought to you by the groundskeeper at Sensational Acres (that would be me).

The responsibilities and annoyances of homeownership are many, but there is satisfaction to be had, too, if you know where to look. Today, you need look no further than my yard. With all the rain we’ve been getting lately, my grass has needed mowing for at least a week already. Yesterday, temperatures were in the 80s and I had an evening free, so I decided to tackle the chore.

My mower, which usually requires several dozen yanks of the cord, roared to life on the third pull. I was so startled I lost my grip on the pull knob and almost fell on my keister right there in the driveway. I hadn’t even bothered to fill ‘er up with fresh grass or comb the yard for fallen branches because I was sure I’d have time to do those things during one of my rest breaks from pulling.

In fact, I was afraid the mower wouldn’t start at all, since I’d forgotten (again) to drain it of gas last fall. I figured I’d have to load it into the back of the Subaru and haul it over to the hardware store to wait in a long, long line for a spring tune-up. But no! It started right up, so I shrugged and began mowing. I got about a third of the way through before the blade choked on an old work glove that had blown in from the next door neighbor’s yard, so I did my clean-up after clearing that obstruction.

After mowing that lawn, which takes me an hour at most, I always feel a sense of accomplishment that’s out of proportion to the task. Yesterday was no exception. Looking around the yard, I nodded with satisfaction at the neatness of it, the way the uneven heights of the grass blades had smoothed out. The freshly cut grass smelled as lush and comforting as I remembered, likely to stick to my bare feet if I strayed too near the clippings after running through the sprinkler -- the fragrance and feeling of summer.

Today around the world: April 29 is the birthday of the Sultan of Terengganu in Malaysia and Greenery Day (Midori no Hi) in Japan.

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