Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear….oh Deere. This spring I have turned into someone I never thought I would. I have been forever changed. And I will leave it up to you to decide whether it’s for good or bad.
I will begin by setting the scene for you: we have recently moved from a house in town to a home in the country. It has all the elements we have hoped for and searched for years; we are beside the river, there is plenty of room and land, there are beautiful trees, a huge garage, and a warm inviting home. We had most of these things at our previous home, except river front and space.
Now, the ‘space’ thing. In and of itself it is awesome. I like to be able to walk around outside without feeling like I am confined to a small space. So yes, I do like that. I hadn’t really thought about how much grass that was until the snow finally left us and it was evident that a lawn tractor would not be a luxury, but a necessity. Secretly, of course, I had always wished for a place where this would become an obvious need. I am, after all, a young boy at heart. I never got over playing with trucks as a child, and a natural progression for me is a lawn tractor. And what else but a John Deere?
I know….John Deere is not the only lawn tractor out there. There are cheaper makes and models. But I have been dreaming of owning a Deere for as long as I can remember. And when I eventually brought up the topic with Anne, rubbing her feet and feeding her bon-bons, she never wavered or quailed. To here, a John Deere was the only way to fly. Or should I say cut.
Once decided, it’s amazing how quickly one can make this purchase. Anne was in the process of saying ‘yes’, but in reality had only said ‘ye….’ and I was already in my truck and halfway to the dealer. The John Deere dealership sees this a lot, apparently. They are set up in such a way as to make the entire process quick and efficient, all designed to remove any doubt from the buyer.
And so….5 weeks later, I am cutting the grass 2-3 times a week. I had the flu last week, and missed a few days, and I swear I could hear the grass grow. It was taunting me. We bag it to feed the cows down the road, which is a plus. For the cows at least. It takes a lot of time to do all of this. I calculated that we have 9.5 times more lawn to cut here than our last house. And the weed whacking….whoa. But…all this said, it is time outdoors not in front of the television or on the computer.
The joys of taking care of a country property are new to us, I know, but they are joys nonetheless. Blessed as we are, we are determined to honour the work done by the previous owner. As an added bonus, the house was originally built by my dad in 1971, so we are also honouring my parents by regaining ownership of his baby.
My dear Deere….may it work for many years!
Bill's Musings 