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November 2, 2013 at 3:25 pm #609576
JoBParticipantI raked my leaves…
and cleaned my gutters
i even raked/picked up the leaves from my tree that had fallen in my neighbor’s treeless yard
yet even though my trees are nearly bare my yard is now covered once again in leaves…
and i am guessing the gutters are groaning
and there are still plenty of leaves on my other neighbor’s tree :(
sigh ….
no good deed goes unpunished ;-}
now would be a good time to check your storm drains .. they are only going to get more clogged as the wind blows more leaves down.. not less
November 2, 2013 at 4:46 pm #799559
miwsParticipantIt can seem endless sometimes.
I remember back in the Fall of 1987, I had been managing the IBM Building parking garage for about five months.
The longtime night attendant talked about how bad the leaves would be on our steep, exposed ramp/driveway, which ran probably about 30 feet or so, from where it exited underneath the building, on up to the public sidewalk and street.
He mentioned how bad the leaves got; not only on the exposed ramp, which could be a slip/fall hazard, especially when wet (even though visitors weren’t supposed to use it as pedestrian access) and how many of the leaves ended up blowing down inside the garage.
I was all smug, telling him it couldn’t be all that bad, as the first garage I’d worked at, was above ground, with our work area at street level with at least some degree of exposure on three sides. I figured nothing could be as bad as what we dealt with my three plus years at the first location.
Boy, was I wrong!!
What I failed to take into account, was there were at least two trees that partially hung directly over that exposed ramp at IBM. And yeah, it seemed like the leaves were endless. I could swear the damn things must be regenerating leaves!
Obviously, I would have never harmed the trees, but I did wonder if injecting them with Super Glue might make the leaves stay on them! ;-)
Mike
November 2, 2013 at 7:03 pm #799560
JoBParticipantyesterday my yard guy joked about cutting a neighbor’s tree that was still full of leaves down..
today i am thinking that maybe wouldn’t have been such a bad idea .. and not just because of the leaves.
while we were out to breakfast, a small tree in the backyard that was still full of leaves blew over. luckily nothing was damaged except a small fence…
but the neighbor’s tree has south facing limbs that will fall on my house if it comes down:(
i’ll let you know….
November 2, 2013 at 10:19 pm #799561
shed22ParticipantI have two large maples that dropped their leaves early this year. It was like I woke up one day to a sea of leaves, over ankle deep. The cherries and plum started to drop last week. I imagine at the end of the next blustery day they will be bare. The ornamentals are still bright and full of leaves. My favorite moment in fall is when my Japanese maple turns the most glorious red. Hasn’t happened yet, but it’s getting there. Fall, always lives up to its name.
November 2, 2013 at 11:34 pm #799562
shed22ParticipantCorrection, after the FIRST blustery day! Just came home and the cherries and the plum are nearly leafless. Long summer, short fall.
November 2, 2013 at 11:59 pm #799563
Genesee HillParticipantOur neighbor dude loves planting the trees that clutter the alley. Not so much in clearing said leaves. And to think the dude works for the EPA. A bit mind-blowing, to say the darn least.
The dude thinks Adopt-a-Drain applies to his neighbors on all three sides of his house. As does clean-up. L-A-Z-Y.
November 3, 2013 at 1:39 am #799564
JoBParticipantgenesee hill..
there ahve always been people who talk about things
and people who do them :)
November 3, 2013 at 2:27 am #799565
Genesee HillParticipantJoB,
The neighbors on all three sides of his house clean up the leaves from his alley trees. Year, after year, after year…fifteen years, in my case. Unbelievable dis-regard for his longtime neighbors. And this dude and his family are not old and decrepit. They are rude and lazy.
November 3, 2013 at 2:40 am #799566
Genesee HillParticipantJust want to add, JoB, I just had a second bowl of Haagen Daz Vanilla Ice Cream, so all is now right with the world. The taste of that sends me back to my dad’s drugstore soda fountain in 1960.
November 3, 2013 at 4:12 am #799567
JoBParticipantGenesee Hill..
i have neighbors like that..
do you think i got a thanks from my neighbor for his free leaf removal?
nope.. he seems to think leaf fairies do the job:)
no ice cream in the freezer.. but i do have apple tarts from Meanders :)
November 3, 2013 at 12:19 pm #799568
Genesee HillParticipantNovember 3, 2013 at 4:56 pm #799569
BreezyParticipantThis may or may not apply to any of these specific situations, but it most certainly will apply to someone out there and I think it’s good to keep in mind :)
There are some (including my long departed father and myself) who have ‘hidden’ disabilities (heart problems being one) that prevent us from doing strenuous work and leaf raking and bagging would fall into that category. Not everyone who isn’t raking their leaves is doing so with malice or out of laziness. I have noted there seems to be several ‘camps’ people fall into – wait until ALL the leaves fall, then rake; rake regularly and often; and of course there are some that can be relied upon not to rake at all.
