Can You Believe, I'm Still Moving Leaves?

[mso489]

No these aren't tobacco leaves. Here in the mid-South, the oak trees have just lost their last crop

of autumn leaves, mostly, and I'm out there once again, raking. Yes, I've tried the blower routine,

but with the thickness of leaves, and with a big yard back of the house, it takes a lot of moving them

around to clear the ground. Also, I don't have much patience listening to those yowling machines,

gas or electric. I hear enough of the neighbor's two-cycle engines. Happily, the city picks up the

mountain of leaves from the curb, a rare and beautiful thing. I might go to mulching, but there again,

the volume here is heavy. So back I go. Perhaps I will seek solace in a little leaf after battling the

leaves. I rake them onto a tarp and drag them to the curb. When the weather is pretty, as today,

it's pleasant work. Okay, break time is over. See you all later.

 

[pstlpkr]

mso... When you're done there....

You can take care of mine.

I only have two oak trees...

It's like raking news print.

::

 

[kashmir]

Pipe is part and parcel for racking leaves. I start out using a blower then do the finishing touches with a rake. Back yard requires a tarp, and haul around to the front for curb disposal. It's about 20 tarp fulls. It's a chore. But an enjoyable one. This year took three major clean ups. I was smoking a bent Ashton with Star of the East, and one of those Chinese windcaps to prevent a leaf fire. Favorite time 'o year.

 

[mso489]

I guess I'm just not coordinated enough to clench and rake at the same time, so I use the pipe as a reward

afterwards. Lawrence, I love the image of raking oak leaves being like raking newsprint. Right on the mark.

When the acorns come down, it's like bee-bees on a basketball court on our rather steeply sloping driveway.

I do love it when the oaks draw hawks, although the hawks don't help much with the chipmunks. The chipmunks

are adorable little devils, but they burrow like crazy, not good. For a while we had an owl in the ravine across

the street; what a great call, a hoot owl.

 

[ejames]

I hate leaves! Have about 2 acres knee deep in leaves, and no ambition! :x

 

[terrygoldman123]

Lots of leaves in my Virginia yard but FEW acorns this year, Bad for the deer and turkey's. Less food than usual. As for the leaves, I watch them swirl downward while smoking

my latest pipe acquisition and then mow the suckers rather than rake. no ambition to rake either.

 

[crazypipe]

I don't do leaves , the wind does it for me :rofl:

 

[petes03]

They'll eventually rot if you wait long enough!

 

[guhrillastile]

I got caught fast this season. Business is good. I'm thankful and humbled by the volume and demand but it allows little time for much else. Yard is still covered in last load that finally fell. Almost daily now I drive up to the house in shame.
I am paused for a coffee break. Briar caked in nostrils and hair like a mad scientist. Yard is on the list, but thinkin ill be lazy and enlist a few neighbour kids for the task.

 

[ssjones]

I finished our yard on Friday. We only have a handful of trees but between our and neighbors, it was about 50 paper bags taken to the dump. We tag team with the mower, blower, vacuum and rake. Sadly, I can't keep a pipe going while doing yard work. I changed the oil in the mower, new air filter and Stabil and cleaned it up, ready for next summers work.

 

[voorhees]

My parents house has leaves everywhere, even on the roof. When I built my house I made sure there where no trees hanging over the house.

 

[dochudson]

as soon as this early snow melts I got any another round of leafs to go after.

 

[mso489]

People are re-thinking the whole leaf raking and blowing ritual. One school uses mowers with mulching blades to

grind up the leaves in place. This preserves all the plant matter on your property rather than donating it to the

landfill, or city mulch pile, or whatever. Bagging leaves seems a terrible waste. Any residual of late falling leaves,

I will heap under the bushes and let it decompose. I have to empty my compost bucket (about waist high with a

bayonet mount lid that is not raccoon proof even with a bungee cord). The whole lawn concept is a sales promotion

by the seed/fertilizer/mower/lawn tractor industry. You don't need a half acre putting green to be a member of

society. The lawn tractor people have played into peoples' farmer fantasy, designing riding mowers like little

tractors to "harvest" the grass. Nothing wrong with that; fantasy is good. But the public is oblivious. Like all the

pickup trucks in suburbia with empty beds with barely a scratch on the bed liner. Many fantasies of building the

nation. Pickups are the most profitable sector in vehicle sales, and I'd guess half of them are not used for daily

work.

 

[kashmir]

I used to love the whole fall leaf thing. When rakes were the norm. All the neighbors would be out, working their yards. Used to remember jumping into huge leaf piles. In northern VA where I grew up we'd call it rake season. Followed on the heels of Halloween it did. Then along came those damn whinny leaf blowers, and the neighbors now would just assume to hire gangs who parachute in and make a ton of noise. I'm the only one of my neighbors still doing the job myself. Course I use a blower too. But the whole thing has changed. It's like some vandals spray painted graffiti on a Norman Rockwell painting, if you get my drift.

 

[foggymountain]

I actually love raking leaves. So I was burning them a few weeks ago and one of the neighbors called the cops. Seems that you can't burn them in this town. Reasonable enough. What surprised me was that the police officer pulled up, introduced himself by name and shook hands. Love small towns too.

 

[Wellington]

I wish I was raking leaves, its -26 Celcius here, -36 with wind chill. Don't really want to go to work today, haha

 

[mso489]

foggymountain, I thought you were in Manhattan. Do you also have a place out of the city? Yeah, burning leaves these

days is out. My family like most in suburban Chicago burnt a lot of its wet trash in the driveway. No big deal, nice little

fire, a little stink, but it didn't last long. Couldn't do it today. If the fire department didn't show up, the SWAT team might.