Oak leaves move around too much in the windy conditions here. They have to have something to block them from moving or something on top to keep them from blowing away. They really pile up deep in places, but some places are just bare where the wind scours the surface. They trimmed the power lines along the county roads in my area. They chopped the trimmings and just blew them back into the pastures. When they needed a secure place to park their truck, I let them use my field and in exchange got a huge pile of chopped limbs and leaves. It's still green enough that it has an odor when it gets wet, but it should be mostly free of weed seeds and has enough coarse material to keep it loose. I've been using it around some smaller trees. Armadillos love to dig in that sort of thing, so I don't know how well it's going to stay put. It's not as pretty as the pine bark chips etc., but I could always put a layer of that on top if it bothered me enough. I may use some of the pile to weigh down the oak leaves.
