My First John Deere – A Brief Texas Update
Hello to all my loyal readers. Before I tell you all about my brand new and what will be my very first John Deere, allow me to provide some background. As many of you will know, my grandfather (my dad’s dad) was a farmer. Unfortunately, I never really got to know my grandfather as he passed away when I was about 18 months old. But I’ve heard enough stories through the years and before he retired in the early 60’s he was a firm believer in the John Deere brand. He even used many of the horse/mule drawn implements and all were John Deere.
When I was a kid in my pre-teens all the way through my late teens I mowed yards to earn extra money. It started out with just my own yard and then around the time I turned 13-14, I picked up several extra yards. During the summer months I would typically have 3-5 yards which I mowed on an almost weekly basis. Of course, I was using an old style push mower at first and then around the time I was 15-16 I bought a nice self-propelled mower which certainly helped a lot as some of the yards had a bit of elevation.
Once I graduated from high school and moved off to college, my grass cutting days were over as I mostly lived in apartments where needing to mow wasn’t required. At this time of my life and after having mowed yards for many years, I really didn’t miss it much.
When my wife and I bought our home in Denver in 2004, we didn’t need to do any mowing as our HOA or Home Owners Association did this for us. Plus our yard is relatively small. However, with our new home in Texas, while we’re still living in an HOA environment…we the homeowner is fully responsible for our own yard maintenance.
Decisions, Decisions…
Our house in Texas is on a fairly descent sized corner lot which measures about 12,000 sq ft which is about a quarter of an acre. Not huge….but also not like the postage stamp size lot of our Denver home. Of course, we have many options. First, we could hire a yard maintenance company which would mow our grass or we could hire a teenager looking to earn a few extra dollars to do it. In the 1980’s I typically charged $10 – $15 per yard and depending on the size of the yard and the complexity of the yard, it would only take me about an hour for each. Earning $10-15 per hour in the 1980’s was pretty darn good money. However, in today’s world and for our new house in Texas this equates to about $60 per hour.
It’s Not About The Money
No, it really isn’t. I really have no issue in paying someone $60 dollars an hour to perform a job that I either don’t have the time to do or physically can’t do. But in this case, I’m still a young 58 and believe I can still maintain my yard for at least another 10 years, perhaps even longer with the right tools. So I’ve decided to purchase a mower and will do the work myself. But what should I buy? What do I really need?
If I were younger, the size of yard we have at the new house in Texas could easily be done with a regular motorized push mower and probably wouldn’t take more than two hours to mow, trim and blow. But as it’s been 40 years since I’ve mowed grass (or there abouts) I’ve decided to treat myself to a riding mower. But not just any riding mower….
My First John Deere
Yes, as the subject line teases, I’ve purchased a very nice John Deere Zero-Turn riding mower. I did spend several weeks researching options between all the top brands of mowers, but chose John Deere for many reasons.
First, if you drive 10 minutes into the country away from the city where I live you’ll find on both sides of the road and as far as you can see huge fields of corn, wheat and cotton. The farmers working these fields are all running John Deere equipment. Within 20 minutes of me there are two huge John Deere dealerships selling everything from combines, tractors and every sort of green implement you can imagine. The fact that I have two large Deere dealerships near me means that getting parts for my new mower shouldn’t be an issue.
Second, my grandfather. My grandfather was a small time farmer in comparison to the farming taking place around this part of Texas. But if John Deere was good enough for him, then it will be exactly what I need.
Third, American Made. I believe in buying American made products. While there are certainly lower cost options in the zero-turn mower market, I want something that when taken care of will last me for as long as I’m wanting to mow my own grass.
What John Deere Did I Buy?
Again, I researched this carefully. But I decided on the John Deere Z320R model along with a bagger kit. I purchased directly from the Deere dealership as the options available from either of the two “Big Box” store options didn’t fully suit my needs. Plus the John Deere dealership delivered my new mower, fully inspected it and spent a few minutes going over some of the operational details.
My new John Deere Z320R is kitted out with a 21.5 HP Kawasaki V-Twin engine, 42 inch mower deck with a 20 inch high-back custom-tailored seat with arm rests. While I may not plan to do any late evening mowing, the Z320R comes standard with two forward facing and two side facing bright LED lights. And the most important feature is the built-in cup holder which will come in handy in the Texas summer heat.
All-in-all I’m very satisfied with my brand new John Deere. As the mowing season is all but over for 2024, I will need to bag up leaves a few times and the new bagger kit makes super light work of this back breaking task. And yes, I’m actually looking forward to late spring when it will be time once again to mow my lawn. It’s true….nothing runs like a Deere!
Until next time…
Happy Mowing!!!
Jerry
