Red 'n Shiny: Part 1

Look what we bought! For all kinds of reasons... primarily because our old mower was having "issues". Like not mowing well (at all!!) and being so bloody hard to push I thought I'd kill myself mowing the lawn and I actually am one of the very few remaining people who admits to LIKE mowing the lawn.(*1) So a new mower it is!
But the way we paid for the mower was another story. I would have happily used my/our bank debit card as that way it's paid for, no bill arrives in the mail and that's that. But earlier in the week, I had received a surly missive from Chase Bank stating that my credit limit was being lowered because I didn't use the card. (Which made no sense at all and I worried my credit would be "dinged".) After several wasted hours of attempting to call them ("Due to COVID 19, our call centers are staffed at lower levels..") and "visit the website" which only circled me around and around with nothing resembling what I need to know at all) I vowed to visit in person our local branch. I called to get the hours of operation and was apprised of the intelligence that due to COVID 19, this branch was only open for safe deposit boxes. I was losing it at this point and was ready to cancel the card (which would have "dinged" my credit...) but I actually reached a representative on yet another phone call. He basically informed me that because I had called, my credit limit would not be lowered (*2) and that I should USE THE CARD. Hence purchasing the mower with the Visa...
Anyway, the mower is a swell addition to our arsenal of power tools. We're keeping the old mower to do rough stuff like run over rocks and mow the horse field. We haven't had to use it yet as we had just mowed the lawn (based on Bob's Moon Calendar so as to inhibit new growth) but I'm actually anticipating a glorious, effortless experience. This new has many bells and whistles: it's self propelled and has an electric starter (no more chord pulling!) and bags and mulches and will probably sing us to sleep, too.

(*1) I realize there are all kinds of (almost) political and moral reasons for despising lawns nowadays. The main one is that so many people use lawn chemicals to attain that perfect greensward, and often the lawn is a bizarre mono-crop and unhealthy to begin with. We will never apply evil chemistry to our lawn, which remains a lovely and durable carpet of clover, dandelions, various plantains, knuckleheads, and other denizens of the so-called broad leaf weeds so reviled by turf purists. But I also remain entirely in the camp that asserts nothing sets up a garden bed better than a lovely green lawn.
(*2) These are the things that drive me crazeee. (Quoting Big Audio Dynamite (*3)). So my credit score- if lowered- could be re-raised but I'd have to under go a new credit check and that would "ding" my credit. And we all know that the credit card company is hoping that we'll use their card, carry a balance and wrack up those charming fees that make them money.
(*3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy44Fm-CS04&t=50s

What We Do For Fun, Part 102

This is Maggie the Mexican Pony's field. At first glance, this may seem pretty- all those dainty white flowers. And they are pretty: millions of tiny stiff asters... which Maggie won't eat. I proposed to Bob that I would mow the field and eliminate the flowers, before they set seed.

No, we don't have a huge brush hog or a tractor or even a riding lawn mower. We have a simple push mower and Bob has a weed whacker. Together, we decided to conquer the "Back Forty". For scale, here's the lawn mower in context:

That's the lawn mower, and by the time I had taken this picture, we'd mowed and whacked nearly half the field. Not an easy task but the day was pleasantly cool/warm and the bugs weren't bad. It's sort of like that classic Barbara Kruger piece, "It's a small world until you have to clean it". Things get bigger as you push equipment through it.

Right in the middle of the field, there is a mysterious area with dead grass in it. It's about the size of a large dining table and appears to have been burned. Weird. Maybe the aliens have landed here in their miniature space ship in attempt to create our very own Area 51. We may never know!
Anyway, we did about 2/3 of the pasture in two rounds this afternoon, before and after coffee. Bob weed whacked the edge of the field so that the electric fence would once more work. Here he is, again, with a helpful pink arrow pointing at him in the distance:

 You can see the area (dimly) to the right where we haven't mowed yet. Maybe tomorrow? Can't do everything in one afternoon!

That's a zoomed in version of Bob weed whacking, with a pile of fire wood waiting to be rescued. That was one of the several reasons we had for clearing the field. This pile of wood has been there since last last spring, before the tornado. We've had so many other stacks, heaps, piles and mounds of wood that this was not a big priority. But we needed to clear so that we could drive the truck down into the pasture and move the wood. I'm waiting until cooler weather so as not to disturb hornets, snakes and other varmints who may be hiding out!

Better Late Than Not At All

Another first! Bob went out and bought our very first purchased lawn mower. We've had at least four or five mowers over the last 20 (very) odd years, but they'd all been bequeathed to us by family, friends or celebrities. Our last mower died last fall and we relied on Crisco the Stallion to mow the lawn- which, to his credit, he did a lovely job (maybe the only think he did well besides spook...). Anyway, I haven't had the time or the temporary fence posts to move the fence around for Maggie yet so Bob and I were watching the grass get shaggier and shaggier.
Bob took the initiative and made the big acquisition on Monday so that when I arrived home from work, he'd already mowed around the clothes line and the vegetable garden. I mowed around the flower beds last night after a long day of planting up a storm.

(Pictured is my now historic gardening hat. While out tilling the Good Earth, I think it important to remind people of the egregious crimes wrought upon our nation and the world by previous administrations. I am assuming that half of our country probably doesn't even remember Dick...)

Here's a happier photo of one of the arrangements I made for a container announcing the White Garden Area. (Did I already share this picture? Someone please tell me as I've been so busy and feel so behind that I may be repeating myself. But it does look good!) I planted over two full flats of annuals yesterday and despair of finding several key players in my borders- specifically Nicotiana Sylvestris and (real) Tithonia. (You may recall the debacle that occurred last year when I planted Tithonia that just got bigger and weedier and never bloomed; what a travesty!) And please don't remind me of my own sloth; I simply didn't get around to planting the above cited annuals and am now in deep regret. If anyone spies these two plants on trips to garden centers, send me a heads up.
The weather has sort of cooperated; it's muggy but good for transplanting. I have been so "on task" that I almost forgot to notice the plants flowering really handsomely. The tall bearded Iris are great this year. I have to remember to label the so I can move some into parts of the borders, out of the cut flower area. A low blue mat-forming plant called Lithodora is spectacular- so deep blue with almost juniper like foliage. My Delphinium are in bud and I'm waiting for a few other things to pop. I guess it;s a reminder to stop and smell the roses!