- You, leaves are many, but I am relentless, almost.
- The number of leaves to be raked can’t be infinite, that’s impossible, but there are many, a very large number.
- How big is this number? A mature oak (says Wikipedia) can have 1,000,000 leaves. Multiplied by the trees this our lake house driveway (many) and the total is . . . . a lot.
- Would it be good to stop and think about this, gazing up at the yet-unfallen leaves?
- Progress not perfection.
- Does it cost less energy to create a large pile and move it, or to eat away at the pile, filling with barrels of leaves? What about time? Would it be good to think about this over coffee, inside?
- What’s all this nonsense about CO2 in the atmosphere? Think of all the oxygen these leaves made.
- You leaves make a huge pile, nearly as tall as I am and very much longer, but when you’re mulched, who’ll be laughing then?
- We worked the windless morning and just when we stop, a breeze shakes down drifts of more, more leaves. Really? Is this a joke?
- What about acorns? Where are the squirrels when you want them?
- Since the number of acorns on a tree (x) is larger than the number which germinate (y), is it better to pick them up now or pull up the seedlings later?
- What about these acorns? Where are the squirrels when you need them?
- Doesn’t it smell nice? What a lovely pile to jump in.
Pamela Schoenewaldt, historical novels of immigration and the search for self in new worlds: WHEN WE WERE STRANGERS, SWIMMING IN THE MOON, and UNDER THE SAME BLUE SKY (all HarperCollins).
pamelaschoenewaldt.com 
Please send jumping pictures 🙂
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I admire your tenacity! I also admire the Native Americans who let leaves lie!
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This is lovely. I do not approach leaf raking with your bits of joy or your tenacity. I do enjoy reading about your splendid efforts.
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It is a peculiar activity.
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It is a peculiar activity.
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A wet summer confounded our trees with oaks dropping their leaves ahead of schedule. Some maple species surrendered theirs, lacking the usual vibrant colors, while one in our front yard stubbornly holds on to its weak green foliage. Raking has been erratic as some trees, the small crab apple, for example, are bare with just various bird feeders hanging from their limbs.
Massachusetts, November 2023
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My experience is that oak trees are easily confused. They also time their high-low mast with bear and other acorn-eater populations.
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Or, employ the “nature put them there, nature will take them away” method.
>
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Not from a rarely used gravel driveway which is constantly threatening to return to nature.
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even in California
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