Leaves...

Where I grew up in the Pacific North West, mostly all we had were Douglas Fir trees and Alder. And some spruce and hemlock, I guess. Only the alder would shed leaves, only the alder even HAD leaves, aside from the fruit trees. But somehow one doesn't get many leaves from apples trees...even if there are some 30 of them scattered around the place.

At any rate it wasn't until I was in my teens that I ever heard of anyone burning leaves and I was completely bewildered as to why anyone would want to or need to do such a thing.

Here in Missouri I now comprehend all too well. This picture is a case in point.

Ellen loves to play in them after I get them all piled up like this. It was much too windy to do any burning today. But I don't really like burning them anyway. It makes a nasty dead spot on the lawn for a long time. We have started just mowing them. It seems to work just as well.

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