It's fall and I raked up a bunch of leaves in our back yard. It was a beautiful day and my body loved (and needed) the workout. After two hours of raking I had three huge piles of pale yellow, ochre, ruddy red, and brown leaves. It was lovely. As I stood admiring my work, a thought struck me. What am I going to do with all these leaves?
I couldn't burn them, because now-a-days you have to have a permit, a special metal container, and a fire extinguisher near by. Besides, Al Gore might give me dirty looks for contributing to the (bogus) green house effect.
I couldn't put them into bags and take them to the dump, because I would get a black mark for contributing to the land-fill problem.
I couldn't start a compost heap, because my neighbors would complain about the stink, and then ask me if I had the audacity of becoming a tree hugger person in the middle of suburbia.
So, I left them. Yep...they're sitting out there in the back yard; three huge piles of leaves enjoying the sunshine and waiting for the snow to cover them up. I figure the snow will dematerialize them during the winter, and come spring, my husband will just mow them into oblivion.
I guess I could go back out and scatter the leaves around again. I mean, it's what Mother Nature did in the first place. Who am I to try and improve on her brilliance?
My husband had most of ours mowed into compost before the grandkids even got to jump in them. The ones that are left are pretty wet and icky, but I suppose they'll keep the trees and shrubs warm until spring.
ReplyDeleteOur council do a "green waste" collection. They collect the rubbish, recycling, and things like leaves and grass cuttings for a giant compost heap. We also have one of those special metal containers for burning stuff. Lots of fun! Want to borrow it?!?
ReplyDeleteI love the beauty of Autumn leaves. But dealing with them can be overwhelming when you don't know what to do with them all. :)
ReplyDeleteWe got most of ours cleared up, but the neighbor's keep finding their way over as well.
Leaves are everywhere!