# Do you actually LIKE mowing the yard? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260 "2019-06-29T15:12:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/21 "2019-06-29T19:42:58Z")
I picked option 2. I don’t really _like_ the actual act of mowing, but I like seeing the results. I don’t have as much to mow anymore anyway. A few years ago when California was in a serious drought, my city was offering a “cash for grass” rebate, where they would reimburse you for replacing your replacing your lawn with landscaping more appropriate for this climate. So I replaced the grass in my front yard with bushes and mulch. There’s still grass in the back but I just let it die during the dry summer, so I only have to mow it during the rainy season (yes, if the grass gets watered you pretty much have to mow year-round in much of California). ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/22 "2019-06-29T19:55:51Z")
I don’t have a yard to worry about anymore, but when I did, > [@ZonexandScout](#): > > I used to like mowing the yard…alone time, headphones on listening to music my wife hates, the satisfaction of seeing the yard afterwards. Yeah, this. I enjoyed the private time, putting on the (wireless) headphones, cranking up the ZZ Top, and watching the grass gradually transform from a thatched mess to a beautiful carpet of green. But then afterwards, I had to empty the clippings from the bag, so I don’t miss it at all. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/23 "2019-06-29T20:01:02Z")
I haven’t mown a yard since I was a teenager, and I never liked it. The house I grew up in had steep grass banks in the front and that was the part I hated. That and my allergies being made worse. (I see on Google Street View that somewhere along the line someone put a stone wall where the banks were and filled in the ground behind it, and so now the mowing is flat. That is a project I would have happily worked on as a teenager, if it meant I wouldn’t have to mow that damn bank any more.) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/24 "2019-06-29T20:11:02Z")
My Grandfather built a 220 lot mobile home park. It was a family business. For about 4 years as a kid 10-14 years old, I mowed all the empty lots as well as all the common areas. I also had 5 acres to mow at home (we had tractors and such, but it was a shit load of work). This was in the heat and humidity of central Illinois. I don’t miss it. I now live in the mountains. No ‘yard’. If it grows, I’m glad. Now instead of mowing, I plow snow. I prefer that though. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/25 "2019-06-29T20:54:50Z")
I like having a lawn, so mowing is a necessary evil that I grudgingly tolerate. But in a year or two, the Firebug should have the strength and stamina to take over the mowing duties from me. (He’s 12 but small for his age, so this summer we’re splitting the mowing duties, but I’m still doing more than he is. Can’t wait for him to have his teenage growth spurt.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/26 "2019-06-29T21:21:27Z")
Other. I don’t like mowing, but I’ll do it, because I also don’t like pissing the neighbors off by having an overgrown lawn. That said, last few years we hired mowers. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/27 "2019-06-29T21:42:30Z")
> [@naita](#): > > I’m fine with mowing if it’s twice a year with a scythe. That’s what I did with my small patch of grass at my previous place. > > Here I have nothing that could count as a lawn, and I hope I never will again. As a fan of scything videos, I find this intriguing. How big was that patch of grass? How did it look afterwards - more like mower-done or weed whacker-done? What was the learning curve? I don’t know if anyone else would be interested in a separate thread, but I sure would be. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/28 "2019-06-29T21:43:09Z")
I enjoy doing yard work but I don’t like the commitment to doing it on a regular basis so I use a gardener. I do all my own trimming and weeding as it is not as demanding to a strict schedule. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/29 "2019-06-29T22:03:02Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I dislike the reality, the concept, other people doing it and everything else about it. > > It just seems such a waste of productive land, environmental resources, time, water and energy. I guess I can see the point for people who actually enjoy and use it, but that seems to be a much smaller number of people than those who feel compelled (or are compelled) to create and maintain one. > > Let the grass grow tall and full of weeds, I say. I’m with you on nearly all of this. I just don’t see the point of mowing just for the sake of having a good looking lawn for all the reason you mention above. However, if you actually use your lawn frequently and the grass in your area gets too high for you to enjoy it, then I can see mowing it in that situation. Otherwise, I acknowledge my neighbors’ right to waste energy on a frivolity as long as they don’t make me do the same. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/30 "2019-06-29T23:12:13Z")
