Raking Leaves?

[OmahaJB]

Just to give you an idea how many leaves there are to rake, recently I had to go to my mother's house to rake leaves for her. From one very large tree next door there were so many leaves in mother's yard it took me between 3-4 hours to rake and then carry them on a tarp to the curb for workers to pick up a couple days later. It was a chore, can't imagine what it's like for people that have many large trees to rake leaves up from.

And for the second year in a row the guy who promised to rake leaves for her kept delaying to the point I had to do it at the last minute to have them done in time for the city workers.

Funny story. Back in the early 90's my company had a sales lady from California visit to push her company's products, and it was either in late fall or during winter because she asked my boss why all the trees were dying, because they didn't have any leaves. From what I understand though she was quite a beauty as some of the guys would line up outside my boss' office to see and greet her whenever she came to town.

[Father'sDaughter]

We have a fairly large lawn and we have a good amount of oak trees on our property as do the neighbors on both sides. Leaf clean up used to be a nightmare of a never ending job until my husband finally invested in a used Walker mower. It not only does a great job mowing the lawn in less than an hour (used to take about five with a push mower), it has a vacuum system that sucks up and shreds the leaves. It was pricey, but the time savings has more than made up for the cost.

He runs the mower and I man the backpack blower to move the leaves out of the places he can't get into with the mower. We have the process down pat and can clean the up the yard in just over an hour. Of course we have to do it every weekend from October until the snow falls so we don't get caught by surprise by the first major snow storm and then we'll have a lawn killing mess come spring.

[Deborah]

Now I see that some of you must have thought I've lost my mind. It sounds like a rush to beat the snow, when I was wondering why leaves under the snow would be a problem at all. Well, you know what they say about those weird Californians...

[clkeiper]

Deborah... I din't think you had lost your mind. It is a very tedious job for most people. It is hard work. too. Just a little story about leaves, though...
A couple weeks ago I was going to go work on my honey bees and collect the honey ( waaay later than I ever have before, but life got really busy and complicated for a while and I was really late geting on it, but I was blessed with a really nice day so I was taking advantage of it as best as I could) but my neighbors were out working in their back yard and I didn't know if I could collect the honey or if the bees would get annoying to them so I went to ask if they were going to be out there for a long while or not ( they are in their late 70's or maybe even early 80's) As i went across the yard the lady sat down and put her head in her hand and was quite upset with her husband (who has alzheimers). She was trying to rake the leaves out of the flower beds and he was mowing mindlessly back and forth over the same area... back and forth... back and forth in a figure 8. at one point he ran over the concrete septic riser.. oyvey. she was ready to cry. She was so tired from raking and he kept blowing the leaves back on top of what she was raking. there were leaves, itty bitty pieces, all over the house the screens, the driveway, the flower beds, her... everywhere. she said ... "no! we need to go in and take naps. I am so tired I am ready to cry"... It is hard work. So the next day I went over with my mower and picked up what I could or took the tube off the bagger and used it as a blower and blew the leaves to the side of the yard under the trees so she didn't have to worry about them any more. Then she cried. Trees are nice, but not the leaves in the Fall. Around here the city trucks go around town and pick up all the leaves with a big vacuum truck and hauls them somewhere to dump them... as long as you have your leaves out on the devil strip, if you live in town. People come out to the country to live and don't know what to do with their leaves. The new neighbor up the road had all his raked and piled along his front yard.. someone must have informed him that no one was going to come pick them up. eventually he got them out of there. I think I know where he put them, but if his neighbor doesn't care neither will I.

[Deborah]

That was nice of you to help the lady. Alzheimer's is much, much harder on the people around the patient than on the patient.

[barefootgardener]

My husband and I live in snow country and we never rake the leaves for a number of reasons. We live on a farm and raised a family. We had busy lives and did not want to take the effort and time it uses. We live in the country and don't worry about what neighbors think.

BUT, just as important,

I believe in keeping nature the way it was meant to be if at all possible. It is important to leave natural habitats and the ecosystem it creates. The autumn leaves that fall creates a natural habitat and ecosystem for earthworms, toads, salamanders, box turtles, and yes..chipmunks. It is a host for many insects and larvae. When the leaves start to decompose the leaves help to harbor a great amount of butterfly pupae. This is important as a food source for birds in the spring, in the form of caterpillars, and even earthworms will live underneath the decomposing pile of leaves. You will also reward yourself the company of the butterflies in the year. Let's not forget about the eggs the insects lay, or the eggs the salamanders, toads etc. lay. These beautiful creatures feed on the underlayment of the leaf layer. The natural decomposition of the leaves also creates a natural mulch that helps to fertilize the soil.

I can understand if you need to rake because of fire hazards, or it is required for homeowners association. I can understand if you want to use some of the leaves in your garden etc.. And if you want to rake your yard for other reasons, dangers etc. that is fine, but, just remember what you will be removing. It is not only the leaves you are removing, you will be removing a home for a lot of creatures and their natural habitat. Try to leave a few piles of leaves here and there, or try to build a few brush shelters for the smaller animals. Build a small home for them in an out of the way place by piling a few small logs, branches and filling in with some soil and leaves.. I hope this makes sense..

Ginny

[chiefbeaz]

Well said Ginny, I agree with you 100%

[Worth1]

I read an article that said home owners associations in part were responsible for vast suburban wildlife deserts in the US.
It went on to say these same people will donate money and protest to save the rain forest.
Right now the bees and other critters are having a feast on my loquat trees they are in full bloom.
Worth

[Father'sDaughter]

While I do agree with you, Ginny, those of us living in suburbia have to balance property maintenance (which around here includes yard maintenance) with preserving natural habitats.

Personally we're lucky that about a third of our property is still natural wooded space where all the critters have a home and we will never clear it. This is the part of the property where we dump all the yard debris that I don't need for the garden.

However many people I know live on a quarter acre or less in more densely populated areas. Given that they have barely any yard space, they have no choice but to bag and ship off their yard debris.

[Gardeneer]

Agree wit FD, above.
But at least we can keep the leaves after raking and use them, rather than bagging and letting the trashman haul them away.

Gardeneer

[Tormato]

I'm two lawns done with one to go (mine). But, I broke the rake yesterday, with the head pulling out of the handle.

I'll have to clean it and epoxy it back in. Two expected days of rain gives me time.