Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - Lawn tractor hard to start

I have a Craftsman lawn tractor that is now a few years old. I find that the first time I start it after it has been sitting for days or weeks, it is very difficult to do. It simply makes a clicking noise over and over. After multiple attempts, it always starts but it's been taking more and more tries recently (I've also been going longer between mowing lately so that could be related). However, once it is started, I have no problems restarting the tractor if I stop it to empty the bagger or take a short break. Does this sound like a bad battery or might there be something else going on?

hard to tell without listing to it. does it seam the engine is turning over slower when starting does it hesitate before turning over

Lift the hood and observe the top of the engine when you try to start it. Does the screen on top of the engine begin to turn or move at all when you try to start it? If not, I would suspect that you have a bad starter solenoid (usually about $15 or less if it's a remote mounted-type solenoid). If the engine does move, we need engine info, like brand and model# to dig deeper.

My seat of the pants guess is that I'll bet your battery is 3 to 5 years old and just not as good at holding a charge as it used to be. Longer periods between lawn cuttings allow it to get just a little weak while sitting there. Once started and run a bit, you say it will restart easily (on the same day I'm assuming) showing that the chraging system is working ok. But a week to 10 days later, it don't have the same "umph" to crank over the motor.