I moved the lawn for the first time of the year yesterday. Last year's first mowing was on April 18 - so just one day apart. Yesterday was also the first time I used the new/old mower. If you remember from last fall, I found a mower deck that was in great condition but the motor was no good. So I switched the motor from my old mower to this new deck. It's not a perfect match (the motor is a little big for this deck) but it worked pretty good. And... the motor once again started on the first pull. I mowed on the 2nd to highest notch.
In other lawn care news.... I finally admitted defeat and just hired someone to fertilize our lawn. I've been trying to do it for the past few years, and I either forget to do it in time, or I just don't know how to do it very well. It doesn't look very good. So from now on I will just mow and trim, and let Spring Green handle the fertilization.
I checked with several companies and decided on them. Tru-Green annoyed me with their high-pressure sales department; another local company said they were already too busy; and it seemed the majority of people in our neighborhood have the little "Spring Green" signs in their yard. So that's how I decided on them. They were also considerably cheaper than Tru Green.
We will get 7 applications per year (~$38 per), and I also signed up to have them aerate and overseed. Our grass is pretty thin, and I've had people tell me that's what it needs. I wasn't sure if it was too late for that or not, but I guess not.
So.... hopefully this time next year we will have a much nicer looking lawn.