There are several effective ways to get the heart rate over 120 beats per minute, which is a good cardio zone for someone of my tender years: interval training is my usual way but yesterday I decided to scarify the grass.
Now, those gardeners amongst you will know that scarifying by hand is a long and tedious task, but essential to keep your lawn looking great. The combination of planting the legs, exerting downward pressure with the arms and twisting the trunk whilst pulling the rake through the grass pushes the heart rate quickly skyward… in fact after every ten minutes of rigorous work, I need a break and I’m sure that someone else could count my heart beats just by listening. I certainly could.
So, three hours and lots of breaks later and I had reached a decision… to buy an electric scarifier!
This morning my shoulders, back and arms were all (more than) a little tight and I thought a run would be the perfect antidote. The weather was beautiful and I set out on one of the short run routes. Twenty minutes was all I managed however before I was walking for five, another twenty and I had decided to walk home. My legs were heavy, but that’s not normally a problem: it was actually my mind that wasn’t in gear. They say that grass can do that.
Walking back did give me an ideal opportunity to gaze at lots of beautiful houses, either admiring them or silently assessing how they might redesign their house or garden to add value or panache… although I dare say that people passing me must have thought I was just a weirdo walking along in my shorts!
So, hardly a run this morning, but I do now own an electric scarifier. I only mention this in case anybody would like to borrow it!
Hmm… scare the grass… I need to borrow something that’ll do that… but seriously, Seattle “lawns are 5/3 moss and 2/3 weeds… and any grass that appears goes brown when summer arrives so as not to attract attention. Not that Seattle summer is noted for attracting attention. Ironically our next-door neighbors have just hired a team of “scarifiers” to replace all the “garden” with a jig-saw puzzle of stone slabs and some big lumps of heavy rock… presumably to prevent the paving from blowing away. It looks very stylish.. there’s even one of those Japanese-style arches that are so beloved here. I’m impressed! My own efforts fell short… the moss carpet remains with the “British-style” kayak rack… for… well, dare I say British-style kayaks? The moss provides a soft landing!