FlyMo: Different Kind of Mower

 

 

Diagnostics

I mowed my first lawn nearly two years ago and was very proud of my success with a new and unfamiliar task. I didn't mention how exhausted I was after getting the job done -- I would take a shower and then sit quietly in the recliner for several hours, too tired to move.

I've adjusted to frequent sessions of manual labor, most of the year. It's simply part of my routine now, and most of the time I feel quite good. The exception this year was the rock culling exercise in the prairie garden. I nearly gave up after a day or so of digging through layers of rock, thinking that I would never get back to feeling like a human being. However, after a week or so I had stopped hurting, for the most part, and I was eager to begin the mowing season.

Adam testing his dad's work

We use two mowers for the lawn, one a Honda self-propelled machine and the other a light, hovercraft-like mower that floats above the grass. Bob equipped it with ropes so that the bank can be cut by lowering it to the sidewalk easily, without damaging the turf below. As I blogged two years ago, passers-by stop to watch the bank cutting effort, particularly since no one even heard of the FlyMo. Bob was a little worried that parts might not be available if the need arose.

Trouble hit last week when the machine was even more difficult to start than usual. I couldn't keep it running, so Bob took over my bank job and managed to get the bank done while I cut the rest of the grass. Fortunately, John Hennessey agreed to have a look and yesterday we loaded the mower into the Traverse for transport to John's Woodbury driveway.

John had the FlyMo apart in a few minutes and discovered the main problem, a clogged and dirty carburetor and a disintegrating engine filter that was jamming the engine, shred by shred. John cleaned the carburetor and restored the mower to its original bright orange and white colors. Adam took the rejuvenated FlyMo -- which has never sounded so good -- for a test run on the Woodbury Hennesseys' lawn.

The mower is now in our garage, ready for service. See the pics here.

FlyMo as good as new

Hummingbird!

A minute or so too late to capture a shot

 

I enjoyed hummingbirds in my "prairie garden" at the end of the summer and in the early fall, but when I couldn't find a feeder so late in the season. A few weeks ago, I tested the waters with a very inexpensive model on sale at Menard's for about $6.00.
I mixed up a solution from the powdered sugar mix I bought with the feeder but failed on my first attempt to put the pieces together, spilling most of the sugary nectar in the sink. I got it right the second time and hung the feeder, expecting immediate results.

The weather turned cold almost immediately. As the liquid level fell in the reservoir,  I figured the nectar was evaporating and wondered if I should have hung the feeder away from my other stations, as the instructions suggested. I left it as is because the feeder view from the dining room is best at the existing location.
This morning, the sun shone brightly and we mowed the lawn but I had a few indoor tasks so I went inside. When I was vacuuming the living-dining area, I saw a flash of green iridescence that reminded me of last winter's excitement over the neighborhood  rufous hummingbird. The bird returned to sip nectar several times in the next few minutes but I was afraid to scare it away by approaching with my camera. I do foresee photo ops in my future.

A Military Burial at Fort Snelling National Cemetery

Fort Snelling National Cemetery

The National Cemetery Administration maintains 131 cemeteries across the country. One of them is Fort Snelling National Cemetery, a few miles from our St. Paul home. I had driven past the cemetery many times but had no reason to go in until recently.

Last Tuesday we attended the visitation and funeral of a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II. Al S. joined the Navy at 17 and saw action in Okinawa, the Philippines and other venues in the Pacific Theater. In her eulogy at his funeral mass, one of Al's eight children mentioned that he had carried a burden of grief from that long ago war and, like many other veterans of his generation, suffered uncomplainingly from PTSD.

The graves at Fort Snelling are in sections, with rows of identical tombstones as far as the eye can see, for the veterans of wars fought by Americans since the mid-1800s.The spring winds blew and the birds sang their songs in this lovely, sacred place. I remembered visits to the national cemeteries in Normandy and Arlington, and felt a mix of emotions: admiration, respect and great sadness for the families affected by the immense loss of children, parents, siblings, so many stolen in the prime of life by war. 

Fort Snelling National Cemetery

 

Burials are scheduled by appointment, and we'd been instructed to arrive at 1:20 p.m. for 1:35p.m.  The mourners gathered at the assigned assembly station and the cortège advanced slowly to the appointed venue.

An honor guard from the Anoka Vietnam Veterans of America guided us through the military part of the service. The history and symbols of the ceremony were explained, and a rifle salute broke the peaceful silence of the spring afternoon. A single trumpeter, a Navy veteran, played the Navy song Anchors Aweigh, America the Beautiful and Taps. Though old, the musician was very fit, and his playing was sweet and flawless, with perfect phrasing.

After the presentation of the flag, the deacon moved quickly through the familiar Catholic burial ritual. We left the cemetery in reverent silence.

Spring Gardens

Prairie garden after back breaking digging

For most of my life, I viewed birders and gardeners with contempt. However, since so many friends and family members love birds and flowers, I kept my mouth shut and only a few suspected that I perceived their hobbies as useless time wasters.

Of course, I've been one of them for some time now. I'm especially enjoying our wonderful spring, when chilly rainy days are followed by warm ones filled with sunshine. On this cold Mother's Day, the trees are in almost full leaf and the ground has just enough moisture to make planting easy. About ten days ago I turned the first shovelful of dirt in what I think of as my prairie garden.

Home Depot
spading fork

The mix for Prairie Garden 2015

It was hard going, rocky and full of mineral dust, made a little easier when my neighbor Gaylord lent me his 4-tine spading fork, a good purchase for me later in the summer before fall cleanup. I finally finished the job yesterday, leaving lots of rocks but ending up with a plot much better than the one I had last year. I worked in a little manure and peat moss and will plant this year's garden in the next day or so, as soon as I'm sure it won't get pelted with hail.

I saw a few green hints of green this weekend

Last week, I persuaded Bob to let me have the little strip of earth on the north side of the garage. The area gets no sun at all and plantings the last two summers have been disappointing, so I've been imagining a little garden populated by shade plants. I dug and turned the soil, and finally sprinkled the mix over the earth and watered it. Yesterday, we planted a border of red and white impatiens, and this morning I noticed the first tentative sprouts of green. Next I'll help Bob with the little strip between the front and back yards, that it's really his  project so I'm just a minor contributor for that one.

Pumpkins in the fall

In addition to the wildflower gardens, I'll plant some pumpkin seeds on the west side of the house where I've had only marginal success with spring flowers, thanks to the energetic squirrels that dug down through wood chips to eat most of the bulbs, especially the crocus and hyacinth that I planted last fall. I'd love to have a nice little pumpkin patch in the autumn, so if the seeds are planted on June 1, I should be taking picture of beautiful pumpkins on September 19, 110 days later.

After the first few days of digging, I ached all over in muscles I didn't know existed. I groaned rolling over in bed and limped downstairs in the morning. I had no idea my butt could hurt so badly just from using that garden fork! I was surprised to feel better by yesterday, ready to dig again and looking forward to modest but exhilarating summer success.