Some people are just too clever for their own good. A bicycle mower? Give me a break! Although I suppose it is exercise, on any decent lawn it would be difficult to ride on good, thick grass. I do agree with the simple philosophy of eschewing power mowers. I have a push reel mower as pictured below.

My lawn is not large. I just completed the mowing, which took me all of fifteen minutes. From here through the summer, I’ll have to cut the grass at least every fifth day or so. It amazes me how it comes out from under the winter snow as green as when it first got covered white last December. I fertilize it in the spring and again in the fall. A reel mower does a better job than a power rotary mower, which has the large single blade that cuts a swath under the housing. It tears the grass while a reel mower cuts it and leaves a better looking, greener lawn.
The cats love to lie on the new mown lawn in the shade of the juniper tree. My wife, who asked me to put in the lawn, rarely goes back there. I don’t mind the time it takes me to care for it, though. Whether it’s mowing, watering, fertilizing, weeding, whatever… I find it relaxing.
A final note: I blogged recently about the ten little trees and two lilac plants that I got from the Arbor Foundation. They’re all in the ground and I water them twice a day. I can see some little nubbies indicating growth may be coming soon. So far, however, they are still just little twigs sticking out of the dirt. In my imagination, I see big, flowering trees. Of course, this is the same imagination that sees a handsome rascal when looking in the mirror…