Who needs a treadmill when you've got Briggs and Stratton?

I spent the day today mowing our yard. This may sound trivial if you have not seen our yard. I was mowing for almost 8 hours - we are on an acre, and due to some semi-sadistic character flaw that I have since gotten treatment for, I apparently thought it was a good idea to use mowing my lawn as exercise, so I purchased a lawnmower. Now it is self-propelled to a degree, but it really only propels itself when the bag is 90% empty. And when you don't mow your back 1/2 acre for like, a month, or two, and it gets 2-3 feet high, well, Lucy, you got some weedwacking to do.

In Los Angeles, things were different. We were on 1/4 acre there, and we were able to pay a yard maintenance crew $35/mo to, as my neighbor there said, "Mow, Blow, and Go" -- they would mow our lawn twice a month, blow the clippings off the driveway, and move on in about 1/2 hr. Oh yes, life was good. I would gladly give up the extra channels of cable to have someone else mow.

HERE, in Portland, on the other hand, we are looking at significantly more for a similar service. Alas, Sunday is a standing date with Briggs and Stratton.

Boy am I glad to be sitting down.

But, I guess the sweat was worth it. :) Maybe.