It is almost that time of year again. This year Fall officially begins on September 23rd. It is my favorite season. I love the colors of the leaves in orange, brown, green, gold and red. I love the clothes of the season also. Warm cuddly sweaters, blazes, skirts, boots and the rich colors that they come in. I love almost everything about it, except picking up the leaves.
It is not that I even mind picking up the leaves. There are just so many of them that it is exhausting. The first year that I did them as a single mom there were over 120 bags of leaves. I cannot even tell you how I felt afterwards. The next year I tried a different method. I raked them on to a tarp and put them in the back of my van. I drove to the leaf compost in the town, which was about five minutes away. Not too far so I thought. It should be easy. In a way it was easy, but the van was only so big, so I had to make countless trips back and forth. I literally began to feel dizzy.
The following year I had a couple do the leaves to give myself a break. They were just starting out and charged me only $50. It was a bargain. They charged much more the next year, which was out of my price range. I was on my own again.
I bought a leaf blower. I finally thought I had the answer. The leaf blower was so heavy so I used the neck strap. Bad idea. I mulched the leaves, but the attached bag filled up so quickly that I had to empty it every 10 minutes. After an hour of this I called it a day. I finished the leaves that year with my rake and some bags.
My neighbor watched my efforts throughout the years and must have taken pity on me. He brought over a piece of plastic that you slide inside the bag to hold it open. That worked pretty good. I gave it back when I finished that day and thanked him. I bought one for myself. I think that I finally had my answer. This little piece of plastic was a blessing. I still love this time of the year.