A wise man once told me, " Never get your wife or girlfriend an appliance as a gift". Well... I'm getting a lawn tractor for father’s day. The wife and I have an understanding that if we are going to get the other person tools or what not, that we consult so we get the right product. Anyway... The wife mentioned I was going to be getting a lawn tractor for father's day. Although it's been on my list of items to get, it's been low on the list as my trusty 200cc (slightly modified) push mower works like a champ, just takes me 3-4 hours, 1 1/2 to 2 tanks of fuel, and doesn't have a beer holder. Ok, to the point, never seriously looked into a lawn tractor, so I have no idea what I should look for, what to avoid and what should be considered a nice to have, but not needed. The two models my wife was looking at where both Craftsman ('m going to look at other brands as well). They appear to be very similar but one was a 20hp B&S (single cylinder) and the other was a 22hp (twin cylinder) B&S. Both have cup holders :D The lawn is ~3/4 ache and relatively flat. Any suggestions as to what to look for and or what to avoid?

Hello everyone, i recently purchased a home and the lawn looked in decent/good condition but lately ive noticed a couple brown spots and the grass doesn't look consistent or full anymore. i have very little experience and knowledge about lawns, i tried researching but cant find anything, dont know if it needs more or less water .. fertilizer, or bug treatment.... so here i am asking for some help and tips hoping someone can point me in the right direction so i can keep having a decent looking lawn. i moved into the house about 2 months ago and i try mowing once a week, sprinklers are on 7 mins in the morning and 7 mins in the afternoon. dont know what type of grass i have, i live in southern California, weather has been around 60-70 for the past weeks one or two days in the 80s maybe. Only thing i i can think of that might be affecting my lawn is that in the 2 and a half years of owning my mower i havent sharpen the blade once. could that be a big factor? also a have a dog (labrador) but he never goes in the front lawn. what i got going for me is that i actually like doing yardwork, and at the moment i have a homedepot gift card with 200 dollars in it in case i need to buy some products:D well i tried describing my lawn and details the best i could. i havent had much luck with my previous lawn but im determined to keep this one looking as good as i can so any help is greatly greatly appreciated here are some pictures taken yesterday, havent mowed this week yet. overall look of the front yard [ATTACH]12398[/ATTACH] brown spot from faw away [ATTACH]12405[/ATTACH] brown spot from close look [ATTACH]12400[/ATTACH] closer look [ATTACH]12401[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]12403[/ATTACH] randon blading patches [ATTACH]12396[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]12397[/ATTACH] this one is in the back yard and looks different than the ones in the front as you can see. [ATTACH]12406[/ATTACH]