The Inaugural Mow

On 6/26/26, Brooke and I bought our first house. If you know me, you probably know that this is something we've been working towards for a very long time. Lots of saving and watching Zillow with hopes of the right house popping up. However, this is not really a blog post about the new house (though I reserve the right to write one in the future), this is a post about becoming a person who cuts grass.

The Steed

If you are going to cut grass, it's preferable to use a lawn mower. I know my neighbors are going to think I'm a little weird one way or another, but I don't need to fan that flame by trimming the lawn with scissors. In the month leading up to our house purchase, I developed a somewhat serious addiction to Facebook Marketplace. In almost any spare moment, I'd be on the prowl looking for a good mower at a cheap price. Brooke's dad and brother both pointed me towards Toro, so that's where I set my sights. One fated day, the right deal came along and I had found my Toro Recycler 22" w/ bag for $100 (a steal if you'd ask me).

When the seller arrived at the apartment complex, I was surprised to see that they had loaded the mower into the back seat of a manual transmission PT Cruiser (I first learned how to drive stick in a manual PT Cruiser, shout out to James). The legends that transported the mower told me that 13 other people had reached out to them about the mower since I messaged them. I take that as a sign that I got a good deal.

The Maiden Voyage

It's one week after move in and the temperature is boiling. The day is July 4th 2026 and John makes the bold decision to mow his lawn before hosting their first party at the house. Before he heads out to the garage, it's time to suit up.

Didn't take but a few pulls and the Toro fired right up #GTS.

Mowing the backyard went just fine. Nothing to be concerned about. I let the engine stop to move to the front yard, however, and when I went to pull on the ripcord, I got 2 successful pulls, but the 3rd resulted in a halted jerk.

The First Stumble

Immediately my mind went to the worst - did the motor seize up? Not being the handiest guy around, I decided to consult Claude. Following some guidance there, I found I was able to move the blade manually, which alleviated those initial worries. Then Claude thought I might have flooded the cylinders so I removed the spark plug to check on that, and that didn't seem to be the issue either. The only remaining conclusion was that the cord was tangled or stuck in the enclosure. That did end up being the issue and once I figured out how to get the enclosure off and the cord untangled, I was back in business. I got decided to lower the mowing deck a bit while I was making my modifications as well.

The Second Stumble

Midway through mowing the front yard, I noticed the muffler blowing out a bunch of white smoke. Once again worried I'd break something, I made the executive decision to power down the mower and do some maintenance the following day. I was running out of time and was due for my yearly 4th of July nap (one of the only naps I take each year).

The Nap

Was somewhat incomplete. My usual 4th of July naps are out of pure necessity and I usually wake up feeling zombified. Like when you fall asleep with jeans on and you feel awful, those are what my naps are usually like. This time I never fully fell asleep, but it was good to have a little rest before our party.

The Maintenance

The next day I decided to change the oil and spark plug in the mower. In hindsight, I should have done this before running the mower at all. At $100, you have to assume the mower needs some maintenance. It was my first time doing this maintenance, but it was surprisingly easy. 2 more trips to Ace in the books. Once that was done, she fired right up and was purring like a kitten. I finished fixing my hackjob from the previous day and my first full mow was in the books.

The Reward

I've been rocking these Nike Air Monarchs for a while now and they've yearned to touch grass. After this mow, I am happy to report the first grass stains of many have been applied to these beautiful dogs.