The Reel Deal

At least the grass is cut.

The front grass, anyway.

Oh, and by the way - the much hyped Reel mower is a giant pain in the ass. My yard is not designed for the Reel mower. Or is it the other way around? Anyway, the dips, ditches, hills, vole holes and horse chestnuts do not make the Reel mower happy.

A twig from the horse chestnut tree will stop the Reel in it's tracks and impale
me on the handle. Not to mention the odd mixture of grass, weeds, and hay(?) that grow in my yard. (what are those awful 'flowers' that have really woody stems, and a a blue-purple daisy flower? They are the devils weed...awful things) The Reel is prone to just bending the tall grass down, leaving many, many blades upcut, and springing upright after I pass. Which does not work with my compulsion to cut everything evenly and cleanly and STRAIGHT.

Then there's the workout factor. Cutting the quarter acre with the evil smoke belching gas mower from hell is enough of a workout, but holy damn! Mowing with the Reel ups the burn tenfold. It's bad enough that traffic slows to see the fat lady with the blue face cutting grass when I'm using the evil gas mower, but I draw the line when the paramedics park across the street when I trot out the Reel.

So the Reel is living in my dining room. Maxx has used it more than me. He's very fond of eating grass, so for weeks now, he's dined on the weeds that didn't get cut, but wrapped around the reel. How he gets his enormous head in between the blades (of the mower) to eat the weeds I'll never know. But the mower is clean as a whistle now. Not a weed stalk to be had. At least someone has gotten something out of the Reel.

Anyone want to buy a very low mileage Reel mower? I'm suppose I'm not true enough to the cause, because it's just too damn hard. Recycle everything? Sure. Take my own bags to the grocery? But of course. Buy local? Naturally. But it's insanity for me to attempt to mow my obstacle course of a yard with a Reel mower.