Rain In The Morning ...

But it was sunny and nice in the afternoon. I was able to get my lawn mowed for the second time this season. I finished about half of it with my reel mower, but I found that most of the backyard was far too long and the mower just wouldn't roll through it. I needed to fire up the rider to finish. Now I will start my summer schedule for mowing with the reel mower, which is to cut it every four days. When I cut it that often, it rolls easily and keeps the lawn looking great.

If you have a lawn that is a quarter acre or less, I would suggest using a reel mower. Frequent cutting is best for a healthy lawn. They are inexpensive and use no gasoline, so consequently they add no carbon to the atmosphere. They are quiet. You can mow your lawn early in the morning while your neighbors sleep. (Then they can wake up to the sight of your newly mown lawn, which could drive them crazy. Fun!)

And, last but not least, it is a great workout. This is another case of using routine activities to increase my calorie burn. One hour using a hand mower burns about 430 calories (for a person of my build.) That is a nice workout and does not take any extra time away from anything else. Like parking in a distant parking spot at work or never taking the elevator, these are all ways of slightly modifying my daily routine to maximize my exercise level.

After I finished the lawn, I made dinner for the family. I fired up the grill and made one of my flank steaks. But when I was serving it, I sliced it very thinly across the grain and prepared all the ingredients for a taco bar. We had tomatoes, Vidalia onions, fresh cilantro, avocado (both in slices and mashed into guacamole), black olives and cheeses. For taco shells, I used 6 inch La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious tortillas. We also had plain Greek yogurt, fresh limes and salsa for toppings. 

I served them with a new version of Mexican Corn, with much less sodium than my first recipe. And it tasted even better. (Recipe to follow in a separate post.)