Leaves, leaves and more leaves

The wind is blowing and leaves are falling at a very rapid rate.  We've got more leaves than we know what to do with.  We don't make it more than hour of the ground being clear before leaves cover it all over again.  It is a vicious cycle.  Each year I feel like our Fall leaves situation has gotten worse.  Maybe the leaves falling are always this bad and I just block it out as soon as Winter sets in. Who knows.

Jeff and I have very different views on how to tackle the leaves.  He feels it is well worth the several hundred dollars to pay someone to pick them up.  Personally, I feel like we are more than capable to get them ourselves and should save the money for other things.  Anyone who knows us, knows this is a complete reversal of how we view all things financial.  Normally Jeff would rather save the money, and I am all about convenience as long as it is at a reasonable rate.  There is no reason why we can't  get some fresh air, wonderful exercise and rake till no leaf is left behind.  Because our viewpoints in the past have been so opposing, I have taken it upon myself to be the Main Leaf-Picker-Upper for the past 9 years we have lived in our house.  I pride myself on filling approx. 65 to 70 bags each year.  It's a pain in the neck, but at least I am doing something about it. 

Something happened this season.   I am not exactly sure what, but I didn't make it out to begin raking as early in the month as I normally do.  And I never voiced my plan on when I was going to make it out there.  I guess my silence got the better of Jeff.  He woke up one Saturday morning and said he was going out there.  WHAT!!?!?!?  I wasn't sure I heard right.  Jeff told me his plan was to mow over the leaves and use the bag attachment for them to sucked into.  I was eager to see how this was going to work.

Lo and behold, Jeff's plan was sheer brilliance.  And because the lawn mower chops up the leaves before putting it in the bag, the number of bags we end up with is easily 20% of what I would collect.  I actually got a little pissed that he had this solution to our leaf problem all these years and didn't try it out earlier.

Sounds great, doesn't it?   Only Jeff doesn't enjoy this.  Not one bit.  And its breaking his heart when he wakes up the next morning and it looks like he has done nothing to our yard.  Hey, I know that feeling.  I've had it many, many times before.

Jeff has now "raked the leaves" twice.  He probably has another one or two more times before all the trees will be completely void of leaves.  I am happy I've gone into "retirement" raking this year and will gladly let Jeff take over.  He doesn't do a perfect job (will only go where the lawn mower can be pushed over), but its a heckuva lot better than me being out there.


Jeff tried experimenting by picking up the leaves with his blower
(using the vacuuming setting),but felt this took too much time.

Then Jeff decided to go back to his lawn mower idea and
decided this was much faster.