As I walked this morning, I took in the wonderful scent of pine boughs and needles that are littering the sidewalk/street, dragged my boots through mid-calf high fallen leaves, and took in the beauty of those vibrant leaves still hanging on for dear life.
And JoB, I have not had an apple tart from Meanders but boy does it sound delicious! Warmed and served with a scoop of Genesee Hill’s Haagen Daz vanilla ice cream just might put me in a great mood!
Wishes to all for a lovely and safe autumn. And thanks to Katherine and my yard helpers for taking away some of our leaves!!
November 3, 2013 at 5:37 pm #799570
miwsParticipant….dragged my boots through mid-calf high fallen leaves…..
Well, of course with a name like “Breezy”, you’d enjoy the fruits(?) of your labor! ;-)
Mike
November 3, 2013 at 9:27 pm #799571
JoBParticipantBreezy..
i too walked down my sidewalk this morning.. the storm blew about 3/4 of the leaves on the parking strip trees off …
i was thinking how beautiful all of those purple leaves were until i looked down the street to the storm gutter :(
we had a crew here this morning cleaning up the downed tree in the backyard and i was hoping there would be time left to clear the gutter… but as always it took longer than i expected..
now i just hope it doesn’t rain too hard before tomorrow when i will once again have help.
like you and your departed dad..
my body won’t allow me to do much of the heavy lifting in my yard.
i try not to be too judgemental and help my neighbors who aren’t doing so well themselves out when i can spare a bit of outside labor…
they appreciate the help…
it turns out it doesn’t take much energy to say thank you…
November 4, 2013 at 5:35 am #799572
BreezyParticipantAh yes JoB, it takes little energy and no money to say thank you :)
Sorry to hear of a tree down..it was a beautiful day today so I hope your help showed up and didn’t go play!
November 4, 2013 at 3:06 pm #799573
JoBParticipantBreezy
my help did show up and the tree debris has been carted away…
i even got the street side gutter cleaned.
it’s supposed to be an equally nice day today.. maybe i will be able to get the last of my transplanting done…
when i dream, i dream big :)))
November 4, 2013 at 5:47 pm #799574
The Velvet BulldogParticipantThere MUST be a personality test based upon Leaf Litter Tolerances, don’t you think? I find the differnces kind of fascinating. While walking through the neighborhood yesterday, I saw a woman raking some beautiful bright red Euonymous leaves off the parking strip and I thought, “Aw man, those red leaves are so pretty against the green grass–I’d leave them there for a bit.” I also get happy when leaves start falling on the garden beds ‘cuz that means instant cold-weather protection and I don’t have to mulch! The BF on the other hand, just about has head explosions every time he walks from the car to the front door.
I do try to help keep the drains clear though, and the area that DOES drive me bonkers is the Henderson street approach to the Westwood Village Walkway. Those Ash trees drop their leaves and NO ONE cleans them. They get mushy and slippery and dangerous. Might try to talk some neighbors into helping me clean them up this year.
I have also known an individual who would shop-vac leaves out of his yard.
November 4, 2013 at 9:08 pm #799575
miwsParticipant…..Euonymous leaves…..
TVB, I admire your choice to respect those leaves’ Euonymity!
Mike
November 4, 2013 at 10:39 pm #799576
JoBParticipantthis year we are making leaf mulch out of our leaves.. transferring the color to the planting beds:)
November 4, 2013 at 11:45 pm #799577
rwParticipantA neighbor once suggested “why don’t you just wait and all the leaves will eventually blow into someone else’s yard?” The problem is that my yard, front and back, seems uniquely situated to capture and hold everyone else’s leaves.
I have a huge chestnut that dumps huge numbers of spiny chestnuts that can easily pierce even leather gloves. That stage mostly ended about a week ago. Thanks to the wind storm, the chestnut and a few other trees are about 50-60% complete. With a bit of luck and if the weather behaves I hope to be mostly done raking leaves in the next two weeks. Normally that involves a full yard dumpster and ab. 10-12 yard bags. But I love the trees and don’t even mind the work so much. Of course I also have enough different areas …. and accumulation from neighbors’ trees … that I will be cleaning up this fall’s leaves well into spring.
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