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I managed to get my own rig ready to mow today. I started late yesterday afternoon on it and finished up today. Fully serviced, washed and waxed, and sitting with a battery tender on it. I didn't bother to pull the deck this winter since I did that in the middle of last season. I looked at it really closely and didn't see a definite need to clean it up and paint it this year. I might do that one rainy weekend this spring. I get laughed at for washing and waxing my mowers. I also get laughed at for cleaning the underside of the deck, then putting on two coats of primer, followed by two coats of paint and a healthy application of heavy duty metal protector. Maybe I'm a little anal, but I get top dollar for my stuff when I sell it. Guys that have bought my old mowers tell me that what they got was the best used mower they ever purchased, so I guess it pays off.

So, yeah. Grow, grass, grow. LOL!

Oh yes the mowers are already coming in the shop since it hit 85F this week.

85? Dang. Where are you located? I'm in southeastern Illinois. We have had several days of 60 to 70 degree temps. Some trees are budding out, people have reported flowers or other plants sprouting, and a LOT of people are seeing different kinds of insects. A few days ago I was in the garage working on a string trimmer on the bench and noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. There was a stinkbug crawling on my small vise. Without thinking I reached out and squashed it. Yeah, a momentary mental lapse. LOL!

My wife and I have both seen Robins in the backyard, eating the corn that the squirrels drop. Then yesterday my wife was at the kitchen window and hollered that there was a Cardinal in the backyard. I'm afraid all that life is going to be in for a shock. Maybe I'm just a pessimist, but I think we'll have one more cold spell before spring really does arrive. I was talking to the parts guy at the local farm service store and mentioned we'd be mowing pretty soon and he said he had fired up his zero turn and mowed along his treeline because the yellow grass had started growing and he didn't want it to get too tall and tough before he mowed it the first time. Kind of strange happenings for the month of February.

Southern Central TN.

And yes I will probably lose the peaches and plums yet again this year. They are currently in full bloom and the Bradfords just now opening too. Back at 59F so far today.

StarTech said:

And yes I will probably lose the peaches and plums yet again this year. They are currently in full bloom and the Bradfords just now opening too.

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Yep. That's a shame. Not only will guys like you lose your personal harvest, all the different orchards will as well so there will be serious shortages and prices will be really high.

Well the particular area I live in is know for it cold snaps which is why most growers here will not raise peaches. Apples and Pears can stand the lower temps better and usually can stand a natural thinning of the fruit load.

I personally know a large plant Peach orchard here that was bulldozed because every year for five seasons they lost the whole crop to late freezes.

Yeah. Did the first oil change on the new mower I bought last year. I fnally have 10 hours on it. Lol
What used to take me an hour to mow now takes me 15 minutes. 5 for the front yard and 10 the back yard. The 52” deck makes short work. The grass is starting to grow a little quicker now. I love to mow my yard. Weed Eater...not so much. I gotta try that mower waxing thing. My truck may get jealous. Lol
One thing I Noticed this year. All of the Mango trees in S Florida are loaded with flowers like I haven’t seen in years. There will be a lot of kids selling Mangos in front of their house. That is how I bought my first boat when I was 15yo....selling Mangos. $150 later, I got a my first skiff. Gone fishin.

Glades Cat said:

Yeah. Did the first oil change on the new mower I bought last year. I fnally have 10 hours on it. Lol
What used to take me an hour to mow now takes me 15 minutes. 5 for the front yard and 10 the back yard. The 52” deck makes short work. The grass is starting to grow a little quicker now. I love to mow my yard. Weed Eater...not so much. I gotta try that mower waxing thing. My truck may get jealous. Lol
One thing I Noticed this year. All of the Mango trees in S Florida are loaded with flowers like I haven’t seen in years. There will be a lot of kids selling Mangos in front of their house. That is how I bought my first boat when I was 15yo....selling Mangos. $150 later, I got a my first skiff. Gone fishin.

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Weird,
We had a bumper early mango season in Oz as well
Prices dropped to 20¢ a piece for small ones and 50¢ for football sized ones.
Then after chrissie when they really come in,,,, nothing back up to $ 3 a hit .
We had 3 floods in a row which seems to have knocked the fruit flys for a 5 so got a good crop of peaches but as the tree is now 25 years old this will be it's last season .
landlord in cranky as the fruit bats ate all of heir cherries & necterines then the parrots knocked off all of the Pecans

My yard needs mowing. But it's still too wet.

