Green, Green Lawns of the Uncool Home

Is anything as inseparable as a dad and his lawn?

Maybe a dad and his grill.

Or a dad and his beer.

Definitively a dad and that pair of underwear from 15 years ago with the air-conditioned crotch that’s just too dang comfy to toss.

But let’s get back to lawns and #LawnGoals because that is what the good people at Cub Cadet are paying me to write about here.




I’d love to have a lawn that’s the envy of my neighbors. Unfortunately, my street is adjacent to a public golf course. I, therefore, try to be realistic.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t have #LawnGoals.

When we Uncools moved back to the town of my birth, I was excited because we were leaving that strange, foreign land of suburban Dallas, Texas – a place where the hair may be big but the residential lots are merely fun-size. At last, I could give the littlest Uncools a real yard with land spreading out so far and wide! Take that Texas and give me that countrysi- … uh, one-acre zoned property in a bedroom community of New York City!

While we found the perfect house here in Connecticut, it didn’t contain the perfect yard. For the most part, front and back, were sloped. The backyard was notably pitched directly down into a patch of rocky woods that accounted for almost half of that part of the lot.

We lived with it for a few years while the kids were still toddling around.

Then we brought in the heavy machinery. Bucket trucks. Bulldozers. Front loaders. Mmm. I loved the smell of diesel in those mornings. It smelled like … paradise under construction.

Though the plan was to create a single, elevated backyard for camping, ballgames and other childhood pursuits of happiness, the best laid plans of mice and men still require money. And the Uncools’ contractor waaaay underestimated the price of fill.

Thus, unto us was born: the two-tiered backyard – affectionately known as the Upper and Lower Back 40.

See all that green. That is mostly my handiwork. After the landscaper laid down a good layer of topsoil over the fill, I spent many an hour seeding, fertilizing, watering and weeding it so as to turn brown into green so Excitable and Lil’ Diva …

Had a place to camp out

To set up a trampoline

To learn to play ball

Then to further perfect those ball skills

To gather their friends

Is it the perfect lawn? Heck, no. There are still bare patches here and there, uneven spots and –grrrr – weeds. But I’m always working on it. Always:

Yeah. It’s not perfect, but it’s perfectly home to all of us. And my #LawnGoal is to keep it that way.

#LAWNGOAL SWEEPSTAKES

Do you also have #LawnGoals for this year and beyond? My generous partner, Cub Cadet, wants to know them and give you the chance to win something big!

All you need to do is:

1. Take a picture or video highlighting your yard, and then explain how you bring your lawn to life and why your yard is worthy of #LawnGoals.
2. Post it either to your Instagram or Twitter page using #LawnGoals and #Sweepstakes to showcase how you brought your lawn to life this spring. Tagging your Instagram or Twitter post with #LawnGoals and #Sweepstakes automatically submits your Lawn Goals post for consideration.

The contest winner receives this totally cool (which eliminates me from winning it) Cub Cadet RZT L 42 KH lap-bar zero-turn rider (ARV $2,399.99), two tickets to attend a National Hot Rod Association event in the summer of 2017, two roundtrip coach flights to location of NHRA event and hotel accommodations for two.

Get all the deets at the Cub Cadet #LawnGoals Sweepstakes website.

And, stay up to date with Cub Cadet on all their social media channels:

• Website: http://www.cubcadet.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cubcadet/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CubCadet_USA
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cubcadet_usa/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CubCadetRidingMowers

DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with Life of Dad and Cub Cadet for this #LawnGoals campaign, but my opinions are my own.