Yes folks, it's that time of year hear in the north. The leaves are falling in drips, drops and deluge.

I got a proposal in the mail last week for fall leaf cleanup and pickup. The service is for 3 or 4 visits where they blow all of the leaves to the curb and haul them away. Larry started using them about 10 years ago. Well, this years quote is for $750.00. If you want the gutters cleaned, it's another $110.00.

Ok, I may be falling apart at times, but I think I'm still capable of doing the leaves myself. After all, the back half of the property is all wooded.

Two weeks ago, I mowed the lawn & leaves and dumped the bag back into the new, large raised bed to add some organic matter to the clay and sand.

Last week, I just ran the mower over it and mulched it in place.

Keep in mind that most of the neigborhood hasn't done anything yet.

Today, I started mowing and bagging, but had to stop to clear leaves from beds. When I got back to it, I just pulled out the blower. I got about 20% of the yard done when the blower died.

Well, time for a new blower. In the past, we would get the blower/vacuum combo, but never really used the vacuum part. So, I opted for just a blower. I rolled on down to Home Depot and picked up the ToroPowerJet F700 140 MPH 725 CFM 12 Amp Electric Handheld Leaf Blower. At first, I was fighting to control it as it has so much power. After a few minutes though, I had it instead of it having me.

Good golly Ms Molly! That sucker has power! With the exception of about 12 feet (need a longer extension cord), the front yard took all of 20 minutes to do. That includes clearing all of the front beds and under the huge rhododendron. Then, I moved to the back yard. Another 30 minutes, and I was basically done. (There's that extension cord problem again.)

Sure, it takes my time to do the work, but I'm outside enjoying the semi-fresh air and getting a bit of exercise. Even if the blower only lasts 1 season, it's still saving me over $600.00. For that, I'll put up with the sore shoulders.

Sounds like a plan.
I watched a lawn service clear the neighbors front yard once. Two guys with blowers. Blow the leaves one way, then spread a big tarp, blow the leaves onto it. Gather the edges, toss in the truck, done. Amazing how efficient it was.

We too cannot justify or even enjoy spending hundreds just on leaf removal. But I can believe there are those who see leaves as a problem and the service as a quick solution. While they earn their big bucks somehow..

And besides, I see the leaves as gold! Mark has been bagging the front yard after gathering blowing the leaves onto it from the street and driveway. We have a pile of that filled. Today I started layering it in the garden. Cleared a space which left a bit of a hole. Pile on leaves, fertilize, later of dirt, repeat. Water. I know that'll shrink/settle down a lot.

Spent the WHOLE day outside. Dug more canna- they are monsters this year. Moved two blueberry bushes 11 inches to one side.. Mark had moved them this spring, which was great, but I cleared out some catnip and really wanted them a little to the side, so there. Easy. All tidied up with pine needle mulch from the neighbor. I don't think he'll even know I moved them.
Moved the 'kitchen' compost, threw great looking stuff on asparagus bed.
Replanted a salvia. Found some snowdrops (I think) all surfaced so replanted a few. Weeding weeding weeding. Trimming peach tree and holly. Trimming is one task I have fallen behind on, especially that holly. I need to whack it way back in late winter.
Planted pansies.

I considered raking the other day but when I looked out, the leaves were falling like rain from the red maple And we should just blow them back under the tree line. Why not.

I'll eventually till the leaves into the bare clay in the back yard. Who knows, I may get grass to grow there someday.

Question on Major Wheeler honeysuckle. Should I cut it back now or wait until spring? It's top heavy now and I want it to fill out more.

My neighbor also has people coming in and do the pruning and cutting grass and cleaning. They park right in front of my house. I told them last week please do not come on Fridays, because they block my trashcans so when the Fairfax people come, they will not be able to pick them up, blocked by the truck and extension. I wish my neighbors had oak trees, in stead of crepe myrtle, huney suckle, English ivy, black walnut, maple, sycamore, and rose of Sharon, and magnolia. Instead of having the nice oak leaves for mulch mulch, I get saplings of them---My Brug is blooming now and growing bigger. I have 1 open flower now and 4 more coming----so beautiful. I pruned drastically pruned my very old knockout rose, and it thanked my by blooming so beautifully, lots of flowers! Bought it on sale for $14.oo when it first came out from Lowes. Actually I bought 2, the other one I have to take it out, it had the dreaded disease Rose Rosette and before it contaminate others I took it out. Had to take out 2 from the front yard----and put them int the trash in a thick trash bag, tied close, so the viruses could not get out.

Be careful what you wish for... Oak trees mean nice leaves for compost, but they also mean acorns, and those sprouts can put down tap roots remarkably fast (4" seedling, 12" root). Squirrels bring them into the yard from the streets on either side of ours. Also, acorns are hard on the feet!

