the march of progress

August 24th, 2006 | Uncategorized

before and after

I got a lawnmower. A guy down the road said he could refurbish one for me for fifty bucks. He didn’t think the scythe was such a good idea. And I didn’t think the goat was such a good idea.

So I terrorized a beautiful snake and countless frogs, I cut down the stand of Queen Anne’s lace, the peppermint that had run amok, the bright jewelweed. And now my lush, verdant lawn is a brownish field of stubble strewn with unseemly clods of chewed up grass.

But despite the tingling in my hands and the lingering aroma of gasoline, I feel strangely virtuous. Maybe next I’ll tackle my email backlog.

10 Responses to “the march of progress”

  1. Deb says:

    I had to chuckle with your triumph over the lawn. Don’t you just love the smell of fresh mowed grass/plants etc? Maybe it’s time for a picnic under that nice tree? Glad you used a refurbished mower instead of the scythe and goat.

  2. Dweeb says:

    Good job, Alison. I’m quite familiar with the unseemly clods of mown grass, as a neighbor kid mows my yard but never rakes it. At some point you can move up to a mower with a bag on the back. Always good to have goals.

  3. Leslie says:

    So Butch!

  4. Dale says:

    Gotta love lawn mowing!

  5. Deb says:

    Oh, and good luck with the email backlog.

  6. Katrina says:

    hi, I’ve never commented on your blog before, but the picture of you halfway through mowing your lawn was too adorable to pass up. I understand the feeling entirely. One’s lawn can only get so overgrown before the neighbors start blaming you for lowering the property value on their houses.

  7. Leslie says:

    sorry, missed the powder blue clogs.

    SO JAUNTY!

  8. Justus says:

    That’s where Stu’s shoes came from! 😉

  9. Elaine says:

    (much belated due to moving to uni, but…) The goat not a good idea?! well, heke, theres gratitude(!) Only trying to help 🙂

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