Wednesday, November 05, 2014

Mountains O' Things

Yesterday was leaf collection day. Well, one of two. Well, one of two that the city provides.

After that, we have to bag them or pay someone to haul them away.

To be clear, those weren't ALL our leaves in that image, but ones from 7-8 houses. They hadn't even gotten to our 6' pile yet.

Oh yes, 6' tall....at least.

My new obsession these last two weeks has been our leaves and how to rid the lawn of them. It's a fool's game, of course, as I will never ever win this. Yet I can't seem to stop playing.

I've traded in the mulching lawn mower for the backpack, gas-powered leaf blower. If one can love an inanimate object, this might be it.....at least for now.

I have been making big leaf piles, getting them on a tarp and making one big 6-7' leaf mountain at the edge of our yard for the city to pick up.

I think.....I think.....I did my last mowing of the lawn yesterday. Not to be anal about it (hehehe...anal), but to. the. day. I have been cutting the lawn for six months.

Today was really about getting the grass to a certain height, as the south wind wasn't helping keep the leaves on the trees. Whatever I picked up with the mower was undone by the wind before I finished the next strip. I had to let it go.

I would guestimate that 70% of the leaves are off the trees. Of course, our Japanese maple has yet to give up one leaf. We'll have our first real snow (oh yes, it's already flurried here) before those will come down.


Not being an arborist, I wouldn't venture to guess why three trees of the same type, the same age (relatively) on three separate lawns are in such different stages of foliage - or lack there of.

Ours is on the left....with maybe 5% of the leaves still attached. The yellow one on your right is directly across the street has most of its leaves still intact. The one dead center is as bare as bare can be and has been for a while.

It is not like each tree is in a different 'zone'. It's the one with all the leaves I'm worried about. You just fucking know where those will end up falling.....and it won't be into their yard.

Still, we have one more leaf pick-up in two weeks. I'm not wishing for Winter to arrive, but at this point, I want the crap off the trees, so I can clean up the yard and have it all at the curb so it won't be looking shitty all Winter.

Is that too much to ask?

Either way, I think I've gotten the bulk of the work out of the way. Or at least I hope.



Song by: Tracy Chapman

4 comments:

Bob said...

Leaves! My enemy!
We literally have hundreds of trees here at Casa Bob y Carlos--not to mention several hundred more on the surrounding acres--and while some are evergreen and don't lose all their leaves, they lose tons of pine needles.

I, too, have a deep, abiding love for a leaf blower! It's real, and it's spectacular!

Mark in DE said...

You gas-powered leaf blower lovers were my nemesis when I live in Northern VA. I found it very irritating to have to listen to the whining motors of leaf blowers for countless hours as everyone tried to clear their lawns. Thank god I now live in a different area with far fewer trees.

BosGuy said...

That is a ridiculous amount of leaves. I grew up in the suburbs and most definitely do not miss the yard work.

Erik Rubright said...

But aren't leaves nature's blanket?