So, now that it was the last day of the long holiday weekend, it finally dawned bright and sunny … no rain or murkiness to be found. I made the best of it and made sure I got a full walk in – no eying the sky for raindrops.

Along the way, many people were tackling their respective leaves … that’s because this is the last week for yard waste pickup in Lincoln Park.

It was on my agenda as well and I had a ton of ‘em, even though my neighbor Jeff has been blowing them for me every time he does his. But, those wicked winds and all the rain pulled the yellow maple leaves down and they were everywhere.  As usual, there was not a single leaf from my tree, an ornamental lace-leaf Japanese maple.  It still has every leaf intact – they will linger well into Winter.

So my date with “Mr. Rake” was not over coffee, but getting a handle on those pesky leaves. It took me three hours to get them raked and bagged, and, had they not been wet, slimy and full of mud, I’d have used a dozen or more yard waste bags for sure.

After restoring some respectability to the front and back yards once again, I hurried into the house absolutely famished. I’d been outside over four hours on this crisp November day.

Whenever I came into the house after a long leaf-raking session, my mom was fond of saying, “that fresh air took the stink off of you”; in fact, she would claim she could smell the fresh air on my clothes as well.

I know I will be nodding off earlier than usual, a small price to pay for enjoying this late Fall day.