I have always disliked mowing grass. It seems such an incredible waste of time and effort, especially when grass is the perfect food for so many animals. Grass should be grazed, not mowed.
Back in Montana, we couldn't grow much of a lawn anyway around the house and dog cottages, so rough pasture grass was what we had. This was easy to deal with, because all I'd have to do was hook up the rotary brush cutter to the tractor, make one run, knock it all down, and be done. With the climate there, the grass rarely ever grew back enough that I'd have to mow it a second time. Although this meant we had to carefully manage the pastures to ensure enough grass for grazing animals, for mowing humans, it kept things pretty simple and made mowing only an annual chore.
Welcome to New Hampshire.
Now, one of the big attractions for us of moving here, as blog readers know, is the lush grass and a climate that keeps grass growing all summer long -- great for livestock.
The downside, of course, is that growing means mowing. When I got back here in mid-May to stay, I marveled at how green and rich the grass was around the house. I'd stand on the porch and look out over the lawns, loving the greenness of it all. After the second week I noticed, um, how fast it was growing. By the third week I finally realized, holy cow, I'm going to have to do something about this grass -- it's getting really, really tall! That's when it dawned on me that we didn't even have a lawn mower. Oops.
The yards around the house are too small to use a tractor, and a tractor would have been too heavy and rough on these lawns anyway -- especially for weekly mowings. And while I do detest mowing grass and believe nature intended it to be grazed, I wasn't about to bring our horses into the dog yards in the evenings to do my work for me. The last thing we need is a whole lot of dogs rolling in horse poop and eating it when they're not rolling in it. (That's not why we called it the Rolling Dog Ranch, by the way.) The two goats wouldn't eat enough to make a difference, so that wasn't an answer either.
No, I finally admitted that we needed a ... gasp! ... lawn mower.
What I detested even more than mowing lawns was lawn mowers themselves. Noisy, stinky things, always requiring maintenance when they weren't leaving you smelling like gas.
So after doing some research -- quickly, because by then I swear the grass was growing an inch a day here -- I decided to buy a battery-powered mower called the Neuton. (I considered an old-fashioned reel mower, but exercise is one thing we don't lack around here. If I could have a battery cut the grass while I pushed the mower, that was a good compromise.)
I was skeptical at first that a mower running on a rechargeable battery could really mow a lawn, but Alayne and I are now fans of this green machine. It really does work incredibly well. It's amazingly quiet, is completely clean and odor-free, and requires no maintenance other than plugging in the battery. On a full charge, and if the grass isn't out of control, we can do all four dog yards on one battery. I think that's probably close to, or maybe a bit more, than the 1/3 acre (.13 hectare) the company suggests you can get on one charge. If we've let the grass get too tall, we'll need to swap out for a fresh battery to get everything finished. The Neuton is also very light, so it's easy to push around.
It's so quiet, in fact, that the dogs pay no attention to it at all. If you click on the photo for a larger image, you can see blind Molly snoozing under the ramp. The dogs keep right on napping wherever they are, even as we push the mower around.
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Those ramps, by the way, have become the favorite place to nap these days. When I took that photo of the Neuton mower, there were at least four dogs under those ramps -- Molly, Priscilla, Cedar and Spinner. Cedar is at the far left of the ramp in back -- you can kind of make out the dark shape underneath. Two more dogs were under the other ramp you can't see in this photo, the one coming off the people wing. Originally we were going to put up lattice-work to finish off the ramps (like you see under the existing porch), but the dogs clearly enjoy "denning" underneath them so much we haven't done it. There are usually more dogs sleeping under the ramps now than there are on the bright, green lawn or on the beds on the front porch!
Steve,
You cracked me up with the images of horses grazing in the dog yards, then the dogs rolling in the results and chowing down (horse poo was my late German shorthair's favorite snack). Sounds like such a simple solution until you realize the consequences.
Unlike you, I LOVE to mow and would gladly volunteer for the chore...if you guys hadn't moved so far from MT. Even tho I only visited you rarely, I still miss your being here. But very glad you all seem to be thriving in NH. Home is where the pack is, and wherever yours and Alayne's wonderful pack is, is home sweet home.
Posted by: Debbie Burke | August 17, 2010 at 03:10 PM
Very cool mower and perfect for you!
Do you only mow the dog yards or do you mow a bit out in the other parts of the ranch? I know the horses and goats graze but since that grass grows so much I was wondering how you do things where that's concerned.
