Relative Something

One way of looking at the crazy amount of overgrown grass (and weeds) that were waiting for us upon our return home made it seem almost disastrous and barely manageable. There was an Extreme Heat Warning in place that dampened my spirit about rushing out to begin mowing as soon as we unpacked the car.

I dawdled a little bit, putting some things away and grabbing a bite to eat, but the mowing really needed to get underway. I wanted to make immediate progress in catching up. To my great relief, when I set out to begin at probably the warmest time of the afternoon, it didn’t feel entirely overwhelming. On the riding mower, there isn’t a lot of effort needed. Rolling along actually augmented the light breeze at times, increasing the cooling effect. We also have a decent amount of shade from trees around most of the areas I mow, and that definitely helped to limit the heat stress.

All that remains to be cut today is the labyrinth and the areas around the house. I was able to complete 2/3rds of the total mowing by heading back out into the heat after dinner last night. It looks like someone lives here again.

Another way to look at all the overgrown grass is that it doesn’t require an unreasonable amount of work to get it back under control again.

Asher showed great affection for having us home and sat with me at our lookout spot after I finished mowing for the day, so we could survey how good everything looked freshly cut. We watched the horses for a while, and I thought Mix was moving a little better than she was in videos we received a few days ago. She is limping again, like something is hurting one of her back legs.

Cyndie took a picture of Mia (with a fly mask on) and Swings out in the hay field grass. At that time, Mix was staying in the paddock, and Light appeared to be remaining with her to keep her company. By the time Asher and I were watching them, they were all moving around together inside the large paddock to graze.

For the rest of the summer, we’ll only be away at the lake over 4-day blocks of time, so I shouldn’t have this problem of falling behind on the mowing again for the rest of the growing season. That is, if I plan correctly and the weather cooperates.

There’s still some catching up I need to do in the manure composting operation, but that can happen after I’m done with all the mowing. Even though that work occurs in a shaded area, the heat of the composting piles greatly compounds the heat stress of hot, humid days. If I don’t get to it first thing in the morning, it will probably wait until the next day. I can’t put it off too long because the horses just keep producing more by the hour, regardless of how hot it gets.

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