Why I Don't Like to Mow the Lawn, Why I Should and Why I Do

Mowing is a pretty good workout, and Lord knows I need those.  But I love our lawn when it is right on the verge of being out of control wild - like a mini prairie in the suburbs.  I love watching what comes up when finally given a chance to grow.  I feel like I get a better sense of what is in my yard hibernating, waiting for the right opportunity to thrive.  

Then the reality hits the fan - I've let this prettiness go on too long.  It is no longer on the edge of being out of control.  Now the charming little mounds of grass are so dense at their bases, they reduce my lawn mower to a choking, sputtering mess.  The stalling and restarting turns my one hour job into a four hour one.  Aw crap.

Also to be considered - my dog, Manny, a 16 and a half pound sprinting wonder.  His attempts to navigate grass and weeds much taller than himself don't make for a great time playing and running.  He gives up and stops showing interest in going out back.
Our neighbor comes over one morning - "Ya got snakes in yer yard."  Oh, right, we live in South Carolina.  I forgot all about copperheads.  Yeah, those make for quite a sting.  Hmmm.  Well, as it turns out, our neighbor informed us we had two black snakes runnin' around out there.  Even though black snakes are less scary, I started to visualize them downing Manny.  That very day I donned my mowing around snakes outfit and trudged out back to start my adventure.  Four hours later I wondered - did our neighbor just make that snake thing up because he was sick of looking at our crazy yard?  If so, good job!  Lawn is officially back down to suburban standards. If I didn't have snake fear, I would have just mowed pretty paths through the grass.  

Also, Manny is now very happy.  

Manny should have been the real reason I mowed, but instead I had to wait and then finally succumb to peer pressure and fear tactics to get my yard "presentable."  Next time - FOR MANNY!