versus.

Nate returns from Chicago late tonight, but it's supposed to rain tomorrow. And my front yard is getting a little out of control. Besides, almost all the yards on my street are freshly mowed and, while I don't think any of my neighbors really care if my grass is a few inches too tall, I thought I'd give mowing a try.

When I first bought my house, I went out and bought a reel mower. It seemed like a good idea at the time ... no gas, no noise, lightweight ... yeah, it might work okay on grass but we're mostly weeds here. It was a bust, and my neighbor Kevin used his Bad Boy gigantic riding mower to keep my yard trimmed all summer. Nate's dad got us a gas mower last month, and I've never used one before. (I used a riding mower growing up, no rope pulling required!) So I did a little research (read: Googled "how to use a gas mower") and went out to tackle this thing.

I filled it with non-ethanol gas, pushed the primer pump in a few times, set the left handle to rabbit, the right handle to neutral, squeezed the handle, and pulled the rope. "Rrrrrr." A weak ringing of the rope retracting. I tried over and over and couldn't get it to start. I was about to give up when I tried once more and it started! Once I got the self-propelled thing figured out I managed to get the front yard done. Well, not in between the bushes because it was difficult to turn and I was having a hard time. And I didn't do the backyard because I accidentally let go of the handle and couldn't get it started again. Oops. :) You know what Dwight Schrute says about women ... weak arms. Well, Nate can do the backyard next week. At least the front looks nice!

For the win.