I love hopping on the ol’ yard tractor and mowing. It takes me about an hour and half. I’ve passed over some of the push-mower duties to my 10-year-old son, but he struggles a bit with the weight of it, so i limit it to a section beneath a tree in the front that I can’t get with the rider. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/31 "2019-06-30T00:45:34Z")
I sorta like mowing, but I LOVE having mowed. mmm ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/32 "2019-06-30T02:22:51Z")
I used to like mowing the lawn, before I developed back problems. Now I leave it to my husband, who also likes doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/33 "2019-06-30T03:28:34Z")
I didn’t vote, because there’s nothing in between like and can’t stand in the options. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have to, but there’s worse things to do. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/34 "2019-06-30T03:33:21Z")
I like mowing the grass, but I only have two small areas of lawn to worry about. If they were huge expanses it would be more of a chore. As it is, it’s an easy job that only takes about an hour, and delivers the gratification of immediate results. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/35 "2019-06-30T03:46:55Z")
I voted “Love it”, but that’s not quite fair, because we have a small yard that I can do with a manual (“reel”) mower. I would hate it if I had to use a loud, smelly power mower. Fun anecdote (well, it will be for me…): a co-worker dropped by to borrow our “little red wagon” for a Dog Jog outing. As she (a young, tough Manhattanite) drove down our street, she was surprised by the kids playing hopscotch with their puppies, the dad and his daughters drawing with sidewalk chalk, and the neighbors chatting from one front porch to the other. A neighbor and I were both out \*manually \*mowing our lawns. She just stared: “What… did I just take a left turn into the Eisenhower Years?” ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/36 "2019-06-30T07:45:00Z")
Actually I like mowing the yard. I didn’t think I would. Growing up I mowed our lawn and the neighbor’s as soon as I was big enough. From late Elementary thru high school, my brother and I mowed 5-6 lawns every week. I took about 40 years off living abroad, but then became an American home renter then owner. Got a self propelled honda. Here in the PNW, you only really need to mow about a dozen times a year. I thought I would find it a chore, but actually enjoyed it. Wife decided we needed gardeners, and so now I don’t mow. I kinda miss it. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/37 "2019-06-30T13:41:15Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I voted “Love it”, but that’s not quite fair, because we have a small yard that I can do with a manual (“reel”) mower. I would hate it if I had to use a loud, smelly power mower. They’ve got these cool electric mowers now that aren’t super loud or smelly. And they are light-weight. One day I’m going to upgrade to cordless, but I love the one I have. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/38 "2019-06-30T14:29:04Z")
Our home/farm is rural so we have acres of ground to deal with. We do not really “mow” as much as we “landscape”. One full day every week is devoted to landscaping. That day typically involves 3 hours of mowing, and hour of trim work, an hour of weeding/transplanting/etc, and an hour of chainsaw work. I kind of like driving the lawn tractor around, drinking beer, and listening to podcasts. Our yard is the easy part. We have two 10 acre horse pastures that we used to mow a couple of times every summer. That was awful, but we have found a guy who cuts it for a reasonable fee. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/39 "2019-06-30T14:32:24Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I sorta like mowing, but I LOVE having mowed. > mmm Yeah, after its all complete and our property looks like a postcard, I usually cook dinner on the grill so we can appreciate the results. But if we mow Saturday, by Tuesday things look a bit ragged. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260/40 "2019-06-30T14:33:14Z")
I don’t mind the part where I can fire up the ol’ John Deere and drive around the yard. The parts I hate are the ditch and the hill where I have to use the push mower. One of the smarter purchases we made was a self-propelled mower. But I have to do it. My spousal unit has a bad back and a bad knee and I don’t want him walking back and forth across the slope. So I try to get out when it’s still coolish, start at the top, and work my way down. At most, it takes about an hour from getting the mower out of the shed, to putting it away when I’m done. I do have to say there’s a sense of satisfaction when it’s done, but I hate everything that leads up to that point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-actually-like-mowing-the-yard/836260.md?page=3)