I don’t particularly like to mow grass, but I do it anyway, partially to keep my neighbors happy and partially because I don’t like to stomp through waist-high weeds to access my property.

I also don’t like ticks and other such critters that typically find their way into my environs when I don’t mow. Snakes, rats and other creepy crawlies are not the kinds of things I want playing outside my front door.

So there was only one thing to do — mow the grass for the first time this year.

As the sun was high and hot and I had the day off work, I realized it was time to get to work on my least favorite summer chore. I was on my riding mower, riding up and down the hills I call a yard, thinking about how little I like to mow.

By the time I was finished, I was kind of pleased with my little sterilized landscape. I was feeling pretty hot and sweaty, but didn’t notice much else after getting done with the lawnmower and string trimmer. Walking up to the back door, I looked at the field behind the house, with its tufts of broom sage and briars, and I was glad I still mow grass. I do like to walk through calm meadows of golden rod and Queen Anne’s lace, even around the occasional rose bush or briar patch, but I just don’t want that to be between my and my vehicle when it’s time to go to work in the morning.

Of course, that’s just my unqualified opinion of the nature of the world, not everyone’s. I still don’t have to like it, but I do feel obliged to do it.

Before I went out to do any mowing, I had to first get in my morning fish. A friend and I waded a good portion of Little River starting in the late morning hours and then walked back, enjoying most of the scenery. There are some areas on that river that I haven’t seen yet, but I feel sure there are some that no one has seen in quite some time. I always enjoy fishing there when the opportunity arises.

I managed to get some sun on the fishing trip as well, coming in with a nice light pink hue on my face and arms.

Before that, I decided to get in a little yard sale activity, stopping at a few homes around the county to peruse their wares. I ended up with a fairly decent amount of things I just couldn’t live without, such as new seats for the swing set and such.

Skipping on to later in the day, I might lie and say I enjoyed mowing my own lawn so much, I opted to travel to Virginia and mow the lawn at my property there. The truth is slightly different from that. The fellow who is living there is disabled and he doesn’t yet own a lawnmower, although he does now rent a yard. It is easier for me to mow the grass for him than it is for me to have to try and hire a neighbor with a tractor to try and get it back in shape later. Anyway, at least he did help ride a good part of it, albeit on my equipment.

By the time I finished there, I was suffering from an obvious case of sunshine over-exposure. It is my first case of the year and I am rather enjoying it, realizing that the sunburn is as much a precursor, even rite of passage, into summer for me as is the first mowing of the lawn.

I hope to maintain most of my skin through this experience, so I am just going to hope that my skin turns a little darker and I am that much more resistant to burning the next time.

As for now, I am remembering more and more of the shortfalls involved in having a hairline that appears to be fleeing from my eyebrows. My head seems to get the most of the sunshine, followed by my neck and arms. I am glad I was smart enough to stay away from short pants. To me, having my legs sunburned is the worst thing, since they hurt sitting or lying and even when standing if pants come in contact with them.

I had a bad burn on the back of my legs when I was a young boy after floating around on a raft at the beach for the better part of a day. The sun baked me so badly that I had blisters. I learned a valuable lesson about the sun that particular trip to the ocean. I would prefer to not have to learn a similar one.

My burn this time came from a little more than four hours of overall exposure to the sun, which is a relatively short period of time. However, with pale winter skin and hot spring sun coming together, something has to give.

I have always had a somewhat fair skin tone, especially in the winter months. Even so, I tan fairly easily and can darken up quite a bit by the end of summer. I just need to get my head accustomed to being without cover for a little while.

Having too much sun on the head, when not completely bald, is difficult. For instance, how does one apply sunscreen to areas that need it without getting that ‘50s hair tonic look? My uncle decided to give up on that look when he lost most of his hair, especially after the part that used to do the flippy-thing in the front got too thin to flip. He ended up wearing the same Red Man hat for 20-some years.

Trying to look at it without bias, I am pretty sure that I have probably lost my flippy thing. Just don’t be surprised if you see me wearing a hat.

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