Persons North of the equator.

Well "some of us" have to redirect our time to other crap, lawn maintenance..Yuck. Texas, i'm sure You got your MTD based Briggs up and running, now it's my turn. Swift move from Handlebars and Sprockets to Hydrostats and Spindles. Gotta love the green though!! Survived another winter, Hopefully You Fellas  Faired as Well!  Texas..did You know Briggs made a FINE version, called the Vanguard. Comes in several variations but actually made in Japan! By a Division of Toyota. Those Intek versions are piles of shite. hate to say it but made in China but touted as made in the USA. I scald my 11acres one row at a time with my GT235 John Deere, or whichever one i land my butt on. They just don't make them like this anymore, "box store stuff is crap".  Break-out them weed-wackers and blowers, Spring is HERE! Unless You're South of the Equator...Richard, ha. 

Ha!
Around here, mowing is basically a year-round activity. My old Murray is chuffing right along, but still has those annoying safety switches.

This past Saturday I did some light maintenance on the JD L100 owned by the church I attend. We bought it used about eleven years ago and have worked it almost to death. The Kohler engine is in pretty good shape, but nothing else is. Last year, the church purchased a brand new Gravely zero turn, powered by a Kawasaki V-twin. It is magnificent.

It’s a tough job here in the South, but someone has to do it, it’s a real blow having to use the weed wackers and blowers all year long here ☀️☀️☀️ mid winter (18 degree days) is coming, so continue mowing lawns and drinking cold beers, bugger haha. 
 

Yep...it's a tough job but someone has to do it.  My wife has already been over the lawn once!

How did you pull that off Hardrock, getting the wife to do Your dirty work, ha. My wife used to help but it's zeal has been lost so it's all me now. I shuffle my time to the "other" division of Kawasaki, utilitarian. Do my share of the V-twin FH series Kaw engines and have a whole corner of the outbuilding full of the CH Kohler singles. Big difference between the Single and Twin, right Texas? So much smoother running. Gotta earn those Beers Richard, haha. 

She does all the yard work.  Says I don't do it right.  I'm like....OK! 

Her son lives on 10 acres and she goes to visit him in spring and fall.  He has about an acre of lawn that she does with a walking mower!

Nice use of psychology Rock. Once upon a time, you intentionally did such a crappy bumbling job at it till she just got frustrated/disgusted You were directed to get back in the house?? Nice play my Friend, Nice play. 

hardrockminer post=910498 userid=49877She does all the yard work.  Says I don't do it right.  I'm like....OK! 

Her son lives on 10 acres and she goes to visit him in spring and fall.  He has about an acre of lawn that she does with a walking mower!

HRM she's a keeper 

And probably a healthy in-shape looker to boot, ha.

Hmmm...maybe she could visit and show my wife how to work a lawnmower?  

Wont need cutting till maybe first of june up in rhode island . I use an old beater craftman. I blew the last one up a few years back. Your right about those cheap china motors. I just bought another 200 dollar one off the face. Threw the new batt in from the last one. This one even has a bagger. This will be the third year for this beater so maybe ill give it a quick oil change to help it make it through the season. 

   I still have the first lawn mower I bought circa 1974.  Cast aluminum deck Bobcat. Ball bearing wheels w/grease fittings.  The first B&S flathead motor ran 25 yrs. or so before it dropped a valve seat.  Replacement B&S flathead motor ran 12 yrs. before the (disabled) blade brake acted up & I discovered after replacement I'd misdiagnosed it as piston seizing.  Third B&S OHV motor ran until until 2 yrs. ago when it truly began seizing after 5 min. running for no apparent reason.  The current 4th motor is an old B&S flathead I harvested from a ratty/rusty Craftsman stamped steel deck that was out for junk pickup.  Runs like a top.

   I put the seized motor back on the ratty Craftsman deck & used it for a local $100.00 .gov 'emissions' rebate on a 18" 40v battery electric mower.  It's a push mower that The Lovely Z1BEBE uses sometimes to cut the fenced back yard that belongs to our dogs.  That & a little trimming 'round front is her task.  She has a nice Toro 21" self-propelled gas mower she uses sometimes.
   I run a 36" Toro twin-blade self-propelled mower for the bulk of the yard.  I'd like to have a rider but:
1) No place to store it.  Bikes take that space, and,
2) There are hills too steep for a rider to be safe.  I wear golf cleats to navigate those hills when mowing.  Used to have a high-wheel Yazoo mower that wanted to turn over sideways on one of those hills.  Have to mow that one sideways; it's too steep for the mower to climb vertically.

   Patches of green are starting to appear.  Mowing commences in the next couple weeks or so.

   Moles are stirring, so it's time to get another batch of nematodes to starve them away from the dog's yard.  The dogs want to dig for them.  A few years ago we laid down 1,600+ sq. ft. of chicken wire fence, secured by over 2,000 sod staples, inside the entire fenced area to discourage them from digging.  Our oldest used to go beyond simple digging & would sometimes excavate up to her shoulders to catch moles.  The chicken wire 'carpet' has worked fine; no more holes, excavations or muddy dogs.  Grass has grown over the chicken wire & it can't be seen at all.

   A few (sedentary) people our age have commented along the lines of, "You still mow your own yard?!?"  Well, yes.  In addition to our daily dog park excursions & miles, It's some of the best exercise we get.

   The Lovely Z1BEBE has two hands of ten green digits.  Maybe her toes, too.  She's already been scratchin' in the dirt & buying colorful weeds... er, flowers.  Lots of color beginning to appear.  We got no more room to plant trees.  slmjim's just the grunt to move big dirt. 

   We no longer complain about mowing the yard as in decades past; it means we're fortunate enough to have a house of our own with a yard to mow.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE