Keeping It Reel

A couple weeks ago, I got a cheap reel mower – just to see what it would be like. I used it maybe twice around the house to do a little trimming – definitely nothing major. Last night, the grass was ready to be mowed and when I flicked the switch to turn on the powered riding tractor, nothing. Total deadness. I asked hubby if he knew anything about it and he didn’t. He was baffled too. “Now what?” ” I thought. We aren’t going to be home Wednesday eve and the grass could wait until Thursday, but will the mower be fixed? Probably not. Crap! I spied the reel mower in the corner of the garage with this big shitty grin on its face. “Ok….. it’s time to really test you out.” 1.5 hours later, I was SOOO tired, shaky, dehydrated, and generally totally whooped that I could barely drag the mower back into the garage. Now THAT is a workout! I only did the sections where the grass grows thick and I can see I’ll have to get back to the other sections fairly quickly ‘cause the reel pushes extra hard in longer grass. All in all, I enjoyed it – if I had more time to walk back and forth for a couple hours. This may be my mowing of choice once I retire, but it really eats up precious time when you work, garden, kayak, and ride bike the majority of your waking hours. Excellent workout – and no gas used!