Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Saturday, August 1, 1925

Saturday, August 1, 1925
Cool

Got out in the yard and cut the grass, pulled weeds, raked etc. from the time I finished breakfast dishes till noon. It was a big job. Have been trying to get Gilbert to do it and he kept saying the grass was too long and ground uneven. Was awfully tired but the yard looked respectable for once since the tree fell.

(We know that Grandma was the gardener in this family! Remember, however, before you are too hard on Gilbert for having excuses not to work in the yard, that due to a childhood illness, his one leg was shorter than the other, which I am sure caused him some pain when he walked around a lot, especially on uneven terrain.

I do remember that Grandma had one of those big heavy rollers that they filled with water and then rolled all over the grass to even up the ground. I am not exactly sure now that I think about it how she rolled that thing around once it was full because it would be quite heavy. She didn't have a riding mower to attach it to. Their mower in 1925 was most likely a manual reel mower, which is supposed to be hard to cut with, especially if the grass is long.

Most experts agree now that rolling a lawn to even up the ground is not a good practice, as it tends to compact the soil, actually making it more difficult for the grass to grow.)

1 comment:

  1. The strange thing is, one of the things I remember most about Grandma's back yard was the unevenness of the ground. In my memory it seems it was difficult to walk on. The only other thing I remember is the pond that had been filled in with dirt.

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