Raking Leaves

It's this time of year again, where I'm left with dead flowers, moldy pumpkins and a yard full of leaves. Not that I'm not grateful for my home, don't get me wrong - but when we had a townhouse, it was so nice to just write that monthly homeowners check and hear the leaf blowers and lawnmowers outside and know that everything was being magically swept or blown away and we'd walk outside to a pristine leaf-free yard.

Since Mike doesn't really like manual labor and would prefer to pay someone to do everything for us, and I'm trying to be a do-it-yourselfer and money-conscious, I end up doing at least part of the yard work and leaving a honey-do list for his part on his days off.

This past weekend was evidently the unofficial yard clean-up event of the year. Everyone was out in full force, with our rakes, blowers and brooms. Yes, I love the fact that our neighborhood has gorgeous trees vs. the newer neighborhoods, but I could do without the pine needles and dead leaves.

I said it last year, and I'll say it again - living in the country, this whole process is much easier. I don't mind the raking and the blowing, but it's the getting rid of the leaves that always ends up being the hardest part - having to scoop everything up in plastic or paper bags and wait to put them out on the curb the right day for pick-up. Growing up in the country, we would rake up huge piles of leaves, jump in them for a couple of hours, then burn them in the ditch. I still love the smell of burning leaves.