A Few Leaves

Every year its the same thing.  The leaves fall off the trees.  And they get everywhere.

On the grass, the driveway, out in the street.  They're everywhere.

Can't let them just lay there on the lawn, they say that's not good for your lawn.  We always have to clean them off.

They get on the cars and anything else that spends any time in the yard.

When it starts its not so bad.  In fact, we're conditioned to think its cool - you know, the colorful leaves of fall and all that.

But gradually, more and more leaves fall.

Pretty soon it gets to where you can't ignore it any longer.  You have to do something about them.  Some people burn them.  Some people actually like the smell of burning leaves in the fall.  We don't do that.  Mostly because we don't have a good place to burn them.  When you burn them you have ash and soot to deal with, from the fire pit.  We don't have a good place for that so we don't burn them.

For many years we raked them.  When the kids where still here we'd enlist them and get them to help.  Kids playing in piles of leaves can be pretty fun.  Our kids really liked that, especially when they were little.  That's been a few years ago, though.  The kids have pretty much all moved out now.  Now, if they're going to get cleaned up, its up to me and Brombeere.

I finally got tired of raking.  So I got a little leaf blower.  Its not a big one, not super strong.  But it does the trick. I use the blower for pretty much the whole job except sometimes a little clean up and finishing work. The picture makes it look like I'm just standing there, but I was actively blowing the leaves.  I hold the blower down low because I find it more efficient, more effective.  Anyway, I usually divide the yard into three sections.  The two sides of the driveway and the back yard.  In the back there aren't as many trees so it there aren't as many leaves.  The two sides of the driveway take about an hour and half each.  That's mostly because even though the one side is smaller, it has the biggest tree - only one tree, but its a big one.  Lots and lots and lots of leaves.  I always start on the opposite side of the yard and blow toward the street.  The challenge is that the closer to the street you get the bigger pile of leaves you're blowing along.

It doesn't leave the lawn spotless, it does leave a few leaves scattered around.  And the leaves have to be pretty dry to be able to blow them.  But it works. And no risk of blisters.

We have a little ditch out at the street.  Sometimes the leaves, when they're all raked and piled, make an impressive pile, even allowing for them having to fill in the ditch before they can be heaped up by the road.

Because of the great big tree on the one side of the driveway there are a ton of leaves.  So that section of the yard is probably the most work.  Especially since I usually do well into the neighbor's yard.  I figure all the leaves there are pretty much from our tree anyway.  So all those leaves more than fill up the little ditch and still makes a big pile.

Its always nice to have that chore done.  Once that's done I always feel like we're ready for winter.  Well, that and once I move the snowblower back out to the front of the garage and the lawnmower to the back.  Then I'm ready for winter.