Tag Archives: front lawn

At Least I’m Not Pushing Up Daisies

Posted on May 21, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was just looking back over past “lawn order” postings since I thought to do one today. It is that or a Throwback Thursday. Personally I am leaning towards the Throwback Thursday, because a Lawn Order post (do I really have that as a category? Too lazy to check right now) can only make me look bad. I have not taken any pictures, which will really make me look bad (cue unkind jokes about how most pictures of me are bad) (you know who you are).

I do not recall if I mentioned it in a blog post (and having already looked over past posts I do not want to check), but last fall my lawn mower pooped out on the last mow of the season. It would start but not continue running. I said to heck with it (only I didn’t say “heck”), put it in the garage, mowed with the non-power mower, and basically just forgot about it. I am irresponsible like that. Then when spring got here, I kept hearing No Mow May. Who am I to argue? Also, I had other things on my mind.

Back when I used to do a good job mowing my lawn.

I throw in a picture from May 2020, just to pep up the post. I got some advice from several sources, then consulted Collis Hardware, who suggested I bring the mower down there and let them fix it. What a great idea! I walked my mower on down. Unfortunately, I should have done it much earlier in the season, because it may be a couple of weeks before I hear from them.

In the meantime, it has been raining, and my grass has been growing. One year, when Steven was still alive but sick, we had let the grass get quite out of hand. At this time I was incapable of starting the power mower but managed with great effort to get the front lawn done with the non-power mower. I got a neighbor to start the power mower to do the back.

Now, regular readers may recall that beginning at the end of April, I have this mysterious pain going on in my leg, rendering prolonged standing, walking, or running difficult. This is one of the things on my mind that made No Mow May seem so attractive. However, I believe there are village codes to consider, so yesterday and today, I have had at my front lawn with the non-power mower, clippers, and determination. The results were… well, it looks as if I made an effort.

Please don’t eat the daisies.

This is actually a picture from June a couple years ago. There will probably be as many daisies soon. Right now there are copious forget-me-nots, which I will try to get a picture of soon. Right now I am still resting my leg from my exertions and hope this rather lengthy (for me) blog post has not been too boring and whiny.

Maybe I give it a punchy headline and bill it as a Non-Sequitur Thursday.

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Posted in humor, lawn order, Non Sequitur Thursday, personal and tagged blog post, blogging, Collis Hardware, Collis TruValue Hardware, front lawn, lawn mower, non-power mower, power mower. Bookmark the permalink.

Don’t Wuss! Walk!

Posted on May 30, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

So there I was, sitting on my couch feeling utterly exhausted. I mean not just tired, but entirely used up. It is a feeling I get a lot lately. Oh, stop playing that miniature violin (you know who you are)! One thing I do not need is condescension. My original plan for today was to go running after work. Unfortunately, I did something to my back and it was quite painful by the end of my work day. At first I thought I would go ahead and run anyways. Worst case scenario: I stopped running and walked. Then I thought the real worst case scenario is that I wake up tomorrow with an even worse backache, so I told myself don’t be stupid. Run tomorrow.

Picture to pep things up.

Still, a walk might help a sore back. It probably would have been a better idea to take said walk right away, before I sat there on the couch feeling like a big lump of I Don’t Care. It was the thought of taking a couple of pictures on the walk for blogging purposes that got me into my sneakers and out the door. I can’t break my streak of posting daily, can I?

The first place I walked was into my own backyard, to check on my rhododendron. I had seen some neighbors’ rhododendrons blooming and hoped mine was doing the same. It is blooming but is being overshadowed by a pine tree that grows nearby. A few years ago I cut a bunch of branches off the tree for that very reason. I felt like much woman, as my sister Vicki would say. I guess I need to do it again. I tried to get a picture of what blooms there are, but the sun was in the wrong place, so I couldn’t get the shot.

