Weapons of Grass Destruction

Due to the warm weather and heavy rains, here in the South, the lawn wars are a front and center subject most of the time.  I find myself constantly worrying about the lawn and the lawn care equipment.  My Weapons of Grass Destruction get used more than any other tool I have.

One of the things I hate the most about the Lawn Wars is the clean up afterward.  My John Deere mower  is a mulching mower (when it's working) and when I need to, I can put on the grass catcher and bag up the clippings.  Whether I bag them or mulch them, the sidewalks and driveway get a nice even dusting of grass clippings.  Once they dry out, they get tracked into the house and the car.  I try to use a big professional sized push broom to sweep them up after mowing, but the heavy aggregate in my cement driveway keeps them from being swept up easily.  Cue aggravated screaming, cursing and gnashing of teeth.  

I have always wanted a blower to take care of this problem but for one reason or another I never found one at an affordable price at the same time that I had said affordable price to spend.  Until now!   Just a couple of weeks ago, we visited a local thrift store, and there, midst the golf clubs and the expired baby car seats is the beautiful blower you see above. A quick test of the electric motor and for a mere $11.50 (plus tax) it's mine!

At home, the internet tells me that this is the Paramount PB150 Blower, made way back in the early 1980s.  The side you can see there, has a nifty removable grate for cleaning and it shows me that this unit was well cared for. So well, in fact, that it took little to get it ready to use.  

It was only a few days until I could again mow and I was itching to get out the new blower.  After I got the lawn cut, the blower made short work of the grass clippings turning a 45 minute sweeping job into a mere 5 minutes. I was nearly dancing up and down the driveway. Ok, ok...I WAS dancing up and down the driveway. And skipping. Yes, skipping.  So sue me! 

As much as dancing down the driveway while using my new (used) blower may keep me from being considered one of the Good Ol' Boys, I may just do it again next week, too.  Such is life in the South.