I went to the hardware store yesterday and bought a new lawn mower, my mower kept clogging and sputtering and failing. Ever time i couldn’t start it, I hauled it into the car and drove it to Bryan at the hardware store, and every time I did that, he started it up the first time. I did this three times yesterday and it seemed insane and frustrating.

I just couldn’t go more than a few minutes without the engine cutting out.

Bryan is a good and patient soul, and ever helpful. We’ll keep at this until we get it right.  He showed me a new mower, and explained many things about the engine I did not understand. Bryan is amazingly patient that way, he doesn’t seem to care that I have no idea what he is talking about, he just feels obliged to try.

My rule is simple, if he says it’s okay for me to buy it, I do. That’s all I want to know. It’s also probably why I have so much trouble getting things to work.

So I came home with a new mower, more powerful and with a vent to expel the heavy grass and turn it into mulch. I am very happy with it, although I had the usual mishaps at first.  I couldn’t start it either the first few times, and had to run back and forth to the hardware store, but finally it worked. I have a strange thing with mechanical devices, I am allergic to them, we do not communicate well with one another. I live out of my head, not in the material world. Maria will testify to that.

Fortunately I live in a town filled with men who love mechanical devices and talk to them well, and have mercy on me.

“You’re wordsmith,” said Bryan, trying to make me feel better, I panic at the sight of a cord or assembly instructions. Bryan has seen this many times, so far he is the model of patience and understanding. My new mower is great, it is strong and fast and did the job.

I love mowing our lawns, they are pretty big and it feels good to me to keep them in shape. I also have a rapt audience when I mow, Fate and Red sit and watch me as if I am about to launch a mission into space. Most likely, they are just waiting for me to let them go to work. The chickens usually appear as well. Chloe comes over to whinny at me and the donkeys bray softly for treats. Most often the barn cats will check things out to see if I have flushed any mice or moles from their hiding places.