One of my winter/spring tasks in Georgia for three years, last year in Texas and each spring here in Arkansas is trying to get rid of the leaves which have been such a beautiful sight when they are attached to their respective tree, have been awash in color each fall and are now covering the ground, clogging drainage ditches, blowing all over the place and generally being a nuisance.
In Georgia I had real efficient equipment to work with: riding mowers with a mulching leaf-rake in tow or mulching zero-turn mowers. The leaves from the 25 acre property were put in a single pile and I was never there when the pile was disposed of or burned. Here at the Passion Play we have nearly 700 acres, but only a fraction of that has to be de-leafed: the amphitheater, the set, the drainage ditches, the Holy Land venues and the area around our parking lots, museums and buffet. But, there are a lot of leaves. My only weapons are a leaf rake, a utility lighter, a pick-up truck or golf cart, and large grey garbage sacks. We need to be careful when and where we burn, and in a few months there will be additional volunteers to assist with leaf duty. Since we conduct Holy Land tours in the off-season, I have been trying to keep our venues raked and leaf-free. The more I can do now, the less we will have to do later when there will be more pressing things needing to be done
It's another one of those "cow never stays milked" chores we all have in our repertoire, and one which can keep you warm on even one of our colder days. Another reason to do it now, is that the crawly-slithery creatures which like to hide under the leaves in the warmer months are holed up elsewhere now and less likely to interfere. However, it's wise to add a shovel to that list of weapons I mentioned earlier. Rake On.
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