Today was a mowing day because yesterday wasn’t. There’s a story behind that sentence, but it’s not a great one, so I’ll let it go.
However, today’s story is a little over the edge even for me, the Amazing AmeliaJake, (not to be confused with the Amazing Lovable Furry Old Grover).
I concentrated on pushing Mother’s voice out of my head today, but didn’t succeed, so I had to go ahead and knowingly break the rule about not mowing too fast. It’s bad for the mower and the grass and low class, dontcha know? But I had limited time and the grass wasn’t thick and it worked well for the east section.
I guess I got a little cocky.
I kept mowing fast on the main lawn (yard) and was even thinking of slowing down when I saw a slim but long branch had fallen and decided to mow up on side of it and down the other.
The mower casing got just a bit too close to the branch and it hit it; normally, the branch would have been pushed away. That didn’t happen this time because I would find out an auxiliary branchlet had embedded itself in the ground like an anchor.
Everything stopped. I moved the branch, started the engine and flicked the blade switch.
OH, THE SCREECHING NOISE . . .
I looked closely and saw the branch had bent the steel frame way back and the blade PUNCHED THROUGH IT.
Hey, I stayed cool; I started the mower and drove around behind a fence in back. That’s when I found out it was really, realy bent back; no tugging was going to help. So I got a pry bar. Well, that didn’t work. I drove the mower up beside a forked tree and put the pry bar in the fork and pulled hard. Nothing.
Then, I thought, “Well, gee, what if I turn the mower on and put it in reverse?” Okay, it didn’t work the first time, but it worked after some pry bar adjustment.
I felt guilty and if I had left it at that, I probably would have been okay. I made the mistake of thinking how nifty it was of me to use the pry bar and the forked tree.
That’s when a walnut dropped off the tree right onto my head. It was the only nut that fell. No wind, not even a slight breeze . . . just PLOP!
I’m just glad Mother didn’t have a coconut tree handy.