Honestly, I just purchased an EGO electric lawnmower from Lowe’s. They were clearing out stale inventory after the holiday season, so I got an unusually good price. I even used it a couple of times during that weird span of 40-50 degree mid-January temps in Eastern Massachusetts. I mulched up some areas I couldn’t get properly trimmed last fall when it’s gasoline-powered predecessor finally stubbornly refused to start. The lawn looked a little ragged.
I didn’t want to ruin the view of my across-the-street neighbor, whose lawn is kept manicured by an obedient but mysterious man who acts like he’d also like to plow her driveway, if you know what I mean. She has a hold on him like a Dominatrix over a devoted submissive.
Mr Plow shows up year round, does her yard work (and yes, he actually does snow-plow her driveway every snowfall) and vanishes. They never speak, he never enters her house, he mostly does the yard-work and snow-plowing during the day when she’s not home.
He seems to know everybody else on the block (I’m still new). No visible transactions ever take place between Mr Plow/Lawn-care and the woman who lives in the house whenever he pulls up in the snow-plow in the winter or towing the flat-bed of lawn-mowers and hedge-trimmers in the summer. I know nothing else of her, but she does look cute in her tasteful casual mini skirts and soccer-mom polo-T’s when she leaves the house in her electric hybrid SUV every day.
We got about a foot of snow overnight, and it is going to snow for another eight hours until well after dark tonight. That’s cool with me. I have a well-stocked pantry, fridge, and freezer. It is truly quiet here.
The only interruptions of the quiet in eastern Massachusetts come from the birds, mostly house sparrows, fighting over the feeders in the yard. This birdseed is the only backyard wildlife food available after a thick coating of fresh snow. Once the snow subsides, the birds descend.
The Blue Jays are the largest and most aggressive, they eat first. They’re also messy eaters, they fling bird food around like they’re actively shredding fresh carrion. This scares everyone away while they’re eating. They’re followed by the woodpeckers and chickadees. Chickadees frighten no one, so the house swallows swarm in once they notice the chickadees on the feeder.
Squirrels perch in the snow underneath the feeders like tailgaters at a NASCAR event. The sit on their haunches contently chewing on the seeds the hungry birds fling on to the ground from above. Squirrels are truly the deplorables of backyard wildlife, they should all wear little red caps. They loot, shred, destroy, and upend various things for no good reason. When they find something they can eat, usually something I deliberately put out for them, they smugly plop their butts down and act like they own the place.
It’s quite the scene. Stay warm.
EGO also has an electric chainsaw that I have my eyes on. Gas engines are such a hassle to maintain. I would love to have one of EGO's electric mowers.
Bill