I've bought and sold on ebay, with mixed results. Look for something local so you can avoid shipping, because that's a terrible thing to have to deal with on mowers. For your purposes, make sure you're buying a non-self-propelled mower. Lawnboys are going to lighter than any Snapper or Toro, I think. If you find a decent one, it would be a good bet for you. As far as other wheeled mowers, look for one with either a flathead engine (i.e., not overhead valves[OHV]), or a Honda GCV160 (which has overhead _cams_ [OHC]). These are the lighter 4-cycle mower engines still being used. They are all around 25-27lbs (engine only!), which is about 10lbs less than the big OHV engines. Actually, a staggered-deck Lawnboy with the Tecumseh flathead might still be pretty light and might survive a few seasons on that hill. If there is a non-self-propelled Honda with the Xenoy (plastic) deck, maybe it would be pretty light. I don't know of any light big-wheel mowers, but I agree that for push-only mowers the large back wheels make sense. The problem with almost all 4-cycle engines is that as they tilt too far on a slope, their oil sumps don't keep oil near the pick-up or splasher and their bearings can run dry; and/or they can get oil sloshed up to the top end of the engine which siphons into the carb or hydrolocks the engine. So there's always a chance of low engine life. Looking at Eastman Industries, it appears they sell their 19" hover mowers with either the Suzuki 2-cycle or the Honda 4-cycle. This version of the Honda is supposed to be optimized for hillside use of up to 45 degrees according to Eastman. I was asking about this engine earlier, but nobody knows anything about it. I'd take them at their word, I guess. Anyway, the Honda has more power and only weighs 3lbs more than the Suzuki (37lbs vs 40lbs), so I think either would be a good solution for you, ann13820. If I had your constraints on mowing, I'd call them and find out if any dealers are anywhere near you. I'd also ask them how one moves the mower into a garage or shed, as discussed above. It would be a pain to have to do that with it running, but maybe you could use a low platform on casters, like a rolling platform for big potted houseplants, and just "park" the mower on that outside and then roll it inside. Here is a link that might be useful: Eastman Industries mower site

I took a second look at the photo and I can see now that the planter boxes don't cover the entire yard. There appears to be grass between the boxes and the street, and mulch around the boxes. If they zoomed out and got a picture of the entire yard instead of just the boxes, it might not appear so much like a landscape nursery. I still don't think it's pretty, but if the boxes aren't as large as they appear in the picture and are only a fraction of the front yard instead of all of it, it's probably not as bad as the photo makes it look. Like I said, too much is unknown and the media is playing up the sensational angle. Yes, I think people should have the right to grow things on their own land, but I also think people should respect their neighbors' rights as well. The article quotes two neighbors, one for and one against. And that's probably the same reaction they would get if they planted all grass, or all flowers. Can't please everyone. Bottom line for me is what it would do to property values and there is no indication of that in the article.

Thanks again for the replies and thanks for the follow-up. Yes, I did talk with DH about this and that did NOT go well. He reports that after talking with Ms. Flirt that she became very upset and insisted that I was making a mountain out of a mole hill, blah, blah, blah. And then, thanks to this thread, I approached him again and that didn't go well either. I told him that when he allowed her to say those things in my home and in front of me, it hurt me deeply and that his silence implied both his consent and his agreement. He became agitated and said that I was over-reacting, etc. This is my second marriage and I'm struggling to make it work. He's not an easy man to live with and I'm probably not an easy woman to live with. Heck, I don't know what to think anymore. We have had three or four major "discussions" on this issue and he said he's tired of talking about it. The problem is, there has not been a satisfactory resolution. I do think that if it happens again, he'll be more alert to telling WHOMEVER to shut up. Or so I hope. In the meantime, I have no dealings with Ms. Flirt and I keep my distance. She is doing the same, and claiming to HIM that she is "very hurt" at my attitude and has no interest in seeing me again. Yeesh. Still glad you asked? For now, I think it's gonna be one of those messy, icky marital issues that I'm just going to build a mental fence around and just leave it alone for a time. I can't ruin my marriage over this. I'll just pay attention and see how he behaves in the future. DH is one of those guys who will rant and rave but in the end, he'll pay attention to what I say and not repeat his mistakes. I've told him that (in the words of Stephen Covey), this was a huge withdrawal from my spiritual/emotional bank account and it'll take some time for his account with me to be restored to where it was before this incident. That just makes him mad, but it's the truth. You long-term married people, how do you DO THIS???? And you long-term second marriage people, was it harder the second time? Holy canoly, this ain't easy.

gvecchio1, So sorry to hear about your loss. I am in that same situation with my father right now, it only a matter of time. Ya, isn't it crazy. You'd think these doctors would at least wonder what's going on their client base in menopause who are having muscle pain! All I know for absolute certain is that vaginal Estrace, used regularly, completely wiped away all the muscle pain. GONE. And the nodules that had developed on the sides of my fingers, vanished completely. When I went to an endocrinologist and spoke with her about this and asked for her opinion on whether or not this was all related to estrogen, she responded, "Well if it works." Seriously, that was her only comment and she wasn't remotely interested. So good luck to the next woman coming to her looking for answers with chronic pain. Woman need to keep connecting on symptoms and how they found relief. I hold out little hope working with the majority of doctors.