the reel deal.

I think my backyard has some great potential.

Just look at that evening sun shining through those trees. Beautiful.

Well, you kind of have to blur your eyes to see the Utopian landscape I'm envisioning, but like I said, it has potential. We're just not quite there yet. Someday I will be weed free and luscious.

This is just embarrassing. See all those dandelion stems? It's like a dandelion graveyard out there and this spring has stirred up an intense hatred for the things. I mean, I used to have a pretty picture of a dandelion all white and puffy in front of a sunset for my desktop background, but it's been replaced. I can't seem to get rid of them.

Mowing my yard with my reel mower has been good though. It's a workout but I enjoy how light and quiet the mower is. And no emissions. I think the reel mower is great at cutting grass. But here's the thing ... my backyard probably has more weeds than grass. Reel mowers are not extremely efficient at cutting weeds. (See photo above. That's from after mowing.)

You don't know how much it pains me to admit this. Oh, it's totally a pride thing. Because lots of people said, "You don't want to get a reel mower! You'll hate it!" I don't hate it, but I think I still might have to consider the reel real deal and definitely invest in a weed whacker and quite possibly a machete. Because, sorry Earth, but making my yard look nice is kind of more important to me than the state of the ozone layer. I'll hang onto my reel mower, which works great for my minimal-weed front yard and will work great if I ever tame my backyard.

Someday I will have a full lawn of green grass, a thriving garden, and a clean and painted chicken coop/shed. And maybe a clothesline. It will be quite beautiful, really.
d