leaves .. leaves .. fall ..

as i wend my way up the road from my house i am greeted by this sight .. just beyond the mail boxes is the entrance to the winter flowering shade garden .. so .. any ideas i might have had about what chores i'll find in the garden are soon dispelled .. obviously, there's only one thing to be done .. rake leaves ..

as you can see .. the only stretch of the street with leaves is right where i'm headed .. that big leaf maple is the culprit .. there are three in the yard .. and this one has many leaves yet to drop .. oh, well ..

i'm delighted, actually .. all these leaves have purpose in this yard .. many will be raked up .. along with fir cones and sticks and stones .. and be taken back to the path in the "back 40" .. they'll break down back there and keep the path defined .. and free of weeds .. the remainder .. sans cones sticks and stones .. will be placed in the leaf bin that jean made us and be chopped with the weed whacker .. the beginning of lovely leaf mulch ..

so .. i'm a happy gardener ..