I live in the suburbs but have a fairly nice wooded back yard, and a small front yard on a street with plenty of trees, so the annual leaf-raking ritual is a task of some significance. I gave it a good start today, probably three hours' worth, just using a rake to create big piles and then an old sheet to bundle them up and haul them back to the corner of the yard where last year's crop is now nothing but spongy compost. Three hours' worth got the front yard and most of the side yards done, but didn't touch the back--and there's still a whole bunch of leaves yet to fall. The oaks will thin out some more over the next month but will hang on to their favorites, it seems, until early spring.
Some light frost this morning gave everything a nice crisp autumn look, but the sun was warm and the air pretty still and by mid-afternoon the thermometer was in the high fifties. One heck of a nice day. Too nice for just raking leaves, so I poured a little bottle of Sta-Bil into the Super M tank and took the tractor out for a spin around the neighborhood to get it warmed up and give the gas a chance to mix up a little bit. Looked good, sounded good, felt good. Posed for a snapshot in the (unraked) back yard later on...
Dean Vinson
Dayton, Ohio
www.vinsonfarm.net