On the last day of this four-day holiday weekend, I was outside scooping up wet and slimy leaves and pruning rosebushes. I mumbled my apologies to the rosebushes about my tardiness in attending to them, blaming not myself, but Mother Nature.
But first, I savored my walk at Council Point Park this morning as we are getting some type of slushy mess in the overnight hours that likely will stop me in my tracks tomorrow morning. I still have 18 more miles to go, and, had the weather been more cooperative yesterday (hint-hint Mother Nature), I had been hoping to get to my goal before the end of November.
Yup, that would be one month early!
But then, what do I do? Keep going like the Energizer Bunny, just racking up more miles? That’s what I did last year – 295 more miles in fact. Or, do I call it “done” and the rest is just gravy? I have a few days to dwell on this, plus 36 more days left in 2018 – it doesn’t mean all 36 of them will be conducive for walking though.
So, I lingered as long as I could at my favorite nature nook since I had to come home and get crackin’ on the long-overdue yard work and outside chores.
First to cut down those rose bushes and then to tackle those leaves … and, oh those leaves.
The fact that my ornamental tree has yet to shed its leaves, but once again I had multiple yard waste bags filled with leaves, always leaves me peeved quite frankly. Oh, it is stupid to be peeved about petty things such as other folk’s errant leaves, but it still irks me.
There are the behemoth trees that rise way about the houses behind me. They are likely well over half a century old, if not older. You see how large they are. Large trees means lots of leaves.
So, just imagine all those leaves fluttering down gracefully. In animated pictures of falling leaves, they twist and twirl through the air, landing at the base of the tree, right? Nope, that is not always true. They collect in the gutters and a big rainstorm comes along, the gutters overflow sending muddy droplets down, streaking your windows before you get the gutters cleaned out. Thanks a lot trees!
My neighbor has a beautiful maple tree. Just like clockwork, that tree turns yellow, then red, then it drops its leaves in the space of about 10 days. It is beautiful to watch that foliage turn, and this year we had a couple of blustery days so the leaves were whisked from the tree more quickly than usual.
I was going to write a post about that tree back in October, so I took some photos of it and the carpet of leaves on my lawn.
This was one day …
… and a couple of days later, the leaves had all dropped.
Guess whose lawn those leaves dropped onto? Hmmm.
Actually I despise that tree and have for a long time, but its time on Earth may be waning as the leaves have huge spots and some kind of disease as you see in this picture.
My neighbor and I joke about that tree and what a pain it is every Fall. I have told her that I watched that tree from its humble beginnings. Newlyweds moved next door – their starter home. One day they saw a Maple seedling that sprouted up in the grass on the City property. I was outside doing yard work, and, out of the corner of my eye, I watched them looking at that little seedling lovingly and then taking a spade to the grass.
They spaded out a circle around the seedling, got some potting soil and patted it down, then staked that seedling and even put a tiny fence around it. And, oh yes … they fertilized it. I witnessed the ritual and told my mother over dinner that evening. We each rolled our eyes and scoffed at the idea that the seedling would survive that Winter, let alone amount to anything resembling a tree. But, it not only survived the Winter, but with lots of TLC and Miracle Gro that seedling thrived. I began to rue the day that a helicopter seed drifted down and took root, and asked myself why I didn’t pull it out before they began nurturing it?
But alas, there will always exist the woulda/shoulda/coulda events in your life.
Like when I was a preteen and raked leaves in the neighborhood for pocket change. Yes, I got an allowance and had to help with our own family’s leaves, but then there were Bobby Sherman 45s or Tiger Beat magazines to buy, or whatever other little treats that a pre-adolescent girl covets and allowance doesn’t always cover. So, I had a reasonable fee and went around the neighborhood on weekends raking leaves.
I spent the better part of a Sunday afternoon raking leaves on a corner house for a rather crotchety older woman. It was a sizable yard and I quoted her $0.50 to do the leaves. There was a whole lot of rakin’ goin’ on and I finished up, lining up at least a dozen plastic bags crammed with leaves along the bottom of her City property for garbage pickup. In those days the garbage men picked up everything – no yard waste pickup existed.
