rather than sharpening last years blade, i put on a new Toro mulching blade $17, also changed the oil and air filter........scraped out all the old grass stuck under the deck and re-adjusted the height of the mower. I made one pass of the lawn at about 3.5", and still bogged down, this was around 7pm. Next morning I lowered the mower to 2.5" and made another pass. My thinking was that if I cut at 3.5", by the time i'm able to cut again 4-5 days later, the grass is at 4.5" and too long for the mower to handle. I stilll bogged down mulching at 2.5", which i think was due to the left over surface grass from the day before. By the time the rain is done on the east coast, I may be able to cut the grass again next week sometime, which will be about 7 days.......and instead of enjoying mowing the lawn (i like the walk), i'm dreading it.
"recycling" mowers
So i'm a bit bummed'. One year ago, I bought a new Toro 6.5HP recycling, self propelled mower. I have to cut the grass every 4-5 days, any longer than that and the mower will choke itself to death on the clippings. Multiple times while cutting the lawn, I have to use plastic blade and scrape out the grass clippings. The mower mulchs, but it appears that most of the mulch simple sticks to the insides of the mower, so much so that it dies until cleaned out. Question: is this normal for mulching mowers? I don't think I can justify another mower purchase to the wife just yet. 
