JD X390 reporting for duty; need petro

Come spring, Michiganders know to watch the weather and mow our lawn between rainfall, or pay the penalties.

In this prolonged, wet season, I pruned my small Grosso lavender patch with a friend, and hired other yard projects while waiting for the sun to pay her respects.

Thus, my lawn grew high with scruffy patches of weeds. Twigs and branches from trees littered the two-ish acres I mow. Random dandelions bloomed.

At last, yesterday offered sunshine for my perennial drive downhill in Betsy (my golf cart) to Mel’s shed (so named after my late husband).

I lifted the shed’s door and found the three empty gas cans to my left, Mel’s John Deere X390 on the right.

I chose two cans, the larger one, and one two gallon can, aiming to complete my task before sundown.“Are you ready to roar and roll?” I asked JD.

Now, dear Reader, lest you think I’ve lost my mind, please know it’s healthy exercise of memory muscle to recall and speak what has lain dormant for a while.

As my husband is not available for my questions regarding his meticulous care of his John Deere, I consult JD.

I placed the gas cans in Betsy’s cargo area in back and drove uphill to my car. There I placed the cans in the back seat and drove to the local gas station, filled the cans, and drove back home.

Although I fall short of Mel’s knowledge and devotion to oil changes, blade sharpening, and other maintenance, God is good and assigned me a neighbor who also possesses Mel’s affection for his mower.

This good Samaritan has thrice removed the snow blade from JD and installed the mower deck in plenty time for my first mow of springtime.

A bit rusty with the machine’s operation sequence, I mounted the seat, and reviewed the various directions on the deck. “Okay,” I said, “here we go!”

I turned the key a few times before the engine’s ignition provoked a smile of relief on my face.

Mel usually mowed last the west plot of level turf. When I was outside weeding my flower gardens on the east side of the valley, he’d wave to me from his tractor.

I began mowing by the shed in back, avoiding the low, wet areas, and mowed willy-nilly for two hours through high grass littered with hidden branches and twigs, scruffy patches of weeds and decomposing leaves.

The mower stalled all of a sudden on the slope by the valley steps, so I took a rest on the living room sofa with my cats. Then I gassed up JD and completed my first mow for 2026.

Oh, could it be that JD misses Mel, too? The cats and house do.

Contact Iris at irisfarmletters@gmail.com