Fun with yardwork

Those of you who do not know, when it comes to buying things- anything- Clint and I are ridiculously particular. We (mostly I) have to do comprehensive research on prices, rankings and consumer reviews. We (usually Clint) have to consider or see every one of something we can, which often includes trips around town to every store that might carry that item or a similar one, and/or we look at everyone online store we can find. It probably has something to do with the mixture of researcher and artist, but either way the combination makes for a very lengthy decision-making process. I’d like to say that this holds true for only big purchases, but we literally put this much thought into just about every purchase we make. (You should see us scrutinize the lightbulb decisions). That is part of the challenge in our Project, but when a decision is finally made, it is typically joyous, if for no other reason that we know we have made the most informed decision possible.

All that came to a head yesterday when we went and bought what I am modestly considering the greatest mower ever. I seriously didn’t think that I would find myself so elated over a yard appliance, but once we wheeled it out into our yard, and saw our jungle grass get shorter right before our eyes- it was like magic. It’s electric meaning the only maintenance is the occasional blade sharpening. It’s very light so that we don’t get pushed or pulled down the hill in the front (which we quickly found out was very steep). It has a battery so that there’s no pollution generated from it, and there’s no cord we run the risk of running over. And to make the deal even sweeter (as if it needed to be) we found it locally at a store that was selling it at a significantly discounted price because it was their floor model.It literally is so easy, and light, and quiet that it is pretty much like using a vaccume cleaner. But also- it's pretty.


It inspired me to pull weeds, clean off the back porch, and make the yard look like the house wasn’t abandoned or infiltrated with transients and squatters. Of course all that will be destroyed when we decided to break up the concrete sidewalk with brick mortared in, but that’s another project for another day. For now I’m off to Battle Creek, MI to lead a conference breakout session on achieving equitable education. I’m not sure how anyone decided I was an expert, but I’ll be playing one for a few hours anyhow. Wish me luck!