Jul 24, 2019

Homestead Chronicles - New Toys, Gifts, and Greenery

A couple months ago, I decided to retire my Cub Cadet lawnmower that was given to me.  A refurbished mower that resulted from a dumpster dive.  It's jury-rigged to 'electric' start by attaching clamps to a motorcycle battery.  It's worked well for the past 7 or 8 years, however last year the starter became harder and harder to get going.


After some research, I bought a new lawnmower that is self-propelled and had an actual real electric start. Over the past couple years, I've had difficulty getting a pull-start mower started.  Getting old sucks is not for the faint of heart.


I purchased a Toro Personal Pace.  It's a mulcher and has a bagger.  Not only is it electric start and self-propelled, it determines the speed according to how fast or slow the 'driver' is walking.  I even tested it by running around the yard with it, LOL!  It does indeed keep up.  I mow every week and haven't had to re-charge the electric start battery yet.  I'm thrilled with my new mower!  My only complaint is that the front end is on the light side weight-wise and tends to tip up a bit when going over lumps and bumps in the yard.


All electric start mowers have a safety feature whereby a bar needs to be engaged in order to start the mower.  The downside to this is that if the bar is released then the mower shuts down.  Annoying if you have to bend down to pick up branches or trash from the yard.  Back in the day, I was chit-chatting with my Dad about it and he tied an old shoe string on my Cub Cadet.  So, when I got the Toro, I removed Dad's shoestring and put it on it.  It's a reminder of how smart he was at hack solutions. :)

A while back, I received some beautiful gifts from India.  My friend, Akila from Mostly Cross Stitch and More, sent me beaded ornaments and a set of four little vases.  The ornaments are so pretty and oh-my the vases are adorable!


Thank you Akila and V!

I haven't had the gumption desire to do any gardening since my parents passed away five years ago.  This year, I made up several planters with flowers, tomato plants, and basil.  They are coming along quite nicely.  I have two large 24" long planters with beautiful molded designs on the front. I put quite a few plants in each one.


A month and half later, they filled in quite nicely.


Last year, I saw a 3-tiered planter at my local Aldi store.  I didn't get it when I saw it and when I went back, they were all sold.  At Aldi, you never know if they'll get seasonal items like again.  When I saw they had them back in stock this year, I grabbed one up and filled it with flowers.  It fits nicely in a little alcove I have next to the side entrance steps.


The basil grows profusely and is so fragrant when harvested.  I ate my first cherry tomato off the vine yesterday. It was SO good!



Until Next Time...

11 comments:

ndavis said...

So good to hear from you again Meari, I've missed your blogging. What a great idea you dad had and I know you will think about him every time you mow. Love what you did with the planters. They look great!
Nan

Anonymous said...

Great blog, Meari. Love the vases from India. I'd be afraid to use them for anything though. Great job with your planters. I love the three tiered one. I'm glad you were able to find it again this year. The flowers look lovely in it.

Dorrie

Deb said...

Your plants are beautiful!! Vases are lovely. What a sweet friend. Good luck with tour new mower. How nice to be able to reuse your dads shoelace.

butterfly said...

Your garden pots look wonderful.
Enjoy your day.

Anonymous said...

Your planters look fantastic, Meari, as do the gifts from your friend. I'm glad you're able to enjoy some more pleasant weather these days. After 100 degree days over the weekend, we've had some more pleasant days in the upper 80s, low 90s this week. It's been a nice change.

Sandy in NM

Robin in Virginia said...

Your planters and plants are looking great. That trio tower looks good in your corner spot. May your new mower bring you years of pleasure! You received some lovely things from your friend in India. Enjoy your day!

Anonymous said...

Love your update Meari

I can relate to you about loosing interest in your garden after your parents died. I did the same but with a 2 and a half acre garden nature took it back in 6 months but it took me two years to bring it back into some sort of order.

I love your 3 tier planter. I will have to see if I can get one in the UK next year. Very rarely see anything like that in France.
Have a lovely day

Lots of love
Iris xxxxxxxxx

Anonymous said...

Glad you have finally got some nice weather that's not too hot and decent humidity. Your old lawn mower did well to last that long. The plants are looking good. Got to love the smell of basil.

Lynne

Rebecca said...

Your flowers are all so pretty! I love that planter I will have to see if my Aldi has them.
Rebecca

Pam in IL said...

So glad you found a mower you like. With my thoracic outlet syndrome, I always put a strap to hold the safety bar on my mowers. A few years ago you suggested adding a piece of memory foam to the handle. That has made a world of difference for me. I bought one of those memory foam bathmats and cut it to fit my handle and use velcro straps (the kind that hold cords) to keep it in place.

Katie said...

I bet your Dad is glad to have helped you out. We used to do that with ours we had like that. I love the vases. Beautiful. Great plants. We had so much water at planting time we just did planters for our tomatoes. They have been really coming on strong lately. Yum!