The First Lawn Mowing of 2017

On March 4th it warmed up to 80 degrees.  Like clockwork I heard the neighbors, one by one, cranking up their lawnmowers and then weedeaters to get their lawns looking nice.  It takes a little work to get the winter grass and clover cut back.  Not to mention the leaves.  The live oaks are dropping the old growth leaves while putting on new leaves and tassels.

Pulling the lawnmowers out of the garage after the winter hibernation takes a little work.  Of course the tires must be aired up to the proper pressure level.  The changing temperatures always affects the air level in the tires.  I read that for every 10 degree Fahrenheit change in air temperature outside the tire, results in a 2% change in air pressure inside the tire, either up or down, depending on air temperature increase or decrease.

I'll clean the battery posts and connections with a wire brush after I loosen the connections to scrape away the corrosion.  I'll jump start 'Ol Betsy and run some Sea Foam fuel treatment through her until she purrs like a kitten.  Then she's ready to go.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First I "pre-mow."  I'm not going to just chop down all that white dutch clover growing in the yard without letting Daisy and Rosie eat it.  But first that takes some preparation by stringing up our solar charged portable electric fence.  During the off-season when the grass doesn't grow, I take down the cross-fencing paddocks in the pasture that I rotate the cows through.  Toward the end of the season I noticed that our old solar charger wasn't 'hot' enough.  The cows were going right through it without being shocked.

When I pulled it down, I had it shipped off to the manufacturer to see what the issue might be.  I learned, to my dismay, that it was more economical to buy a new solar fence charger than pay for the repairs needed to refurbish it.  The old fence charger had done its job over the years, but finally petered out.  I purchased a new one for a little over $154.  I sat it out in the yard and let it charge up for a while and then I strung the portable fence up, hammered in a ground rod, hooked up the wires, and went and got the cows.

Harnessing the Power of the Sun

Funny thing is, like Pavlov's salivating dogs, the sound of me unrolling the poly-wire rope on the reel, captured the cow's attention.  They remember that sound equates to fresh grass and they start lining up at the fence and mooing loudly.  One at a time I walked over, opened the gate and got the matriarch of our little herd, Daisy...

Followed closely by Rosie.  Poor Clarabelle, Luna, and Chuck have to stay in the pasture.  Daisy and Rosie are still in milk and we give them the best grass so that they'll produce the best milk for us.  If you notice both above and below, they both made a beeline for their favorite item on the salad bar - white dutch clover.  I left them in the side yard for about three hours and they manicured it nicely. Meanwhile, if you look below to the right of the live oak, you can see the John Deere lawn tractor warming up, ready for duty.

With the "pre-mowing" done, I put the cows back in the pasture, roll the poly-rope back on the reel, pull up the temporary step-in posts and get on the John Deere lawn tractor.  Nothing runs like a Deere - or our Jersey cows to white dutch clover.

Our Lawnmowers

We put our little John Deere lawn tractor in the garage back in late October after we mowed the last of the summer grass and leaves.  I'll crank it up every once in a while to make sure it still starts for when we need it, but we try to delay using the John Deere to mow until we absolutely have to.  It is officially Spring right now but the nights are still pretty cool, so the grass hasn't started growing vigorously yet.  I'll hear the neighbors firing up their lawnmowers to mow the white dutch clover that fills their yards.


White Dutch Clover in the yard

We fire up our mowers as well, but we use a different type lawn mower to trim our clover - Rosie and Daisy.  Unlike my boys, they show excitement about being asked to mow.  They also don't need to be filled with fuel.  Aside from the cow patties that they leave scattered on the front lawn which some people find unappealing, I can't really think of any downside to letting the cows do the mowing for me.  I'm sure if we lived in the suburbs, the Home owner's Association would likely frown upon this lowbrow practice.

Rosie & Daisy chowing down in the yard

So oblivious to deed restrictions, Rosie and Daisy set out to mow a section of our yard.  They don't have harmful emissions that harm the environment, unless of course you count...  Well, you know.


The Jersey Zero Turn Radius Lawn Mowers at work

They run excitedly from one clover patch to the next, noses to the ground, skillfully pulling out each piece of clover and devouring it. 

Clover for Daisy Lou

Cows are not emotional creatures.  You will never see them smile.  They are very even keeled and the only time you really see them show enthusiasm is on that first cool, crisp day of the fall.   They'll kick up their heels and run around.  Looking down at this platter of clover, I'll bet she's smiling on the inside in her own cow kind of way. 

Do cows smile?

She's nose deep in the clover now, but she has that twinkle in her eye to let you know that she's happy.  

Daisy's favorite meal - white dutch clover

It's kind of rude to stand over someone while they're eating, so I'll move on down the road.  Enjoy your luncheon, Miss Daisy.

Finally, here's how we keep our lawnmowers from mowing our neighbor's property or getting out on the road.  I have some temporary electric wire fencing on a reel that I unroll and affix it to some step-in fiberglass posts.  To be honest, I don't even hook it up to the charger.  The cows have been shocked before, so they respect the fence and don't go near it.  We don't leave the house while the girls are mowing, though.  We keep a close eye on them.  Once we see them sit down, they're done and we walk out and lead them back to the pasture. 

Cows inside the temporary fencing mowing down the clover

Tomorrow, I'll simply pull up the temporary fence and move it to another part of the yard where there's more clover.  Clover provides the girls with lots of protein, digestible nutrients and calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.  This, in turn, enables them to produce the most delicious, nutritious, milk on God's green earth. 

Daisy and Rosie - Mowin' the grass & puttin' milk in the glass.  Thanks girls!