First Mowing

[Fishindude77]

I guess it's officially spring.
Mowed the lawn this morning for first time this year. It was pretty rough looking, lots of clumps of high grass mixed with areas still not growing, but it's leveled up now and looks a far sight better.
Had a few downed trees and limbs to deal with as well.

Will clean up the garden and prep it next.

[Jluke]

I had to push mow a few sections the last 2-3 weeks.

I need to get out there today with the zero turn and do the rest of the yard. Yesterday was too cold (didn’t hit 50) and I won’t have time Mon/Tues and then we are looking at more rain after that.

[kork13]

Some find lawn care cathartic... I, however, absolutely detest mowing the lawn. It's one of the jobs that I will gleefully pay someone to take care of for me, so as not to waste the time, mess, and allergies on it. Tricky part is finding someone to handle it for my new house.... people move in & out so much here that you have to find someone new almost every year. On my 'To-Do' list.

[disneysteve]

Some find lawn care cathartic... I, however, absolutely detest mowing the lawn. It's one of the jobs that I will gleefully pay someone to take care of for me, so as not to waste the time, mess, and allergies on it. Tricky part is finding someone to handle it for my new house.... people move in & out so much here that you have to find someone new almost every year. On my 'To-Do' list.

I mowed my lawn for about the first 10 years we owned our house. Once I paid off my student loans, that was one of the first things I added to the budget - a landscaper. I hated mowing the lawn and honestly wasn't very good at it. I'd let it go a little too long and then it was a mess. Or it would rain on the day I was off to cut it. Or we'd go away for 2 weeks and it would be a jungle when we returned. I've got better things to do with my time and energy.

[Fishindude77]

We've got a big lawn area, takes about 2.5 hours on a 60" mower, then another half hour or so with the weed eater and blower to clean up.
Don't mind the work but by end of season I've had about enough of it.

After 40 years of dealing with employees, customers, vendors, etc. I enjoy simple outdoor work, manual labor, misc. building projects, etc.

[disneysteve]

After 40 years of dealing with employees, customers, vendors, etc. I enjoy simple outdoor work, manual labor, misc. building projects, etc.

Being someone who has always worked in an office setting, I like getting out and doing some manual labor, too, but not lawn mowing. I'll go out an prune the bushes and the dogwood tree on the front lawn and general yard clean up from fallen branches and such, but I drew the line at mowing the lawn. I'll get out the ladder and clean the gutters, too. I'm definitely not against the labor. I just hated doing the lawn.

[ua_guy]

It's been cool here. We paid to have the yard cleaned up and landscaping pruned and readied for spring. Last week we got a dry day or two and I did weed control. Lots of little starts trying to come up in the gravel driveway and landscaped/bedded areas. Went through 30 gallons of weed killer with a 5 gallon backpack sprayer.

The grass hasn't quite perked up yet fully, but the mower is ready. Fresh maintenance. This would be the year I'd buy a riding mower...takes me about 2.5 hours to mow with a 21" blade...except we're kind of sick of this. 20 years of living in the woods and owning homes with stupid maintenance requirements. Why? lol.

[Jluke]

In our neighborhood we all have about 0.67 acres.

Almost everyone has a lawn service except a few of us.

As far as I am aware the minimum is $80 per week. I had been quoted $130 per week 6 years ago. But most people use the same company so they get a lower rate I guess.

I have to cut my lawn every 5 days so if I waited weekly the grass would just get too long for my liking. And I don’t want to spend $400 per month when it takes me about an hour.

[scfr]

When we built our new-ish house, we knew we wanted a no-mow, low-water, low-maintenance yard. The yard is fairly small, front is all landscaped, and the hill in the back was seeded with red fescue that we let fill in naturally. It doesn't look at all manicured, offers a nice transition between house and the wild-looking natural green/wet space behind our house, provides erosion control, the rabbits and pollinators love it, and the dog can go do her business without us worrying about dead patches.

We've done the super-manicured look and it can be quite lovely in some surroundings and be a source of pleasure for those who enjoy the work, but as we get older we don't want it.

Congrats to OP on getting the big job finished. While I would not want a big lawn to mow, I do envy & admire your garden and the fresh, healthy bounty it provides.

[myrdale]

I've been mowing mine in North West Georgia for about 4 weeks now.

I've got Zoysia grass for the most part. The first two mows I did within less than a week on the lowest setting. The zoysia had just started to green but had not taken off yet. The third mow was week before last, again scalping it. The I put out weed & feed. Last week was the fourth mow. I've upped it to the second from lowest setting. I'll do that weekly for a couple of weeks, then move up to the next height and maintain that for the rest of the year.

I also plan on dethaching in a couple of weeks.

Its only 1/2 an acre of grass, about 45 minutes most push mowing.

[bjl584]

I just mowed my grass for the first time today.
Next will be mulch, sealing the driveway, painting the front porch, and probably a million other things.
Ah Spring.....