April 21, Lisa's Musings (on learning lessons) and Every Day Life

In the last two days, I learned two important lessons.

Yesterday, I learned why it's not a good idea to put metal in the microwave.

Today, I learned bad things happen if the oil cap isn't screwed back into place on the lawn tractor.

I know about the microwave and metal thing. Really.

I took a big ole peanut butter cookie (made by one of the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market vendors) out of its plastic bag and put it on a plate to warm for 15 seconds.

About 5 seconds into the warming, I heard an bad popping sound; one that signaled hit the stop button fast -- don't pass go, don't collect $200.

Make it stop ... now.

I opened the door and something didn't smell quite right, so I jerked the plate out of the oven.

That darn twist tie, the one that had been on the plastic bag, had hidden itself under the cookie on the plate.

Good thing I was standing right there, and that I was using a plate I didn't love because plate, twist tie and cookie ended up in the trash.

The twist tie had melted into the plate, but the oven's fine.

Onto the oil. Before I start the lawn tractors, I always check the oil.

Hey, I'd even bought a new eco-friendly bottle of the stuff for the mowing season.

And I was poised to use it.

Since the grass was so long, I decided to take out the new mower because it has a mulching attachment.

So off, off and away to start on my five-hour mowing adventure.

I was bee-bopping along, enjoying the sunshine, smiling as the robins swooped down the moment I had a section finished, and then I noticed spots on the nose of the mower.

Hummm.

I finished the front and headed to the dog yard and had to turn it off to open the gate.

So I decided to investigate the spots and found oil everywhere -- what the heck?

So I opened the hood and quickly found the problem. I'd failed to tightly screw on the oil cap when I checked it.

Oops.

I thought about just driving it back to the garage and parking it but then decided that I somehow needed to burn off the oil because, well, oil and water don't mix, so it wasn't like I could hose it off.

So, I continued mowing -- until it started raining. Then I brought it inside and opened the hood.

When the sun came out 15 minutes later, enter Old Faithful, my noseless, ever chug-a-lug, work horse mower.

The two of us rode around the back 40, readied the agility field for the equipment's arrival from the shed, chugged on through a short shower and finished the rest of the property.

Old Faithful and I understand each other. We appreciate each others quirks and work through them ... together.

I ignore the rows of grass clippings she leaves in her wake, and she doesn't quit working when a run over a small tree or drive her over a rock.

And when I was done, I looked back over my shoulder and smiled.

They say every dark cloud has a silver lining, but today, there was a rainbow.