PTmowerMech said:

My yard needs mowing. But it's still too wet.

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I'm going out to mow this afternoon. Nice day with very little wind will allow me to burn some branches, limbs, and logs I have all cut up to fit in my burn pit.

We need the wind to blow. That with the sun will help dry things out faster.

My landlord lets me mow their yard. So from now til winter, my rent will be almost nothing. I usually mow it 3 times a month, and that keeps my rent at $0.

Yeah, my landlord pays me nothing to mow my yard. I guess that might be because I'm the landlord. LOL!

My yard trimmer ( I mow) trims and cooks supper.

My cook kind of restricts herself to household stuff. She hasn't mowed a yard, run a trimmer, shoveled snow, or any other type chore since we first got together in 1983. But she is one hell of a cook. LOL!

smhardesty said:

I get laughed at for washing and waxing my mowers. I also get laughed at for cleaning the underside of the deck, then putting on two coats of primer, followed by two coats of paint and a healthy application of heavy duty metal protector. Maybe I'm a little anal, but I get top dollar for my stuff when I sell it. Guys that have bought my old mowers tell me that what they got was the best used mower they ever purchased, so I guess it pays off.

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That's what I do as well.. And pays off, like the selling of my former Toro.. etc.

The winter waxing helps me all year, just use leaf blower & maybe wipe it with my duster & looking good again.

And my cook since 1994 is a great cook as well, + also does the front by push mower.. She loves to cut on diagonal. & loves the old MTD w/Flathead Briggs..

smhardesty said:

My cook kind of restricts herself to household stuff. She hasn't mowed a yard, run a trimmer, shoveled snow, or any other type chore since we first got together in 1983. But she is one hell of a cook. LOL!

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Sounds like you're getting the short end of the stick, man.

7394 said:

That's what I do as well.. And pays off, like the selling of my former Toro.. etc.

The winter waxing helps me all year, just use leaf blower & maybe wipe it with my duster & looking good again.

And my cook since 1994 is a great cook as well, + also does the front by push mower.. She loves to cut on diagonal. & loves the old MTD w/Flathead Briggs..

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I managed to get nearly 75% of the original cost of my last lawn tractor when I sold it. It was a Cub Cadet that I had used for 5 years. Not a bad return on a necessary "investment". That made those 5 years of mowing pretty reasonable.

Yep, when I'm done mowing, I pull the tractor up near the east side of my garage. I fire up the air compressor and give the entire tractor a really good dusting off. I keep the top of the deck as free from debris as I can. I'm absolutely convinced my belt lasts at least twice as long by keeping the deck cleaned off.

The one thing I keep telling my cook is that she at least needs to know how to run the mower, just in case I end up with some ailment that keeps me off the thing. She's finally beginning to warm up to that idea after the last few years of medical problems I've had. Everything happened during the winter months so there hasn't been a problem yet, but I keep telling her the next hitch in my get along might happen in the spring. A fellow just never knows.

PTmowerMech said:

Sounds like you're getting the short end of the stick, man.

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Not a bit. I'm old school. I know a lot of women don't like to hear this, but to my wife and me, there are certain things a guy should do and certain things a gal should do. Yep, some would say I'm a chauvinist, but neither my wife or I think I am. I still open the doors for her, to include the car door, I walk on the street side of the sidewalk, I remove her coat when we sit somewhere like a restaurant, and a whole host of other "chauvinistic" behaviors, at least according to the women libbers. LOL!

smhardesty said:

Not a bit. I'm old school. I know a lot of women don't like to hear this, but to my wife and me, there are certain things a guy should do and certain things a gal should do. Yep, some would say I'm a chauvinist, but neither my wife or I think I am. I still open the doors for her, to include the car door, I walk on the street side of the sidewalk, I remove her coat when we sit somewhere like a restaurant, and a whole host of other "chauvinistic" behaviors, at least according to the women libbers. LOL!

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I'm not knocking your gentlemen like way of doing things. Those things come in handy.

Mine's a 1952 model, not that I tell very many people. High quality, unlike some newer models. She does not do forums, so I am safe.

mcostello said:

Mine's a 1952 model, not that I tell very many people. High quality, unlike some newer models. She does not do forums, so I am safe.

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Yep. Mine's a '53 model. I'd have to say I agree that mine is a higher end model compared to the newer models. LOL!

OK, mine is a '54 model & raised to know how to cook, clean, etc & help on wrenching if necessary..