Then, I went and knocked on the door to retrieve my pay. She didn’t answer the door, yet peered at me from the side of the living room curtains. I knocked and knocked and motioned to her to indicate I saw her watching me, but she would not come to the door. I went home dejected and told my parents what happened. My mother clucked her tongue and shook her head and said “poor kid” and my father called her a few choice names and said “I’ll take care of it for you.”
Well he rectified the situation the next morning before he left for work by taking a pair of garden shears and snipping off the knotted tops of each of the plastic bags and dumping them back where they came from, leaving a lovely carpet of colorful foliage on Old Biddy Burgess’s property. He came home and told Mom to tell me he took care of “the situation” and going forward to get paid in advance, or let that be the end of my leaf-raking career!
[Image of seedling from Pinterest]
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
I’ve been raking a lot lately and today the wind was crazily blowing west toward the Iroquois River, so i got the leaf-blower out and blew a lot onto the riverbank. I sure hope that they do not end up blowing back into the yard! 🙂
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This week ends yard waste pickup and so I had to do it today and we are getting snow tonight to boot. The houses across from me did not rake their leaves at all, so I am like you and hope they don’t blow back! Are you getting slammed with snow Tom? I heard parts of Chicago are going to have a heavy snowfall tonight. We actually had a nice weather day today – I was happy for the 45 degrees, and the sun popped out for a minute and a half, but it was welcome after the freezing cold on Thanksgiving.
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Love your dad! That was a non-violent protest that worked!
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Justice was served! There were a lot of leaves too … I would have loved to see her face when she looked out the window!
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Your red leaf pictures are simply stunning. I only have one maple tree now, and it sometimes has black spots on the leaves in the fall, but it doesn’t seem to affect it’s growth any. I wonder if it’s a fungus because we’ve had so much rain this fall? I remember Tiger Beat magazine and Bobby Sherman (although not what he sang?), and the going rate for babysiting was 50cents per hour, so you undercharged that old lady! I hope that Chicago blizzard doesn’t reach you or me because it’s way too early for that much snow…..
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I understand that tree next door has had black spots for a long time, however, I never noticed when picking the leaves up – I usually rake and use those leaf picker-uppers that look like a pair of cymbals. But this year as I was taking pictures I noticed right away – when she said the tree had issues in the past, I thought just like you “it looks so healthy looking!” My tree still has not lost any leaves. Bobby Sherman was in “Here Come the Brides” too – remember that show about three brothers in a logging camp? David Soul was one of the brothers. Bobby Sherman’s big songs were “Julie, Julie, Julie – Do you love me?” and “Easy Come – Easy Go” … I think he is a police officer somewhere now. I used to get “People” magazine and it would report on stars from other decades but I cancelled it as it was too expensive and I didn’t know who anyone was anymore. I have never babysat in my life amazingly – I never had any siblings and all the kids in the neighborhood when we moved here were the same age as me. I did undercharge her didn’t I and it was a corner house and took all afternoon! I am hearing horrible stories about Nebraska and Kansas and the northern part of Chicago getting slammed … it is way too early for that and I hope we both miss it – fingers crossed Joan.
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Miss Linda………………………………..Oh Boy ………………………your dad sure did “take care of the situation”……………….shame on that old lady to not pay you for your hard work!……………………………….and i like your tree and colorful leaf pictures……………………
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Yes he did – I bet she never did that trick again Ann Marie. Isn’t that a beautiful tree – it is so vibrant when it is turning colors and the red leaves are so vibrant!
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This year, the trees dropped their leaves early here, it was a record heat and it did not rain for months.
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I remember that – that makes sense that happened as we had a drought here one time and same thing happened, but our drought was not as severe as yours this Summer.
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I love your story about how your father “rectified the situation.” Action rather than words apparently. The neighbor must have been shocked! Like you, I am sad about the sudden transition from summer to winter. Fall was way too brief for my taste. On another topic, I truly admire your walking regimen. You are inspirational.
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Yes it was funny Carolyn. My father had a bad temper and I was a little afraid to tell my parents what happened, so I hoped he would not go over there with a full head of steam. He handled this perfectly and very early in the morning when it was dark before he went to work. The Fall was such a disappointment this year – I feel like we are grateful for little “crumbs” of a nice day here or there, a nice day being one without precipitation. We rarely see the sun anymore. This morning, in the space of a half hour, we had rain and it turned to snowflakes the size of a quarter. It melted this afternoon as it was mild, but did ruin my morning walk as I work from home and need to be here to start at 11:00. Thank you – I really enjoy the walking and since I started the blog two years after the walking, it has made walking even more fun. I was not taking photos when I first began the blog, so capturing the walk through photos to share here makes it even more enjoyable. I do think I’ll get to my goal and will probably just keep on going as I did last year – last year was beautiful weather until mid-December.
