Escapees

As spring settles in, I have loved discovering the violets and grape hyacinths that had escaped from the flower beds and come to grow in the lawn. The ever-heightening blades of grass.

I've got to buy a lawnmower. Among the numerous items I need (better washer and dryer, rug for the bathroom, . . .), the lawnmower is at the top of the list. The rain keeps coming and the grass keeps growing.

The other day I was trying to remember the last time I bought a lawnmower. I think it was 1972, when FOMC and I bought our first house in Oviedo, Florida. After our divorce, I lived in apartments until I moved into Second Husband's townhouse in Montgomery Village, MD. Then I moved into DC, where the "lawns" could be cut with a WeedWhacker. Then I moved to Third Husband's 27 acres in Western Loudoun County. Three to five of those acres were mowable, the rest wooded. He had a lawn tractor. And, of course, being the good Mormon husband, he took care of everything outside the house and nothing inside. Nothing! Then I moved back into the city, and Good Husband and I had only gardens, not grass, in the house overlooking the zoo. When I lived in Tucson, all landscaping was rocks and cactus. Now, here I am with a lawn again.

I would like to find a good used mower that I could get for, maybe, less than $200. But I've got my eye on a new Black & Decker at Lowe's that is a cordless electric model. Gas fumes are a migraine trigger for me. Right now, I have the kind and helpful Brad who has said he'll mow the yard. But someday (probably too soon!), he's going to decide he wants to have his own space and privacy, and then I'm left to mow the lawn. I'm not willing to risk a migraine every time I mow, so I think I'll be stopping by Lowe's on the way home from work tonight.