Today, the weather has been extraordinarily beautiful. This doesn't happen often, lovely war 19 degree celsius weather in November, within days of so much snow that the students had rolled giant snowballs on the yard and they had only just melted, but when it does, it makes everyone happy. I went outside in jeans and a sweatshirt this morning and starting doing this:
and this
and this
In between some of that, I scooped up piles of leaves in my great big flexible plastic tubs with handles and took them to the chicken run where the girls enjoyed scratching their way through, looking for tidbits or bugs or buried treasure, I don't know. I also went into town and took back empties to the beer store and nabbed $4.00 and change for my efforts, and bought groceries, and was dismayed to discover the earlier shortages and overpricing are happening again. There was no paper towel except for the most expensive bundles and the price of broccoli practically floored me. Broccoli!
Then I returned home and put everything away and dug a frozen hunk of beef out of the freezer and put it in the magical cooking pot with a half a package of onion soup mix and put it in at 325 for the rest of the afternoon.
I went back outside to do more of this:
And despite wearing good leather gloves, I ended up with this!
I'm sure all the other gardeners and rakers out there have had the same injury! The one where you manage to raise a blister in the web of your hand and with a bit more insult to injury, you manage to open it up, leading you to ozonol ointment and a big wrap around bandaid.
The piles of leaves are taunting me, as are all the other leaves lying thickly on the lawn, waiting for me to come out again tomorrow in the lovely 19 degree celsius weather. I will, but I'll be thoroughly padded up.
My battle with leaves ended decades ago, thankfully! My sister lives in Ohio, and mailed a photo of 12 bags.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first, and only, round of raking and getting rid of leaves. I just waited until nature took care of getting them all off the trees. I am not even sure if we can put leaves in bags to be picked up with the garbage. I've never seen anyone in our little village set bags of leaves out. Mine go to the chicken run, or in my compost, or get burned. Have a good weekend, Susan.
ReplyDeleteI gave up raking years ago. One good wind and they all blow in from one neighbour or another anyway. Last week we watched a guy trying to use a leaf blower in a good stiff breeze. It was a good laugh.
ReplyDeleteAll that hard work..snd you finished
ReplyDeleteup 'plastered'...
Never mind..go make yourself a cup of
summat..and relax..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEMCeymW1Ow
🍁 🍂 🍃 🍁 🍂 🍃 🍁 🍂 🍃 🍁 🍂 🍃
I have been enjoying the wonderful weather with lots of walking & puttering in the garden. This year we have treated ourselves to "a guy, who does leaves". We laugh because in among our maple & ash leaves are oak leaves - no one around us oak trees, so we know these have blown in from a distance. That blister looks sore. I think the new/old panic buying is rearing it's head because many feel we are heading to a province wide lockdown - 1134 new cases from Friday!! Too many & news reports it is mostly weddings in Brampton. Another lockdown won't be the government's fault, but ours, society, IMO ... Mary-Lou =^[..]^=
ReplyDeleteThe weather has been amazing for the past little while and it'll continue this way for a few more days. I couldn't be happier! We don't have any trees on our lot yet, so we don't worry about any. But even when we had a lot of leaves in our previous home, my husband would spread them out on our lawn and turn them into mulch with the lawn mower. So much less tiring and good food for the grass!
ReplyDeleteYou have recreated the sculpture installation in your garden which Cro and I made 50 years ago.
ReplyDeleteWe've been lucky this year because a wind from the west has blown most of the leaves into our neighbour's paddock. But there's no pleasing some people, my husband is not happy because he wanted them for his compost heap!
ReplyDeleteI xeriscaped the front yard a few years ago, so there is no raking of leaves from my one tree out there, instead they blow across to the neighbour's yard. I'm sure he's annoyed because he has no trees but a lovely green lawn. But his little guy enjoys the piles so there is that.
ReplyDeleteThe back yard is pretty small so I leave the leaves where they lie. While I have a couple of small trees, most of those leaves blow in across the fence. So I guess what I give, I get. :)
Hope your hand is feeling better. And yes, I've had a similar injury or two.
Talk about piles of leaves! Our grape vine is shedding like mad but I cut all the branches and leaves which were falling over the terrace. Any that are left fall into the neighbours road.
ReplyDeleteGood exercise 😀
That is a lot of leaves! So happy we don't have to do that anymore. Perhaps the wind that will be coming with the temperature drop later this week will blow them all away!! Our high was 21.5C yesterday...Crazy. I have pussy willows coming out on the trees around the pond.
ReplyDeleteOoooo, your blistered hand made me cringe! I hope it heals quickly and without too much pain!
ReplyDeleteWe have lots of leaves too. Not as many as you, but as soon as they are raked up, a whole new lot of them falls to the ground. Your hand looks wicked sore. Wear thick gloves (or heavy leather gloves) over some thick padding when you rake again. Good luck with it. Hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have many deciduous trees so haven't the leaf pile-up you do. My dear old grandpa (this would be back in the 1940s, 50s and 60s) would never remove a leaf from his lawn in the fall (and he had a lot of them back in Illinois) maintaining they were nature's fertilizer for the grass. He was a great vegetable and flower gardener so maybe he knew what he was doing! Nasty blister you manage to get there. Happens to all of us at one time or another. Good excuse not to get your hand in dishwater for a while. The water and soap will b-u-r-n!
ReplyDeleteOuch.
ReplyDeleteI don't missing raking leaves.
I don't suppose you can just leave them where they lie for natural composting?
At least they are not wet and soggy - they're the worst!
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of leaves! And you've more to deal with? Luckily there's no mischievous breezes to dismantle your hard-earned piles when you turn your back. Your seasonal injury is wince-worthy. At the other end of the globe, last week women all over the city were gussied up for work for the annual big-event horse race which makes the country go silly, hobbling about in high heels that presumably haven't been worn since March. It was a good week all round for blister treatments!
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of leaves. I am responsible for the leaf clean-up too. Each year I try a different approach. Raking piles (like you), raking into a 9 x 12" tarp for emptying in to the compost, and burning in a burning barrel. This year I mowed over the leaves with the lawn sweeper attached and dumped leaves over a bank on my property. This system seems quicker and less labor intense. It might just be the approach for my future leaf clean-up. Unless a better system emerges... That blister looks large requiring a day for healing.
ReplyDeleteThose bandaides with arms and legs are just the best!
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of leaves. Been there, piled all over my yard, and then the snow fell before I got them up.
Wow that is a lot of leaves. I have had a few of those blisters too. Hope you had a great weekend. xoxo Rest that poor hand.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your lovely weather, it is great to get all the leaves up and off the lawns.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Oh Can I ever relate to this post! Last week I started raking leaves. What discourages me is looking back at the layer of leaves already covering the places I've raked clean. A thinner layer, but will still have to be raked again. Oh well, by Christmas maybe it will all be finished. You have a pretty, green yard, under all those leaves. So far, no blisters for me. :)
ReplyDeleteOur 19 degree weather is happening tomorrow. But there is no way in hell I'm raking around here! Bravo for getting that done!!! :)
ReplyDeleteLovely weather indeed. We're having the same here. I will need to check our stores to see if hoarding has struck again. there are always the oddest shortages these days. We no longer rake--we run the mower through them and blow them into the flowerbeds for winter mulch. Come spring, I just put the store mulch right over top of them.
ReplyDeleteYou've been productive! Well done! It's been beautiful here all last week and today and tomorrow too. Then it will be cold again. I might need to do a little raking tomorrow, just for sport! Or necessity!
ReplyDelete