What is the fascination with mowing?

We have a super healthy lawn and DH sometimes has to mow it more than once a week. We also have a large garden and flowerbeds, so it's not like everything is "the lawn".

One of our farm neighbors owns on the other side of the creek and she's out there everyday weedeating, or cleaning out some creek weeds, or mowing. I think she does it for the fun of it.

TallPines, I wanna be like your mother when I grow up!

I've noticed that, when mowing, the guineas swarm around the mower and are busily eating *something*. It's probably those dratted ticks!

I like mowing. It looks nice, keeps down the weeds and keeps the fire hazard down. I mow as much as I can of our 7 acres at the farm, and of course our yard at home. A fresh mowed lawn looks so good.
We used to hay on shares when we first bought the farm, but quit when the other people planted their own alfalfa field.
We don't have a tractor or the stuff needed to cut, rake and bale, and are down to 1 horse, so we don't need much now.

I think lots of people find it peaceful,like rideing the Harley,just you and the open road. Who can yell at ya, for doing "nothing". Now me I like to drive it as fast as I can, wizzing arround things, kinda like Nascar.

We mow around the house ,wood pile area and gardens to keep away weeds, ticks and prevent fires by the house and barn. But we have tried to keep it to a mininum.We always say lawn mowing for hours is a waste of valuble time. Some times we tie the horse in the yard and let him mow. Then we just even the grass up with the lawn mower. Sheep also make good lawn mowers.

My husband hates mowing grass but loves mowing hay! Hay we need for animals but I admit I love the clacking sound of the old horse drawn mower. I'm allergic to the sweet fresh smell of newly cut hay but love it anyway.

Where I live, nothing says "I have made it, I am rich" more than a vaste, rolling lawn. It says "I am not a poor, struggling farmer, I live in the country because I can afford to live ANYWHERE!".

Status symbols make me feel uncomfortable, actually. I admire the beauty of these broad green acres, but, my OWN yard has a garden that is neat (for a change) and a thicket of fruit trees. I should have apricots for the first time, so I think I will dehydrate some. And, I expect the kids to set up an honor booth on the front lawn, since the job market is so poor this summer. I do not believe that teens should be idle: bored teens get into trouble too easily!

I agree! Nothing keeps the kids out of sight as much as seeing the Mom doing work!

I never understood mowing.

I never enjoyed it as a teen, and in the many places we lived during my career we tried to avoid mowing whenever possible.

Now on a homestead we do not mow.

We have no lawn.

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The guy next door is obsessed with his yard. He has a riding mower...in town...which explains his huge belly. Well, that and the beer. He mows a minimum of twice a week and sometimes three times. He even has a full size tractor with attachments. I saw him moving some dirt around the other day. Where I would use a shovel and wheelbarrow, he was sitting on his bulbous rump driving around with a bucket on the front of the tractor. There's something seriously wrong with that guy if you ask me. I never mow. Of course that's because we have a lawn care service who does it for me. Now before anyone jumps on that, let me explain. I have free lawn care in my lease. I didn't ask for it, that's just the way it was. Funny since these are the same people who charge me an extra $50 a month to use the attached garage.

Nomad

well my lawns are mostly driveways or walkways between my gardens..although some are good sized none are "special"..they are all high traffic areas...and grass is easier to keep in those areas than mulch or gravel or whatever..as i just mow over the weeds.

my son has a larger lawnish area next door to us as do our neighbors on the other side..and they do spend more time mowing..i can do my entire lawn/paths in 1 1/2 to 2 hours with a walk behind push/power mower...and that will last me a good week or more.

we have a rider but my husband is mentally disabled and doesn't often feel like doing anything and my son will ride around on it occasionally and when he does he'll zip through some of my path/lawns for me..but i'm not into things that move under me smaller than a car or larger than a truck

Here in the mountain west, people mow regularly to reduce risk from wildfire.

A Pastor friend of mine, a very, very busy and caring man, mows his yard because it refreshes him and lets him have an hour or two just by himself now and then.


stef

Depends on your living situation. During the summer months a nice mowed lawn is great for the kids, BBQ space, badmitten, volleyball, horseshoes, and a slew of other things, granted you don't need to keep ten acres neatly mowed for that.

Mostly it is a city folk lawn and garden thing. My property butts up against woods that county/state limits the clearing of, limited gardening from all the shade and ticks are horrible. ----es me off when I ride past those rich folks home with acres and acres of open lawn they aren't doing a blasted thing with.

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I mow for two reasons--fire/vermin suppression and to collect mulch like grass clippings and leaves in the fall. Since the mower that had the grass catcher on it bit the dust and we were misled as to the price of a grass bagger for the replacement, I hate mowing. Now instead of collecting mulch, it lies on the ground as a tinder source if we did have a fire. Yes, I know I could put on a mulching blade but that take me far more time as our grass is thick.

I'm not sure what some people are using, but the smell of a chemical used on some of the lawns actually was burning the inside of my nose as I walked by.

My lawn... I mow about once every 3 weeks and can stretch that out more in Sept-Oct.

Ah! Mowed yesterday-tractor & bush hog-for 4 1/2 hrs. Bliss! (what IS it anyway??? Hypnotic? "sputsputsput"? "In" control???

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yeah, i think that's what it is .i'm in control on that big machine.probably hypnotic too. i can't wait to get my flowers all transplanted today and tomorrow so i can head out again and do the other half. ~Georgia.

I hire a mowing crew. Then I trim it up alittle.

I totally agree!!

When I'm on the mower the kids can't nag or bug me! They can't ask me to wipe their butts, fix their food or the other thousand things they need me to do every minute of every day. On the mower I can do this thing called THINKING. I can actually have an uninterrupted thought or two! :baby04: I can mentally plan out my day, week, month and sometimes a whole years worth of things like craft projects, renovations or vacations!

That being said, we have 4.75 acres and we live 'in town' so we do have to keep it short and sweet, but I'd mow even if we were out in the country. I just like my place to look neat and cared for.

Just hired a neighbor to brushhog some of my pastures, as I couldn't even see my goats anymore! One pasture he couldn't hog because, stupidly enough, *I* didn't put a large enough gate in the fenceline!

So, I just got back in from mowing a path thru the un-hogged pasture for my goats! On my little bitty rider mower. Are they spoiled, or what? And, yes, it was mesmerizing, doing the mowing. I hate, hate, hate the chore, but once I'm on it, I don't know when to quit.

Time to stop rambling. . . .