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Monday, April 15, 2013

How Many of You Remember These Push Mowers?

Push Lawn Mower - Free Clipart

Growing up on the farm, we used to take turns mowing the big yard at our grandparent’s house in the summers. They lived up the gravel road from us in the typical white farmhouse.


We spent a lot of time at their house when school was out. We helped Mamaw in the garden, churned butter on the front porch, used the grinder to grind up corn for the baby chicks, and got our turn at pushing the lawn mower. We thought all these chores were fun in those days. I’m not exactly sure why, but none of us ever complained about doing anything. In fact, we couldn’t wait until it was our turn to push this lawn mower.

We would sit on the porch, swat the flies with homemade fly swatters, and wait for our turn to come up. The summers were very hot because of all the humidity. Everybody always went around with beads of sweat on our faces. Flies and knats were thick in the air. We just chalked it up to one of the unpleasant facts that came along with summer. It wasn’t until I moved away, as an adult, that I realized summer wasn’t like that everywhere.

Once the chores were finished, we would play in the yard, the smell of new-mown grass fresh in the air. We used to get grass clippings all over us. They would stick to the sweat, the same as the fragments of the corn would when we rode in the back of the corn wagon during harvest. It would itch like the devil, but we didn’t mind, and always rushed to the wagon whenever we could.

When I think back to that life today, I think we were always looking for something exciting to do. Anything out of the ordinary was exciting to us because we never left the farm much, except to attend school. We wanted the summer to go on forever, but of course, it never did.

10 comments:

  1. My dad talks about having to use that old kind of lawnmower all the time. Now we have the one you can drive. Very convenient.

    Happy A to Z blogging.
    pensuasion.blogspot.com

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  2. Hi S.L.

    Thanks for reading and posting. Of course, we kids thought this mower was great. I even had one as an adult years ago that I got at a garage sale for about five bucks. The lawn was very small, so no big deal to mow it with that. We have an electric one now, but you still push it. The lawn isn't big enough to justify a riding mower.

    Sunni

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  3. never seen a pushmower before, but I sure wouldve liked to try one out:)

    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nutshell,

    Really? You've never seen one? We kids thought they were fun.

    Thanks for reading and commenting. I'll check out your link later today.

    Sunni

    ReplyDelete
  5. I remember those push mowers. The blades had to be kept sharp or the didn't work well. You certainly got a work out with them. I still hang my clothes on the line, when I can. There is nothing like the smell of line dried laundry.
    Great posts.
    Kathy at Oak Lawn Images

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    Replies
    1. Kathy,

      Thanks for reading and commenting.

      Yes, those blades had to be sharp or it was tough going.

      Line dried laundry has that special fresh smell.

      Sunni

      Delete
  6. Hey, I lived on a farm as a kid too! Ours was very different though. We didn't have grass around the house. It was all dirt and rocks. :)

    #atozchallenge, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kristen,

      I didn't know you lived on a farm. I kind of thought that farm living was a thing of the past.

      Ours was a cotton farm. The only grass was in my grandparents yard. We had rock and dirt around our house. My grandparents lived up the gravel road from us. I'm not good at distance, but I would say maybe a half mile or so, maybe a bit closer.

      Sunni

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  7. This push mower is part of my recent past as my husband insisted on having one. It was way too heavy for me so I never had to mow. He finally gave in to an easier-to-use mower and I still don't have to do it--yay!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jagoda,

    Thanks for reading and commenting. Yeah, that is one thing my husband does - all the mowing - which I'm thankful for. He doesn't edge very often though, but I know when to keep to my mouth shut.

    Sunni

    ReplyDelete

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Sunni