Self Confidence

There are many days that I feel I lack self confidence, but this week was definitely one of the worst.Pop had mentioned a thousand times since we were married,33 years ago,that we might possibly get a zero turn mower. I do 95 per cent of the mowing,and most of the time, I love mowing, but as I get older, I want to spend more time doing other things. so I was extremely ecstatic when he finally brought one home.I have been fortunate in that I have driven most anything necessary to get the job at hand completed, but this one, I was not sure of. I have driven tractors, big trucks, school buses, bush buggies, four wheelers, and lawn mowers of all kinds,even a motorcycle, but this contraption is definitely different.It has no steering wheel. My dad drove bull dozers for a living, and I remember him controlling them with levers and shifts of all sorts. Well, this definitely operates just as unusual.

I hopped on, very cautiously, after a brief lesson from Pop, like he knew what he was doing.He had never driven one either, to my knowledge.Well, let me give you one hint, if you ever plan to operate one for the first time. Be on level ground with no shrubs or bushes or trees,or anything nearby, for that matter.At least until you have a few quick lessons on how to mow in a straight line.When you are so use to using a steering wheel to manuever a piece of equipment, it's definitely different to change your way of thinking quick enough to avoid a major catastrophe.

Another quick tip which I learned the hard way, is never mow on wet grass, especially if it's on a slope, without out a clearing at the bottom of the slope. This mower slides on wet grass, and I ended up in the graveled driveway below. Thank goodness the blade was not low enough to mow up the gravel. I'm sure that would not have been good on the blades.

Spring is here and the grass is growing fast so I'm sure I will get in many lessons this season. I am still working on my landscaping, trying to make it more mower friendly. The fewer things you have to mow around,the fewer chances of mishaps.