Summer's end yard work

Well, ye socks, it is the last official day of summer, but the heat says otherwise.

Yours truly finally broke down and bought a new lawn mower, the shiny green Briggs & Stratton pictured here.

Actually got it yesterday, and assembled it as I watched the Gators romp over Tennessee.

I guess I should have been paying more attention to the assembly process, because one of the wheels flew off after making only a couple of passes across the back yard.

I couldn't find the lug nut or one of the washers in the high grass, and really didn't feel like investing too much time hunting under the abusive sun.

No big deal, I thought, I'll just head over to "the place with the helpful hardware man." He evidently doesn't work on Sundays, because I ended up having to sort thru two aisles of potential replacement parts. Should've written down the sizes from the instruction manual instead of just carrying examples from another wheel. So, I had an unwelcome surprise when I got back home and the wheel didn't fit quite as well as the other three. But, I was determined to "get 'er done" and pushed on. Pun intended.

Anyway, three wheels or three-and-a-half, the yard looks pretty good now.

I, on the other hand, am in desperate need of a shower.

And a massage.

Or, at least an aspirin.