an aussie in austria

Last year we invested in a robot lawnmower. I have to admit I wasn’t initially certain that outsourcing the mowing to a robot was a wise investment, but then again, I am not the one who has to mow every week (back problems gets you out of that permanently).

We named him Oy, after the Billy Bumbler in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, because… well… he needed a name and he’s kind of like a dog. It’s almost like he craves human interaction.

If I’m hanging out washing, I’m sure to hear his soft whirr as he arrives to find out what’s going on. When I’m working in the veggie patch he often comes up behind me and surprises me, and if I’m cutting bushes he’s sure to come and say hi. It’s a bit like having a weird, robot dog. Or at least, that’s how I like to think of him. Probably it’s more likely that I just don’t notice all the times I’m outside and I don’t see him!

Still, as a weird robot dog he’s super helpful – he keeps the lawn looking tidy and there’s no ‘land mines’ to clean up. He’s low maintenance and walks himself, though of course he’s not very cuddly. All in all, outsourcing the mowing to a robot was a great idea – the grass always looks neatly trimmed, and he’s a pretty quiet dude, except when he crunches down on an especially large apple. So far he hasn’t ‘chewed’ anything apart from a packet of seeds I didn’t manage to remove from his path one day, and he actually rarely gets ‘lost’ and needs a hand to find home.

Obviously, I’d rather have a real dog, and one day I will again, but until then, Oy the lawnmowing robot dog will have to do.