Spring is - well, trying to.
The basic winter weather pattern of rain, wind and chill has given way to a more compromising rhythm, in which the rain sometimes takes whole days off. As I type this, the sun is actually looking quite friendly. Hardy European souls like me can now wander about Auckland, during the day, without even a jacket on.
The downside is, I really have to drag out the lawnmower as soon as I'm able. In this idiotic climate, the grass never really stops growing. As a result, the lawn - and even more, the communal area I take care of - are looking more than a little shaggy.
One of the neighbours was dropping heavy hints to me the other day about rats nesting in long grass. Personally, I think the local cat population should be well on top of that - we see them prowling about quite routinely. But I do want to mow it anyway, before it gets even more out of hand.
Once upon a time, my ancestors mowed the grass with a scythe - a tool that positively relished length. For the past 20 years, I've searched for such an instrument in every DIY store and garden centre I've been in. You just can't get 'em. And so I have to struggle with a powered lawnmower, which costs ten times as much, requires recharging, and can't cope with grass that's more than ankle-deep. That's progress for you.
5 comments:
SHOULDN'T REFERENCES TO A SCYTHE BE PRESENTED LIKE THIS?
BTW, posting a comment using OpenID is broken. I get an error that points me to this: http://help.blogger.com/bin/search.py?hl=en&forum=1&query=bX-ywtyjz
Sod DIY and Garden centres; you want to try a farm supply place, whatever it may be called down under.
I'm glad to hear that your spring is showing signs of coming.
niq, I've given up on OpenID - never been able to make it work for more than five minutes. Answers on the Blogger help forums suggest (1) yeah, that happens sometimes, try again later, and (2) Google is aware of the issue and thanks you for your interest, but either way there's buggerall I can do about it.
If you want to report it directly to Google, try this link.
mumsie, farm supplies? Seriously? I guess it's possible there are farmers who still use the things, but I wouldn't rate it very likely. Oh well, I'll keep an eye out next time we go beyond the wops.
Mumsie knows best.
x
Deadlyjelly, Thanks for your staunch support. I always felt sure I could count on you.
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