Well, we finally used it. As you may remember, my dad was kind enough to give us his gas mower since we had none. We tried and tried and couldn't get the dang thing started, so I was going to chuck it and buy electric. After talking to Harlan, we decided the smarter thing to do was to invite my dad over to coax the machine into life. Especially since the back 40 had gotten so long we could barely see our littliest dog when he was out there.

Saturday morning dawned sunny and warm and I went over to pick up my folks. Dad couldn't wait to get to work on the mower so he and my husband immediately took it out back. While Dad removed the spark plug, Harlan got the gas ready to "prime" it. Sure enough, after a few tugs of the rope the motor roared to life. And roar it did, although Harlan assured me later that it wasn't really as loud as I thought it was.

While my husband and I took turns mowing the lawn, my dad supervised. Every once in awhile, the motor would die from the high grass and he was right there to get it started again. After about 40 minutes, the lawn looked great and we were ready to rest.

My mom and dad enjoyed their visit. Mom sat in the swing by the pool and looked around, clucking the same chant I mentioned in a previous article "you've sure got your work cut out for you." But all in all, I'd say she had a grand time.

I don't know if I'll continue to use this mower for the rest of the cutting season or not. But what I do know is it sure felt good hanging out with my folks on a sunny, warm Saturday morning in our backyard. Happy Gardening.