My able-bodied neighbor actually stood in her backyard for FIVE HOURS yesterday “raking” with a leaf blower. Even with all the windows closed I could hear the annoying hum inside the house. Midway through hour one, I was starting to go bonkers. As we approached hour two, I resisted the urge to go outside, pry the annoyance from her hands and hurl it into the street. In two hours I could’ve cleaned up her entire yard four times over with a fancy invention I like to call a rake.
When we hit hour three, I decided I had to make some sort of statement. I scurried outside and pulled any loose leaves from my flowerbeds and tossed them into the grass. Then I raked the entire backyard, pulling all of the leaves toward the middle of the lawn. Next, I attacked the side of the house where the oaks grow. My neighbor had already blown her half of the leaves in that area. I didn’t want to risk messing up her pristine yard so I raked my monstrous pile of leaves to the front yard and spread them out there.
I got out the lawnmower and made passes back and forth over all the leaves until they were nicely mulched. Unlike my neighbor who obliterated every last seed, leaf and twig from her yard, I returned nutrients back to the lawn and gave earthworms and beneficial microorganisms something to feed on.
The whole exercise took 45 minutes (that’s 255 less minutes for those of you keeping track at home). While my neighbor’s leaf blower droned on for another hour and fifteen minutes, I was back inside reading a book and enjoying a hot cup of tea.