HOLLY — A Holly man announced Saturday that he had mowed his lawn for the final time this year, marking the seventh consecutive weekend he has made the same announcement.
“That’s it. I’m done,” said the man, who first retired his mower over Labor Day weekend. “Grass isn’t going to grow much more this year.”
Each Saturday, he finishes mowing, cleans the deck, drains the fuel, and carefully parks the mower in the back of his garage. By Thursday, the grass has grown another half-inch. By Friday, he’s checking the weather to see if Saturday will be dry enough to mow.
His wife has stopped helping him put the mower away. “Last week he asked me to move my car so he could get it into storage,” she said. “I told him to leave it by the garage door where it belongs.”
The man disputes claims that he has mowed six times. He insists the last five were merely “touch-ups” and that his original Labor Day prediction remains correct. Last Saturday’s touch-up took two hours.
Despite the setbacks, the man remains confident. He has now pushed the mower to the very back of the garage, covered it with a tarp, and declared the matter settled.
On Sunday, he purchased a riding leaf vacuum and announced plans to finish his fall cleanup next weekend, despite nearly all the leaves still being attached to the trees.
“One weekend should take care of it,” he said.