Mainly clear. Low 71F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Mainly clear. Low 71F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.

Following some lawnmower troubles, Fredi Stangland has become obsessed with her mower and keeping it in the best shape possible.

Following some lawnmower troubles, Fredi Stangland has become obsessed with her mower and keeping it in the best shape possible.

Obsession has come upon me. I think of little now but my mower. When I drive by a lawn that is being mowed, or see a mower sitting out after fighting its battle with the enemy grassland, I look at it in admiration and note what a fine job it has accomplished. It has done its duty and now basks in glory until put to bed in the barn, or shed, to rest and prepare for its next battle with the lowly, though powerful green giant. I really admire and respect a lawn mower as never before. If there is no mower to view, I look at the lawn. A lawn tells a lot about the mower and user too. I imagine I know what the user must be like if the lawn looks like a golf course, a hay field, or in between.

Perhaps time management, poor health, or worst of all the complete dislike for the lawn and little respect for the sturdy steed lawn mower waiting at the ready to do its part in conquering the green giant. Let us hope for an epiphany for this user of the mower. We have come a long way from the scythe and scissors. The mower has elevated our moods and expectations to another level of possibility of what is obtainable in lawn care. It is an exciting feeling to know that between you, the user, and your mighty mower, and the green giant in symphony can and will lead your lawn to a state capable of greater enjoyment. This is where all three of you, you the user, the mower, and the green giant create a living space for your family, friends and neighbors to enjoy at a level never available before. Working together to achieve a better and increased usefulness provides the fuel to keep the user satisfied and willing to continue to keep being better or even increase as success prevails. I’m hooked.

Throughout my life I have mowed all kinds of lawns, big and tiny, with a variety of grasses or other groundcovers that we pretended to be grass, with a very wide variety of mowers. I can say I have mowed a large sized lawn with a push mower. I mean the old fashioned push mower where men have withered under her staunchness to allow her blades to be pushed and spun to give a great cut — you had to be able to take the beating. The lawn was about 1 ½ to just under 2 acres. It was my dear lawn of origin. She was always the best lawn I ever mowed. However, all the family before me had coddled her, fed her garbage where it could not be seen or smelled and rotated the garden spot every year or so. She was never walked on when wet and mowing was never allowed until it was dry enough. She was groomed(raked) and not allowed to have any tool or toy sit upon her when not is use. She was The Queen Lawn. Several generations before me and my family she was cleared of woodland, a cabin built, then a house, then she became the home of a fruit tree nursery. By that time she was not only lived on by a big house, but a barn and horses, who were the Briggs and Strattons of their day, who walked upon her and left her richness to continue her fertility.

Before I married and left my home of origin, my father had a rider mower. I am sure he thought he had arrived. My husband and I moved with various jobs throughout the US during his working years. Some places it would be stretching the truth to say you had mowed, as there was only sand, with grass or weed patches. We usually used whatever came with the house and used that mower, unless there were mechanicals that were too expensive to fix. As the children came along and grew, my husband would teach each one how to mow the lawn. I cannot say any of the children cared for mowing in any way, only to say that it was done and over — like any bad experience.

Now with children gone I am back to being my lawn’s primary caretaker. The lawn is about 1 ½ to just under 2 acres, as I eyeball it. The entire area grows over an old lake basin, so sand is under everything, providing good drainage, but not as nutrient rich as the lawn of origin. I try to feed her garbage where it will not be seen or smelled and work it in as I can with a shovel. There are no chemicals used here — nor were there at my lawn of origin. The land has enough to cope with. As I like to eat, I am always trying to find ways to assist our pollinators do their jobs as they have had a rough few years. Without them our tables would certainly lack bounty.

In the backyard I have a very large “nature garden’’.” It is never touched or mowed. I did scatter seed milkweeds and a couple of milkweed patches have started to grow for a couple of years now. I researched a new movement that came to the US from the UK after starting there as a way to help pollinators get more food in the spring, when it is the leanest. The movement, “NO Mow May,” was tried by me this May in the front yard. Basically you do not mow for the month of May, so pollinators get more food. At the end of May, you could continue, or simply resume mowing the yard.

For me in my situation, “No Mow May,” in the front yard did not work well. The shrubs that were grown and bloomed in May to provide pollen could not be accessed by the pollinators as the lawn had gone rogue and aggressively grew over the shrubs. I have decided that my backyard contribution will be all I can do at this time for the pollinators.

Now the problem at hand was getting very ugly. I had no big beefer mower that could cut the front yard and Memorial Day was days away. An old neighbor stopped in and saved the day with his mower who are both professionally employed in lawn care. After that I took over the lawn mowing. I mowed twice and then I could not start the mower. A call to a local lawn mower repair who gave advice that worked and I was back in the saddle again until I stopped the mower to go and grab my garden gloves. I called him again, but this time it was dead by the front door. I tried everything he said but it was down in another area. It was nearly a month now and I had now been able to mow and the weather was calling for rain at night. Another old neighbor stopped in and after hearing my story, asked if he could help or just look at it. I said “yes.” After several tries when he came back with it, it works like the wind.A simple kill switch in the seat was not allowing the motor to be started.

To make a long story of angst over my mower not being able to start, I have become obsessed with my mower and keeping her in the best shape possible. I love that mower and sure do miss it when she is under the weather. So if you think this can’t happen to you — it can. I never thought I would feel this way over a mower either — but her and I are the best of friends imaginable now.

I am obsessed with her!

Happy summer and garden on!

Master gardener Fredi Stangland resides in Medina.

Master gardener Fredi Stangland resides in Medina.

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