Rick, good for you with the DIY leaf removal. Glad you upgraded your leaf blower!

RIck I watched Mark blowing leaves with the rechargeable. It seemed slow. I bet you've got a lot more power there. I was glad Mark liked my idea of blowing the leaves to the 'tree line'. I'm working on a plan to expand that area =decrease lawn.

I have also a lot of horse nettles. They also have long roots. Anyone has tips how to eradicate them. I have been just digging them out----I still have a lot!---

About my wishes, it is a good thing they are usually ignored!

So many leaves but I'm happy to have a beautiful day for the work. Bluebirds and cardinals were eating many berries on the peanut butter shrub.

RickM, I have been doing the daily vacing up of the leaves with my Toro vac/blower and these are not from our trees. I bag them and here we can do the free drop off
at a yard recyclers. The maple leaves are full of disease and bugs so there is no way
I will put them in our garden beds. Last year's count was 12 bags of mulched leaves!! Takes me less time to just vac up instead of raking as long as there isn't a lot of them. Most folks out here let them blow. I had a news reporter make this statement, "If you own a house here, you should be able to afford a landscaper or yard service." Silly transplant Californian, they have no clue how to garden. I'm with Sallyg and enjoy being outside doing the work.

So much depends on your ratio trees/open area or mulchable area or compost pile-able area. And no matter what, some leaves keep appearing on lawn all winter.

Well, pretty rude remark from that reporter! I don't know all the context but of course "stuff" happens and not everybody may feel they can spend the money! I enjoy the outdoors and how many homeowners could use a little more exercise .

Francine, best thing I can say with any weed is get them before any new seeds drop. If you cut off horsenettles, they might not grow back- not sure..
I rake and try to keep all our leaves some way. Some of my fenced vegetable garden is planted for fall/winter, but I'm piling leaves there. They're contained by the fence and I'lll work on turning them now and then. Come planting time, 'll be using the remainder as mulch.

I have daffs breaking ground everywhere!

I'm doing the leaves differently today since they're still a bit wet. I have the mower set high with no bag. After 7 or 8 passes, I lower it back down, put the bag on and re-mow the same space. The bag then contains a pretty decent ground up leaf mulch that I'm using on the front beds. It isn't as fine as what I used to get from the chipper, but I think it will work just fine.

Tomorrow is planting day. I'm going to try to do a layout this evening of what will go where. The last bulb order arrived a couple of hours ago. It's mostly daffs with some chionodoxa and Star of Bethlehem.

SALLY: thanks for the tip. I am going to do that, just cut them off as close as I can to the ground and put them in the trash can. I took a lot of other weeds yesterday, also put them in the trash. I have quite a lot of those horse nettles. I just learned what they were called. Surprised to identify them as horsenettles. I thought they were going to be called some kind of egg plants or nightshade-like golden nightshade or golden egg plant- My book explains that they have very long roots-

No planting today. Instead, I have to work on bringing the tropicals, etc. I did finally re-pot the ficus, and it is in the usual spot in the patio door. The calocasia and alocasisa are around it. I'm thinking of hanging the vanda orchids in the tree. At least there, I'll have a constant reminder to water them. The phals are another story, as are the anthurium.

Francine, astute observation on horse nettles, they are in the nightshade family like eggplants.

Yup, along with finding the right window for light, right room for temp, I am calculating ease of watering/ likelihood I will remember to water/watering needs of that plant to figure the best site for everything. Brain surgery I tell ya!

So, I get home from work yesterday, and it looked like the leaf guys had done the yard anyway. Since there wasn't much light left, I looked for my lea mulch piles. They were still there.

This morning, I was in the basement, and I heard someone at the basement door. I went upstairs and out to the carport, and there were the leaf guys! They actually had done my yard yesterday. As I started walking toward them, one of the guys came over to me. I told him that I have called twice and sent E-Mails, and that my property was not to be touched, but they had done it anyway. He apologized and said that no one in the office told him. Well, that's for him to figure out.

Now, all of the leaves that I had in the back yard and were going to be mulched are gone. With very few leave left on the trees, I'm not going to get anything worth anything. I guess I'm going to have to go buy the cheapest shredded hardwood mulch I can find.

I did more wall work today in prep fpr planting. Actually, I got 2 fern, 2 hellebore 20 daffs and 5 amaryllis belladonna planted. There's a whole lot more to go, too. I'm trying to work from the back of the beds to the front. One things is foe sure, I'm not 45 anymore!

I've also come to the decision that I'm probably going to sell the fountain in the front and maybe build a custom one in the back. Heaven knows I have more than enough rock.

Now I've got the huge leaves of Sycamore scattered about, and super crispy dry.

At this stage, if I want to collect leaves, I tend to just gather windblown ones that pile themselves and move them to MY piles. The 'floaters' will refill the corners, along fences, and under the shrubs and trees.