November 21, 2014

“Let the wind take care of them!” That was Bill’s approach to the autumn leaves that covered our lawn. And the wind did take care of many of them, blowing them off the lawn, onto the pasture, and then into the woods. Bill drove the lawn mower over the rest, shredding them into the grass. But the leaves of the maple tree in our back yard that fell onto the perennial beds below were too thick to ignore. They had to be raked and/or blown and hauled away. Since Bill’s death, I have been paying my lawn service to remove the leaves; it is too much work for me. They mow some of the leaves into the lawn and haul the rest to my woods.

A year ago I decided that I should turn those maple leaves into leaf mulch. I blew some of them onto the stable apron, out of the rain, and had the lawn service blow the rest of them to that spot, too. It was an impressive pile of leaves. I ordered a leaf shredder and set it up. It worked well, but shredding leaves is a messy process. I had to don a face mask and protective glasses. I wore old clothes and covered my head with a bandana. And I topped that off with protective ear muffs. I need to take a selfie!

I produced about twenty bags of shredded leaves before the weather turned so cold that I abandoned the job. And there the leaves sat until spring, getting in the way when I hauled the snow blower out of a horse stall, tripping me up when I carried the boxes of Christmas decorations to the house.  I finally shredded the rest of the leaves last April. I was slowed down one day when I inadvertently dumped a spool of nylon cord into the shredder; it was hidden among the leaves. There was a horrible racket and smoke before I could switch the shredder off. Then I spent an hour patiently picking melted nylon cord, strand by strand, off the central core of the shredder. Fortunately the shredder was not damaged.

Now the lawn service crew has just finished blowing the new crop of maple leaves onto the stable apron. I look at that massive pile of leaves and I remember all the tedious, dusty hours of work, bending down and picking up leaves in the plastic “bear claws,” dumping them into the shredder, removing the finished bags and stacking them. I wonder if I am crazy. But I also remember spreading those carbon-rich leaves on the raised beds in my vegetable garden, and layering them around the native plants in Bill’s memorial garden. Tomorrow I will don the old clothes, face mask, protective glasses, bandana, and protective ear muffs, and I will turn dead leaves into gold.

Enjoy this beautiful song recorded by my friend Sarah Jebian.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owZW1iHTfCs&feature=youtu.be