I got my mom’s tiller working perfectly, with a little help from my neighbor. I had changed the oil the other day and was trying to start it, but it just wouldn’t go. Then I remembered that I’d messed with the carburetor adjustment screws last year when I was monkeying around with it, so I backed them off a bit and tried to start it, and the damn thing started right up! It used to be that when I could get it running, I would have to choke it completely (not with the choke lever, but with my thumb–cutting off almost all the airflow into the carb). But it ran just fine only using the choke lever, though if I turned the choke off it would die. So I tilled a good part of my back yard, even though when it was digging in the engine would rev really low, and when it was just idling, the engine would rev really high. My scary neighbor from down the street (this guy looks like every serial killer you ever saw) heard it revving so high and thought I was going to blow the thing up, so he came over and adjusted the carb so it would run perfectly whether it was digging in or just idling. At least he’s a nice guy, no matter how scary-looking.
So I’ve entirely tilled the part of my back yard that used to be grass before I killed it last year (from not watering), and after I get some little tree stumps removed, and the old clothesline poles removed, I’ll plant grass. I think I’m also going to do a little landscaping back there, though I’ll go easy on the plants this year, ’cause it won’t be worth spending money on nice plants only to have them die in this drought. Next year maybe I’ll be able to plant more of what I want–mostly some shade trees that don’t take up much space, like some quakies or something. My next project this year is to fix all the damn problems with my sprinkler system. Fun.