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We have a maple tree too, with lots of helicopters. I wind up pulling so many maple seedlings every year. I must have pulled thousands from my flower beds this year.
18 miles to go! You’ll have that done in no time if the weather cooperates.
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The two trees that DTE (my energy provider) said were touching the wires unbelievably are mulberry trees that were seeds that grew behind my shed. There was a shed there for almost 50 years and then a few years ago a strong wind (39 mph) blew it over and it tumbled across the yard and then I could see the width of what had been just seedlings that grew up! I used to prune behind the shed by going into the neighbor’s yard behind me, then she passed away and the new owners had two Rottweilers left outside 24/7, so no more pruning for me. The trees are amazingly sturdy for having never been tended to. Even more apt to start a tree are elm seeds. They grow right in my mulch by the hundreds (if not thousands)!
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Our trees have been pretty confused this year. It went straight from summer to winter, and the trees are still trying to figure out what to do with all those leaves. Strange to see the autumn colors still coming in at the end of November. Your Dad’s actions spoke louder than any words. I like the way he handled the situation. 🙂
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The weather has sure been fitful. My tree has lost none of its leaves and at the Park, all the pear trees have dark burgundy leaves, but a whole tree full of them. My next-door neighbor had two pear trees and they didn’t lose their leaves until December and these dark splotches would be all over the snow and our yard waste pickup ends this week, so you’d have bags of leaves in the backyard until April! Yes, my Dad’s actions worked well in this case and I am guessing she did not have to wonder where all those leaves suddenly came from. 🙂
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Linda
I read this post yesterday but didn’t comment. Today I read it again and thought to write in. You have had a lot of life experiences to write about- very interesting anecdotes. I wish my life had been so interesting too.:) Daddy’s are the best aren’t they ?Mine used to fight for us with our school teachers when they were more than strict with us, if he thought so.
The red maple leaves are one of nature’s delights aren’t they- like the cherry on the cake- like tulips etc.., I am sorry you will have to rake all those leaves but would the exercise count towards your miles ?
Susie
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I am glad you enjoyed this post Susie … that tree has so many leaves and this year their beautiful yellow, then red coloring was so fleeting … I had to mention the story from all those years ago … I thought about it while dwelling on the leaves and how mad I was at this woman who decided not to pay me as it was a lot of leaves and hard work. My father was never known for his tact as he was a hothead so I was surprised he handled the “solution” so quietly! You know it is funny that you say that about my life experiences as I was just telling someone last week (maybe it was you Susie?) that my boss said to me one time that I always seemed to have a story that fit the occasion … when he said that, I wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or not – in fact I’m still not sure to be hones
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It is a compliment- I would take it as such. Life is too short to think of why he might have said that- its easier to just think he complimented me and move forward.
He said it right- you have life experiences or songs to fit the occasion. In my childhood, I can only remember my father loved me, my mother loved me- they protected me- we didn’t have much money but we were happy. End of story!
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I like your thinking Susie … sometimes I “overthink” things … it is my nature. You have a good day. Freezing here … 28 degrees temperature and 14 degrees windchill.
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We lucked out with our leaves this year! We had some strong winds that blew most of our leaves up the street and I only had to rake our yard once. It’s raining again and I will have one more batch of leaves to pick up when it stops. In the backyard I just rake the leaves under shrubs where they help to suppress weeds and eventually turn into compost. Loved your pictures and story of the old neighbor lady getting what she deserved! 😉
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That’s what I did in the backyard Sunday as most of the leaves were wet and I had picked up loads of leaves before in the backyard. Those red leaves are very beautiful. Glad you enjoyed that story Sabine – my father got a lot of satisfaction out of dumping all those leaves onto her back and front lawns – I would have liked to see her face when she saw the leaves had magically appeared again!
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Karma! 😉
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Lol your father was a wise man! What a grouchy woman!
