Be Careful What You Wish For...

Indeed!!

Last month I wrote about how I was waiting for fall to arrive.  Well, it's officially here and I have a backyard full of leaves to prove it...

leaves everywhere...

you can't even see the decorative rocks

In the last six weeks the yard has gone from relatively leaf free to covered in leaves.  There are leaves on the patio, leaves on the terrace, leaves in the planter areas, more leaves on the walkway and the side yard too!

There have been a few rainy days recently and the leaves came toppling down from our giant Sawleaf Zelkova tree with the accompanying wind.  We planted the tree when we first moved here.  We had no idea just how big it would get...

my tools for the task

The weather today was perfect for the task of getting the leaves into the green waste can.  Ron and I got started mid-morning.  Ron's primary job is to use the leaf blower and make piles for me to put into the can.  With a rake and shovel I can get the job done quite easily.

Ron makes leaf piles for me to collect

The job has two phases.  The first phase is to make big piles out of the leaves on the patio, terrace and lawn.  The second phase is to make piles with whatever is left on the terrace, in the planter areas and the side yard.    

it's getting there...

After two hours laboring over the leaves we were ready for lunch.

But we weren't done just yet.  All of those leaves had to go somewhere.  One of my jobs is to also 'compact' the leaves in the can.  

compacting the leaves to make room for more

Even as a child, one of my favorite jobs was to climb into the can and squish down the leaves.  After three sessions of squashing the leaves, our green waste can was full to the brim.  We still had more leaves to collect.  Luckily, our neighbor's can was empty.

Now our yard is ready for the upcoming predicted weekend storms.  We also put away the umbrellas and glass table tops.

no more leaves, at least for now...

job security!

However, the tree is still covered with leaves so I know we'll be back out doing this all over again in another 4-5 weeks.  And so goes the cycle...