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Last Mo Monday, I mentioned some small milkweeds in a photo comparing our yard to our neighbors. One thing we have observed is that Mo isn’t great at mowing things that are not grass. That’s good in some cases (e.g., my sister’s dog didn’t seem to mind when Mo bounced off of her during his workday while she was visiting – his blades shut off immediately if he hits anything, so she wasn’t at risk).

It is not-so-good in other cases. Case in point, Mo seems to simply pass over milkweed, leaving it untouched by his blades. This might be a lesson to us that it is time to replace his blades. It’s also good for monarch butterflies, of course, but not always the look one wants in their yard.

So, here is a quick lesson in changing Mo’s blades; it’s quite simple, really. First, unplug the system, so there’s no chance you will turn it on accidentally while changing the blades. Then, flip the unit upside down to expose its three blades.

Next, carefully unscrew each blade, and either turn it around to use an unused cutting edge of the blade (though, notice that the new style replacement blades are not set up for this) or change to a new blade.

And, voila, you’re done! Flip him upright, plug the system back in, and off he goes.

About that giant milkweed that Mo tangled with above…that occurred after we had shut Mo down for several weeks last summer. The milkweed grew along his boundary wire. When he didn’t show up back at his base station on the day we set him back out in the yard to mow, we went looking for him. We found him almost entirely vertical, having driven up the milkweed stem while diligently trying to make his way home. Or maybe he was trying to do the Mobot?