Lawn Care

When we first moved into this house last June, MWW was really excited about getting a lawnmower. I wasn't too worried because we had friends from church a couple of doors down who would definitely lend us theirs if push came to shove. Well, MWW went online and ordered a rotary cutter mower on the Internet. You know the ones--stereotypical lawnmowers from the 1950s--no gasoline needed, just manpower.

I laughed and said, "That's because I'll never have to mow the lawn, right?" Admittedly, I do have some pretty nasty grass allergies and only ever had to mow the lawn at home a handful of times growing up before we got the riding mower and I wanted to mow the lawn. But this was no riding mower, and at the time I was seven months pregnant. MWW reassured me that he would take care of the lawn, no probs. So upon moving into the house, the outside became his domain and the inside became mine, for the most part.

Then he joined the National Guard in August. And he left (for five weeks now) for training in February for the duration of the spring and early summer.

Do you know what happens in the spring time? Yes, grass and weeds grow. And do you know what has to happen to those things? They need to be cut. And et. (As in the past tense of "weed eat" is "weed et" when using a weedeater. "Weed ate" just doesn't sound right for some reason..haha.)

And let's face it, we live in suburbia--on a corner lot, no less--so there's a little pressure about keeping the lawn looking at least moderately nice. There's a homeowner's association, anyway. Last year, since we moved in late in the season, the grass got cut regularly, but the weeds in the flower beds became too much, so we just avoided them. Not this year. This year we have to get it right. But I was still in denial a little bit when we up and left for Virginia this last weekend, with all these tall, grassy weeds and purple flowers taking over my front lawn.

Eli had told me about using a pre-emergent weedkiller/fertilizer, but I just don't have that kind of time while working full time and having two children under two. So I started looking into Spring-Green and TruGreen lawncare (local companies that are each other's competition) for weed and fertilization help. And I found a killer deal, pun intended. Spring-Green had the cheapest prices to begin with, plus they have an overall discount if you pay up front for the year. And then, after the guy came out and gave me a free estimate, he also informed me of their military discount! I always forget to ask about military discounts, so it was above and beyond for him to offer up that information. I talked it over with MWW and he agreed that we should go ahead and do it. When we came back from VA, they had already been here to do the first application, so I'll let you know how it goes.

Another fabulous surprise for us when we returned is that our neighbors (a military family themselves) had come over and mowed our lawn while the kids and I were away. He had warned me not to be surprised if I saw him in our backyard one day. What a blessing. What a relief. ("You have a big yard." -Mr. Neighbor)

In two weeks, the in-laws are coming to help with more of the lawn care, planting trees and preparing flower beds, etc. I hope the weather is good. MWW will be happy to know that his Charlie Brown-reminiscent peach tree has pretty pink flowers on it (it's only 3 feet tall...).




Ah, spring t....ah-choo. Time. :)