Leaves

Autumn foliage falling down, falling down, falling down.

Autumn foliage falling down, my fair season...

Now, I spy with my little eye...something green!


Yep! A yard buried deep beneath the falling, falling, falling leaves.

My favorite colorful little leaves are creating a new flurry of activity in the neighborhood. Yards are bustling with activity. Raking is one option. A leaf blower (more prized than a snow blower here) is another. However, the options are endless, as tonight I watched a bobcat push the leaves into a pile.

Regardless of the method, all of these leaves end up piled along the curb awaiting the arrival of the township dump truck which traverses the neighborhoods. This truck is designed with a giant vacuum hose which sucks up all the leaves into the dump truck box. It is fascinating for me to watch the men at work. A giant vacuum cleaner depositing leaves into a truck that I thought was designed for snow removal...silly me! Then the truck hauls the leaves off to the compost piles which are ready for use in the spring by people who live in the township.

No bags necessary. Evidently, they clutter up the landfills. Well, honestly, the bags of leaves would probably completely fill the landfill. Nonetheless, this process entertains me, as in Big Timber, MT the leaves blew away months ago.

However, on Monday morning (no school) I was fully entertained as I gazed out my window into the cul de sac after my son, Kade, had exited the house in his roller blades. The leaves which covered the road were now being pushed around with a rake as he zipped around proficiently.

Very clever of him. Of course, the purpose of the leaf removal was to create space for street hockey. Nonetheless, I was impressed with his creativity.

Later in the afternoon, Kade headed over to rake for the neighbor across the street. Mr. Lesser injured his back a few years ago, and he is a neighborhood favorite with the kids, as he always takes the time to talk to them, and he even lets them play football in his front yard. Anyway, Kade decided to tackle his yard and I gave him my blessing. Of course when I went to the window this time, I had to smile...

"Hi" was meticulously formed with neat piles of leaves. Grinning, I told Kade his message was backwards. Without missing a beat, he quipped, "No, it isn't Mom. Mr. Lesser can read it perfectly from his window."