Emma and I fixed our lawn mower this weekend, with the help and guidance of our friend Hank. The poor mower had been neglected over the past year or so, so Hank showed us how to open it up and where (and how) to clean it, and she’s running like a champ now. Woo! It’s very satisfying, reviving a piece of machinery. It had been a couple of months since we last mowed the lawn, which was threatening to engulf the house. The grass was so high, in fact, that it was covering Emma’s ankle tattoo completely:

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The yard looks much nicer now, after we cleaned and mowed. I did most of the mowing and Emma played Destructor, Slayer of Weeds and Vines. The next project is to finish moving all of the debris to the curb before Thursday. Oy…

Overall the house is looking very nice, I think. The cucumber plants have succumbed to the heat and drought, which is a little sad, but the tomatoes are persevering. I need to remember to start germinating the plants earlier next year so it doesn’t take quite so long to start producing fruit. Oh, and transfer them out of the germinating tray at the right time, so they don’t get stunted. That’d probably be more useful.