"First mowing of the year" Topic

Mowed the lawn this afternoon. All was going well until found evidence of the local canine population. Yeccch.

Thank I found some more, and some more.

Three piles in the yard. I'm just glad I didn't step in any of it. Why can't people just let their dogs crap in the street, or in their own damn yards?

I shudder to think what would have happened if my 2-year-old daughter had found the land mines before I did.

Dog Mines! Dog Mines!

I've got to get out and clear the debris from LAST FALL yet. And the day is beautiful! See you folks later.

No Dog Mines! I mowed my Mom's large lawns two weeks ago for the first time this year, and my lawns last week for the first time this year. The earliest I have mowed a lawn was the last week of March. It has to be very dry and warm for weeks for that to occur.

Just sat down from the 2nd mowing of the year. Didn't find any dog mines, but it still takes while to clear my daughter's toys off the back yard & my wife's gardening stuff off the front yard.

I used to have an issue mowing the fenced in area where our dogs do their thing. The boys were responsible for picking up and often did not do a good job. Now they are also responsible for mowing that area…

Too wet to mow the lawn here in the north of England…..I keep promising that I will do it on my days off and sure enough it rains on those days….The back garden is starting to take on a jungle like appearance…..

:-)

It's refreshing to hear that my home is not the only one which features many, many dog owners who are ignorant, inconsiderate s.

Here's a great ignorant dog owner story. A wonderful family next door to me moved a couple of years ago. They had a dog in a fenced in yard. A woman with three large dogs moved in. Her dogs were out baying constantly – it was so bad that my daughter had to go stay with her grandma (my mom) to be able to study for exams. This is anther example of inconsiderate dog owners – the killer was, she's the head of child protective services – this is someone who is involved with children's welfare and she can't even properly take care of her own dogs. A years worth of neigbours calling the police and animal services has finally forced this into being more responsible and the dogs are less a problem.

PS, I'm not tarring all dog owners with the same brush here, I'm talking about the ones who are truly inconsiderate s!
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Tim

Did mine a couple of weeks ago. Been too wet since.

Was able to get mine done last week. This is good because if I wanted to do it today I would have to shovel the snow off.

I don't have a lawn, but I do have a yard (which is a step above having a vacant lot), and I did mow it last weekend. I skipped this weekend, but I'll drag out the mower and get after it next weekend.

Oh yeah, my brother and I have begun a vegetable garden in the backyard. Tomatoes, squash, onions, and maybe (if it's not too late in the season) some potatoes.

Well I'm a gardener by profession so I got my first cut in weeks ago at work mind you it's a hell of a lot more fun cutting grass on a 18hp Husqvarna ride on mower than it is doing it at my house with poxy little electric mower. I can only assume that you guys across the pond don't put fences around your gardens/yards becuase theres no way dogs can get into my garden to leave me any little presents. Cats on the other hand…….

Rupert, you don't take a detour with the riding mower mid-afternoon to do your own yard? And we can fence our back yards, but most municipalities don't allow fencing on the front yard.

Haven't mowed yet, not because it doesn't need it, just been busy raking old leaves, gathering fallen branches, picking up the neighbors windblown trash and putting down weed control. I'm going to feel it tomorrow for sure….

I spent about 3 hrs working on my front yard yesterday. First real time I have had all year to do that, with the opening of my wifes salon this year. Needless to say I was pretty beat up last night. Yard looks decent though. No land mines though I did find what appeared to be either a dead rodent or bird.

Rupert, you don't take a detour with the riding mower mid-afternoon to do your own yard?

I would be tempted but as your average ride on mower does about 6MPH and I live about 7 miles from work it might be a bit tricky to explain to my co-workers:)

And we can fence our back yards, but most municipalities don't allow fencing on the front yard.

Ahh ok

just been busy raking old leaves, gathering fallen branches, picking up the neighbors windblown trash

sounds like you need to get a leafblower to me leaves more time for mini painting then:)

My yard mower just did ours too. Made me tired supervising her from the window. Then she came in and swept the carpet. Think I'll keep her. "Sigh" If only she could cook.

Still need to cut mine. Too much work, plus I'll need to get the damned mower started, always fun.

I love the smell of fresh cut grass on a ballfield or a pitch after the first cutting of spring.

As to inconsiderate dog owners – we have the two sides of our lot that border the road professionally landscaped and maintained. I'm amazed at the number of inconsiderate dog owners that think our lot is their dog's private crapper. People are so damned inconsiderate. We keep it nice so it makes for a good view as people walk or drive past. Lots of flowers and other interesting plants. Many of our plants are damned expensive – I get seriously miffed when someone lets Fluffy crap on a $40 USD Hellebore.

For me:
Front yard = neighbor's dog problem.
Back yard = alley cat problem.

Fear not gentle TMPers who want to mow their yard, I went camping this weekend for an Adventure Princess event (dads in the Y probably know about this) and one of the other dads there works in the franchise business. He said one of the largest growing franchise opportunities around is the pooper scooper business.

Front yard is not too bad, not enough of a dog density to create lasting messes. Back yard is more of a woodchuck problem. I might be able to cut the grass later this week.

Wow. I forget that in parts of the country this sort of stuff is seasonal. Even during the coldest days of "winter" we have our lawn mowed at least once a month, and honestly… it's usually twice a month. We've been back on a weekly schedule since February, I think (although we did miss two days in there because of rain).

Our yard crew comes on Fridays, by the way, and mows the front and back, sweeps up and bags all leaves and tree debris (we often get falling branches from the pines that tower overhead).

Oh, and I guess I should say that here, in Houston, it should hit 84F degrees today. However, this weekend was absolutely pleasant in the upper 70s.

We are still getting snow out here in Colorado. I am sick of winter.
STT

I got to the lawns about a month later than usual. That is the upside of a winter which has insisted on not going away.