Leaves
Those miraculous food factories that we all love to see die. Those wonderful Fall colors of richly varied earth tones that mark the passing of Summer. They provide an end of season boom for the tourist trade before everyone bunkers down for the cold. Skiers and ice fishermen don’t count; they are nuts. I remember fondly many trips into the Rockies, searching for that perfect Aspen display. Here in Missouri the leaves are a little different. Very little of the bright yellow and a lot more of the warm tones. A bit more ominous, they seem intent on burying us all. Better get your lawn toys in before the onslaught, or you may never find that garden hand trowel before it rusts away under the damp protective cover of mulch.
Leaves had never been an issue for me in Alaska. The one Birch tree in front gave up a modest amount of yellow leaves in the Fall. It was usually done just before the last mowing so I never had to rake. That was the Spring chore. As soon as the snow was gone it was time to dethatch the front lawn and then pay one of the high school teams to rake the resulting two dozen or so super large debris bags of grass. There were always teams trying to raise money.
One year I got the girls volleyball team to do it. The coach brought them over and we discussed what would get done and the price. Then they got to work. A few minutes after the coach left them to their chore, the boys started to show up. When the coach returned, she chased about half of them off and got every one else back to work. Soon the boys were doing all the raking while the girls just stood around looking good and encouraging them. Ah, high school.
Where was I. Oh yeah, leaves are a thing around here. With oaks, maples and a bunch of other deciduous trees I can’t name everywhere, there is a constant rain of leaves from about two weeks before Halloween to mid December. There are still some trees that are just beginning to turn. Combine that with the empty lots (that don’t get raked at all) providing plenty of extra leaves to blow into your yard during the Fall storms, and you have a definite “leaf season”. I suppose it is a hidden blessing that the season stretches out so long. If they all fell at once, it would be like a three foot dump of snow, only a lot easier to remove.
Roger has some slick tools for dealing with it. A Troy Built riding mower which tows a vacuum trailer with it’s own motor that powers a vacuum/mulcher that really does a nice job. He also has one of those super annoying leaf blowers for cleaning out the flower beds and places you can’t get to with the mower.
Here is their front yard just after finishing with the third and LAST vacuuming.
One tree has the last half dozen holdouts.
Here’s the back.
Notice the one tree that’s still holding out?
One good thing, the view of the lake has improved and a lot more morning sunshine gets through.
Weather remains perfect, night time lows in the thirties and highs in the fifties. Oh yeah, did anyone notice the Avanti behind the mower?
Stay warm!
So far I've reached acceptable proficiency at the following, in chronological order: Silversmith, infantryman/door gunner, helicopter pilot, fireman, carpenter, residential contractor, FAA Air Traffic Control Specialist and crotchety old retired guy. Currently, I'm learning to fly again and that is what this is all about. 7/7/2020 edit: As I have had the opportunity to reflect (old people do that a lot) on my actual proficiency level at the above occupations, I feel adjustments are in order. The term "acceptable" depends on the observer, their own proficiency and experience level. Acceptable to me might be woefully deficient to the master. I think it would be more accurate to claim that I have earned a living wage at all of these occupations but never got rich. Actually, I feel that I have gotten rich at the last one. I have what I need and am profoundly grateful for all of it. The future looks bright indeed, as I have learned to fly again. For that I have all of you to thank. Thank You!