It is the quintessential fall day here in New England. The trees are mostly bare, but the huge oak leaves that have clung to their branches during the early color change have now begun to fall. The wind is just enough to send flurries of leaves floating down, and the leaves are heavy enough that they stay on the ground where they land.
It makes me giggle to think of all the people who spent a glorious day last weekend raking up the maple and birch leaves that had "polluted" their lawns while my husband and I were out driving with the children "Oooooh-ing" and "Ahhhh-ing" at the amazing show of colors. Now thier lawns are littered from one end to the other with a solid layer of immense, brown oak leaves that scream majesty and justice.
Justice, because last week those morons spent hours of a glorious day putting leaves into plastic bags to take to the dump. Leaves that fall from the trees to biodegrade and add nutrients to the soil. I know there are all sorts of reasons not to leave them on your lawn, but esthetics should not be one of them; esthetics of this sort is vanity against nature.
Rake them up if you have to. But compost them or grind them for mulch or something: please DON'T package them up in a plastic bag to add to our mountain of refuse in Hartford.
I'm heading out for strength and conditioning training this morning. I don't really want to go, I'd rather make a pile of leaves and jump right in the middle and stare up at a gorgeous blue fall sky.
But there will be plenty of time for that tomorrow: our leaves are staying on the ground all winter.
9:33:04 AM 
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