Lawn mowing (5/13/2023) -by Anne

Good morning. It is a beautiful morning at Warehouse 16. We are starting to loose our view of the field as the buds open up to leaves on the trees. It is 55 degrees and the sun is shining brightly. There is a nice soft breeze, which we will welcome later when it gets into the 70's. The lilac bush is blooming and the green leaves of the Iris are getting taller.

This is time of year we open the windows at night to let the cool air in. With the windows open sleep is good, but dawn comes early. At about 4 am I awake to our resident whippoorwill singing fast and furious outside our bedroom window. It song forces me to shut the windows, so I can get a little more sleep.

Now to my adventures in mowing the lawn. It is Thursday May 11th. I pull the car out and move some garage clutter, to expose the mower. I sit on and try to start it…nothing happens. I suppose the battery is dead, so I get the charger and hook it up and wait a bit. The charger says it is full. Yay. Now my husband is in Florida. It is usually his job to mow. I have done it, but it has been awhile. My second attempt at starting doesn't go much better, though I do hear a click click and then the motor turns a quarter turn and then stops. I put it back on the charger and try again. Same outcome. 🤔 Hmmm. I really think that it isn't going to happen today, but I am not one to give up just yet. I break down and call my other half. He says I should jump start it with the car. Well, that sounds pretty complicated to me and a bit dangerous. At this point I still think that there may be something else wrong with the mower. So as I now look for jumper cables and can't find them, I decide that mowing is not happening today and I have just wasted my morning 😔. I will try again another day.

May 12th, 4 pm-

Second attempt at mowing or at least starting the mower. I take the car out of the garage. I push the mower back and forth across the garage and get it in place near the car. I find the hidden jumper cables. I notice directions on the tag. I read them and they explain that there is a certain order to put them on the batteries. I decide to Google jump starting a vehicle, just to get more info. I read and get the same info as the tag. I carefully hook up the cables in order and soon realized that it is hard to keep the red and black clamps away from each other with only two hands. I also realized that I wasn't supposed to put the black cable on the dead battery, I was supposed to put it somewhere on the frame, but not near the battery. I feel my anxiety rising. My husband would have had the lawn mowed by now. I reluctantly start the car.

Good so far. I am a bit reluctant to sit on the mower. What if I don't have it hooked up correctly? I am a bit afraid. I realize that I am being given the same lesson that I got a couple of days before with my horse. I can't be afraid to try. Though the thought of getting zapped maybe through the tractor or having it blow up had crossed my mind, I forge on.

I sit on the mower. I hope this works…. I turn the key. The motor tries, stops, tries again. It sputters and complains but it finally starts. Yay. But Houston we have a problem…. If I get off the seat the motor will stop. I had forgotten how to make it so it stays running. I feel a bit defeated as I turn the engine off and have to call my other half for help. He says that I need to engage the parking brake. Ohhh Okay. Now you would think that was simple. I sit back on the tractor and start the engine again. Good so far. I push the brake in and fiddle with the parking brake lever. It would have been nice if it had a light that told you when it was engaged. As I do, it is hard to tell if it is engaged or not. So I let off slowly waiting for it to catch. It doesn't and the tractor lurches forward but luckily I can quickly push the brake back in, as the tractor is still hooked up with the jumper cables. I catch my breath for a moment. I fiddle with the brake some more and finally get it to catch. Few… I get off and carefully disconnect the cables.

Success feels good. I got the mower to start and stay going. I mow the lawn and down to the creek without any trouble. Success never felt so good.