While I was out back, I could not help but notice how badly I need to mow. I need, in fact, to do more than mow, but do some major yard work. I almost opened up my garage and hauled out the mower. Once again, consideration for my back stopped me. Even opening the garage is quite the effort, because some spring or other broke after not being in the right place to begin with (I don’t properly understand these things). I promised myself to try it tomorrow. Or the next day. Saturday at the latest.

Out front, I realized I could take a picture of my daisies, once again taking over the yard. I just can’t bear to cut them back till they stop blooming. They are so cheerful. I put the picture of them after the first paragraph, because I did not want to make my readers wait too long for an illustration. Then I took a picture of the two peonies that managed to bloom.

I love the smell!

My back was still hurting, but I at least walked around the block. There were not many photo ops, because I do not like taking pictures of people’s yards without their permission (although I have done it on occasion). I saw a flowering tree in front of one house, and I wondered what it was. I took a picture, zooming in so you can only see tree, nothing of the house. That makes it anonymous enough, doesn’t it?

Perhaps one of my readers knows what it is.

I felt somewhat revived after my walk, at least enough to open the Chromebook and make the blog post. And I believe I have successfully avoided having a Wuss-out Wednesday.

How Much Slack Can I Get Away With?

Posted on June 19, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I let all of Saturday and a good part of Sunday slip by without making a blog post and am feeling a bit guilty about it. The fact is, I am having the damnedest time getting myself to do anything. I did go for two long runs this weekend. Yesterday I did a load of laundry and washed the dishes before I petered out. Eventually I wrote a few post cards to my usual peeps. However, there is a lot more that I need and want to get done. What the hell, me?

Pretty!

I threw in a picture, before I sank into a boring morass of self-recrimination. These are my front lawn daisies from two years ago. They are starting to die off now, and I just spent some time trying to cut them back. This was after mowing the grass with my non-power mower and pulling up a bunch of other stuff on the side of the house. And that was after my 50-minute run earlier. A woman my age gets tired. I never made it to the back yard. In fact, a number of failing daisies remain out front.

Now I am lounged on my couch pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet, and sipping a glass of wine, because I feel any effort deserves a reward. I think I can move on to the movie watching portion of my Sunday. Maybe I can even do a Sunday Cinema Post. But no promises.

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Posted in humor, personal, Slacker Saturday and tagged blog post, blogging, daisies, depression, front lawn, late post, lawn mower, Lawn work, not writing, running, writing. Bookmark the permalink.

I’m Afraid It’s Lame Post Friday

Posted on September 12, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

I made it through the week and contemplate the weekend with trepidation. Is that the right word? I usually try not to be so cowardly. But I must be having a craven moment, because I just backspaced those two sentences out. I restored them with the “edit undo” button. I must not be afraid to admit when I am feeling scared.

So that was my first lame paragraph from this week’s Lame Post Friday post. I am tired, and I am having a bad writing week. There, I admitted it. At lunch time at work, as I sat cravenly doing a cryptogram puzzle instead of writing, I said, “I have got to get my act together.” My co-workers agreed, saying that they had meant to mention that to me. I can always count on my co-workers.

I don’t think I ever gave him a name.

I wanted to throw in a picture, to pep things up, and this one caught my eye. He is currently lurking by me garage. I don’t know where I will put him next.

This is where he used to lurk in the front yard, under Frankentree.

These are appropriate pictures for today, because the one thing I accomplished was to mow the front lawn. It was in shade for the most part, so that was good.

Mmmmm… coffee…

This is the coffee cup I used this morning. This would normally be the weekend for the Mohawk Valley Garlic and Herb Festival in Little Falls. Alas! One more thing to look forward to in 2021, I hope. Oh dear. I cannot end on such a sad note. Can I find a cheerful picture?

Maybe I could look like this if I went on a really strict diet.

Here is a cheerful thought: COVID or not, I can decorate my porch for Halloween! That will also make a good blog post! As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

Mohawk Valley Girl