Lawn Mowing in Florida is Much Harder Than In Missouri!

Feralpeg

Living and Loving Windermere!
Joined
Dec 29, 2000
Messages
19,390
I never dreamed how hard mowing the yard would be in Florida. First of all, it gets very hot early in the day. I have to start mowing by 7am or it gets too hot. Since it rains every afternoon, I can't do it in the evening.

The grass in Florida is so thick! It is called St. Augustine grass. In Missouri, we'd have pulled it as a weed. I bought a self-propelled mower (for all the good it has done me), but the grass is so thick that the self-propelled function barely works. My yard in Florida is much smaller than the yard I had in Missouri, but it really takes more out of me to mow here.

I can't wait for the cooler months. I may have to admit defeat and hire someone to mow during the really hot months. I'm not getting any younger!
 
April 30th:
Florida is fantastic! Just got here and love it already. Now this is a state that knows how to live! Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. What a place! Watched the sunset from a park lying on a blanket. It was beautiful. I've finally found my home. I love it here.

May 14th:
Really heating up. Got to 89 today. Not a problem, live in an air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see he sun every day like this. I'm turning into a real sun worshipper.

June 5th:
Had the backyard landscaped with tropical plants today. Lots of palms and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing for me. NO MORE SHOVELING SNOW EITHER! Another scorcher today, but I love it here.

July 1st:
The temperature hasn't been below 90 all week, not even at night. Where are those ocean breezes we heard about, still seems hot. Getting used to it will take a while, I guess. I sure miss my LP collection, though. I'll have to remember not to leave anything made out of plastic in my car. Got one of those fuzzy steering wheel covers. Cheaper than the burn ointment for my hands. I always wondered what burnt flesh smelled like.

July 15th:
Fell asleep by the pool. (Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my body.) Missed two days of work, what a dumb thing to do. I learned my lesson though: got to respect the ol' sun in a climate like this.

July 20th:
I miss our cat, Tabby. He snuck into the car when I left this morning. By the time I got out to the hot car for lunch, he'd swollen up to the size of a shopping bag and just as I opened the door he exploded all over $2,000 worth of leather upholstery. I told the kids he ran away. The car now smells like kibbles and poop. No more pets in this heat!

July 25th:
Ocean breezes, my ***. Hot is hot!!! The home air conditioner is on the fritz and AC repairman charged $200 just to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts. Only hope for a break in the heat would be a hurricane.

July 30th:
Been sleeping outside by the pool for three nights now. Swatting the swamp mosquitos that are as big as B-52's. $1,500 in darn house payments and we can't even go inside. Why did I ever come here?

August 4th:
100 degrees. Finally got the air conditioner fixed today. It cost $500 and gets the temperature down to about 90. The electric bill is almost as much as the house payment. And, two old lady drivers almost ran me off the road. I hate this state.

August 8th:
If another wise jerk cracks, "Hot enough for you today?" I'm going to tear his head off. Damn heat. By the time I get to work the radiator is boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like roasted Garfield!!

August 10th:
The weather report might as well be a damn recording: hot and sunny. It's been too hot two *&#^ months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. And who came up with the statement, "It may be hot, but at least you don't have to shovel it" should die from heat exhaustion. Doesn't it ever rain in this G-d forsaken place???

August 14th:
Welcome to hell!! Temperature got to 102 today. Forgot to crack the window and blew the windshield out of the Lincoln. The installer came to fix it and said, "Hot enough for you today?" My wife had to spend the $1,500 house payment to bail me out of jail.

August 30th:
Worst day of the summer. I'm not leaving the house. The monsoon rains finally came and all they did is to make it muggier than hell and drove the damned roaches out of the ground. I wasn't aware they could fly! The Lincoln is now floating somewhere in the Caribbean with its new $500 windshield. That does it, we're moving back to New York where all you have to worry about is getting mugged. I hope this state breaks in
half and floats down to Cuba!

As a native Floridian, I can laugh( sorta ) and say "Welcome to Hell":sunny:
 
The $60 we spend per month for our lawn to be mowed is the best money we have ever spent!
 
Well I'd like to say you are missing out on all the hot, humid MO weather, but you aren't. It's been in the 70s for a while and today might make it to 80. :sunny:

Of course this is really unusual, as you know.
 

Hire someone to do it for you, best money you'll ever spend. ::yes::
 
DisneyDmbNut, that was really funny! I hope it doesn't all come true! I do really like it here, but I was never fond of mowing. I really think I am going to get a lawn service. After all, I retired! I should be relaxing. Right? Oh well, I've showered and rested. I think I'll go to Downtown Disney and walk around in the heat!
 
We have a lawn services that comes every other week. Best money we spend. Have a very small lawn and we pay about %50/month
 
Last August I noticed the grass at ASMo was much different than what we have up here. The blades were much wider, and they are a different color green - almost lime green (oh how very DIS). I thought it was sort of cool looking. Is that St. Augustine grass too?
 
I noticed the grass is pretty course there too. Why don't they grow Kentucky Blue Grass. So much softer. I'm sure there's a reason, just wondered.
 
tc, I don't think blue grass would grow here very well. We are basically living on sand. They must bring dirt in for the golf courses where they have the finer grass.
 
That is why I do not want to retire to Florida or anywhere down south. What is the difference between spending 3 months indoors because of the cold weather or 3 months indoors because of hot weather? At least when it is cold you can light a fire in the fireplace or put on a sweater. When it's hot, what can you do? Remove all of your clothing? I do not understand this thing about moving south for retirement. Sure it is nice to visit in the cold months but give me the north over the tropics anyday for living year-round. Jay
 
JayCT, I guess it is a matter of personal preference. Although I don't like mowing in the heat (actually, I don't like mowing in any weather), I much rather be hot than cold. I hate being cold! I can run around in shorts when it is 100 degrees and although it is hot, it really doesn't bother me that much. I hate dealing with below zero temperatures. I also hate ice and snow. Give me a thunderstorm every day over the three or four 12 inch snowfalls we used to have to deal with. The rain only lasts for a little while. The snow lasts for days. Yuck! I'm very happy to be living in Florida.
 
We gave in and hired a grass cutting service. They will come every week for $70 a month. Much better than me trying to cut the thick stuff.

I love the heat. I would much rather be hot than cold. I won't be missing the snow at all. I am enjoying my first year here in FL.
 
I also would rather be hot than cold.

I don't mind mowing the lawn. We have about 50% St Augustine and 50% who knows what. The St Augustine is slowly taking over and thats the way we like it. However, its the raking and sweeping that does me in. We need to buy a mower with the bag on the back.
 
Originally posted by tc
I noticed the grass is pretty course there too. Why don't they grow Kentucky Blue Grass. So much softer. I'm sure there's a reason, just wondered.
It's too HOT! KY bluegrass is a cool-season grass. It would just die in Florida.....have to have a true warm-season grass there.

It also has a high water requirement, which St. Augustine doesn't. You couldn't afford to water enough to keep it alive....


As for the hot vs. cold...I'm living in VA right now and it's too cold for me, at least in the winter!! Can't wait to move back to FL next summer :)
 














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