Mowing the "Lawn"

I have a 25' x 10' oval grassy oasis in my rocky backyard so the dogs have somewhere cool to lie on a hot Arizona day. It's a blend of crab grass, Bermuda, and fescue.

A lawn that small ought to be easy to mow, wouldn't you think? Even though I use a human powered push mower, it should take no more than seven minutes at most.

Well, first I pick up any doggy deposits to protect my shoes while mowing. There's nothing quite like that 'Eewww' moment when you feel a squish against the bottom of your sneaker.

Next, I pick up all the stuffed animals and de-stuffed husks from the yard and put them in the toy basket.
Then I pick up the toys that have been brought back out to the lawn from the basket.

Now it's time to pick up the sticks and twigs from the lawn. A provision of sticks protects my patio pillars, stair railings, and furniture from teeth marks. The big sticks I throw off to the side of the patio in a pile.

Raking only gets some of the shredded pieces of wood. So I gather most of those by hand. Otherwise, they stop the push mower cold.

I pick up the toys that have been brought back out to the lawn from the basket.
I throw aside a stick that has been brought back out to the lawn from the pile.

I push the mower around the oval, telling one dog or another to move out of the way every time I make a circuit.

Put the mower away. Rake the grass clippings. Done. The lawn is mowed. For now.