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| Raking Leaves; Autumn colors | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 2 2004, 07:25 AM (125 Views) | |
| Heathertee | Nov 2 2004, 07:25 AM Post #1 |
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Heather-Central Connecticut
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First, let me make it clear; I do not HAVE to rake the leaves. My mother pays good money to an energetic young man to do it for us, and I am not about to upset that status quo. But once or twice during the Autumn, I just have to get out there with a light rake and have at it. Maybe the fact that I don't have to do it, makes it more attractive. The ideal weather for raking is sunny but not windy, with a temperature of about 55. A light jacket is soon too warm in the sunshine, taken off and thrown aside on a clean patch of grass. Mom looks out the window and shakes her head at me; she thinks I will catch a cold. I ignore her except to smile and wave, and throw my arms out to to say to her: "It's a GLORIOUS day!". The dry leaves pile up in windrows, full of fading color and rustling as I rake. Dogwood and oak leaves remain on their branches for now, giving vivid scarlet contrasts to the deep cobalt sky. Jays, cardinals, and chickadees swarm the feeders; they know it will be a cold night and they are bulking up on suet and sunflower seed. The chickadees are tame to the point of staying in the big feeder even when I am right under it, which makes me happy. Tarp after tarp-ful of dead leaves are dragged to the back of the property and deposited in a long row behind the denuded vegetable garden. By spring, after a long winter of heavy snow weighting them down and rotting them, the row will be only an inch or two higher than before, and underneath will be a rich, black loam to feed the trees and the garden. Then, we can begin the whole cycle all over again. |
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| mychrissy | Nov 2 2004, 09:31 AM Post #2 |
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Chrissy
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Heather, what a wonderful story. I grew up on Long Island and our house sat on top of a big hill in the woods. The driveway leading to the house was steep and seemed to go on forever. Talk about leaves. My Dad had my sister and I start raking them from the backyard, move to the front and bring all the leaves down the hill. The piles of leaves seem to reach to the sky. We would play in them for hours. This brings back nice memories. |
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Chrissy | |
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| Heathertee | Nov 2 2004, 10:33 AM Post #3 |
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Heather-Central Connecticut
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Chrissy, when my kids were little, we had an old-fashioned board and rope swing from a high branch of the big oak in the back yard. We would rake all the leaves into a huge pile about 20 feet from the swing. Then by turns, they would pump the swing up as high as they could and, at the zenith of the arc, jump off into the leaves. I can still hear the laughter and shrieks of joy. |
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10:57 AM Jul 13