Someday, when I get out of this joint, and live far, far away from neighbors and quarter acre lots, I am going to donate my rake.
And make the HH donate his {annoyingly loud} leaf blower.
I love fall, and all the leaves on the ground. They are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.
I just wish I didn’t have to clean them up.
But for now, I’ll keep on collecting leaves and adding them to my lasagna garden pile and have comfort in the fact they’ll break down and provide me with some FREE soil by the time next summer rolls around.
Keep calm and garden on.
~Mavis and Gladys Kravitz Lucy Puggle
P.S. Are you still raking leaves up in your neck of the woods? I figure we’ve got about 2 more weeks before the trees are naked.
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Tricia@OurProvidentHome says
We are blessed to live in an area with a lot of wind. I only think it is a blessing during the fall when the wind dutifully blows all my leaves away. 🙂
All my trees are naked at this point. Bring on the snow!
Linda says
I use my super propelled craftsman lawn mower to mow up the leaves and cut them up at the same
time. Doesn’t take long the worse part is having to empty the bag but it does a great job. We have
a lot of trees and my husband has a riding lawnmower, so when he said he couldn’t mow any more
I bought myself a walk behind lawnmower. Do I get the exercise.
Lynn says
I just came in from blowing 873,442 leaves off the 200 ft. long driveway and path in the back yard. We never planted grass (we live in the woods), so all I have to do is blow the leaves back and let them naturally mulch the forest. Woo hoo!
UpstateNYer says
Oh Mavis, You are doing it the hard way! I speak from experience. Get two rakes with one wider than the other. Grab the pile in front of you using a rake in each arm. (Kind of looks like salad tongs) and lift them into the pail/bag . Big scoops get the job done faster. Work smart, not hard. 😉
chantal says
After the 50 mile an hour winds blow through in my neighborhood this afternoon – today should take care of any remaining leaves in my yard 🙂 Hopefully tomorrow will be my last day for raking this season! Have you seen any clearance sales on paper white narcissus bulbs around town? I forgot to get them earlier!
Mavis Butterfield says
Ohhh I bet you are right. Yay for high winds… right? I checked Lowes a few days ago and their bulbs are at 25% off {I’m waiting for 75%} off. I haven’t checked The Home Depot though.
Kristen says
I’m raking up leaves in the front yard and putting them down as mulch in the backyard for the start of our *brand new* garden. Yay! At least this year the leaves actually came from MY tree. I did spend three years raking up leaves when I had no trees. (The downside of wind).
Jenny says
Are you required to rake leaves in your area? I have never heard of such a thing.
Lana says
We chop them with our Snapper mower. Now if it would just stop raining we could get it done. They are easily a foot deep in places here.
Ellen in Clackamas says
My maple tree is almost done but I have 2 walnut trees that don’t usually start dropping till mid-November–right about now…when it is dark and raining and cold!!! The leaves don’t compost very well so I have to put them into the big take-away bin. Luckily for me my neighbor doesn’t like them in his yard or driveway so he gets out his super-duper (very loud) blower and blows them all into a pile …on my side too!! I just have to scoop them into the bin. (I don’t think he minds too much–it was a good excuse to get that super-duper blower!!!)
Cindi says
We can’t even see the ground where I live, much less leaves. We got two feet of snow in the past two days.
Do pine needles count? I never rake them, just let them mulch the woods.
Sue says
Gosh! You have the most beautiful leaves, I have to deal with pine straw, is a central Alabama thing.
Lisa Millar says
Love the top photo especially with the leaf colours on the green grass! So pretty.
We don’t get so many leaves falling here – so I just happily let them lay where they are. My husband eventually mows them in 🙂
Autumn is the prettiest season in my opinion!
Deborah from FL says
Sadly, I haven’t a single leaf here in Florida. I miss autumn leaves so much! I spent 25 years in Minnesota, and have never sees such a pretty collection of leaves as you have there in the 1st pic. Especially the purple ones! 🙂
P.S. Love the hat. Reminds me of “Where’s Waldo?” 😉
Lorie in San Diego says
After growing up in New England with the most beautiful breathtaking Falls, I am now “Seasonally Deprived” living in San Diego. Yes, I love it but miss the leaves. I actually find myself shaking and pulling the leaves off our tree by early December just so I can get it over with and feel like it might be winter. Never would have thought it. I’d gladly rake the 2 acres of leaves with my brothers again.
Mavis says
This made me laugh to imagine you shaking leaves off of your trees. Ha!
Lawn Mower Wizard says
Interesting approach putting the raw leaves straight back onto the garden. Do you find they break down sufficiently in time for next season by doing this? I would have thought a more finely chopped mulch would work better, but curious to know either way!