27hand goes green--anyone else?

[27hand]

Well, I finally am doing my ever so slight part to conserve energy(gasoline) and minimize lawnmower pollution.

I am finally green. Green with envy that is because I can't justify paying someone else to cut my grass while i am still able bodied enough to do it.

I got the electric lawnmower out of the shed and cut grass with it for the first time.
I was contemplating pouring concrete everywhere i now have grass and only having to paint the concrete green every few years but the price of cement is going through the roof.

Senior27hand gave the lawnmower to me when he and MrsSenior27hand moved out of their house and into an apartment. i stuffed it into the back of the shed behind the 8 horse snowblower and there it sat for 2 years.

It is a bit different to cut with than the 2 old gas mowers i have in that I have to watch out for the cord continually( I have purchased a plethora of male and female extension cord ends). I also found out that I cannot wait 2 weeks to cut grass if we have rain in between cuttings as the mower bogs down in the thick weeds that pass for 27grass.

My daughter, 27honey, is big time into saving the environment, recycling everything from cardboard to batteries and has taken some classes in holistic medicine.

When she gets back from her weeklong camping trip, I will be a hero if only for short term.

Now if i could ride my bicycle to Waynesburg (41.3 miles one way)to and from work everyday, I would have an everlasting place in her 27honeyheart.

Another note. I also use an electric weedwhacker. Although there was some banter on another thread about using one of these as less than manly, I am secure in my 27manhood to not let that bother me.

Anyone else made the switch yet??


27hand

[soberbyker]

hummm .... maybe going green isn't so bad .....

[gf45acp]

When I moved to Pa. I went elect. for the lawn, much smaller lawn than I had in NJ.
Also, my SUV gets 14 mpg, so it has been supplanted by an intermediate sedan, at 28 mpg.
Almost all of my lighting is the CFI bulbs, to hold down elect. cost.

[Atomic Dog]

Well, it takes about 2 hours on a riding mower to cut the crass, and that's not counting the trim work. It's almost impossible to find a tractor small enough for what we need with a diesel engine. The big tractor runs biodiesel (when we can find it) but only has a brush hog so, good for the pasture but not for the yard.


I will say that I have talked a little trash on electric string trimmers

Until I used one. It's got more torque than the gas, no worries about mixing fuel or keeping it filled, no powerband to worry about. I can spend more time cutting and less time putzing around.




We have switched almost every bulb to CF, have things on powerstrips to shut off when not in use, and have tried to cut back on water use. In the summer we use the AC less, in the winter use the woodburner more. I want to put in a grid-tied PV system and a solar water heater, we have the roof space but not the cash.

[Tsgtbob]

Why mow? It's only grass forchristsakes!

I've mowed 2 times this year, whacked down the tall stuff with a sickle and am not worried about it!

I converted to coal 4 years ago, switched to CF bulbs, drive the SunFart (sunfire) which gets 31 mpg compared to the Jeep which gets 22 mpg.

Am I trying to save the planet?
NO!!!! Screw the planet, (which don't need saving anyway) I'm trying to keep the most precious commodity in my pocket.
My money!

BTW, Sober, is that the infamous "green woman" of Star Trek fame? Bet Kirk (and Lycan) would hit it!

TsgtgrassnotmowinhittingthegreenwenchBob

[IV_Warrior]

I've considered (only briefly) and electric mower, just because of the price of gas. Then I realized it'd be more cost efficient to just mow less often..... I'll likely have to mow again next week (Ok, it needs it now, but I don't have the time) but after that, hopefully I won't have to do it again until mid-August. I've also got the CFL's, just because they use less power and put off less heat. We have curbside recycling here, so anything that I can't get money for taking somewhere else goes in the bin, so I don't have to pay to have it hauled to the landfill......

Now, if you REALLY want to "go green", you'd ditch the electric mower, which just transfers the pollution from your yard to a power plant, and get a manual mower......I thought about that, too, but they seem too much like work, and I hate mowing grass as it is. If the wife would let me, I would have the green concrete....

[soberbyker]

A conversation between GOD and St. Francis about Suburbanites

GOD: St. Francis, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the World is going on down there in the USA? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honeybees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.

ST. FRANCIS: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers weeds and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

GOD: Grass? But it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It's temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it, sometimes twice a week.

GOD: They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?

ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

ST. FRANCIS: No, sir -- just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

GOD: Now, let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow. And when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

ST. FRANCIS: Yes, sir.

GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back On the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the gro wth and saves Them a lot of work.

ST. FRANCIS: You aren't going to believe this, Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

GOD: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.

ST. FRANCIS: You'd better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.

GOD: No. What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the Winter and to keep the soil moist and loose?

ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy Something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

GOD: And where do they get this mulch?

ST. FRANCIS: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

GOD: Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

ST. CATHERINE: Dumb and Dumber, Lord. It's a real stupid movie about.............

GOD: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis

[Koli01]

I pledge to do my best to promote global warming.

I would like to see the people who own property along the eastern side of the alleghany mountains be rewarded with beach front property.
I will be happy to never have to go to NJ again as it will be under water.
Same for NYC.
We will no longer have to worry about Philly, mayor Nutter and their gun control ways or crime.

Polar Bears are dangerous creatures.

[27hand]

Bill, I multiquoted you just so I wouldn't have to scroll back for the eye candy. Thanks. I did read the other post a while back somewhere but it is true as true can be.

hummm .... maybe going green isn't so bad .....

[QUOTE=Joe Smith;352912


I will say that I have talked a little trash on electric string trimmers

I want to put in a grid-tied PV system and a solar water heater, we have the roof space but not the cash.[/QUOTE]

I couldn't remember who it was, but i figured they would out themselves

Hopefully the solar water heating systems are made better and more efficient these days. I helped put one in our local union hall 20 years ago and the cost savings was offset by the cost to install for almost no gain.

Tsgtbob, I was cutting less and working harder when I did. I let it go till it was 8 or 10in high (lazy).


I should probably shitcan the trailblazer but I had such a hard time adapting to it from the full sized Dodge Ram quadcab w/offroad package and sport package that I need more time to downsize further (maybe I'll get a puddlejumper when I retire).

27

[GRoPA]

I went a little greener....in a way......i have no grass.