Flashback Friday-The Hillbilly Lawnmower

When we bought our home in Georgia 3 years ago, we still hadn't sold our home in New York. This created a huge problem. I had almost 3 acres of yard that needed to be taken care of in the South and almost 2 acres up North. Our New York house had been on the market for a year and a half and needed to be kept in 'showing' condition. I bet you can figure out where my trusty Toro stayed parked?

The folks who we bought our Georgia home from had kindly mowed the lawn for me before they moved, but it only lasted for so long. I don't even think we had time to blink. The next time we looked, the lawn was up to our knees! In all honesty, we are all pretty short, so it became a must solve situation.

It also became the hot topic of conversation. Everywhere. Mark even mentioned it at work one day, and one of his drivers shared that his Dad rebuilt old mowers and sold them.

For $25.00!

Bingo!

I figured, how bad could it be?

Pretty bad.

Say hello to the 'Hillbilly Lawnmower'.



Don't worry. The little Miss was just posing with this amazing piece of machinery. Her Mommy did all the work, and I am absolutely serious when I say that.



Power driven by mismatched, uneven wheels, this beauty drove like a ton of bricks. She even came equipped for mulching those blades of grass cut by an extra dull blade.



If you look closely, you will see the removable mulching accessory. Some of us like to call it-duct tape!



Look at the surprise on our lovely model's face. She just couldn't believe our good fortune in finding such a gem!



Let's just say that the 'Hillbilly Lawnmower' didn't last long at our house. Although she will remain close to our hearts and the subject of a really great story, she wasn't very good at her job. I think 3 acres was just too much for this old gal. Hopefully she found a home with someone on a nice, petite plot of land.

Oh, and I sure do hope they have a roll of duct tape on hand!

I used to love pine cones

Matter in fact, I couldn't get enough of them.

I mainly used them for crafts. They made baskets prettier, wreaths more interesting, and when painted to look like funny little santas they were just adorable.

Back when I had time for crafts (HA!), we never had any pine trees near our home. I had be resourceful and rely on other means to get them. Sometimes I would get them from a friend's father who frequently traveled through the Pine Barrens. When that supply got low, I am ashamed to admit that I even bought a few bags from the craft store. The horrors!

Fast forward to our new home in Georgia. When we first came to look at the house, I was greeted by the scent of pine as I stepped out of the car. Just imagine it...lots of lovely pine trees, and they were gently swaying in the breeze on that warm, spring day. It was wonderful! I saw a few pine cones scattered around on the ground and my mind went wild with ideas of creativity. They were mine, all mine!

What a fool I was. Besides dropping those little nuggets of craftiness, pine trees also drop pine needles.

Everywhere.

Especially on the driveway. Which happens to be very long.

I would measure it, but it's a pretty long walk. ;)

Here's what the past weekend looked like...



Before you ask, yes, the wheelbarrow is filled to the top with pine cones.



And those piles! Lots of pine needles, and way too much raking and sweeping. I knew all those years of mucking out stalls at the barn would come in handy, but at least I got to hop up on a horse as a reward afterwards!

I think I will be looking into one of those re-chargeable blowers to get rid of all that debris. Just think-it will leave me more time to craft with all those wonderful pine cones.

Or not...LOL!