Leaf harvest

Leaf harvest, a photo by vivienne_onymous on Flickr.

i love this time of year. the weather is cooler, which is welcome relief from the sweltering heat of Sacramento valley summers, the leaves are turning varying degrees of amber and topaz, and all the pets are spending more time snuggling with us and getting furry and fat.

the only real downside is the leaf harvest. every day, my tree sheds leaves, and in order to make my yard enjoyable and GREEN, i have to rake it all up and toss it on the compost heap.

but there is a real pleasure in that too. the movement involved in raking gets my blood going, warms me up from the inside. i get to be outside, breathing in fresh clean air, feeling cool wind on my face. and after winter, i'll have lovely fresh mulch.