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She was and she was strange and the kids were afraid of her but I thought “how strange can she be?” She used to feed the birds popcorn in the middle of the street – the poor birds would go there to eat it – who feeds birds in the middle of a busy street?
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Awww that’s so sad – someone so sad and angry
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Well she was a little strange but when you’re a kid anyone who acts a little out of the ordinary or is eccentric, you label strange and are afraid of them, so I figured she was no stranger than anyone else. So much for giving her the benefit of the doubt!
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At least you tried which is more than most people would do!
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I might be labelled eccentric myself. Today I was coming home from my walk and a huge pure white husky was down the block and his owner (woman) told him to get into the house – the dog didn’t listen, ran along, crossed over the cross-street and into my block. I’ve not seen this dog before, but it was large – the size of a German Shepherd and loping around … I like dogs, but was cautious. It ran past me and went over to my bushes out front where it lifted its leg. So the woman drives up the street about 30 seconds after this happened and said “hey, have you seen my dog?” I had seen it go up the driveway at the next house past my house. I said “no, not since it pe*d on my bushes” and she said “well I can’t help that!” Not quite Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino but I still said my piece. 🙂
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Lol it’s good to always say what you mean and mean what you say:)
I think everyone is eccentric to someone
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Usually I count to ten, but I blurted it out … it was so obvious that I could not help it! I agree with you about eccentricity … my boss has said to me many times “well, I’m not for everyone …” … perhaps that’s why we have worked together 18 years as we’re both a tad quirky.
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I always think everyone has their quirks- you put up with others and others put up with ypu
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I like your thinking AJ!
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Your maple tree has Rhytisma acerinum (tar spots) and will not kill the tree….sorry! My maples had them last year and this year again.
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Well bummer for that Diane – I wondered because except for the spotted leaves, it looks healthy otherwise … I’ll keep this our secret because my neighbor said “it’s diseased I might need to cut it down” but a reputable tree cutter would merely suggest an arborist and avoid cutting it – hmmmm.
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🤫
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WOW! I cannot believe how quickly those leaves dropped!!! These pictures are beautiful nonetheless!!
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Yes, we had a few blustery days and I should have taken pics a day apart. but with that blustery weather came rain, just sheets of it and I stood at the front door and the water droplets made it difficult to take a good picture and didn’t want to take pictures in the rain and damage the camera. What I wanted to do was a slideshow to look like timelapse photography. There is always next year (believe me)! It is beautiful as it turns a golden/reddish color, then totally red.
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Oohhh the slideshow would have been cool! But the way you did this still gave off the same idea ! And yesss always next year! I didn’t get around to a lot I was hoping to this fall, so I’m excited to knock it all out next year!
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Your schoolwork sounds overwhelming … I think it is difficult to get back into school after working and having free time to yourself. All of sudden, there is no free time and you feel guilty, like there is something to be read or written or just absorbed by your brain!
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It is, but I treat it like a job and always allow myself at least a bit of time to blog and relax every evening if possible 🙂 I like what I’m studying so it makes alll the difference too!! I do have moments where it feels like “ahhh I could be studying right now”.. I think that’s the hard part- there is always something you could be doing!!
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In the end it is worth it, but slogging through some days is trying … it is good you are giving yourself “breaks in the action” and the weekend is almost here as well! Enjoy your day and weekend Mackenzie!
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LOL – what a great dad! I would’ve loved to have been there the moment the lady saw what happened! I adore the beautiful colors of maple trees – we have one in our yard that only turns yellow. We live by a field so the wind takes care of all the raking for us.
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Yes, it would have been priceless wouldn’t it? I hope she understood why he did that! This tree is beautiful with its gold that merges into a golden red, then solid red and one of my followers said her maple tree had the black spots and it did not kill the tree. You’re lucky that the winds take those leaves to parts unknown.
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I usually don’t mind raking leaves on a nice fall day. It reminds me of when we were kids and would rake up big piles then jump in them and spread them all over again. LOL. This year we just haven’t had those nice fall days.
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I miss those crisp Fall days too Ruth – I also jumped in the leaves before my father would bag them up … we never burned them, so I guess he didn’t appreciate piling them, then I scattered them all over again. 🙂
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Your father’s solution to not getting paid seemed quite fair 🙂
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Yes, and I’ll bet she never did that trick again!
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