“He rakes and trims the grass
He loves to mow and weed”
Yes, Mark, dutifully “rakes and trims the grass”,
"Love" is a strong word for the mowing and weeding, but it gets done nonetheless.
About a month ago 3/4 of the Hunt Family set out for greener pastures. Washington and Wisconsin aren’t really all that different but downtown Seattle and Sun Prairie might as well be different planets. (Different planets with an affinity for good coffee and a shared language…well mostly). The familiar city sounds of buses and foghorns and seagulls and sirens have been replaced with cicadas and toads. The view from my desk is no longer of dumpsters in the alley between 1st and 2nd. I now look out beyond our neighbors house at the nature trails and cornfields and the red barn and farmhouse.
The metaphorical greener pastures are actual green pastures. The trees are green. The cornfields are green. The lawns are green…well…except for one. People are really into their lawn care around here. It might be the same in Washington but it was not something we had to worry about living in our downtown condo for the past 14 years.
He loves to mow and weed”
Yes, Mark, dutifully “rakes and trims the grass”,
"Love" is a strong word for the mowing and weeding, but it gets done nonetheless.
About a month ago 3/4 of the Hunt Family set out for greener pastures. Washington and Wisconsin aren’t really all that different but downtown Seattle and Sun Prairie might as well be different planets. (Different planets with an affinity for good coffee and a shared language…well mostly). The familiar city sounds of buses and foghorns and seagulls and sirens have been replaced with cicadas and toads. The view from my desk is no longer of dumpsters in the alley between 1st and 2nd. I now look out beyond our neighbors house at the nature trails and cornfields and the red barn and farmhouse.
The metaphorical greener pastures are actual green pastures. The trees are green. The cornfields are green. The lawns are green…well…except for one. People are really into their lawn care around here. It might be the same in Washington but it was not something we had to worry about living in our downtown condo for the past 14 years.
Our neighbor mows his lawn three or four times a week in meticulous diagonal lines. He waters the yard and plants every day. He has dropped helpful hints and suggestions for how we might better care for our lawn. Mark is amicable and friendly and seemingly grateful for tips. I tune out when he goes into detail about plant species and invasive weeds.
I hate yard work. I hate yard work with a fiery passion reserved mainly for cottage cheese, the sound of other people flossing and the term “bespoke.” The lack of lawn care was one of the reasons I wanted to live downtown and spent most of my adult life doing so. As a kid my chores included scooping dog poop before the mow, raking afterwards and my most hated job…weeding. The former jobs I could do without much thought. The expectations were clear and I could daydream my way through them. Weeding was the worst. I never knew what was a weed and what was a plant and I was always getting chewed out by my stepmother for making the wrong determination. This often resulted in more outdoor tasks as she was convinced I was screwing it up on purpose. I swore I would never have a yard or a dog or a garden.
So...we have a yard now. We budgeted for a lawnmower and a grill. We didn’t budget for a lawnmower, a hedge trimmer, hedge clippers, weed whacker, a leaf blower, a hose, a hose nozzle, a sprinkler, yard waste containers, work gloves, and wasp spray…so much wasp spray.
I hate yard work. I hate yard work with a fiery passion reserved mainly for cottage cheese, the sound of other people flossing and the term “bespoke.” The lack of lawn care was one of the reasons I wanted to live downtown and spent most of my adult life doing so. As a kid my chores included scooping dog poop before the mow, raking afterwards and my most hated job…weeding. The former jobs I could do without much thought. The expectations were clear and I could daydream my way through them. Weeding was the worst. I never knew what was a weed and what was a plant and I was always getting chewed out by my stepmother for making the wrong determination. This often resulted in more outdoor tasks as she was convinced I was screwing it up on purpose. I swore I would never have a yard or a dog or a garden.
So...we have a yard now. We budgeted for a lawnmower and a grill. We didn’t budget for a lawnmower, a hedge trimmer, hedge clippers, weed whacker, a leaf blower, a hose, a hose nozzle, a sprinkler, yard waste containers, work gloves, and wasp spray…so much wasp spray.
"A grill out on the patio..." Yeah, that's gonna have to wait until next year.
When we bought the house Mark assured me that the yard would be his responsibility. I had been very clear about my yardwork disdain when we met. Hell, my distaste for the outdoors was even in my online dating ad. Mark is a man of his word. He has gone full Midwest dad- mowing lawns and trimming hedges and killing wasps like nobody's business. There is always this twinge of guilt when I see him out there trimming and mowing and leaf blowing in 150% humidity...I mean, not enough guilt to go help him with yard work, but enough guilt for me to write up a blog post.
“Far from skid row” Did you know the term skid row originated in downtown Seattle?
“I dream we’ll go” We’re already here.
“Somewhere that’s green”
Hmm. Audrey never sang about the wasps.
When we bought the house Mark assured me that the yard would be his responsibility. I had been very clear about my yardwork disdain when we met. Hell, my distaste for the outdoors was even in my online dating ad. Mark is a man of his word. He has gone full Midwest dad- mowing lawns and trimming hedges and killing wasps like nobody's business. There is always this twinge of guilt when I see him out there trimming and mowing and leaf blowing in 150% humidity...I mean, not enough guilt to go help him with yard work, but enough guilt for me to write up a blog post.
“Far from skid row” Did you know the term skid row originated in downtown Seattle?
“I dream we’ll go” We’re already here.
“Somewhere that’s green”
Hmm. Audrey never sang about the wasps.
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