And yes, would love to know how all the animals have settled in!
Posted by: Ann | August 17, 2010 at 03:29 AM
Where does one get a Neuton, and can you give us a ballpark figure on the cost? Sounds like the perfect green machine for you, Steve, although I think adding more goats and/or sheep to your repertoire would be a lot more fun! :-)
Posted by: Cassie Betz | August 16, 2010 at 05:16 PM
A question about the lawnmower: does it actually use less energy than a gasoline-powered lawnmower? The maker's website doesn't offer any information about the energy usage of their products. The power coming from the wall still comes from a power plant somewhere, which is likely burning one type of fossil fuel or another. If it requires the same amount of energy, it isn't any greener than a gas-powered mower. I don't mean to be a wet-blanket; I'd just honestly like to know.
Posted by: Allison | August 16, 2010 at 02:44 PM
Thumbs up on the green machine. I really hat the noise of conventional gasoline powered mowers, blowers etc. When ours dies...I will suggest that we get a green machine.
I enlarged the pic so that I could see if I could see any of the dogs under the ramp. I only picked out one. Glad they found their shady spot.
Posted by: Ev | August 16, 2010 at 12:39 PM
How have the horses settled in? Would love to see some inside pictures of that beautiful barn.
Posted by: gradene | August 16, 2010 at 12:12 PM
I have to wonder what Spinner thought of the freshly mowed grass smell. I love that smell, I hope she does too. "New" smells to her must really give her something to think about. Hope Margaret and friend are doing well on all this fresh grass, dont be too hard on them, they do their best but they are just 2 little tiny lawn mowers. Hugs to all the kitties, what are they up to these days? Anne
Posted by: Anne in Florida | August 16, 2010 at 11:24 AM
Will you be "haying" the fields for winter fodder? What you need is a "rhumba" mower......Is there such a thing?
Posted by: Kathleen Rivard | August 16, 2010 at 09:54 AM
nice mower.
Fyi- you have never told us how all the fur kids have adjusted-or have been adjusting-to the new home and/or how happy they are now that mom is with the family again.
And, of course-
Widget. Margaret. Updates.
Posted by: Randi | August 16, 2010 at 09:36 AM
Thanks for doing the right thing for Mother Earth! Unfortunatly it gets so hot & humid here, I just can't mow my yard anymore, but if I could, this would be the way I would choose to go as well. Bravo for making a stellar choice! Dig the goats make it to NH? Just curious.
Hugs all around,
ginger, Tobias & Tlingit
Posted by: ginger | August 16, 2010 at 09:31 AM
As word spreads in your new locale, perhaps volunteers will step forward to not only help you mow, but tackle the weed whip along the fences and house lattice work. Wish I could help out but Central Florida is a long way to commute...
And, as always, the animals amaze us in their ability to acclimate quickly, and then settle back to to live and enjoy life. Thank you both for all you do for them.
Posted by: Leximou | August 16, 2010 at 08:24 AM
What a great review of the lawnmower. It's always nice to learn from another's first hand experience. The Neutron is now on my list when our mower quits.
Love the dogs napping under the ramps. I think you are right on with the "den" remark. Dogs, no matter what their breed, share 98% of their DNA makeup with wolves.
And who doesn't enjoy some shade on a warm summer day?
Posted by: Lynne Parker | August 16, 2010 at 07:31 AM
Welcome to the East coast and thank you for all the wonderful work that you do. By the way the new lawn mower seems to be a true dream. If you don't mind my asking was it really expensive?
I truly enjoy your letting us know how things are getting along. I am a huge fan and bless you both for all the things you do for those who have no voice to be heard,
By the way do you have volunteers come from other states to give you a much needed hand?
Posted by: MaryGrace Brown | August 16, 2010 at 03:10 AM
Living in Montana, the two things I can do without are irrigating and mowing. As my partner says, if you don't water you can't mow. It IS crazy. Just be glad you got rid of the irrigating part when you moved.
Ah, the wonders of cordless, electric mowing. I have a Black and Decker battery powered mower that I got at a garage sale for 50 bucks. LOVE IT! It is all the things you said and more. I can easily mow my small yard in one charge. Hmmmn, but I'm thinking a couple goats could take care of the whole thing. I wonder if the city council would approve?
Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Lori | August 16, 2010 at 01:09 AM
That thing is totally kewl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Sharon | August 15, 2010 at 11:35 PM