By Alex Aubuchon

Mowing the lawn is a simple task that many people have had the pleasure or misfortune of participating in.

On the surface the concept is very simple, cut the grass down to be shorter than it was before but there are many intricacies to this most basic of tasks.

For some like Jeff Salmon, mowing the lawn is a sort of therapy.

“A lot of people hate mowing the lawn and to be fair when I was younger I did too,” Salmon said. “Once I grew a little older I realized that it was peaceful and it gave me time to just relax and think.”

How you mow your lawn might have a lot to do with how much enjoyment you get out of it.

There are a couple of different ways to mow your lawn. The two most popular being push mowers and riding mowers.

A push mower is used by gripping the top bar of the mower and quite literally pushing it with your own force over the grass to cut it. This can get tiring in short order so this type of lawn mower is usually reserved for small yards.

A riding lawn is exactly what it sounds like, a mower you can ride on. Simply turn it on, lower the blade and hit the gas and you’re off and running.

Cory Nicholson finds mowing the lawn to be quite tedious without the proper equipment.

“I will only mow the lawn on a riding lawn mower,” Nicholson said. “When you use a push mower you get all sweating and covered in grass.”

Nicholson is not alone in his belief that riding lawn mowers reign supreme. Adam Stanley feels very similarly about choosing the “right” equipment for the job.

“I live out in the country and our yard is well over an acre. If I used a push mower on it I’d be out here all day,” Stanley said.

Mowing the lawn is not only good practice for a nice exterior of your property, in some towns and city’s, it’s required.

Some city ordinances require that all lawns be mowed every couple of weeks to ensure that the city and it’s housing look it’s best. If the lawn isn’t mowed in the allotted time, fines are given out.

Whether you ride a lawn mower or push it, one thing is for certain, that yard isn’t going to mow itself.